Tales from the rails

Blake the Big-Headed Engine

Blake is a big tender engine. He is bigger than Tracey and has a mind of his own when it comes to jobs. He thinks he should do all the goods work so everyone else can focus on things like shunting and passenger duty and so they can have fun. Though the others tell him it's alright, but he doesn't pay them any mind. One day, Blake was preparing to take an express goods train from Levi Harbor to Blue Harbor. The cranes needed repairs and Levi got them new parts. It was only about ten vans, but it needed to get there quickly. "I'll do it sir, don't you worry, Blue Harbor will be working properly again within the day!" Said Blake as he backed down onto the tree. "That's a good engine!" Said the controller as he had been suddenly called away to help the porters out with luggage.

Blake weashed steam and whistled a loud, "POP PEOP PEEEP!" As he slowly set off. Normally, you have to take a special branch line to get to Blue harbor, but that is just the main way. Other ways are like by taking a route through a forest. It is very overgrown, but it is the quickest way to the harbor. "Let's take the forest line driver! Please!" Begged the big engine. "Oh alright, but you have to be careful with the line!" Said the driver as he lessened the throttle and reduced steam. The engine then stopped at a signal box as his fireman talked to the signal man. He returned a few minutes later and said, "We can go now, he set us on the forest line." As he began to climb into the cab and the engine set off.

They were going smoothly along the tracks, and Blake said to the vans, "Be on your best behavior now, this line is dangerous if you aren't careful!" The trucks grumbled an agreement. They then slowed and whistled as they approached the junction. They switched onto the tracks and puffed carefully down the line. The trucks then thought of a plan, "Let's show him who is really boss!" One whispered to the others, who giggled in agreement. They then began to go on a declining gradient. The trucks saw their chance. "On, on!" They yelled as they bumped into each other, clattering along the rails. "Hey! Woah!" Yelled the driver, but Blake allowed it! They thundered down the line as they saw a very large tree. They ran past it, but the guards van hit it as it kept up with the train. The tree had a very large crack in. The guards van was perfectly fine, it looked like it had just come out of a wash. "Gain control from the trucks Blake!" Yelled the crew as they screamed in horror of the points. A workman saw the on coming train and diverted them into the longest goods siding. Blake blew his whistle and pinned his brakes on tightly. The crew braced for an impact... but there was none! Blake was tired and needed a drink, so he went to get some water.

After that, he took the brake van and started to puff away. The big engine had been going slowly when he saw a mother fox with her pups. Suddenly, they heard a CRACK and they looked over to see a tree falling! It was about to fall onto the foxes! "Driver! Put me in front of that tree, just hurry!" Yelled Blake as his driver shut off the regulator and pinned the brakes. The tree came down with a loud CRASH and the tree was now on top of Blake. The foxes backed away from the engine, then turning around to run along the line. "At least they're safe." Said Blake as his driver walked up to him. "Blake, what the heck is wrong with you?!" Asked his driver as the big green engine looked around. "Oh, there were some foxes here and I wanted to protect them." He said, now realizing he was stuck. "Oh dear." His driver said. "Well, came on Tilly, we got to go and get the crew." He said as he began to walk away, and Tilly, the firewoman, followed, winking a good job at the engine. A few minutes later, Lydia pulled into the forest. "Hello Blake, what are you doing here?" "I'm stuck, what about you?" "Oh, I came down here to smell the flowers and sit under the shade of the trees." She said, looking over at some bluebells. "Do you think you can help get this tree off you me? It's the reason I'm stuck. I'll do some work for you when in exchange!" He begged as to try and keep himself from being left alone at night. "I'll grab a book and cable from the signal box and see what I can do." She said as she hurried off.

Some time had gone by when the foxes had returned. They poked around the steam engine, looking at the wheels and other various components. One of them found the ladder and the others followed in. They looked for a spot by the tender to sleep and did so. Lydia returned and began to set up with her crew. They hooked onto the tree and fastened the hook her up. They laid sand on the rails and began to pull back slowly to get it on the wheels. She puffed backwards and slowly pulled the tree off of Blake, and after a few minutes, they pulled off the tree! It fell down with a CLUMNK. But Blake was still unable to move. "Um, think you can tow me to the signal box? Ya know, big dent in by boiler and I have no crew." Blake asked, he was correct about not having a crew and there were not only a dents from the tree and its branches but also cracks in the boiler, deeming him unsafe to run under steam. "Oh, yeah, come on." Said Lydia as she hooked up to the big engine, but he couldn't move. His brakes were locked on, so someone would need to enter his cab and unpin them. "I'll do it." Said the fireman. He walked along and climbed the ladder to find the foxes in his tender! "Aww, so cute." He said as he unpinned the brakes. He walked back to Lydia and told everyone what he saw. "That's cute!" Said the driver. "Yeah, that's nice." Said Lydia. "They climbed into my cab while you were gone. I think I wanna keep 'em." Said Blake as they began to move along. They reached the signal box where Eddy was ready to pick them up. "First Edward, now you, who next?" He said as they rolled in. "Five bucks it's gonna be Dan!" Said the fireman as they puffed off.