About five days have gone by since the Josephine Railway engines had arrived on Sodor, and got used to the new landscape and scenery around them. Keeping to the times was something else, but they got that part down pat.
Braedey and Diana got along with the other mainline engines, the latter really enjoying spending time with Donald and Douglas, the three Caledonian engines happy and chatting about their times in Scotland. Braedey got along with Henry, Gordon, and James, but he toned out their boasting and them saying 'tender engines don't shunt'. He never really understood why Gordon and James dislike shunting at all. It was baffling.
Belle and Liliana got used to the Ffarquhar Branch. The two female engines handled passengers and goods, but Liliana had to take care with her trains, due to her small size. Belle also got along with Thomas, the two of them sharing their pasts, the others curious about this. Percy also got along with the two female engines. Toby was also pleased of Liliana and Belle helping out on the branchline.
For both Austin and Max, the two got the shunting yards cleaned in record time, to the yardmaster's surprise to see how efficient the two engines worked, and they were given the yard's praises. The shunting engines said there was no need for any praise. A good day's work was well enough.
~*~*~
Down by the flour mill on Thomas' branchline, Liliana was doing some light shunting. She was gentle with the flour trucks, being sure not to bump them too hard. She smiled gently to the workmen, then saw Toby pulling up to a platform nearby with Henrietta behind him.
Toby is a GER Class C53 0-6-0T Wisbech steam tram (reclassified as J70 by the LNER) built at Stratford Works. Toby is painted in brown with grey side plates and grey cowcatchers. His number 7 is painted on his sides in yellow with red lining, and he has a brass bell.
Henrietta is a GER Wisbech and Upwell Tramway 4-wheel coach. She has balconies at each end, and a drawbridge type gangway. Each balcony had an emergency hand-brake wheel. Henrietta is painted brown-orange with red buffer beams and a grey roof.
"Hello, Liliana. Take it easy with those trucks." Toby advised to the little green engine. "We don't want to lose any flour."
"No problem. Take care of yourself, Toby." Liliana smiled, as Toby chuffed away with his coach.
"You too, Lili." Tony called, heading off down the branchline.
A few minutes later, Liliana began to head off towards the main junction, so she could deliver the flour to Tidmouth Harbour. It was nice to go a little further than Elsbridge, and it be nice to possibly see her friends.
As she travelled down the line, she then saw a red signal ahead of the line. Liliana slowed down until she arrived at the signal, and stopped with a hiss of her brakes. She looked up at the signal in confusion.
"I don't understand. I thought I am the only one on the line." Liliana said to himself. "I wonder what's going on."
Then, Liliana heard what was a loud air horn echo out from the line on her left. She looked over, and saw a red as black sleek high-speed train pulling up at the nearby signalbox. His face was also strange. His mouth was at the bottom of his nose, and his eyes were where the window was but his eyes were covered by a black visor. He was also huge; he had six coaches, and at the other end was another engine but it was faceless.
Liliana was confused by what kind of train this one was. She hadn't seen anything like this before. But, she was taken aback by the locomotive, as it then rolled by her, and blew a cloud of black smoke in her face, making her cough out the nauseous fumes. Then, with another toot of it's horn, the engine was gone in a flash.
"Diesel hog!" Liliana fumed in anger, and super hot and angry steam shot out of her pistons in fury. This was a classic sign that she was beyond furious.
Then, she heard the clunk of the signal above her. Liliana immediately opened her regulator and turned on her sander, and began to puff away from the junction, already in a state of confusion, but she also didn't like the way the other engine was looking at her.
~*~*~
Tidmouth Harbour. It is a moderately sized port located in Knapford. It is served by the Harbour Line of Thomas' Branch-Line. The southern quay is accessible from the goods branch stemming off from Thomas' Branch-Line in Dryaw. The Northern Quay has a spur from the Mainline, going over a bridge in front of the main line one and into the northern quay.
At the Harbour, Braedey was setting up another small goods train for Diana to take. He didn't mind sorting out the trucks, especially telling them off before they could get the chance of making mischief. He gave them looks, telling them to shut up from time to time. He also handled the shunting, and got many trains ready for action.
Braedey then saw Liliana pulling up into the yards, and she didn't look happy. "Hello, Lili. You seem rather put-out. Something the matter?" He asked his friend.
"Oh, nothing. Except I just met the rudest diesel I've ever come across, and he just spat black smoke at me when he passed me." Liliana huffed in frustration.
"Was the engine red and black, and is streamlined?" Braedey asked.
"Yes. Did you see that engine before?" Liliana asked to her friend.
"Just from a glance." Braedey replied back. "We'd best tell the others when we get the chance." With that, both engines headed off back to work.
~*~*~
Later, Braedey and Liliana arrived back at Tidmouth Sheds, along with Diana, and Liliana explained to them everything about the engine she had met after she left the flour mill.
"Stuff and nonsense!" James snorted in disbelief.
"We engines run this island." Henry huffed.
"I've heard about those trains." Braedey then got the engine's attention. "Mr. Franklin told me about them. They're known as Bombardier Talents. They are multiple unit railcars from Germany." He clarified.
"Sir Topham Hatt had suggested to purchase three of those Diesel Multiple Units, or DMUs, to assist us." Diana spoke up next to explain why one was on Sodor.
"What if we get replaced by them?" Percy asked in concern.
"I'm sure we won't get replaced, Percy." Diana told the little green engine. "We just have to keep our spirits up."
~*~*~
Soon, the other two DMUs arrived on the island, and they soon set to work, going out along different lines and sections of the railway. The other engines tried to keep their distance away from the newcomers, but that wouldn't last for long.
Diana arrived at Knapford Harbour to shunt some boxed wagons into a siding, just as one of the DMUs pulled up to the nearby platform to collect passengers.
The DMU narrowed his eyes at Diana. He was very rude. "What's this steaming lump of scrap iron doing here? Be off with you!" He fumed at Diana.
Diana was beyond furious. "Scrap iron? Steaming scrap iron? Pah!" She spat at the DMU, and she stormed away in a cloud of steam, heading off to take her next train.
The next day, a DMU pulled up to Elsbridge Station. Thomas was there with James. The passengers didn't seem to like the DMU, and many of them began to board either of the two steam engines, whilst a few only boarded the DMU.
The red and black diesel looked over at Thomas with narrowed eyes. "This is all your fault, you old rusty and lazy piece of metal. Now, I won't be able to make quota in the next week." It grunted angrily. Then, with a roar of it's engine, it rolled away in a cloud of smoke, as the two steam engines watched it go in anger.
"Well, bust my boiler. What a horrid diesel." Thomas exclaimed, then he puffed away down his branch line.
"Despicable!" James agreed, then he too pulled away in a cloud of steam for the beach.
Diana, Thomas, and James weren't the only ones that had encountered the three DMUs. At Knapford Station, Gordon snorted at one of the diesel railcars when it called him a pathetic excuse of an express engine. Braedey snapped back, blowing steam at the DMU, leaving the diesel with soot and dust all over it. At Brendam Docks, Bill and Ben, the tank engine twins had been discriminated and had been told by one of the DMUs that they shouldn't even be at the docks.
Finally, Daisy, the diesel railcar, had been told by one of the DMUs that she doesn't even look like a proper diesel railcar, and that she should be scrapped for good. Daisy was fuming angrily, and she stormed off.
~*~*~
Soon, enough was enough. The Sodor and Josephine engines all had enough of the DMUs and their insults, and they want to pay them out and get them off the Island at once. But, how will they do it?
Their chance eventually came sooner then expected. An unexpected snowstorm struck the island overnight, and it left most of the island under snowfall, with drifts about 2-4ft deep. For some of the engines, they had to have their snowploughs fitted on to clear the snow, much to Thomas's disliking, but the others didn't need to use them. For Braedey and the others, they didn't bring their own plight, so they had snowploughs shared between them and the other engines.
For the DMUs, they had a major disadvantage and design flaw: their fronts meant they couldn't have a snowplough fitted to their fronts. Also, their motors weren't set up to handle the cold weather, and don't always work in the cold of snow, since the diesel fuel in their tanks can be gloopy and solid instead of being runny and liquid. Plus, they didn't have much to even try and keep them warm out in the cold.
Nether the less, the three DMUs head out to work, but as they work through the day, fewer passengers got on them, because their heaters didn't function right, whilst their motors sounded broken and didn't work, and also, their wheels can't grip the slippery cold rails.
At Knapford, Thomas stormed out of the station with his coaches, now heading off down to his branch line. He was still in a foul mood since the DMUs had told his friends loads of rubbish, even to him. Plus, he wasn't excited of taking his snowplough out with him as well.
As Thomas travelled down the line, he heard the sound of a diesel engine roaring out down the line. He slowed to a stop at a red signal, then he saw one of the DMUs racing down at dangerous speeds. It seemed to be in a hurry, and didn't care for the speed limit.
'That engine's in trouble.' Thomas thought. And it was.
The DMU ran around the nearby bend much too fast, sparks flying off the rails and it's wheels. Then, the whole train derailed off the tracks with a crash, and crashed into a snowdrift. A wall of snow and smoke rose up into the air, Thomas looking on in shock.
The engine driver was thrown clear from the crash, but fortunately, there weren't any passengers onboard the train at the current time. "Stupid rails." He muttered.
The derailed and wrecked train was soon picked up, and was then taken away to the docks.
~*~*~
The mangled remains of the derailed DMU were loaded up onto a well-wagon down at Knapford Harbour, now sitting in a siding. As Liliana and Percy pulled up to the docks, the two of them began to laugh at the wrecked diesel.
"What is this lump of steaming scrap iron?" Percy teased.
"I don't know." Liliana spoke back, smirking at the DMU. "It looks like a DMU, but it can't be."
"I'll be back." The DMU snarled back at the two engines. "So, you can wipe that silly smile off your smokebox!"
"Pah!" Percy laughed, and he blew steam at him, just as Gordon arrived on the scene. The big engine laughed at the sight of the derailed DMU.
At that moment, Diana, Donald, and Douglas chuffed in with the Breakdown Train. Onboard was the second DMU on a flatbed, whilst the rear carriage was smashed beyond recognition.
"What in the world happened to that DMU?" Liliana asked to the Scottish twins.
"The stupid DMU raced right into a blasting zone at the quarry, and the rear coach got destroyed, along with his engine." Diana explained.
"Not very useful now, are you?" Gordon called out with a laugh.
"GRRAAAH!" The DMU growled.
Just then, James and Austin whistled out excitedly from another part of the harbour. "They're bringing in the third DMU on a barge!" The former called out.
"What happened to that one?" Austin asked the foreman.
"That stupid DMU was reversing, but wasn't watching where it was going, and plunged into the sea as a result!" The foreman replied to the green shunter.
The DMU on the barge didn't answer; it was shivering from the cold water after falling into the sea. Later, Thomas, Braedey, and Diana arrived. They all looked at the three DMUs, and laughed.
"Well, well, well. The Brothers Grimm!" Thomas chuckled.
"Derailed, Crushed, and Sunk!" Braedey added, and he meant DMUs 2, 3, and 1, respectively.
"Serves them right." Diana smirked.
~*~*~
When Sir Topham Hatt heard about the news, he knew he had made a mistake to loan the DMUs. Both he and Mr. Franklin immediately sent them away back to Germany, and they were on the next boat out.
The DMUs never returned, and the engines worked very hard to make sure they will never come back.