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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Jan 24, 2016 13:07:45 GMT -5
THE NEW RAILWAY SERIES NO.52 Electric Engines By Diesel 11
Foreward Dear Friends,
On the Island of Sodor are many engines, of all different shapes and sizes. There are the Steam Engines, whom I’m sure you all know about – indeed, Sodor is known best for them. Then there are the Diesel Engines, whom have caused trouble on Sodor before, and yet some of them are much nicer than others, and are considered members of the Fat Controller’s Railway. And then… there are the Electric Engines.
The Electric Engines, I am afraid to tell you, have not had their due. They have not been featured in any previous Railway Series books. That is why, I have decided to set the matter right, and give them a book of their own.
There are seven Electric Engines living on Sodor on their own little railway – which is actually a branch line, but has its own Controller, Mr. Harry Oswald – the Peel Godred Branch Line. They are Reginald, Sam, Janice, Simon, Ed, Fernando, and Alice. They all work together quite well… but, as the case usually is, have gotten themselves into trouble. Luckily for them, they’ve always worked things out.
I am delighted to introduce you to the Peel Godred Engines!
The Author
Special thanks to Admin for coming up with the Electric’s names, and to Tug for coming up with Fernando.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Jan 24, 2016 13:08:21 GMT -5
Electrics and Buses One evening, Culdee returned with his last passenger train. It had been a busy day. He and Catherine were both tired out, but were happy to see that the passengers had enjoyed their day, and when they thought about it, they had, too. As they waited for the last passengers to get off, they heard the honking of a horn. Turning to look, Culdee saw an engine that looked different than any other on Sodor. It was an Electric Engine from the Peel Godred Branch Line. She was a specially-built passenger engine, and EMU, or Electric Multiple Unit. She had just arrived back to the station, and smiled when she saw Culdee. “Hello, Culdee! Hello, Catherine!” she said. “Hello, Alice!” said Culdee. “How are you this evening?” “I feel wonderful. The fresh air, the passengers… it’s all lovely, really.” “That’s good,” said Culdee. “After all, it’s a poor life when you’re stuck with something you don’t like.” “Indeed… by the way, Culdee, have you heard the latest?” “What is it?” “It’s Ed, that’s what it is!” Culdee rolled his eyes. He knew what that meant. “What did he do this time?” he asked. “Shunted one of his cars into a bus that broke down on the level crossing. Luckily, he wasn’t going fast, and the bus isn’t too badly damaged, and no one got hurt.” “Well that’s a relief,” said Culdee. “Indeed,” said Alice. “Who knows what problems that would have caused!”
As it was, the accident put Ed in a bad mood. He grumbled, and complained, and that night when he arrived back to the sheds, the others wished he hadn’t! “Why did that stupid bus have to break down right in my way?” he grouched. “Well, you could have been a better look-out,” said Janice. “Well, still!” cried Ed. “He could have broken down in Fernando’s way, couldn’t he?” “Is that a joke?” growled Fernando. “No, it’s not!” said Ed. This had offended Fernando. “Why you miserable little…” “That’s enough!” said Reginald. “I don’t care to hear another word of this pointless argument. Ed, you should have been a better look-out. You couldn’t help that the bus broke down, but you could have prevented the accident.” Ed just looked at Reginald sullenly, and then shut his eyes, and went angrily to sleep.
A few days after the incident, Ed and Fernando were shunting the Yard when Ed saw the bus again. It looked at Ed and sneered. “Well, well, well,” he said. “Fancy running into me, ME, who is much better than you, more revolutionary than you, more–“ “Stow it, would you!” growled an infuriated Ed. He was now feeling a bit better about running into the bus, but this…! “Ha-ha!” laughed the bus. “What an engine. Mark my words, though – one day you’ll be scrapped, you useless pile of metal, and the buses will take over. FOR GOOD!” And he went away, laughing at Ed’s angry face.
That night, all Ed would talk about was the bus. “That no good, worthless–“ “Now, now,” said Reginald, “groaning about it won’t help you.” “Indeed,” said Simon. “And if you’re thinking of getting revenge on him, I suggest you put that out of your head. That’s only brought trouble.” “Well, I would like to show that bus a thing or two!” said Ed. “Don’t worry about it,” said Alice. “I’m sure it’ll blow over soon.” It did, too – sooner and much different than anyone expected!
The next day, Alice was taking the ‘passenger’ like she always did. It was a dark and gloomy day. It rained hard, and she could barely see, but she still struggled on. The bus that had been so rude to Ed was trying to struggled on as well. He came to a level crossing, and then– “Oh, bother!” he said. “I’m stuck!” He had gotten a flat tire, and there was nothing they could do but wait. The driver knew that trouble could be around the corner at any time. “We’re right on the rails,” he told the passengers. “Please get out of the bus, in case an engine comes.” “What! You’re just leaving me here?!” cried the bus. “It’s not like we can do anything,” replied his driver, and he and the passengers left the bus.
Alice came ‘round the bend. She could barely see… Suddenly– CRASH! Alice plowed straight into the bus. “OW!!” cried the bus, as Alice applied her brakes. Her driver inspected the damage. “You’ll need to go to the Works, I’m afraid,” he said. “As to the bus…” He trailed off. The bus groaned.
Luckily, though, the bus didn’t have such a bad ending after all. It was mended, and finally learned to respect engines, and soon became friends with the Electric Engines. If he ever did get above himself, though, Ed could always bring him down again with the simple words “Level Crossing”.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Jan 24, 2016 13:09:10 GMT -5
Steam Collision One afternoon, Ed brought his last train to the junction. He was feeling restless; it was getting cold, and he wanted to return to his nice warm shed. He was just about to set off again, when the stationmaster came up to him. “Could you take these cars, please, Ed?” he asked. “Why can’t Fernando do it?” “He’s busy elsewhere,” replied the stationmaster. “Come on, old boy,” said his driver. “It’ll be our last train for the day.” So, grudgingly, Ed complied.
Ed wanted to get this job done as fast as he could. “Come on! Come on!” he called to the trucks, as they made their way along the line. Unfortunately, neither he nor his driver knew that the points at the signal box were jammed, and they would be diverted to a siding. Ed was going at such a pace that he didn’t realize this until it was too late. He saw the buffers, and tried to stop, but the rails were slippery, and thus, he crashed through the buffers and came off the line. No one was hurt, but Ed had been a bit damaged by it.
Mr. Oswald, the Manager, came to see the other engines that evening. “As Ed will be at the Works for a time,” he said, “Sir Topham Hatt has kindly allowed one of his engines to come and help for a time. He will be here next thing tomorrow.” The other engines speculated on who it would be. “I hope it’s BoCo,” said Simon. “Or Bear,” said Janice. “Has it occurred to you that it might be a steam engine?” asked Alice. “Yes, but it’s usually diesels these days,” replied Janice. “Ah, well,” said Reginald. “We’ll soon see for ourselves.”
And indeed they did. Next morning, the engines heard a whistle. “Why, so it is a steam engine,” said Janice. James then puffed up. “Well, hello,” he said. “I’m to help out with the goods work.” “Indeed,” said the Manager, walked up. “Fernando will help you too.” “Come on, then,” said Fernando, and the two engines went away.
James managed quite well. The Stationmaster, the Manager, and the workmen were glad of it. “You’re doing a splendid job,” said the Manager to him. Unfortunately, this made James feel a bit puffed up. “Mr. Oswald has told me that I’m doing a splendid job,” he said to the other engines. “Tomorrow, I’m to take a special. Why, I bet that I’m so good, I could all the goods work myself!” The other engines rolled their eyes, and said nothing. They just watched James fall smugly asleep.
The next morning, James went to collect his ‘special’. Unfortunately, what he saw didn’t impress him. “What’s this?” he sneered. In front of him was a line of filthy freight cars. The Stationmaster came up. “You’re to take this lot to the other end of the line. It’s important work,” he added. “I wonder what not-so-important is around here…” said James to himself. Unhappily, he set to work.
Meanwhile, Reginald was taking a ‘passenger’. While Alice takes the main passengers, the others will take slower trains along the line, and today it was Reginald’s turn. Along the line are two signals, the home signal and the distant signal. The home signal is almost always clear, and the distant signal is permanently set at ‘caution’. Today, the driver didn’t notice that the home signal was set at ‘danger’, and since the distant signal was always at ‘caution’, he didn’t pay much attention to it.
James was taking his cars along the line when he suddenly saw Reginald come around the corner. “Reginald! Slow down!” he called, but it was too late. Reginald plowed into James, knocking the steam engine off the track, and derailing himself. “Oh, balderdash!” he cried. “Darn it, you!” snapped James.
The workmen came to clear the mess. Luckily, it wasn’t as bad as anyone initially thought. The Manager came to see them that evening. “James and Reginald, you’ll need to go to the Works to be mended. Luckily, Ed will be coming home tomorrow, and I believe that the rest of you can run without an engine for a while.” “Yes, sir,” replied the engines.
The incident of James and Reginald crashing was inspired by the Irk Valley Junction rail crash of 1953 at Colleyhurst, in which an electric and a steam engine collided after the electric’s driver failed to pay attention to the signal – but it had more drastic results.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Jan 24, 2016 13:10:00 GMT -5
Alice on the Move The winter came with a fervor that year. The Culdee Fell Railway was closed as it always was during the winter months, and it was a good thing, too – the wind was terrible. It was a strong wind, and bitter cold; just the sort of thing an engine hates. Indeed, had the Railway not closed, there would likely have been some series accidents! The Peel Godred Engines, however, still had to march on, despite the weather. Snow fell everywhere, and it was up to Simon to clear the tracks. He did so, but was always happy to return to the nice warm sheds!
One morning, Janice didn’t start. Her driver looked her over. “It must be the cold weather,” he decided. Thus, Simon had to do Janice’s work as well as his own. He didn’t like that one bit, the snow and the wind together made him want to backtrack to the sheds again.
When Alice saw him as she was picking up the passengers – there weren’t many today, as most wanted to stay indoors – she looked over at Simon and laughed. “You look like an icicle!” she said. Simon groaned. “It’s not easy being the snowplowing engine,” he said. “On top of that, Janice’s work!” Alice didn’t really understand; she was specially built so that she wouldn’t suffer from the cold, for when she suffered, the passengers suffered, and that would never do. “Oh, it’s not that bad,” she told Simon. “Well, you’re one to talk!” grunted Simon, and he scuttled away to finish his work. Alice continued her work, too. The passengers stayed warm, and so did Alice, and by the end of the day, she was feeling tired but happy as she entered the shed.
Next morning, it was not snowing, but there was still snow on the ground, and the rails were particularly slippery. This morning, Alice was feeling bright and cheerful as ever, as she made her way to the station. It was not time yet for the passengers to board, and Alice still had a cleaner onboard working. Alice’s driver had just gone for some coffee, when it happened!
Alice felt her wheels start to move. “I’m not supposed to be moving yet,” she thought. Slowly but surely, she started to go faster. Alice started to panic. “Help! Help!” she cried. “I’m moving! Help!” Her driver heard her and rushed out of the station, but it was too late! Alice had already cleared the station.
Alice went faster and faster, until she had reached over 50 miles per hour. She was very frightened. She tried to stop, but without a driver on board, she couldn’t. The slippery rails didn’t help either. Finally, she came to a hill. “I hope that’ll slow me down,” she thought, and it did, but not enough, for she ended up reaching the top, and then roared down it again. “Help! Help!” she cried.
She passed another station… and another station… and yet she didn’t stop. She had never been this scared before! Then, with a shriek of horror, she saw something that made her even more worried – a sharp curve in the track…! “NOOOOOOOO!!!” she cried.
In an apartment nearby, a woman was serving breakfast to her family, when suddenly – CRASH! – the building shook, and in broke a very frightened and battered Alice! “Well, bless my soul!” cried the woman, who dropped the food, and nearly fell over. Alice didn’t feel well at all. She started to cry, she had been badly hurt in the accident.
Once she was rescued, the Manager came to see her. “Don’t worry,” he said. “The accident wasn’t your fault.” “But, who else could it have been?” asked Alice. The Manager rolled his eyes. “Remember the cleaner onboard you?” he asked, “Well, it seems that she hijacked you, and that’s why you went so fast.” Alice gaped. “It’ll take a long time, but we soon have you mended and back in working order again,” said the Manager. “Don’t worry, you’ll soon be as good as new!”
When Alice went away, the other engines had to step in for the passenger trains. They didn’t like it, but knew that they’d have to make the best of things. As for the cleaner? Well, it turns out it wasn’t her fault after all. Technical problems made Alice start by accident, and the cleaner was later cleared of all blame.
Based on the 2013 Saltsjöbanan train crash, in which a passenger train started by itself with a cleaner onboard, and ended up crashing into an apartment building. The cleaner was blamed for the accident, and newspapers told of her ‘stealing’ the train. However, she was later cleared when it was found out that it was actually technical problems, and the idea of her stealing the train was just a theory that was leaked to the public.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Jan 24, 2016 13:10:43 GMT -5
Useful Electrics
The engines kept busy with Alice away. The Peel Godred Branch Line was not as overrun as many other parts of Sodor, and so it wasn’t too hard to keep things running, but they weren’t too happy, especially a certain engine named Ed. “Why on earth did that Alice have to go and crash herself?” he complained. “You know very well that it wasn’t her fault,” replied Janice. “Indeed,” said Reginald. “Can’t you ever think of others before yourself?” Ed just growled.
A few weeks later, the Manager came to the shed. “Alice will be coming home tomorrow,” he said. “I want you all to be on your best behavior.” “Yes, sir,” replied the engines.
That afternoon, Ed brought some trucks to the station, and was about to bring some more back, when he saw Carl, the bus that had been annoying him a while back. The two had become friends, but they were always trying to top each other, in a friendly way. “G’morning,” said Carl, cheekily. “You look slow as a dust mite.” “Pay!” Ed replied. “You’re the only slow thing around here.” “Wanna prove it? Let’s have a race.” “Sure,” said Ed.
The drivers agreed; if they were careful, they could have a race as they finished their work. “On your mark, get set, GO!” and they were off. Carl started edging in front, but Ed was fast as well. The two raced along. Unfortunately, they weren’t paying too much attention, and suddenly, BANG! Carl stopped right there. “Better luck next time!” called Ed, and didn’t wait to see what the problem was, but kept on until he reached the station.
When he arrived, the Stationmaster came out to see him. “Leave your cars in the siding and get a flatcar; a bus has a flat tire, and you’ll need to rescue him.” “Oh, that’s why he stopped suddenly,” thought Ed, and went away to help his friend.
Ed found him looking cross. “Why didn’t you stop and help?” asked Carl. “I didn’t know something had gone wrong!” said Ed. “Well… thanks for coming back though,” said Carl. “It’s what friends do,” replied Ed. So saying, they were able to get Carl onto Ed’s flatcar.
They arrived at the Bus Depot, and Carl was loaded off. “Thanks again,” said Carl, and he went away to be mended.
Next day, Alice returned. “Welcome back!” called the engines. “Thank you,” said Alice. “It’s nice to be home.” The others told her all the news, including Ed and Carl’s incident. Alice smiled, “Well, my time at the works hasn’t been all that uneventful either!” “Why? What happened?”
“Well, someone was working on my roof, when I felt someone enter my cab. It turned out it was a silly boy who wanted to have some fun. “Suddenly, he flipped a switch, and I heard the man on my roof suddenly cry, “YOW!” and jump right off. He looked and felt as though he’d been blown right across the room. “He wasn’t too hurt, but he certainly gave that boy a piece of his mind!” Alice finished.
The engines laughed. As they did, the Manager, who had been listening, spoke up. “Well,” he said, “I do know one thing – you may get into some scrapes, but you are all Really Useful Engines!”
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Post by Tug on Jan 24, 2016 14:46:03 GMT -5
Really good stories, I would love to help you revisit them, but I have a question, do Electric Engine have firemen because that kind of doesn't make sense...
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Jan 24, 2016 14:48:31 GMT -5
Really good stories, I would love to help you revisit them, but I have a question, do Electric Engine have firemen because that kind of doesn't make sense... Glad you liked them. Re: Firemen – Whoops! I'm so used to writing for steam engines that I accidentally put that in. I'll edit that now. As for revisiting them, I'd love to do that with you, Tug.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Jan 24, 2016 16:32:42 GMT -5
Great Work D-11; the Peel Godred branch does offer much potential for future series.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Jan 24, 2016 16:45:07 GMT -5
Great Work D-11; the Peel Godred branch does offer much potential for future series. Indeed it does, Frank; glad you liked it.
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