A/N: this goes out to @Kieron0103 and his Haven Railway story, and I thought I'd get back in the saddle of making a Thomas and Friends story again. Also, this is tied in with @Kieron0103's book 'The Beacon Railway'.
Sodor is the island of the North...
After the ordeal with Bulgy and his ideologies, the engines of the Josephine Railway have gotten back in routine and motion, travelling back and forth along the line, shunting trucks and goods, taking passengers to and fro, even taking tourist trains to special parts of the railway. Penny and Benson also got along with the passengers and made good times working with the engines, the latter handling everything carefully and took heed of everything around the roads and railway.
However, something was about to change...
~*~*~
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Over at the main station, Mr. Franklin was taking a look at some papers regarding the railway and expenses. After the acquisition of Benson and the removal of Bulgy, bus fares have been improved, as well as tourist operations from both road & rail. At the same time, the repair bills for Jane, Max, Belle, and Diana have come in, and he'll have to work those out.
'I am lucky to run a railway like this, and I'm sure my folks are pleased by my actions.' Mr. Franklin thought to himself.
But then, Mr. Franklin heard the telephone ringing. He picked up the phone and answered it. "Hello. Oh, Angelise. Nice to hear from you again." He smiled. "How have things been for you?" He asked.
Angelise is a close friend of Mr. Franklin, who runs her own railway and her own fleet of engines. They'd meet up every now and then to discuss about plans for connecting their railways, or even loaning engines from their respective railways to assist on one another's lines.
Mr. Franklin's smile then faded away as he heard over the phone. It turns out that Angelise's railway was now suffering from financial problems, and almost all of the businesses along her railway have decided to have their goods delivered by trucks and vans rather than on the rails, and bus services were replacing passenger services on the line since they were more economical and provided a better service. Ever since, Angelise has been struggling to make ends meet and pay for the expenses, reluctantly selling rolling stock and some engines to try and pay off until she has no choice left. In a matter of days, the railway will have no choice but to close down, and after that, all engines will be sold off and/or scrapped.
"I see.... This is some bad news." Mr. Franklin noted, now writing down this information in a notebook. "Right. I think I can provide some help for you. I'll buy a few of your engines. Tell me, which ones are still on your railway as of now?" He asked to her.
The fleet of engines Angelise has on her railway are: •Kieron: a teal LB&SCR E2 0-6-0T (formerly a red GWR 1400 Class 0-4-2T tank engine) •Colin: a Peckett Class W4 1867 0-4-0T •Adam: an Adams Radial 4-4-2T •Lily: an LSWR 02 Class 0-4-4T •Winston: a L&YR Class 28 'Hughes' (like James) •Jonson: a GWR 5100 Class 2-6-2T •Shadow: a LNER Class V4 2-6-2 •Ivor: a custom-built industrial 0-4-0T •Apps/Dark: both are L&YR Class 28 'Hughes' •Sarah: a GWR 0-6-0 pannier tank engine
