Thomas and Friends: The Adventure Begins

Woe of War

The events of Saturday, May 22 was one of the worst railway accidents in the history of the United Kingdom. In Quintinshill, a troop train ran head on with a local from Carlisle, then a minute later, another express train pulled by two engines ran into the wreckage with a total loss of over 226 people. 246 of the victims were seriously injured, and an investigation by the Board of Trade had discovered that the accident was caused by a lazy signalman. George Hutchinson, the fireman of the local train who survived the crash along with the driver David Wallace, was a friend of Wilbert's father from his college days at the University of Edinburgh. Both men had failed to comply with Rule 55, and the signalmen responsible for the disaster, by the names of Tinsley and Meakin, were thrown in prison for a whole year.

When Sodor got wind of the news, the citizens of Vicarstown, including Carol and Wilbert, held a Sunday service with Sir Topham Hatt leading the congregation as they sang "Danny Boy" and "A Little Bit of Heaven, (Sure They Call It Ireland)". Some paid their respect in the street and the engines had their own prayers to thank for and remember the tragedy in the event of their own passengers and crewmen getting killed in such a disaster. The Union Flag was even held at half staff for the soldiers who died in the tragedy and would never see action on the battlefield.

Later that night, as over half of the United Kingdom was still in mourning for the Quintinshill disaster and other casualties of the war, Wilbert wanted to be with Thomas, having not spoken to him since the morning of the arrival. Carol took him to the shed, before heading back to the hotel for dinner. He was still reeling from the fact that his father had gone to war almost seven months ago, but to Wilbert, it felt like an eternity. Fresh tears sprouted his eyes, and Thomas, who was deeply hurt by the disaster, could not help him and it was Edward who asked, "Why are you crying?"

"I haven't seen Father in a long time," Wilbert said quietly.

Edward understood this, but he did not wish to have the boy leave just yet.

The next day on Monday, May 24th, as Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary, Thomas went to work as large clouds hovered above the yard in a haunting reminder of the on-going events. As much as he thought about pulling a train service of his own, he wanted his passengers to be anything but newly-made widows and orphans who were tortured by the lack of their loved ones. Later in the afternoon, he saw Lily pulling into the station with her goods train, keeping her chin up as she whistled happily.

"Hullo!"

"How can I shunt here while the rest of England is fighting over there?" Thomas said sheepishly. "They must be suffering dreadfully in those fields."

"An engine can only fight if he participates," replied Lily. "Now, if you were human, would you rather fight or stay behind?"

"I would for honor," said Thomas. "But that's illogical...unless if I were to be enlisted as a war engine."

"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about," sighed Lily and she puffed away.

Colin was not feeling well by the next morning.

"Someone has to take my train to the other side of the island," he moaned.

There was no time to find another engine, so Thomas took the train as an opportunity to see the rest of the island and Edward followed him with his passenger train. They did not mind the extra work, since Thomas had already cleaned up the yard and fetched the coaches for Adam's train in the early morning.

Soon, they came to Tidmouth where five lorries transferred the loads to Arlesburgh, top station of the Mid Sodor Railway, another narrow gauge line that ran from there to Peel Godred. Duke, another of the older engines, took "The Picnic" special between Easter and Michaelmas and often worked at the mines in Cas-ny-Hawin and other parts of the line. To provide the war effort, lead from the mines would be used for chemical weapons on the enemy fronts. Duke ran his trains singularly on a twenty five mile run within ninety minutes. He carried his passengers in four bogie coaches, with an extra two coaches on busier days for the tourism season. He even tried pulling a mixed train, but his passengers complained over the delay of him shunting trucks. Once he received the loads of coal and slate from the Skarloey Railway, Duke obliged the transaction in a courteous manner, after all he was named in honor the Duke of Sodor, John Arnold Norramby, then chairman of the Mid Sodor Railway.

When Thomas headed back for home, he also helped in constructing a bay platform at Knapford Junction, where a separate track led to a branch line. He wondered what was on the line, but his driver said, "Probably nothing but gorgeous scenery."

"Can I see it?" asked Thomas.

"Someday, you will," replied the driver.

For the following week, Thomas worked long and hard to prove himself useful, and the other engines were grateful for his services.