FanFic:The Sodor Engines Episode 51: Trucks for Coaches
Coaches for Trucks is the fifty-first episode of The Sodor Engines.
Plot
After Alice and Mirabel are damaged, Duck makes a fast improvisation to save the day.
Script
Narrator: It was summer on Sodor. The engines were working extra hard because of all of the tourists who were coming. Duck was feeling rather overworked. So many people wanted to come along the Little Western that Alice and Mirabel were always full.
Duck: Not another holiday excursion!
Alice: We’re already stuffed with our normal passengers.
Mirabel: We must try, I suppose.
(Duck sets off with his two coaches)
Narrator: The train set off for the Aresdale, which was at the end of the line. Duck was exhausted by the time he reached the bottom of the steep hill, but fortunately, he was only a few miles from the station.
Duck: (panting) Almost there . . .
Narrator: He charged up the slope, but he was going no faster than walking pace only halfway up. He heard a creaking noise, but ignored it. At the top, the noise got even louder. It stopped suddenly, and Duck forgot about it.
(Cut to Aresdale)
Narrator: At Aresdale, Duck was turned around and prepared for the home trip. As he rolled forwards, there was a loud snap and Alice and Mirabel stopped moving.
Duck: What’s going on?
Alice: My buffer beam is broken!
Mirabel: Mine is too!
Oliver: Looks like you’ve got a problem, mate. I can’t see how you can take both of them home with a broken buffer beams.
Conductor: Oliver’s right. Alice and Mirabel won’t be going anywhere until they’re repaired. (Sighs) These tourists have been overloading the trains for a while, and sooner or later something was going to go wrong.
Duck: But we have to get the passengers home!
Conductor: You couldn’t go to Tidmouth to fetch some coaches. That would take too long. Oliver’s train is already stuffed.
Narrator: Duck was despairing.
Duck: You’ve got to have coaches somewhere!
Stationmaster: Sorry, no.
Narrator: Duck was cross there were so many coaches on the island of Sodor, but not a single one was here. Express coaches, dining cars, or even open coaches like they had on the Skarloey railway would do!
(Duck has a sudden flash of inspiration)
Duck: (Excited) That’s it!
Stationmaster: What?
Duck: Do you have any chairs?
Stationmaster: Yes. There was a picnic yesterday. But what does that have to do with our problem?
Duck: Just bring them over here, please. I’ll be right back.
Narrator: The stationmaster and the conductor found all of the chairs and laid them beside the line. When Duck returned, he was pulling four empty ballast cars. He explained his plan to the stationmaster. A quarter of an hour later, the trucks were filled with chairs. The conductor opened the loading doors.
Conductor: All aboard!
Narrator: All of the passengers got in and sat down. Duck started away very slowly so the chairs did not slide backward. He went faster and faster, and was soon racing across the countryside with his makeshift coaches. Halfway to Tidmouth, the trucks started to misbehave.
Trucks: Hold Back! Hold Back!
Duck: What should we do?
Conductor: Find a brake van. It’ll mean we’ll be going slower, but you certainly can’t bump the trucks.
Narrator: They fetched a brake van and added it to the end of the train.
(Duck steams down the line with the trucks in tow)
Narrator: Duck struggled along the line. At last he pulled into Tidmouth, where Gordon was waiting for him.
Henry: Hello Duck! How did your passengers enjoy their ride?
Passenger: It was exciting! We’ve never ridden in trucks before!
Duck: Maybe you should go find Hector. He’d be a good express truck!
Narrator: Everyone laughed. Later, Duck went to the Sodor Steamworks to fetch new parts for Alice and Mirabel. They were happy to see him. The three went back to work, but the next day they found Sir Topham Hatt waiting for them. Duck was worried that he was in trouble.
Sir Topham Hatt: Duck, I’m making some additions to your train. They’ll be here shortly.
Duck: What kind, Sir?
Sir Topham Hatt: You’ll see . . .
Narrator: A few minutes later, Lily puffed in, pulling two peculiar freight cars. Their walls were low, their doors were hinged to the side, and they had chairs bolted to them!
Sir Topham Hatt: I’m starting a new train that will use these coaches. The passengers will be able to enjoy their ride more, and I hope it will attract tourists.
(Cut to Duck pulling them and Alice and Mirabel across a bridge)
Narrator: And it did. Many passengers came just to ride in them, and Duck often pulled them with Alice and Mirabel. Duck often joked how a new train had sprouted entirely from a “lucky accident”. The coaches named themselves Sally and Meredith, and they hope to be useful for many years to come.
Characters
- Duck
- Oliver
- Alice
- Mirabel
- Sally & Meredith
- Trucks
- Stationmaster
- Conductor
- Henry
- Lily
- Passengers
