Another side project I'm doing in between my other stories debuts now! A big pet peeve of mine is the way that both the Awdry's and the television series portrays the railway service of Sodor. In The Railway Series, it has a strong traffic base and a stable passenger business that uses a double- and triple-track mainline spanning over 75 miles…run by only four to eight engines (excluding Pip and Emma). There is also no major description of the lines between Gordon's Hill and Vickarstown, with the exception of Crovans Gate and Henry's Tunnel, so we don't really know if other engines run the eastern lines. Allcroft and HIT have provided us with enough engines needed to fill the routes with enough trains each day, but no explanation as to how they got there.

Here, we'll try to bridge the gaps between the two, giving logical explanations as to the reasons why engines like Salty and Spencer come to the Island of Sodor. Not every engine will be given an explanation due to technical difficulties (The only standard-gauge railroads in Japan were always electrified, and Hank violates the loading gauges of Britain's lines by a fair amount, plus his drivers are more suited to passenger work). But for who's left, I will adapt and tweak the necessary television-only and magazine stories to create a work that at least is logical. I won't update this regularly, so check back time to time to see if there's a new chapter.

The first engine that can be done in chronological order is Molly. Because of the lack of screentime, very little is known about her personality. We do know, however, that she is easily embarrassed, and is sensitive, but also courageous. To give her a bit more of a complete personality, some traits from Nodoka of MSN fame were used, so she also gains a bit of a shy side as well.

The Claud Hamiltons were retired in two stages: D15s and D16/2s by 1952, and the D16/3s between 1955-1960. Therefore, this story is based on the assumption that Molly is of the latter. The reason for the date of the story being 1957 is twofold; the second engine named "Claud Hamilton" was withdrawn that June, and the Reverend Awdry wrote "The Eight Famous Engines" in 1957, of which the last story, The Fat Controller's Engines, is the date for the first Annex story. Enjoy!

The Railway Series No. 12.5

Molly the Yellow Engine

Dear Friends,

In the Fat Controller's Engines, while Thomas and his friends were in London, seven other engines filled in for their regular duties in their place. A few of them got into serious mishaps on the eastern end of the line, and were sent away once Sir Topham Hatt returned. However, one engine did so well, that Sir Topham Hatt ended up buying her from her controller. The engine's name was Molly, and this is her story…

The Author

Thomas and Molly

Molly is a Claud Hamilton D-16/3 Class 4-4-0 steam locomotive who works in Manchester on the Other Railway. She's a sensitive engine, who has a wide boiler, a short fat funnel, and tall driving wheels. She runs out of Trafford Park in Manchester, pulling both coaches and trucks for the Other Railway. She used to be the pride of the Great Eastern Railway, and still remembers the days when she was painted blue, and pulled the heavy express out of Liverpool Street in London bound for Norwich and Cromer. But those were many years ago. Now painted black, she works lesser stopping trains and local goods. Worse, she and her sisters are a very old class, and are slowly being taken away for scrap.

One day, as Molly and her remaining sisters were preparing for the day's work, the Yard Forman arrived. He was showing the sheds to a small stout gentleman wearing a black suit and a top hat.

"That's Sir Topham Hatt," whispered the firelighter to the engines, "the controller of the North Western Railway. What's he doing here?" The engines were puzzled as well. They had all heard about Thomas, Edward, and all the other famous steam engines on the line, but had never seen any of the engines or people that their drivers or firemen would talk endlessly about.

Sir Topham Hatt looked at all the engines in the shed, carefully inspecting them with the eyes of a hawk. When he was finished, he turned, and pointed to Molly.

"You, number 62614," he bellowed.

"Y-y-yes sir?" Molly replied nervously. She was afraid that it was her turn to be scrapped, but that wasn't the case.

"I need engines to run my line for a short time while I take my engines on a tour to London," he said. "I've heard from your controller that your class is well-liked by the crews here at Trafford. Should I find that to be true, I may consider keeping you to help with the workload on my railway. Will you help me?" Molly spluttered, not sure as to what she should say.

"Y-yes sir! O-of course, sir! I-it would be a-an honor, sir!"

"Excellent!" he said. "I'll advise your controller to make the necessary arrangements to run to Barrow. From there, we'll run you with the other engines on a light engine movement to Tidmouth." He then left the sheds.

"Congratulations, Molly!" one of the other engines said to her.

"Working on Sir Topham Hatt's Railway," another sighed. "There's no part on me that I wouldn't give to be working there." The stories about Henry and Edward's rebuilds, despite being old and costly to maintain, were very popular among the engines in danger of being scrapped. They knew that Sir Topham Hatt would not scrap a steam engine, even if they were in serious need of repairs.

That afternoon, Molly began her journey to the Island of Sodor, running light up to Barrow. It wasn't a long journey in the sense of time, but it was a long, unfamiliar run. Neither Molly nor the other Claude Hamiltons had ever run up to Barrow before, making every sight and sound along the line a new experience.

Within a few hours, she arrived at the big station in Barrow, the start of the North Western Railway. Six other engines were already coupled up in a line by one of the platforms. Molly coupled up to the last engine in the line. Within minutes, the guard blew his whistle, and the cavalcade set off for the last leg of the journey. At every station along the line, the people on the platforms stopped and stared at the engines as they passed by. Some wondered if they were new engines for Sir Topham Hatt, others worried that their line was becoming more and more a part of the Other Railway. None of them knew what was going on, and for the most part, neither did Molly.

Soon they neared Knapford, the last station before Tidmouth. There were three engines watching them pass on the other tracks. One was a small green tank engine with four wheels and red stripes and the number 6. Another was a boxy brown tram engine with sideplates. The third engine was a small blue six-wheeled tank engine with smart blue paint, red stripes, and a big yellow 1 painted on the sides.

"That's Percy in the green," Molly's fireman told her. "And that's Toby the tram engine right next to him. Which means that the blue engine is…"

"…Thomas the Tank Engine," she finished quietly.

"Hello, Jinty! Hello, Pug!" Percy called out to the first two engines in the line. The two engines whistled back at him.

"They're friends of mine," he told Thomas and Toby. "I don't know the others."

Molly felt sad. 'It must be nice to be able to reunite with old friends,' she thought. 'I wish I could do that too.'

When they reached the big station at Tidmouth, the engines were uncoupled, and were brought into the sidings near the sheds. All the other engines of the North Western Railway were already assembled in the sheds, and were soon joined by Thomas, Toby, and Percy. Sir Topham Hatt was waiting for them.

"The People of England," he addressed to his engines, "read about us in the books, but they do not think that we are real."

"Shame!" Percy burst out. Sir Topham Hatt glared at the small engine, who quickly fell silent.

"So," he went on, "I am taking all of you, my engines, to England, to show them that we are all real!"

"Hooray! Hooray!" the eight engines cheered and whistled loudly. Sir Topham Hatt held his ears.

"SILENCE!-!" he bellowed. "We start the day after tomorrow at eight a.m." He then turned to Molly and the other engines. "As these engines have kindly come from the other railway to take your place, you will show them your work tomorrow."

The next day, Molly was paired up with James. The two engines worked hard all day, pulling both coaches and trucks back and forth between the various stops along the line. Then, they rested back at Tidmouth Sheds. Molly was shy at first, but she soon found it easy to be chatting with James. The red engine told Molly about the time he took the express for Gordon, as the big blue engine had been looped back to the big station. He had just finished when Sir Topham Hatt arrived in a rush.

"Thomas has had an accident," he explained. "Number 6261-"

"Uh, Molly, sir," James corrected.

"Right. Molly, I need you to take Thomas to the works at Crovans Gate. He needs to be repaired as soon as possible."

"Yes sir," Molly replied, and puffed away. She found Thomas with Jinty at the junction. Thomas had run into some buffers, which were now badly damaged, and had bent his front buffer beam. Jinty was laughing hysterically at the situation, while other workers began to clear away the broken buffers.

"You silly engine!" a worker scolded Thomas. "If you hadn't been cocky and tried to demonstrate the end of your race with Bertie, then we wouldn't be in this situation!"

"Yes sir…" he replied sadly. Molly felt sorry for Thomas. He had been looking forward to London, but now, it was looking less and less likely that it would happen. She backed down behind Thomas, and was coupled up to the rear buffer beam, which hadn't been damaged in the accident. They then set off for the works at Crovans Gate.

"What luck!" Thomas groaned. "And I was looking forward to seeing my brothers in London…"

"E-excuse me," Molly inquired, "But did you use to be based in London as well?"

"No," Thomas answered. "I've always worked out of Sodor, but the rest of my class is based out of London Bridge Station. I've heard that the rest of my class was still in service, so I thought I might be lucky enough to see some of my brothers when we go on our journey tomorrow…"

"I-it must be nice having all your friends still survive to this day…" Molly trailed off. Thomas eyed her curiously.

"How so?" he asked.

"All of my sisters used to work the express trains out of London for the east coast, but we've been displaced and split apart. Many of us have already been sent for scrap already, as new orders and needs for repairs permit."

"But you look to be in excellent condition!" Thomas gasped. "What class of steam engines is replacing you?"

"Y-you haven't been to the mainland recently, have you? There's a new type of engine called the diesel-electric. We still outnumber them greatly, but many of the mainland controllers are openly saying that they prefer the new diesels more than us. Especially over an old Claud Hamilton's like me…"

Thomas decided to cheer Molly up. "We have an old engine on our line named Edward, but Sir Topham Hatt has never thought about replacing him even once. Every now and again, the other big engines don't think that Edward's really useful anymore, but each time, he proves them all wrong."

For the rest of the journey, Thomas told her all about Edward's adventures, from the time he helped Gordon up the hill, to when he saved Trevor from scrap, and even rescuing James when he ran away. Molly listened to these stories with interest. Never before had she heard about an engine as old as Edward who was still working as a vital part of a rail line.

All too soon, they reached the Works Station. Molly shunted Thomas into a siding and was uncoupled from him. Before she left, Molly's driver placed her on the siding next to Thomas, in order for the two to properly speak to each other.

"H-how is it?" she asked.

"How's what?"

"B-being a famous engine, surrounded by other famous engines, and the like. I h-haven't known that feeling in a long time."

"Oh, that! It's not like we're celebrities or anything…"

"B-but you are! All the engines in my shed want to come to the railway here, and from what I've heard, so do other engines as well. You're all lucky to have a railway line that loves you, and a controller that knows how to care for steam engines." Thomas thought about this for a few seconds.

"If I had to describe the feeling, it would be the satisfaction that many people all over the country realize that the work we do makes us really useful engines. At least, that's what I feel."

"T-thank you, Thomas," Molly said. "I hope you make it to London tomorrow."

"I hope so, too!" he replied. Just then, the workmen came to take Thomas for repairs. The two engines said goodbye and good luck to each other, and then Molly set off to pick up her next train.

'He's a really kind engine,' Molly thought, 'as are her friends. It would really be nice if I were able to stay here, and work alongside them. If only…'

Molly and Harold

The next day, Molly was waiting at Barrow station. She had just coupled up to the express from London, and was holding for the signal. On the track next to her were the Sudrian engines. They were waiting to depart for London, but Thomas still wasn't there. Molly began to worry that he wasn't able to be repaired in time.

Sir Topham Hatt was on the platform. He looked at his watch. "One more minute."

"PEEP! PEEP!" At last, Thomas puffed into the station. Sir Topham Hatt spoke severly to him, before he ran to the rear of the cavalcade. The signal dropped, and the engines whistled and cheered.

"Look out, England!" they all said. "Here we come!" As the train passed Molly, Thomas smiled at her.

"I'll be sure to say hello to any of your sisters if I see them!" he yelled over.

"H-have a good trip!" Molly called back, as her signal dropped. Molly left the junction feeling very happy.

Every evening at eight o'clock, a fast mail train from London arrives at Barrow Station. Some of the mail trucks are uncoupled there, and form a fast mail train, which stops at all mainline stations to drop off mail. Longer stops are scheduled at Kellsthorpe Road, Killdane, Wellsworth, and Knapford so that some of the trucks can be uncoupled and brought down the branchlines. Usually, Henry the Green Engine takes the train, but with the other engines away, Molly was to take it.

On the first day, Molly was held up at Kellsthorpe Road, as her connection train to Kirk Ronan was late. She tried her best to make up time, but she was exhausted when she puffed into Tidmouth Station twenty minutes late. She was uncoupled from all but the first truck, and puffed into a siding not far away. A helipad was constructed nearby, and a white helicopter was sitting nicely on the pad.

"Good evening," the helicopter said. "I don't remember seeing your face around here before."

"M-my name's Molly," she said. "I was brought here to fill in while the other engines are in London."

"I'm Harold," the helicopter replied.

"Where's all this mail going?" Molly asked.

"This bunch goes to the Isle of Man," Harold replied. "I take it across the bay as soon as the mail train comes in. They don't like their mail to arrive late, however, so please do try to be on time tomorrow, okay?"

"I-it wasn't my fault!" Molly spluttered. "I-I was held up at the junction!"

"The mail's always held up at one point or another," Harold said, "but Henry is always on time with his deliveries. If you don't arrive on time tomorrow, I may not see you again when Henry returns. Post haste!" And he took off, leaving Molly feeling rather hurt.

"I-I'm not slow," she said to herself. "I can't be slow. T-then my Controller will s-scrap me!"

The next evening, Molly was having a wonderful evening. The moon was full, there was not a cloud in the sky, and she was making record time with the mail. She had just finished unloading at Maron station when the stationmaster came to her driver looking very worried.

"Shamus has run out of water on Gordon's Hill with the Express!" he said. "We can use the engine on the Brendam Express to pull the train, but we need you to push him back to Wellsworth."

"We'll see what we can do," Molly's driver replied. The same couldn't be said for Molly.

"We were running so well," she groaned, "and now we have to be late again because of someone else's problems."

"It's either that or a long walk for the passengers," her driver said. "Come on, old girl." With a sigh, Molly was switched onto the middle track, and headed up Gordon's Hill.

She didn't have to go far to find Shamus, who was a light green tender engine with four front wheels, four driving wheels, and a tall funnel. He was stuck halfway up the west side of Gordon's Hill, and was very cross.

"Who has the nerve to poke a hole in my water tank?" he complained. "MY water tank!"

"Nobody, that's who!" scolded his driver. "If you hadn't insisted on skipping a water stop before we left the big station, we'd already be at the Works Station by now!"

"Humph!" he groaned. Molly soon buffered up to Shamus, and cautiously pushed him and the Express back to Edward's Station. It was hard work, as she not only had to push his train, but also pull her mail trucks as well; but she arrived at the station just as the Brendam Express pulled into the station. The engine for the Express was surprised to see the strange train pull into the station, but understood once he was explained the situation. Within minutes, Shamus was uncoupled from the train, Molly moved back onto the westbound track, and was out of the way. The other engine ran forward, backed down on the Express, and departed for the mainland.

As for the passengers on the Brendam Express, they didn't have to wait long. Jinty soon arrived to take the train for the rest of the way just after the Express departed. It took some time for the small engine to start the heavy train, but he was soon puffing nicely out of the station.

Molly placed Shamus by the water column so that he could have a nice long drink. She then backed onto her own train, and was just about to leave when a man in a coat came up to her driver.

"Excuse me," he said, "but are you headed to Tidmouth by any chance? I need to get to the helipad as soon as possible, but my car broke down, and there are no more passenger trains running."

"Of course!" said the driver. "We'd be happy to give you a lift." The man was soon in Molly's cab, and she steamed away. She made good time for the rest of the journey, but was still ten minutes late when she shunted the mail coach into the helipad siding.

"S-sorry I'm late!" she apologized to Harold. "I-I had to rescue a train that was stuck on the hill!"

"It doesn't matter," Harold sighed. "My pilot has gone off-duty, and the new one hasn't reported in yet! Until he gets here, I'm grounded."

"Then it's a good thing that this engine was late," the man in Molly's cab replied, "otherwise, I'd be still stuck in Wellsworth!"

"I suppose you're my relief pilot, then," Harold asked. The man nodded.

"I'll get changed right away, and we can fly in a few minutes." He then went into the Helipad building.

"I guess latefullness does help sometimes," Harold said to Molly. "I'm sorry if I made you feel upset last night. It's always a treat to tell my tales to the visiting engines." He then told Molly about the time he helped stop a runaway Thomas from causing a nasty accident. By the time he was done, the relief pilot was changed, and the mail was loaded into Harold's cargo hold.

"Well, it's nice chatting with you tonight," he said as he took off. "Cheers, and hope to see you again!"

"Y-you too!" Molly called out to him. Now she doesn't think Harold is a bossy chopper anymore; he's just trying to be helpful.

A Better View for Rupert

Kirk Ronan was the original terminus for the Sodor and Mainland Railway, but it has since developed into a fishing village on the end of a branchline. Fish is unloaded, and brought to the mainline by a connecting train for the Flying Kipper, and ferries call in from Brendam, Liverpool, and Dublin, bringing visitors to take the train either to the ruins of Rolf's Castle, or to the Skarloey Railway by means of a Kellsthorpe Road and the Mainline.

While Sir Topham Hatt's engines were away, Rupert, a black six-wheeled Fowler engine, ran the connecting trains between Kirk Ronan and the mainline. He bustles back and forth, hauling both coaches and trucks along the double-track branchline. Like Shamus, Rupert is a rude, obnoxious engine, who wants nothing more than to have everything go the way he likes it, rather than how it should go. He complained when the trains were late, he complained when the trains were early, but most of all, he complained about the station at the end of the line. It was built on a hill, and had four stub-ended tracks, with runaround sidings and a turntable just outside the station. What annoyed Rupert was that the back of the station, where he tracks ended, was simply a plain, white wall, devoid of any decorations whatsoever.

"It's a boring view!" he complained to Molly one day. She was taking a limited-stop train to Crovans Gate and Barrow. "If I was running this railway, I'd be sure to tell The Fat Controller to install a panoramic view, so that I could see people, and the people could see me!"

"I-I don't think that this is our line or place to decide such things," Molly assured him as best she could. "Their controller probably doesn't see the need to install a window there."

"No need?" Rupert snorted. "Pah!" He angrily hissed steam, startling Molly.

"Wah!"

"I'm as good enough a need to have such a view, and everyone knows it!" and he puffed away with his connecting train.

Rupert had recently returned from the works before coming to Sodor, and the men had not done a proper job in repairing him. They had left his regulator feeling stiff, and it took a lot of strength from the driver to move it.

"Right on time, Right on time!" Rupert puffed proudly as he arrived at Kellsthorpe Road running tender first. As the passengers were unloaded, he ran around the train, and waited for the Express. Five minutes went by, then ten minutes. Molly steamed by with her train after fifteen minutes, and still, the Express didn't come.

"Where the heck is that train?-!" Rupert complained. "I could've taken another trip in the time wasted!" Finally, twenty minutes late, was Shamus with the Express. He stopped at the eastbound platform.

"Where've you been, slowpoke?-!" Rupert demanded.

"Stupid Jinty decided to come off the line in front of me at the junction!" Shamus complained. "I had to wait nearly an hour for them to clear the line! You'd think that that silly tank engine wanted to delay me on purpose!"

"I don't care for your made-up sob stories!" Rupert snapped. "We engines are supposed to be on time for everything! Not a minute more, and not a minute less!"

"What do you care about time?-!" Shamus retorted as he departed. "You're a guaranteed connection!"

The delay had been so long that Rupert's driver had to be relieved at Rolf's Castle, instead of at the end of the line. Because of their lateness, nobody remembered to mention to the relief driver about the stiff regulator.

"Come on!" Rupert hissed. "We need to make up as much time as possible! Full steam ahead!"

"Full steam ahead it is!" the driver replied, and, with some difficulty, opened the throttle wide. Very quickly, the train was off to the races, and they managed to reach track speed just as they passed the station limit sign. The driver tried to close the regulator, but found that it refused to move, no matter how much force he applied to it.

"What's wrong?" asked the fireman.

"This stupid valve won't close!" he groaned, as he tried more force on the valve. "I can't stop the train!"

"Hey!" Rupert called back, a little concerned. "Why aren't we slowing down? I can see the station!"

"We're doing the best we can!" the driver replied. He applied the brakes, but they were still going much too fast as they passed the platforms. The buffers drew nearer and nearer.

"STOP!-!" Rupert shrieked, and closed his eyes.

!CRASH!

!SMASH!

Rupert burst right through the buffers at the end of the track, demolished part of the platform that was behind the buffers, and punched a great, big hole through the wall of the station. Rupert's boiler remained level with the track for a minute, before the concrete below him gave way, and the engine and his tender careened to the ground with a great crash, and the terrible sound of twisted metal and broken concrete. The first coach dangled out of the hole in the wall, but it wasn't far enough to endanger the passengers inside.

Luckily, the passengers sustained only minor injuries, and the driver and fireman had jumped clear before the crash. Rupert, however, was in a terrible state. His wheels were bent, his funnel had completely broken off, and his buffer beams were smashed, to say the least.

The stationmaster was soon on the ground, and yelling profusely at Rupert. "You didn't have to go and make your own panoramic view, you stupid engine!"

"Y-yes sir…sorry sir…" Rupert groaned feebly. "Please, get me back on the rails soon…"

"I'm afraid I can't do that," he told him. "We must now try to run the railway with only six engines. We can't spare time to put you right. You will just have to stay here until Sir Topham Hatt returns. He'll be wanting a few words with you as well!"

"Yes sir…" Of course, the sheer drop and the station roof prevented the breakdown train from being used, and he would have to be pulled out by a lorry, but the stationmaster decided to wait to do so until Sir Topham Hatt returned.

When the rest of the wreckage was cleared, Molly was assigned to run all the trains out of Kirk Ronan. This thrilled her beyond belief, as she had never been given her own line to run before in all of her life. She worked as hard as she could, pulling whatever jobs she was given. The coaches were pleased with her modest behavior, and were impressed with how she handled her trains. Even the trucks, who loved to mess with an engine, saw no need to bump such a kind-hearted engine like Molly. The stationmasters along the route were happy with her work as well, and began writing letters to give to Sir Topham Hatt when he returned. But that's another story.

Water under the Bridge

The day before Sir Topham Hatt was to return with the engines from London, workers discovered a sun kink on mainline track between Crovans Gate and Henry's Tunnel. The entire stretch of track had to be shut down, and all traffic was diverted onto the single-track Ballahoo and Norramby branchlines. The track, however, wasn't the only part of the railway that was causing problems.

"The Mail Train on the mainland has derailed!" the Barrow stationmaster told Molly. "The mail trucks are fine, but it will take some time for them to get a new engine for the train."

"There aren't any other trains to take," Molly's driver replied, "so we'll wait here for them to bring another engine. Is that alright, Molly?"

"Y-yes, that's fine." Molly wasn't too keen on having to stay the night in the open air, but since she wanted to be really useful, she decided to put up with it. Her driver and fireman allowed her to sleep until the train came. The hours passed. It began to rain hard, and Molly woke up, no longer able to sleep. Still, she waited. At last, around five o'clock, she could hear the sound of an engine's whistle. The mail train finally pulled into the station, and stopped at the next platform. The engine and some of the trucks in the front were uncoupled from the rest of the train, which then departed for points north. Molly then coupled onto the rest of the trucks, and steamed off for the big station.

The Ballahoo Line crosses the River Hoo on a low stone bridge. The bridge was built to hold two tracks, but has carried one since the construction of the new mainline. The infrastructure surrounding the bridge has deteriorated since then. As Molly approached the bridge, she was flagged down by a workman holding a lantern.

"The roadbed by the bridge is beginning to crumble," he said. "I've marked the spot."

"We'll go and inspect," Molly's driver replied.

They soon reached the bridge. Molly was stopped on the bridge, and the driver and fireman got out and inspected the rails. Some of the roadbed had begun to fall apart, and a small stretch of track was exposed without any ballast.

"It would be bad if a heavy train ran at track speed over this," the fireman noted, "but if we go over it slowly, we should be fine." The two got back into the cab, and cautiously inched the train forward. First Molly crossed the damaged section of track, then the mail trucks, and finally the breakvan. Once the train was across, they stopped so that the guard could place a red amber lamp by the damaged part of the track.

"When we get to the Works Station," he said, "I'll tell them to close the line.

The rain stopped not long after they reached the Works Station. Skarloey was waiting for the mail to take up the Narrow-Gauge line. Shamus was also at the station. He was waiting with the Flying Kipper for clearance to the Mainland.

"What's the delay?" he demanded to Molly.

"The-"

"You're not trying to make me look bad by purposely delaying my train, are you?"

"Ah, uh-"

"She can't help it if the train from the mainland was late!" Skarloey snapped. "Maybe you should give people time to tell them their thoughts!"

"P-plus the line ahead is damaged. Take care-"

"The only danger on the rails is you, Molly!" Shamus snapped. "I don't need to be babied by other engines on how I should handle myself!" He whistled, and pulled out of the station. Molly's crew was in the stationmaster's office, explaining the situation on the damaged track.

"Which track is Henry taking?" the driver asked.

"Well, the mainline's still undergoing last inspections, so the Ballahoo…Line…" The stationmaster went pale.

"Hurry up and call the signalman!" urged the guard. The stationmaster quickly got on the phone, but contacted the signalbox just as Shamus roared by.

"Come along! Come along!" he yelled to the trucks, bumping them hard. The trucks screamed and shouted.

"Oh! Oh! Oh! We'll pay you out! We'll pay you out!"

The signalman couldn't hear the warning over the sound of The Flying Kipper. By the time he understood the message, Shamus was long gone down the branchline. He was crusing down the line at track speed when his driver saw the amber lamp by the track. More of the roadbed had fallen apart, and there was now a short washout section in the line.

"Woah, Shamus!" he said, and applied the brakes. But the trucks had other ideas.

"On! On! On!" they yelled, and, banging their buffers, they surged ahead.

"Stop! Stop! Stop!" Shamus yelled. "There's a washout!" But it was too late. He hit the washed out section, and flew off the line, landing in the riverbed. Some of the trucks smashed into his tender, spilling their contents of fish all over Shamus.

"Phew!" he snorted, spitting out water from his mouth. "What a horrid smell!"

That morning, Sir Topham Hatt arrived with his engines. Edward and Thomas brought the breakdown train down the branch to clean up the mess. They then were chained up to Shamus and, pulling their hardest, brought him back onto the rails.

"Engines are meant to deliver fish, Shamus," Sir Topham Hatt said, "not swim with them!"

"It wasn't my fault!" Shamus insisted. "Those troublesome trucks-!"

"-Wouldn't have bumped you if you hadn't bumped them first! You can think about that when you return to your controller!" Shamus rolled his eyes.

Sir Topham Hatt spoke severely to Rupert as well. "Patience is a virtue, a practice you should have known; otherwise, you would not have put a hole in my station wall."

"Y-yes sir…" Rupert sighed.

Finally, he spoke to Molly at Tidmouth Sheds. "Molly, I have bad news for you. I have heard from your controller that he intends to scrap you once you return."

"N-no!" she gasped. "W-why?-!"

"I don't know. But I've heard that you've done a good job with the mail and Kirk Ronan line trains. Even though a few trains were late, it wasn't because of you, so that's all water under the bridge...much like Shamus was. Anyway, I've talked with your controller, and he's agreed to sell you to my railway. Is that okay?" Molly was so ecstatic, that she was at a loss for words.

"Y-y-yes! T-t-thank you s-sir!"

"But black isn't your color at all," he noted. "I think a coat of yellow would suit you splendidly. What do you think?"

"Y-yes sir!"

Molly is now a key member of the North Western's mainline fleet. She was given the number 38, and wears the NWR logo proudly on her beautiful yellow tender. She pulls both coaches and trucks with ease, and especially enjoys taking the trains to Kirk Ronan. The hole in the wall at the station there was soon repaired, and was replaced with a glass window in the shape of an engine's boiler. Underneath was an inscription:

This view is a reminder for all engines,

They are always seen by people,

And they can see them as well,

So long as they do so from the safety of their own rails.

Molly can attest for the other engines that they all happily agree on that.

For Your Information…

Molly's old number is of an actual Claud Hamilton. Her new number is the numerical version of the letters C and H.

The first story is basically The Fat Controller's Engines taken from another angle. The second is a mix of the season 3 episode Thomas, Percy, and the Post Train, original material, and the magazine story Post Train Plane. The last two are reduxes of the season 5 episodes A Better View for Gordon and Something in the Air.

Rupert, a LMS Fowler Class 4F 0-6-0, is my own character, so don't use him before asking me first. Shamus, who from best I can tell is possibly a London and South Western T9 Class 4-4-0 (he's never had his class officially stated), is not mine. He is used with permission from ThomasZoey3000, who uses Shamus in his Railway Series Shuffle crossover series. Please give it a read!

So the first story's over, with Molly now working both the Mainline and the Kirk Ronan Branch. Next up is Rosie the Tank Engine! See you then!