Tales from the rails

Jojo And The Film

Jojo was puffing around the yards and noticed a film going on. This was very uncommon. They had an engine throwing around trucks, making it look like a ghost. "What do we do Sam?!" Asked a kid, the two looked no older than 14. "I-I don't know!" She said as the two look horrified. "PEOP PEEP!" Whistled Jojo. "Tim, quit throwing trucks at these children. They're scared." "CUT! Who do you think you are!" Said a man sitting in a fancy foldable chair. He held a cone and shouted into it. "I'm going to pull the express. I can't just run around the way you want me to." "Well hurry up and go!" He yelled, and Jojo obliged. The crew began to reshoot the scene. Jojo made it to the station and buffered up to his coaches. Liz was sitting in the platform beside him. "Hey Honey." She said as he backed down." "Hey Liz. Say, what's up with those people back there?" Jojo asked when he buffered up. "They're filming a horror movie. It's called The Ghost Train. It's stuff and nonsense." "Indeed, I was just yelled at, for guess what, GOING TO DO MY WORK!" He said, annoyed. His guard's whistle blew and Jojo set off down the mainline. Meanwhile, Ryan had just returned from the works and was greeted by the film crew. "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! What's going on here? I got shunting to do!" Ryan said as he came to a stop. "Cut!" Yelled a lady. "Oh, My, GOOOOOD! You annoying engines keep ruining my film!" Said the director. Ryan was now annoyed, "Stupid? STUPID?! You think you're real funny, don't ya?!" Ryan hissed steam at the director and got his clothes all wet. "EVERYONE TAKE FIVE!" He yelled as he sat up, he stormed into a trailer and slammed his door shut like a teenager who got out of an argument with his parents. "Ryan, what are you doing back here?" Asked Tim as he moved the trucks back into their spots. "The Steelworks no longer require my services, I got them back on track." Ryan explained. "Oh, nice. Welcome back." Tim said. "So, I'm guessing this part of the yards is unusable because of this silly film?" Asked Ryan, though he already knew the answer. "Yep. And I'm wrapped in helping." "Well, good luck with it man." Ryan said as he puffed away.

That night at the sheds, Ryan, Jojo, Josh, Liz, Tracey, Tim, and Tom were chatting in the sheds. "They're shooting again tomorrow." Groaned Tim. "What's got you wrapped in it?" Tracey asked. "They're paying my crew. So I have to work for the film company if they want to get paid." "So you're their slave?" Asked Lizzy. "I guess." "Well that is... Disgraceful!" Jojo said. "Disgusting!" Added Josh. "Despicable!" Finished Tracey. "Well then, I guess we're going to have to do something about this, what is this film company?" Asked Liz "Red Flag Films." Tim said. "Oh, my driver watched one of their movies once, they're horrible quality!" Tom said. "If you think of something at any point, let everyone know." Ryan said as he went to sleep. "Will do." Said Tom as he too went to sleep. The next morning, Jojo was tasked with heading to the flour mill to pick up a load of flour bound for Lickey. The flour mill is a little bit off the mainline and looks like a station, it's just surrounded by farmland where they grown the wheat. They had some trucks they kept clean and Jojo had to pick up. They were preloaded with the flour sacks and Jojo was waiting for the guard to blow his whistle. "You ready guys?" Asked a boy. "Yeah." Said another. "I dunno about this guys, what if we get caught?" "Shut up, Jones! Don't be a chicken!" They each had a bag of flour and they threw them at Jojo! They blew up on impact and covered the engine with flour! "Hey! Wha- MY PAINTWORK!" He yelled angrily as the guard blew his whistle. Flour spluttered out of Jojo's whistle for a second before he could whistle properly. He hurried down the line to deliver his trucks. As Jojo came to a stop at Drenk to a red signal where Tracey pulled in the other way with a goods train. Her trucks began laughing as they all rolled and bumped each other as they stopped. She couldn't help but laugh too. "You think vandalism is funny?!" Jojo accused. "You would laugh at any other engine if they pulled up looking like a bad ghost costume!" She laughed as then an idea flew into her funnel. She told Jojo the idea and they began to laugh deviously, the trucks went from laughing loudly and boldly to small nervous chuckles. Liz thundered by with the express and the two engines were able to go, and they left.

Tim was being dressed under a tarp. The day was becoming dark and the film crew were making him dress up as a ghost. "I'm not driving with a stupid tarp on me!" He said as he tried to protest. "Well if you don't, then your crew isn't getting paid." The director said. There was a sudden ghostly whistle that thundered in the background. The film crew was a little worried. "Alright, places everyone." The director said. The film crew began to film. "Begone, Demon of the rails!" Yelled one of the kids from earlier. "PHOOOOOP!" A whistle bellowed through the film area. "We'll edit that out, continue rolling." "I will put a curse on y-!" Tim was cut off by echoing voice, "LEAVE AT ONCE!" It boomed through the yard. "PHOOOOOP!" The whistle grew louder. The crew was worried. Then a white locomotive rolled in and whistled again. He had an angry face on and looked like he was going to make someone pay. "PHEEP PIP PEEP! LEAVE, NOW!" He whistled and yelled. The crew scrambled around, they gathered their gear and ran out of there to the vans they had. Tim and Jojo were laughing. "So how did you get that whistle sound, it didn't sound like you." "It wasn't me." He said, and then the whistle blasted through the air. "PHOOOOOPOPOP!" It whistled as the engine came into view. "I got a new whistle at the Steelworks all by with my whistle, it's useful for making yourself heard." He explained. "Well thanks you guys, I've been wanting to get em out of here but I just didn't know how." "Same here." "Me too." "I also wanted them gone." Said another voice. It was the controller. "They were trespassing here, they had an old document from about a decade ago when they signed on for a different film. So thank you Jojo and Ryan for scaring them off." Sir William V congratulated, the three engines chuckled with each other as the two tank engines went to the sheds and the tender engine went for a wash. Jojo returned later that night, the engines were all asleep. All except Tim. "Thanks for that Jojo." He said as he opened one eye. "Anytime." Jojo said as he was parked in his berth. The two went to sleep along with the others.