It was a beautiful summer morning on the Island of Sodor. Arthur the Big Tank Engine was puffing along his branch line, pulling some holidaymakers in his coaches.

"This place is beautiful this time of year." He remarked as he passed through the fishing village, where some fishermen waved to him. One of them was holding a newspaper, which clearly said "RAIL BANDITS ESCAPE TO SODOR". Arthur whistled back and smiled. Finally, he saw his destination.

"Good morning, Norramby." He chuckled. The bustling town stood around the station as he pulled in. Arthur whistled as he braked to a halt. He looked to the left of the station, where the beach stood outside the boardwalk. Passengers walked up and down, holding all sorts of items from shopping on the boardwalk's many stores. To other side of the station was Sodor Land amusement park, with a large Ferris Wheel in the middle and various other rides and attractions around it. The town itself stood behind the amusement park. In front of the buffers at the platform were a small part of the boardwalk, and then a perfect view of the sea. Arthur took a deep breath of appreciation.

"So pretty. And it's all mine." He chuckled. However, he was cut off by a loud blast of an unfamiliar whistle.

"Huh? Who on Earth is that?" Arthur looked behind him and saw an unfamiliar engine. His boiler was painted grey, and his smokebox was painted black. Hanging from a peg on his large "diamond smokestack" was a dirty lamp with a red light. His cab, which oddly enough straddled his boiler, along with his tender, was painted an auburn color. In yellow text on his tender was "JEB", which is what Arthur assumed was the engine's name. Jeb came to a stop at the other platform nearby Arthur. Behind him was a bright pink van with two four wheeled bogies. In white text on the van was "BONNIE" which he assumed was the van's name. The passengers crowded around the new arrivals with awe.

"I don't remember hearing about another engine coming down here today…" Arthur pondered, before clearing his throat.

"Excuse me?" He asked, "What brings you down here?" Jeb grinned at him.

"Simple making a strategic business move, buddy." Before Arthur could respond, a pitch pipe played out a note. The passengers hushed, and Jeb took a deep breath before beginning to sing.

"Oh he's been travelin' this long, long line for many, many years

He's powered on, through day and night, and through a lot of tears

Now come on, gals and gentlemen, listen if you can,

Cuz here is Slim Jim Langley, the Travelin' Railwayman! Wa-ooh…" At that moment, a rather large man pulled Bonnie's door open, with a guitar in his arms. He wore a blue button down shirt, a red vest, brown pants that ballooned out at the bottom, and cowboy boots. He had a full auburn beard, and large eyes. He held a toothpick in his mouth and started to sing, strumming his guitar.

"Ohhh, I've been up and down the land

This fine old country of England

And though I've never found a home

Who says it ain't more fun to roam?" Slim Jim climbed Bonnie's ladder and began playing his guitar atop the boxcar. The make-up covered Bonnie began to sing as well.

"Mistah Jim's a travelin' railwayman, ya know it through and through

An' he's just come here to sell some real nice things" she giggled, "to you!" Arthur was in disbelief! However, before he could react, Jeb and Bonnie began to harmonize.

"The boss might not be the smartest or richest guy around

But he can sell ya things from his adventures that he has found!" As they finished, Slim Jim changed his chord and Bonnie squealed with excitement.

"He's got trinkets!" She sang.

"And doo-dads!" Jeb added.

"And all kinds of stuff!" Slim Jim finished. The three then harmonized together.

"When you take a look right at our wares,

You just can't get enough!" At that moment, Slim Jim kicked Bonnie's door and a canopy folded out, and a large sign fell from it: "SLIM JIM'S KNICKKNACK EMPORIUM". The passengers were fascinated as Slim Jim slid Bonnie's door open. An entire store was inside, full of shelves full of various trinkets that fascinated everybody watching. Slim Jim hastily tied a red ribbon across the door. Arthur cleared his throat.

"Excuse me, do you have a license to sell?" He asked. Slim Jim chuckled.

"Who cares if we don't, y'all won't tell!" He replied. Arthur was astonished as the passengers cheered. Jeb blew a raspberry at him.

"And what exactly are you supposed to be anyway? Your cab is straddling your boiler!" Arthur spluttered. Jeb chuckled and began to sing, albeit through gritted teeth at the lyrics he clearly didn't want to sing.

"Oh I'm a camelback engine from the ol' USA

I thank my stars for not being scrap iron every passin' day

Because back in the states, when I was down, my good ol' buddy had a plan

To save me.

Who?

Well, Slim Jim Langley, the Travelin' Railwayman!" Arthur spluttered, flustered for a moment, and then looked to Bonnie.

"And why is that van such a garish color?" He asked. Bonnie scowled.

"That's boxcar to ya, Red!" She snorted due to her laughing, and began to sing.

"I used to be a clown car, way back overseas

The circus put their worst acts an' they crammed them into me!

But now I'm more prestigious, I'm a travelin' railway store!

If you buy from Mistah Langley, dat fella I adore!"

"Well, no one is going to buy from you! You haven't got a traders' license!" Arthur insisted. However, the holidaymakers began to swarm outside Bonnie's doors, causing Arthur's jaw to drop.

"I just placed a ruddy ban!" He lamented, picking up the tune.

"We'll buy from you just what we can!" The holidaymakers sang. Slim Jim grinned.

"And why is that?" He asked, changing key on his guitar. The holidaymakers began to sing again.

"Cause you're a true-"

"Certified-" Jeb sang.

"Qualified-" Bonnie added.

"Travelin'-" Slim Jim finished. He conducted the holidaymakers with his toothpick on the final note.

"Railwayman!" As the Jeb, Bonnie, and the holidaymakers held out the final note, Slim Jim quickly played a final rhythm on the guitar, and resolved the chord. He slid down Bonnie's ladder, headed towards the ribbon, and cut it with a pair of scissors.

"Travelin' Railwayman!" He finished, and gestured towards the doors to his store. The people swarmed into a line to get into Bonnie. Arthur was astonished.

"Is anybody going to question this?" He asked. The passengers cheered loudly.

"I guess not." He scowled.

RAMPAGE OF THE RAIL BANDITS

Well, here we are! The beginning of my next project! This is even bigger than Troublesome Engines, and is going to tell an entirely original story! Now, first point of discussion, the new characters:

Jeb the Camelback Engine - Probably the most important of the newbies, and will play the biggest role of them. He is based on a narrow gauge 0-4-0 camelback engine that I have scaled up to be standard gauge. Although an unusual design, I decided it was the best for the personality I wanted for Jeb. I'll explain more of Jeb as the project goes on, but he's sure to be a fun one.

"Slim" Jim Langley - Once again, not going into him much, but he's the main antagonist of the special. You'll see more of him.

Bonnie the Boxcar - Bonnie is based on a Wisconsin and Southern Railroad Boxcar, specifically the one painted pink for breast cancer awareness. However, she does not have any breast cancer regalia on her, instead just her name. Bonnie is a fun character who will get more development in Set 2 of the episodes, but she has a lot to do here. She's a fun character.

Now, the songs: There are about six different musical segments throughout the special, with four original songs and two reprises. The Travelin' Railwayman will not get a reprise, but it serves to establish three of our new characters, being Slim Jim, Jeb, and Bonnie. It's a fun little carnie tune that features a happy and bouncy rhythm, intending to be ear worm-ingly catchy. Hopefully the lyrics got that across.

And, finally, our returnee: Arthur. Arthur will be appear pretty prominently throughout the first half of the story, and I have a bit of a different interpretation of him than others. While cheerful, he is very uptight and rather prude, due to wanting to preserve his spotless record. We'll see interesting things from him, such as his doubt of the trio's legitimacy. I brought him back due to the use of the redesigned Norramby, which I wanted to look a lot like a boardwalk. This Norramby is the framing location of the story, and will appear throughout.

Also, check out my SoundCloud account, "Chase Thede", to hear the narrations of some of my stories! Not all the planned ones are up yet, but give "Thomas & The Were-Engine" and "The Sad Story of Glynn" a listen! The link to the account is on my profile.

Next chapter, we'll meet our main protagonist, as well as the fourth newbie, and several other characters getting up to various things. So come back on August 8th for The Bridge and the Stallion, Chapter 2 of this tale!