Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Long ago, on a British island called Sodor, there was once a little railway, known as the Mid Sodor Railway. It was run by only two engines at the time; a brown tender engine called Duke and a little green tank engine called Smudger.

Duke was an old, wise, hard-working engine who often used his wisdom and experience to help the younger engines. Duke knew the young ones were bold, feisty and reckless; after all he had once been a young engine himself. But he was also strict and never hesitated to reprimand anyone who misbehaved. Discipline, he would always say, is what turns reckless engines into hard workers. Duke was always efficient and careful with his work, rarely ever was delayed nor had an accident and always got the job done right on time. Anything less, he always would say, would never suit His Grace.

Smudger, on the other hand, was young and full of himself and never liked to heed to advice, especially if given by “old grandpa engines” as he considered them. He was always in a hurry to get the job done and liked to show off. He was also known for mouthing at the yard managers, believing he knew the best way to complete the job. He was a rough rider, often coming off the rails and spilling the contents in his trucks everywhere, but never once took responsibility. “Who cares about a few spills here and there?” he would always laugh and say. Duke had warned him his behaviour would get him into serious trouble one day, but Smudger had only laughed and refused to listen.

Then that fateful day came. The manager had enough of Smudger’s carelessness and vowed to make him, in his words, “really useful at last”. To Smudger’s horror, he found himself being shunted behind the shed and the yard manager told him, from this day on, he would be used as a generator and would never, ever ride the rails again. Word soon spread of this and Smudger’s story was used as a warning to the other engines who came to the railway. They were told that if they ever misbehaved, they would end up exactly like Smudger.

However, with Smudger out of action, hard times soon came. The railway soon closed down and the remaining engines were sold, with the exception of Duke, who was sealed up in the shed and all but forgotten. Soon, rain came and there was a landfall that buried the shed and much of the land surrounding the old railway. But by some miracle Smudger’s place remained fairly unburied. Of course, without fire and water and the help of a driver he couldn’t move, but he could still see everything.

Years went by. The old railway was almost completely reclaimed by nature now. Foliage grew around the old shed, covering it almost completely, except for a little crack where Smudger could just barely see outside. Long vines hung between his eyes as if they were bars in a prison cell; the wood and stone were almost completely eroded away and part of the shed had collapsed; long vines of thick green and brown foliage had grown around his body, leaving Smudger very much trapped inside.

Smudger sighed sadly as he watched the wildlife frolick before him. He had long since stopped counting the days since his shunting and had no idea how long he had been there. The days and nights came and went, as did his hope of being found and getting out. The rain had battered him, rusting his coat of green away; he had no fire nor water, leaving him feeling cold and dry inside; mice, birds and bugs had made their way into his firebox and funnel, making him dreadfully uncomfortable; his face was chapped and cold from the wind and rain; he felt rusty and stiff and his wheels had long since sunk into the ground. He could only watch sadly as the birds flew by him, as the squirrels clambered amongst the trees and the deer ran freely. Oh how he longed to get out, to run around again. But it would never happen now, not with the old railway being abandoned and left in a state of disarray for God only knows how long. Smudger sighed sadly. All he wanted was to ride on the rails again…

The little green engine’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of snapping twigs, breaking the silence around him. He startled and would have jumped if he could have physically done so. “What was that?” he croaked, his voice barely audible due to lack of water.

There was silence for a moment, then another voice spoke up. “Did you hear that? It sounds like a voice!”

“Up here? That’s preposterous! No one’s been here for years,” came another.

Smudger was surprised. There were people nearby! He decided to call out to them.

“Hello?” his voice croaked.

The sound of leaves being crunched under footsteps started to fade away. Smudger’s heart sank. He wanted to whistle, but had no steam left to do so. Mustering up what little strength he had in him, Smudger tried to call out again.

“Hello? Can you hear me?”

The sound of footsteps started to become louder now. “I think someone’s trying to call us!” came a voice, “we had better go check it out.”

Smudger watched in anticipation as the bushes began to rustle. Through the vines in front of his eyes he could just barely make out two shapes coming towards him, and he realised they were humans.

“Hello? Is there anyone here?” came a male voice.

“Yes, in here!” Smudger squeaked, his throat hurting as he spoke.

“Sir, I think it’s coming from that shed!”

Smudger’s mind began to race as the footsteps got closer. Then, a hand reached out and pushed the vines out of the way, allowing a few rays of sunlight to peer into the little engine’s shed.

“Well I’ll be! It’s an engine!”

Smudger stared at the two men. The one who had brushed away the vines was tall and thin and wore a black suit and hat, while the other one wore a white shirt and blue overalls.

“Well now! Who might you be?” asked the tall thin man in black.

The little green engine was silent for a moment. “It’s Smudger,” he whispered, still unable to believe what he was seeing.

Both of the men appeared surprised as well. They looked at each other before looking back at Smudger. The engine looked as though he had been stuck there for a very long time.

“Smudger….Sir, that’s the name of the engine in Duke’s story!” exclaimed the man in the overalls.

“Indeed!” said the man in the suit, “but he never told us it was true!”

Smudger’s face darkened at the mention of Duke. That mongrel, he thought.

“Is that true Smudger?” The green engine was jolted out of his thoughts by the thin man’s question.

“Yes,” he replied slowly, as if thinking over each word carefully, “they made me into a generator because...they said I wasn’t careful and never listened to orders. They said I would never be allowed to ride the rails again. They…” his voice trailed off as he tried to blink back tears of rage and regret.

The thin man’s expression softened. He had heard that Smudger was a show off and a troublemaker who never listened, but he also couldn’t help but feel sorry for the engine, who must have been here for decades. He approached the engine, looking him over.

“Beg pardon,” Smudger ventured, “but what are you doing out here in these parts? The railway has been abandoned for a very long time.” Then a dark thought crossed his mind. Could these people be trusted? He had heard many stories of vandals going after abandoned engines to steal their parts.

“We came out here because we wanted to take a look at the area,” explained the thin gentleman, “we are considering the idea of trying to restore this railway so we can expand our line. Although with all the damage I’m seeing, I can tell it’s going to take a lot of work and I’m not even sure if such an option is feasible right now. As for you…” he paused for a moment. “Hmm….you’re pretty rusted out….it would take a lot of repairs to mend you, and it would be very expensive,” he thought aloud.

Smudger’s heart sank. “Please Sir,” he said quietly, “don’t leave me here. I’ve been here for decades. I want to be a really useful engine. I promise I won’t cause any trouble. Please...just give me a chance.”

The thin man seemed to be deep in thought. “Well, we do need another engine to work on our railway.” He glanced at the workman next to him, then looked back at Smudger. Several moments seemed to pass. Finally, he spoke up. “If I agree to fix you,” he said, “and bring you back to my railway, do you promise to work hard and be a really useful engine?”

“I do, Sir,” said Smudger humbly, “I promise I will do my best.”

“Very well,” said the gentleman, “I will send for a breakdown crane and work crew tomorrow. You will be sent to the works to be mended. Once you come back, I am putting you to work. But I must warn you, I do not tolerate irresponsible engines on my railway. You’ve got one chance to prove yourself. If you continue to cause trouble, I will send you away. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Sir,” said Smudger, “I understand Sir.”

“Very well,” said the thin gentleman, “I shall be seeing you tomorrow. Good day.”

“Thank you Sir,” said Smudger as he watched the two men leave. Then, for the first time in several decades, he felt a surge of hope run through him. He couldn’t believe his ears; he was really going to ride the rails again! He only hoped he could prove himself to the gentleman that he could be a really useful engine.

Then his mind began to spin. Would the other engines accept him? Were they even still around? And how would they react to his arrival? Smudger felt his boiler flip-flop. It was going to be a rough road ahead….

Chapter Text

Smudger's eyes blinked as sleep slowly evaded him. All was quiet, except for the birds chirping. Blinking again, he could see the ruins of the railway in front of him, as well as the animals hurrying about outside his prison shed. In the distance, a faint roar of a motor could be heard. He perked at the sound, wondering what it could be as it slowly became louder.
The sounds engines could be heard as a couple of flatbed lorries came into view, along with several construction vehicles secured to their beds, consisting of a red front loader and a green excavator. Behind them was a blue crane vehicle. The lorry came to a halt and the workmen began helping to unload the machinery. The front loader's bucket waved excitedly.

"Hurry everyone! We've got an engine to rescue!" he honked as they made their way to Smudger's shed.

"Hey Smudger!" called the green excavator, "we've come to rescue you! Now then…" he turned to the front loader. "...how are we going to get him out?"

"Uh….hmm…." the front loader pondered, studying the shed. It was quite dilapidated and getting Smudger out was going to be a challenge.

"We could break down the brick walls and tow him out."

"Or we could blast him out with dynamite!"

"We're NOT going to do that Alfie! You wanna get him blown up?"

"Of course not!"

Kelly then spoke up. "First, we'll have to break open the roof and create an opening. The workmen will attach some chains to him and I'll lift him out and onto the flatbed with my crane. You two will need to remove the rubble around the entrance so we can get in. Can you do that?"

"Yes yes! Let's get to work!" The rest of the Pack shouted.

The rescue operation soon started. Jack and Alfie began scooping away the rocks and bricks surrounding the old shed, and Kelly carefully removed the shafts from the roof, which had almost completely collapsed at this point. Soon the roof was gone and the workmen set out placing chains around the green engine and cutting away the vines that had grown around him.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" asked Smudger worriedly.

"Yes, we can get you out without a hitch!" Jack seemed confident enough.

Soon Smudger was secured, and the chains were attached to Kelly's crane. Very slowly, he began to lift the little green engine out of the shed.

"Whooaaaaaaa!" called Smudger as he was lifted into the air.

"Steady now," said Kelly as he started to rotate. Smudger fidgeted nervously.

"I can't feel my wheels! I can't feel my wheels!" he cried.

"Stay still," ordered Kelly. Soon, Smudger was out of the shed and Kelly carefully eased him onto the flatbed.

"You'll be sent to the repair works before going to your new home." Kelly told him, "Soon you can give your wheels a good run!"

Smudger's eyes glanced around the area. For the first time in decades, he could feel the sun shining down upon him, the breeze brushing past his funnel, and see everything around him in a near panoramic view. "I….I don't believe it….I don't believe it!" he exclaimed, "I'm out of that shed! I'm finally free from that silly old shed!" he laughed.

The Pack exchanged looks.

Smudger blushed and quickly composed himself. "T-Thank you so much," he stammered, "for getting me out of there."

"No problem!" gushed Alfie, "We're just happy to see you out and about again!"

"I owe you!" Smudger called as the lorry roared to life. The vehicle surged forward, and Smudger felt a jolt of excitement run through him as they made their way down the narrow winding roads. Smudger couldn't recall the last time he had felt any movement of any kind, and it was thrilling. He didn't even need to move his wheels! He couldn't help but smile as the wind brushed past him and he glanced about at his surroundings. Oh how it felt so good to be moving again!

Some time passed and they soon reached the works. The workmen carefully unloaded Smudger onto a flatbread with a crane. An engine came to shunt him into the shed, and coupled up to the flatbed, pushing him into the shed. The workmen looked him over.

"Goodness!" one of them exclaimed, "look at all that rust! You'll definitely need a lot of your parts replaced. Your insides will have to be completely refurbished. But once we get you fixed up, you should be good as new."

"How long will it take?" asked Smudger. He was indeed excited to get mended, but he was also eager to get back onto the rails as soon as possible.

"Well considering the extent of the damage….I would say at least a month", one of the workmen stated. "Probably much longer as we'll likely have to order several parts."

Smudger held back a groan. He hated the idea of being stuck here for a month or more! But at least it was better than being locked in that horrible generator shed.

The workmen wasted no time getting to work on fixing him up. They cleared away all of the vines from his body and began cleaning out his interior as well as working on removing his rust. The workmen were incredibly busy, but also very kind to Smudger and asked him many questions, such as where he came from and where he was going. Smudger was very happy to have the workmen to talk to and eagerly engaged in their conversations. Soon night fell, and it was then Smudger realised how tired he was. His eyes grew heavy and his vision blurred, and soon he drifted off into sleep as the workmen continued working on him.

Several miles away, situated in a small part of the countryside, was a little railway. This was the Skarloey railway, which was run by a group of little engines. Much like the Northwestern Railway, they offered both passengers and good services. Usually the little railway was a common visiting site for tourists, but today the passenger services were slow. Goodswork, on the other hand, remained high in demand, and all engines were needed to shunt and pull trucks to and from the slateworks and quarries. However, the workload was heavy and the engines were older now, which made work more difficult for them. Even Rusty, the small diesel, struggled to maintain the schedules their controller had issued for them. The Thin Controller realised this, and on this particular evening, he went to the sheds to visit the little engines.

"Good evening," he greeted.

"Good evening Sir," they murmured back in unison.

"It has come to my attention that the schedules are not being met. I know you are all really useful engines and are all doing very well, but you need help. In a couple of months I have arranged for another engine to come and help us. I trust you will welcome him to our railway and show him the ropes. Can you do that?"

"Yes Sir!" they cried.

"We really need the extra help," said Skarloey, "I've about worn my wheels into the ground."

"We'll show him how our work is done!" piped up Peter Sam.

"It will be so good to see another face," agreed Rheneas.

Duncan snorted. "Thank goodness for that! Maybe I'll finally get some rest! All this work and barely any time to sleep!"

"We'll do our best Sir," promised Sir Handel.

The old engine next to him snorted. "Assuming you all don't go lollygagging!"

"Aw come on Grandpuff! We'll show him how to be really useful!" protested Peter Sam with a grin.

"I think Peter Sam is right, Duke," said Mr Percival, "I'm sure you will all do very well. Well then, I will see you tomorrow." With that, he hopped on his bike and left.

"I wonder who the new engine is," muttered Rheneas.

"He didn't say," said Skarloey, "but we mustn't fret about that now. It's going to be a couple of months before he arrives. I just hope he'll be very useful indeed."

The little engines continued to chatter quietly until they fell asleep. Little did they know a huge surprise would await them in the next couple of months.