Henry and the Veterans of the Rails

Hello, everyone. At long last, after over a year of procrastination, family loss and recovery, and battling with my inner demons, I am FINALLY back with a brand-new Fanfiction story.

This time, I'm trying my hand at a, I kid you not, Thomas the Tank Engine story. And just in time for Remembrance Day…or, at least, in the waning hours of Remembrance Day. This idea has been in my mind for some time now, and I wanted to get it posted before Remembrance Day was over.

Before I do or say anything else, I want to give praise and glory to God Almighty. Lord, I thank you for being with me and for guiding me over the past few months. Thank you for giving me the strength to acknowledge and battle the demons that resided in my soul. Thank you for the wonderful people in my life, including my family and mentors. Thank you!

And also, my deepest respect for all the brave men and women in our Armed Forces who have fought and died for our freedom. For all those who put their lives on the line so that we may enjoy peace and family every day of our lives. We will continue to honor and remember your sacrifice…Lest We Forget.

Brief summary: While doing a job on the mainline, Henry the big Green Engine learns of some old steam engines that could be saved from the scrapyard. Of course, this starts a chain of events that will become evident in future chapters.

Disclaimer: I don't own Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. If I did, it would be just like the old-style episodes that aired before the CGI episodes – when they actually cared about making an actual story rather than simple, childish ramblings and decisions.

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It was summer time on the Island of Sodor, and everyone on the North Western Railway was busier than ever. There were more visitors coming to the island than ever before; cargo ships were delivering more crates of cargo to Brendam Bay Harbor/Docks every day; and to top it off, the railway was undergoing a complete overhaul.

The Fat Controller, Sir Topham Hat, spoke to all of his engines. "The ice and snow from this last winter has forced us to postpone most of our routine railway maintenance operations. And now, a number of our lines, stations and bridges are reported to have severe damage from the ice and snow. So, I have no choice but to carry out repairs during the busy season. A number of the Main Line routes will be closed until repairs are complete, so be sure to make extra time so you can finish your jobs safely and on time."

And so, the engines went about their work. Things went smoothly at first, but they soon found themselves hard pressed to finish their jobs on time; the maintenance work on the bridges and rails made it even worse.

Henry the Big Green Engine was particularly busy – his job was to help the Sodor Repair and Maintenance crews inspect and repair the tracks and bridges across the island. Every morning, Henry would take a heavy goods train from Knapford to Vicarstown. After that, he would puff across the island and pick up flatbeds loaded with old, broken rails, switch points and bridge parts. Then, he would pull the flatbeds to either the Sodor Foundry-Smelting yard, or to the link up station/junction yards on the mainland. There, a diesel would pick up the load, and take it to the Steelworks, where the metal would be melted down and used again for other things.

It was hard and tedious work, but Henry didn't mind. He knew that the Fat Controller appreciated his work, and that he knew Henry was being really useful.

One night, Henry was resting in the sheds near Knapford with the Scottish twins, Donald and Douglas. The twins had just finished pulling a double header goods train across the island, and had opted to sleep here rather than at Tidmouth further down the line. Soon, the railway's two Great Western engines, Duck and Oliver, came wearily puffing backwards towards them.

"Good gracious me" sighed Duck as he settled in the shed. "Never have my wheels and axils ached so badly. As soon as I finish one train, another one is there waiting for me."

"Ach aye" mutter Douglas sleepily. "A knews wha' ye mean, Duckie. We's been wheeshin' abou' with no rest, and those muckle trucks are like wee devils on wheels."

"Away an' wheesh, Douggie" Donald grumbled wearily. "Wah d'ye hav' te whine abou'? I rather be busy here than in th' scrapper, or ou' there runnin' from those diesels on th' other railway."

"Donald's right" Oliver spoke up. "And I for one sure won't complain. I'm grateful for all the work. I know what's it like to constantly be on the run, never knowing what might happen. If Douglas hadn't found me, Toad and Isabelle when he did, I'm certain I would've ended up scrapped."

"You know" Henry cut in, "I was once in danger of being sent away. But Sir Topham Hat gave me a second chance, and I've been working on Sodor ever since. I'm sure glad that he is in charge; no one else would have given me such a chance."

"Indeed" said Duck. "There aren't many railway controllers like him, nowadays. We certainly are lucky to have someone as understanding as him. He definitely takes care of all his engines, just like his fathers before him." Duck was remembering when Devious Diesel had spread lies about him to the other engines; Sir (Charles) Topham Hat (2nd Baronet) didn't believe Diesel and sent him packing not long after.

"Hmm, however," Oliver said grimly, "even he can't save every engine, much as I wish he could."

"Too righ'" said Douglas. "They're no' many engines left, an' those th' are be well beyond our 'elp. As much as I 'ate it, there not be much we can do te 'change that."

Soon, the engines had gone to sleep. All except Henry; his mind was full of thoughts about what Oliver and Douglas had said. It would be some time before he also fell asleep.

Early the next morning, Henry was chuffing along the main line with a crew coach and van loaded with tools and parts. He was on his way to pick up a train of flatbeds to take to the mainland. Once that was done, he was to pick up a load of empty vans and flatbeds to bring back to Sodor.

The sun was shining and the skies were clear; Henry couldn't help but smile as his spirits were lifted. But as he came to a main line bridge, he saw a train of twenty trucks, conflats and flatbeds loaded with an entire bridge section; there were also several deformed rails loaded onto a flatbed. He smartly put his van and coach on a siding and moved to the front of the train.

"The whole thing's completely worn down" the Foreman complained as Henry was coupled up. "The beams are all rusted over, and the rails were warped from the frames shifting down the riverbank. It's amazing that it hasn't collapsed before we got here. Now, we'll have to rebuild it from scratch; the whole line will have to be closed until we're finished."

Henry was quite relieved that it hadn't collapsed. Soon, the guard blew his whistle from the break van, and with a mighty heave, Henry puffed away with the heavy load. Soon, he had gained speed and was puffing down the Main Line.

Later, he was chuffing through the countryside just past the bridge connecting Sodor to the main land. The ride was quite peaceful, with the wind rustling through the trees and the flatbeds moving smoothly behind him.

"I do enjoy these long runs" he said to himself. "Ever since my refit at Crewe all those years ago, I've no longer needed to worry of constantly stopping for a rest, or have another engine finish my jobs for me. Oh yes, it does make an engine feel really useful."

By early afternoon, Henry had arrived at the station yards on the mainland. And once he was brought to a stop, his crew went to ask the yard manager where he wanted the scrap to go. As he waited, Henry looked around the yard. Normally, the diesel would be there to take the flatbeds to the Steelworks. But as he looked around the yard, there was no diesel to be found. And the vans and flatbeds he was to pick up were scattered across the yard.

"Bother" Henry grumbled. "If that diesel doesn't get here soon, I'm going to be late. I still have jobs to do back on Sodor, and if I don't get back before nightfall, Sir Topham Hat will be cross."

Just then his crew came back. "Bad news, old fellow" his Driver said. "The diesel was delayed at a faulty point junction further up the line, and they won't be here until later tonight. And there's no other engine here to sort out the vans for us. Looks like we'll have to do it ourselves."

Wheeeeesh! Henry huffed crossly. "If we waste time shunting these flatbeds, we're going to be late. Sir Topham Hat won't like that."

"We've already telephoned Sir Topham Hat and told him about what happened. He's spoken to the yard manager at Knapford, and has agreed to have Percy and James handle your goods work for the rest of the day."

"Come on, Henry" said his Fireman. "It's just a bit of shunting, and they've agreed to provide you with the coal and water you need while you're here."

Henry was still quite cross, but said nothing.

For the rest of the afternoon, Henry was kept busy shunting empty vans and flatbeds around the yard. He found some difficulty maneuvering around the sidings – they were designed with smaller shunter diesels in mind, not Main Line tender engines like Henry – but he managed to sort out the vans soon enough.

Once the train of vans/flatbeds was organized, he went to work moving empty slate trucks around the yard. Some moved smoothly without fuss, but some of the trucks soon proved to be quite troublesome.

"Who does this steamy think he is?"

"Waltzing in here and bumping us about."

"He's far too pushy with us. He shouldn't be here."

"We should pay him out. Show him who's boss."

Then they all began to laugh and chortle rudely at Henry; he tried his best to ignore them, but he still bumped the rude trucks roughly into a siding. The trucks rolled into the buffers hard, causing them to cry out.

"Oomph" the trucks cried out. "What a rude engine!"

"I don't have time for your tricks" Henry grumbled, and he puffed away to collect the next load of trucks.

Henry worked hard all afternoon, and by early evening, he had finally shunted all the trucks and vans into their proper place. He was feeling wary as he puffed into a siding to rest. He was just making himself comfortable when he heard a diesel horn behind him. He looked back, and saw a Grey and Blue Class 47/7 Diesel pull in the junction with a goods train. The diesel then pulled up and stopped alongside him.

"Hello there" the diesel said in a friendly voice. "I'm 47557, but my driver calls me Darrel. You must be the engine from the North Western Railway. I'm terribly sorry for being late. The points to my line were jammed, and the workmen couldn't fix them until another engine brought the tools they needed."

"Why didn't you take another route?" Henry asked impatiently.

Darrel huffed sadly, "I would have, but the only other railway lines were well out of the way and would've taken even longer to get here. The only other route would've been by the…" the diesel paused for a moment before he finished, "…the Graveyard."

Henry paused. "The Graveyard?"

"It was an old Royal Army base back during the War" Darrel explained. "It even had its own little railway for a while. But a few years after the war, it was deemed too expensive to run and was shut down. Now, there is nothing there but old buildings, rusted rails and signal boxes, and old engines that are left there to rust away until they're little more than lifeless husks."

Henry felt a shiver run down his boiler. It reminded him about what Oliver had said the night before.

Darrel sighed sadly and looked down at the railed. "It doesn't seem right to scrap engines who still have a chance to be useful again. I understand you may not believe me – I know about the rivalry between steam and diesel engines – but I think engines who can still be useful shouldn't be thrown away like old iron."

Now, Henry was surprised. He never expected a diesel to be so friendly to a steam engine.

Darrel then brightened up. "Fortunately, there are people who are working to save and preserve any engines they can find. I actually had a chance to meet some of these people when I delivered those war veterans to Woodham Brothers last week."

"War veterans?" Henry asked, intrigued.

The diesel smiled. "A pair of steam engines who served in the armed forces. From what I heard, they both served during the War, and worked on reconstruction projects during the post-war years. Not much else is known about them, I'm afraid. But from what my driver says, they were still in descent condition when I delivered them to the Woodham Brothers. I've been given rumor that their intent is to sell them off to any preservation groups that might want them."

Henry was left in awe at the diesel's story. Then, he remembered what Oliver had said the night before. Henry felt a smile creep onto his face as an idea flipped into his funnel. "Could you tell me what this Woodham Brothers is, and where I can find it?"

Darrel's smile grew. "Of course, the Woodham Brothers is a scrapyard in Barry, down near the Vale of Glamorgan in South Wales. It's a fair distance away, but you can get there easily from here."

Henry grinned excitedly, but then frowned as a thought entered his mind. "Oh dear…Barry's such a long way away, and we're due back on Sodor by tomorrow morning. And I still have work to do for the rest of the week. I wish there was something we could do," he muttered.

"Perhaps I could offer a solution" Darrel spoke up. "I'm actually taking this goods train to Barry tonight, and there is that line of empty vans going back to Sodor. If you'd like, I can take the train to Sodor for you, and even help out in your place. Then, you can take this load to Barry along with the bridge section, and check out Woodham Brothers for yourself."

"Really? You'd really do that?" Henry said excitedly. "You've got yourself a deal, so long as driver agrees. Once you get there, would you please tell the other engines about our plan. I'm sure they'll miss me, and will wonder why I haven't returned."

"Of course, Henry. Sounds good to me."

When Henry spoke to his driver and fireman, they were hesitant at first, but eventually agreed wholeheartedly.

And so, it was arranged. Darrel left to get ready for the trip to Sodor, while Henry loaded up on coal and water for the long journey. Then, he was coupled up to Darrel's train, and puffed out of the yard with a great heave. Soon, he was on his way out of the yard. He saw Darrel getting his engine checked over as he steamed by.

"Goodbye, Henry. And good luck to you." Darrel called.

Peep Peep! "Goodbye." Henry whistled as he puffed away. He was quite excited about what he would see when he reached Barry.

And even more so about meeting these…War Veterans.

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Phew! Somehow, I managed to get this whole chapter written in just seven hours. SEVEN HOURS! I'll admit that it may need some editing and grammar correcting later on, but for a first attempt, I think it turned out rather well.

Well, I'll try to post it before midnight tonight, then I can get started on the next chapter. Hopefully, I can get it written out just as quickly as this one. If not…well, I'd rather not go down that road again if I can help it.

Anyway, this was a fantastic Remembrance Day for me. And I feel that this story will do our veterans proud, both living and deceased.

So please, read and review.

They fought and died for our freedom in this life…and now, they stand guard at the gates of heaven, in the loving embrace of Almighty God and his angels.

Remember our Veterans.

Lest We Forget!