FanFic:Saving Sodor Part 3: Tidmouth Sheds

Saving Sodor Part 3: Tidmouth Sheds

Characters: (in order of appearance)

• Thomas
• Gordon
• Toby
• Percy
• James
• Diesel
• Duck
• Sir Topham Hatt
• Henry
• Edward

Chapter Three

After puffing along the line which had led him out of the yard for a while, Thomas reached the sheds.

He had arrived at another yard, in the middle of which was a turntable, which engines would use to choose a line to leave to the yard, or to back into the engine sheds; a large roundhouse built from yellow bricks, with seven spaces for seven engines to park.

Four of the seven spaces where occupied. Gordon was parked in the right end space, with Toby to his left, Percy to Toby's left and James to Percy's.

Next to the left side of the shed was a large goods shed. Two lines ran into it. On the left line, some trucks were parked. On the right line, Diesel was parked there. He wasn't taking much notice of the steam engines, and they weren't taking much notice of him either.

Thomas puffed onto the turntable. A nearby workman walked to the handle on the end of the turntable and started to turn it. The turntable started to slowly rotate with Thomas on it. The shunter kept turning the handle and rotating the turntable, until it led to the empty space in the sheds on James' left. The shunter stopping turning the handle, and the turntable stopped. Thomas reversed off the table and reversed into that space in the sheds.

"What took you so long, little Thomas?! I did say I would be here before you!" boasted Gordon.

"Well, need I remind you that Toby and I arrived here long before you, Gordon," said Percy cheekily.

"Pah! That's just luck! You little engines get plenty of that, but a big fast engine like me doesn't need luck; everything always goes right for us."

"Actually, you do tend to get luck," wheeshed James, "that is, bad luck; such as getting stuck on a hill, bursting your safety valve, falling in a ditch, crashing through stations and fields-"

"All right James, that will do," said Toby disapprovingly. "You tend to have bad luck too, like crashing into fields and tar waggons, and even damaging your coaches, and having them to be mended by bootlaces!"

Before James could answer, they heard a whistle from behind.

A line ran along the right side of the sheds. At that moment, another engine came along the line from behind the sheds, and stopped by them. The engine was a 0-6-0 pannier tank engine, paited green with black wheels. On each side of his boilder, the letters 'G', 'W' and 'R' were painted in yellow. On each end of his boilder, near his footplate, the number '8' was painted.

The engine looked towards where Diesel was parked in the goods shed and scowled. But he quickly changed to a smile in an effort to greet the steam engines.

"Hello, Duck," peeped Thomas. "Why don't you come in the sheds? There's plenty of space."

"No thank you, Thomas," replied the engine called Duck. "I can clearly see that the spare spaces are right by…him!" He paused before addressing Diesel."

"Oh, what was that?" asked Diesel sarcastically, knowing Duck was talking about him. "It sounds to me like 'Quack! Quack!'" Diesel then started bursting out laughing.

"Hey, shut up Diesel!" snapped Duck, but Diesel took no notice.

"There it is again; 'Quack! Quack!' he laughed cruelly.

"If there's one thing I can't stand, it's Diesel laughing!" sulked James.

"And if there's two things I can't stand, it's Diesel laughing – and James sulking," groaned Gordon.

Duck sighed, "I may prefure being called Duck to my real name, Montague, but if there's one disadvantage about it, it's the act that being teased about it doesn't seem to get old. We Great-Western engines would never steam so low as to tease someone for how they are called."

"Shut up, Ducky! No one cares!" shouted Diesel. "Why don't you just go back to your pond?!" With that, he continued to laugh histerically.

"Why don't you shut up, you smelly old diesel!" snapped Percy crossly, sticking up for Duck." Just you wait! I'll show you! I'll give you what for! I'll–"

"SILENCE!" bellowed a well-known voice. Immeditly, the engines held their tongues.

"I don't know. I leave you to settle into the meeting until I arrive, and you're arguing," sighed the Fat Controller.

"But, Sir, Diesel started it!" protested Percy. "He was bullying Duck! He-"

"That's enough, Percy! Now, are we all here?" the Fat Controller asked. He looked at the engines, and then towards the two empty spaces in the sheds. "No; Henry and Edward haven't arrived yet."

"Oh, wait, Sir, there they are," Thomas called.

Two tender engines puffed along one of the lines leading to the turntable, and stopped just before it. The same work man that had turned Thomas around went to the handle on the turntable, and turn the handle so that the turntable rotated until it was leading to the line the two engines were coming from.

The engine in front moved onto the turntable and stopped when he was on it. The workman began turning the handle so that the turntable rotated with the engine on it.

The engine was a 4-6-0 type, and almost as big as Gordon. He was painted green with thin red stripes. On each side of his tender, the number '3' was painted.

The workman continued to keep the table rotating, until it led to the space in the sheds on Thomas' left. The big green engine reversed off the turntable, and backed into this space. Then the workman turned the turntable until it led to the line that the green engine came on, so that the other engine could use it.

While the big green engine was almost as big as Gordon, the other engine was almost as big as James. He was a 4-4-0 type, and was painted blue with thin red stripes, just like Thomas and Gordon. The number '2' was painted on each side of his tender.

Once the blue engine was on the turntable, the workman turned it around until it led to the remaining space in the shed, which the engine back down and reversed into.

"Sorry if we're late Sir," wheesed the big green engine. "When pulling my last train, I couldn't pull it over Gordon's hill. It was so heavy."

"And I had to push Henry over it," puffed Edward proudly. "It just goes to show, I may be the oldest, but I'm still very useful!"

"You're still old enough to retire though, Edward," grumbled Henry. "Gordon was right when he said you should."

"Yes, and what happeded then? I pushed both Gordon and Duck over the hill!" said Edward proudly.

"It's not like you to boast, Edward," said the Fat Controller.

"Oh? Am I boasting?! Oh, I am sorry, Sir, I didn't mean to!" apoligised Edward, looking ashamed.

"It's okay. Just don't cause an argument. There's already been on here."

Diesel clentched his teeth. He wanted to say something, but kept his mouth shut.

"Well, now that we're here," said the Fat Controller, "time to get down the business."