Tales from the rails

Dan and His Stories

The engines were chatting up a storm in Drenk sheds one night. "I've had the craziest life!" Said Edward. "No, I have!" Tatum chimed in. "You are all wrong, I have!" Rhys bellowed over them. Dan just sat there silently and watched them argue. Then he yelled out, "Silence! You lot are bickering over nothing." The engines all looked at him. "Well, we have nothing else to talk about." Sally said. "Yeah, she's right. There's no gossip about the line." Said Hanna. "You don't need gossip. You can just talk about what you've done today, or what you're going to do tomorrow." Dan countered. "And also none of you know what a hard life is." "PFFFT!" "What?!" "You think your life is worse than all of ours?" Asked the engines. "Well, I've been ripped away from my lover, I've been locked up in a shed for five years, a bomb dropped on me during the London Blitz, uh what else..." "WHAT?!" Asked all the engines when they heard the third reason. "How are you alive?!" Asked Tatum. "Burnett Stone saved me. I was taken to Crewe, clinging to life by a thread in several pieces, and he worked his magic." Dan explained. The engines were silent for an awkward minute until Hanna spoke up. "Well, I think we all want to hear the story behind it." Dan took a deep breath in and sighed. "Well, I guess it only makes sense. Though I suppose I should set some things up. This was at the tail end of the London Blitz, and it took place on Sodor. Germany was bombing important rail lines and Sodor had a major target on its back. This particular strike happened at Killdane, a goods junction that was supplying munitions to the British military. I was the W&S number 4, piloting the station that day." And this was the story Dan told.

It was a bright and sunny day on the island of Sodor, while the war was raging on in Europe though the engines rarely heard about it. Dan was idle at a station. His Driver, Jackson, and his Fireman, Darrel, were sitting in the cab waiting for work. All the munitions trains were shunted and he was waiting on a late Adam. "Peop!" Came a whistle. A 4-4-2 tank engine rolled around the bend. "Did you hear the news Dan?" He asked as he rolled into the station. "What? That you're late again?" Dan said cheekily. "No, that the Blitz is over. The German Army hasn't flown over Britain for a few weeks now." "Well that's good. So is that why you're late?" "No, a bull strolled across my line, and it charge me, see?" He looked down at his buffer beam where a large dent was in the shape of two horns. "Ah, happens to the best of us. Did you hear what happened to Lily? A herd of goats wandered onto the line and one of them jumped up onto her and tap danced on her boiler." "What, how di-!" "WHOOOOOOOOOOOOEEEEEEEEEEE!!!" "WHOOOOOOOOOOOOEEEEEEEEEEE!!!" There was a panic in the streets as Adam's passengers scrambled back into the coaches. The guard blew his whistle and Adam started pulling out of the station. His wheels slipped fiecely as Dan got behind the train and pushed them out of the station, "DON'T STOP UNTIL YOU GET THE TRAIN UNDER A TUNNEL!" Dan yelled as he pushed the coaches with Adam. Dan stopped and saw one of the munition trains and the eight fuel tankers that were on it. "Oh no." Dan reversed and went for the tankers. His crew got out and made sure they were all coupled together. Before his crew could get into the cab, Dan raced off, leaving them behind. "Dan, get back here!" Yelled Jackson as he tried to chase Dan. "Jackson, we have to go, I can see the planes!" Darrel said as he grabbed Jackson by the sleeve and dragged him to the bomb shelter under the station. The little tank engine raced down the line and tried to catch up to Adam. Dan was just out of the way of the station when he heard the whistling. A bomb had been targeted on him. It hit Dan from the left side, he could feel it parts of him immediately rip apart. His left tank was shredded and water spilled everywhere. It mixed with the fuel that spilled from the first tanker and the water looked like it had caught fire. The fire reached the other tankers and they blew up, Dan was ripped apart more, his cab being torn off and he was on his side. Before the tankers exploded however, his dome flew upwards to the plane and nailed the left wing, ripping it off and sending the plane crashing down. Though the bombs went off and hit the corner of town where nobody was. An engine would later come by and pick up the parts, the Fat Controller would have him sent to Crewe to try and save Dan. A few years later, he would be released from the works and would work for the newly formed British Railways and later be purchased by Sir William IV when he was starting up the D&D Railway.

"Wow." Said Rhys once Dan was done. The engines were silent. "Alright, goodnight." Dan said as he shut his eyes. "Wait Dan!" Yelled Tatum. "We want more stories!" Added Edward. "Oh, fine, fine, fine." Dan said as he thought. "Maybe I can tell you about the other loaned engines." Said Dan as he thought long and hard. "What? Loaned engines?" Asked Tatum. "I don't remember any besides that Ghost Engine." Rhys said. "Well that's surprising, they were still here when you guys arrived. They've all dispersed by now, but they were everywhere back when we were building the D&D railway." Dan explained. The engines were intrigued. Well, go on, tell us about them!" Sally said, and the others all looked at Dan expectingly. "Alright, I'll tell you another story or two." Dan said as he rolled his eyes. He started another story.

Back when the D&D railway just formed in the early 1960's, Dan was the first engine working the line. He was given three coaches who he named David, Clara, and Henry. For the first few weeks, Dan wore his British Railways Black with Red and White Lining, waiting to receive a new livery. There were other loaned engines there too. Lickey, Kim, Amanda, Benson, and Bert. Kim was a 4-6-0 tender engine, Amanda was a 2-6-2 tank engine, and Benson was a 2-8-0 tender engine. The engines all thought they were better than the rest, though they acted like they owned the place. "Off my rails!" Yelled Kim at Benson. "Hurry up Lickey!" Benson yelled at Lickey. "Stupid big engines." Lickey would sneer every time the three big engines would pass by. "Bugger off." Amanda would say when she would roll into the sheds at night. Dan would rarely talk to the other engines. "I bet I'll be the first engine to be purchased, Sir William IV is pleased with my work." Said Benson one day. "YOU?! I've been working hardest!" Said Amanda. "Rubbish. You two don't do nearly as much work as I do." Said Kim. "You're all wrong. I'm the hardest worker." Lickey said as Dan rolled into the sheds. The four engines gasped. There he was in a new livery, with his name displayed on his tanks and a big number one on either of his cab sides. "What?! You're the first engine he bought?!" Yelled Lickey. "You're the weakest of us all!" Yelled Kim. "You ought to take that one off now and give it to me, you old, tiny winy tank engine!" Benson said demandingly. Amanda rolled onto the turntable, locking it up. "Don't even think about sleeping here." She said as she gave Dan a look. Dan puffed away to the carriage shed to sleep with his coaches. The next few weeks, the big three engines were sent back one by one, till Dan and Lickey were the only two left. Then Lickey had his accident and was sent for scrap. Dan ran the line and engines came and went as life kept on like that until Jojo arrived, then Josh, then Ryan. The was constructed, Dan broke down, and was forgotten for a decade.

"Alright, I'm going to sleep. That's the last story you lot are getting out of me tonight." Dan said as she shut his eyes and tried to go to sleep. The engines were content however, the engines though questioned what ever happened to the loaded engines and where they were today. No one knows really, when they were sent away from the island, it was like they disappeared off the face of the planet. The engines however didn't bother with it forever, and were soon all fast asleep in their warm cozy shed.