Emily the Stirling Single Engine

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/35072023.

Rating: General Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Category: Gen
Fandoms: The Railway Series - W. Awdry, Thomas the Tank Engine - All Media
Types, Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends
Relationships: Emily & Douglas, Emily & Edward, Emily & James, Emily & Donald &
Douglas, Donald & Douglas & Oliver (Thomas the Tank Engine),
Donald & Douglas (Thomas the Tank Engine), Emily & Bear, Emily &
Oliver, No Romantic Relationship(s)
Characters: Emily (Thomas the Tank Engine), Edward (Thomas the Tank Engine),
Gordon (Thomas the Tank Engine), James (Thomas the Tank Engine),
Donald (Thomas the Tank Engine), Douglas (Thomas the Tank Engine),
Oliver (Thomas the Tank Engine), Bear (Thomas the Tank Engine), Sir
Charles Topham Hatt II, The Fat Controller (Thomas the Tank Engine),
Troublesome Trucks (Thomas the Tank Engine)
Additional Tags: Based on the Railway Series, Gordon's Hill, Edward's Station,
Explosions, Bullying, Poor Bear, Emily really knows her stuff,
Breakdown train, Little Western, Accidents, train crash
Language: English
Series: Part 11 of The Extended Railway Series
Stats: Published: 2021-11-12 Completed: 2021-11-16 Words: 4,170 Chapters:
5/5
 Emily the Stirling Single Engine
by Weirdo_with_A_Quill

Summary

Dear Friends,
Emily is an old engine – but not an experienced one. She spent most of her life being cared
for by a scrapyard manager, and hasn’t actually learnt much to do with the railways. Instead,
she’s very good at the daily crossword in the paper. She’s intelligent, but not wise like
Edward. Not yet anyway, and she needs quite a bit of help before she’s ready to become the
Emily we all know and love. Here’s how she did it,
The Author.

Notes

Please do not put this story into an AI for any reason or copy it elsewhere without my
permission. Thank you.
 Arriving on Platform 1
Chapter Summary

When an accident leaves the Express without an engine, can Emily step up?

Chapter Notes

It has been too long! This is the longest story yet - no contest. There are 5, yes 5 stories
in this book, because Emily's story I felt could not be told in four.

I am going to try and start putting out one per weekend again for a little, but I make no
promises.

Oh, and slight edit: this book takes place in 1979 - we're finally moving forward in the
year count again!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

The engines had gathered by the sheds. The Fat Controller had called them all together with a
big announcement.
“Good morning engines,” he greeted, stepping over the rails and stopping in front of Henry.
“I have exciting news. After a year of restoration, our newest engine is ready for work!”

Behind him, still soft but growing steadily louder, was the sound of a steam engine. Douglas
smirked while the other engines gaped.
“Are they a steam engine sir?” gasped Gordon.
“Indeed she is,” the Fat Controller grinned. A loud whistle pierced through the air, and Emily
puffed into the yard. The engines greeted her warmly, and she settled in well. A few days
went by, and yet Emily was bored. She was doing work, yes – and it was work she hadn’t
done in years – but it was only light passenger trains, the first being the earliest train to leave
the Big Station.

Summer was fast approaching its end, and the passenger numbers were steadily dropping as
holiday makers headed back to their homes. Sitting in the sheds, the engines were relaxing
and rejoicing for another Summer over, when Gordon spoke up.

“I must say, this year there’s been more passengers than ever!” he grumbled.
“Aye,” sighed Donald. “Douggie an’ I are done pullin’ coaches.”
“What really annoyed me,” huffed Henry, “was the amount of people on the Express.”
“You pulled it once a week,” snorted Gordon. “I pulled the Express every day!” Emily said
nothing, knowing that she didn’t need to add to the steadily-growing argument.

The next morning, Emily and Edward left the sheds together to get ready for their trains.
Every morning, Emily left first with the early stopping train, followed by Edward with the
morning branchline run – then came Daisy, another stopping train and the Express.

Gordon puffed out of the sheds, blowing steam everywhere. Water had condensed in his
cylinders, and the driver wanted to clear them out. But Gordon couldn’t see – and neither
could the signalman. He changed the wrong set of points, and Gordon lurched to the side.
With a surprised bellow, he toppled over and landed on his side – blocking the sheds.

“Now who’s going to pull the Express?” groaned the Fat Controller as he surveyed the
accident. All the engines were still stuck in the sheds, with only Emily and Edward able to
pull trains.

“I can do it,” Emily puffed.

“Are you sure?” asked the Fat Controller warily. “I could call Bear…”
“Who? Oh, never mind. There’s no time,” Emily puffed. “I can do it sir, I know I can.”

The Fat Controller slowly nodded. Edward promised to take Emily’s passengers, and
everything was arranged. Emily gingerly coupled up to the coaches, doubt creeping into her
mind.
“I hope I can do it,” she muttered to herself. The guard blew his whistle, and Emily strained
to start the train.

Coaches had become much heavier since her Express engine days, but bit by bit she picked
up speed until she was flying along. People and places whooshed by as she thundered along
the mainline. Then she arrived at Wellsworth.

The landscape changed violently. A massive hill loomed ahead of her. Emily was used to the
hill – but not with a train this heavy. Gritting her teeth, she began to battle the climb.
“Driver!” she called. “Drop sand on the rails!” Her driver nodded, and opened the sander. It
poured onto the rails, and she gripped with all her might. Her large single driving wheel
strained, but she pushed on.

Reaching the top of the hill, Emily thought her troubles were over… until they weren’t.
Sitting in the next station was a long goods train, right in her way!
“Quick driver, put me into reverse!” she called. Her driver frowned.
“But we need to stop.”
“Just do it!” shouted Emily. Her driver reluctantly complied. Her wheels span violently, and
the driver thought the coupling rod would shatter – but it held. Emily grit her teeth, putting
all her weight against the train. Inch by inch, yard by yard, they gained control. Fighting the
heavy coaches as they pushed her onwards.

“Whistle to the signalman!” commanded Emily. This time the driver agreed instantly.
Whistling fit to burst, Emily rushed past the signalbox. The signalman started, switching the
points. Now it was only a matter of slowing Emily before they reached them. Emily put in
one last effort, and the train entered the station. The flew over the points, metal screaming on
 metal – but they stayed upright. The train cleared the points, coming to a stop just next to the
freight train.

Emily breathed a sigh of relief.

When they reached the end of the line, she had another bright idea. As she rolled into the
station, she kept going until only her cab was still under the canopy. Normally, engines
stopped dead in the station, and smoke would waft up into the canopy and trap, leaving it to
cover the passengers in soot. But with her front end poking out, the smoke floated away
instead.

When she returned to the sheds, the Fat Controller was waiting for her.
“You have done an incredible job today!” he congratulated. “You avoided a nasty accident
and figured out a way to keep from dirtying the passenger’s clothes. You really do know your
stuff.” Emily beamed.

Chapter End Notes

What do you all think will happen to Emily next? See you all tomorrow and we'll find
out!
 Explosive Emily
Chapter Summary

Emily has never pulled goods before, and this causes some major issues...

Chapter Notes

Admittedly, I've been rather more harsh to Emily than I could have been. It might be
because she's not one of my favourite characters - although she is rapidly rising in the
ranks simply for how she develops - but I think it really plays into her character during
Seasons 8-12 - which I see as young Emily. She will grow - don't worry - but she needs
to fall first.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Emily became very puffed up after that. She began to boast about how she knew ‘her stuff’
and quickly the other engines tired of her.

One day, the Fat Controller arrived at the sheds.

“Emily, after your morning passenger run I need you to pull a goods train back to the Big
Station.” Emily was a passenger engine by design, and had never pulled a goods train before,
but she put on a brave face.
“Of course sir, I’d be happy to.” With that, she puffed away.

When she arrived at the other end of the line, she found Edward shunting in the yard.
“Do you know where my train is?” she asked.
“It’s in the siding over there,” replied Edward. “But be careful, trucks are very different to
coaches.”
“Don’t lecture me, I am nearly as old as you and I know my stuff.”
“Alright, but—” Emily whistled loudly to drown out Edward and puffed over, coupling up to
her trucks.

Every engine who has ever pulled trucks knows to check their train before they start. This is
to make sure that everything is safe and in order. Emily however did not, and she just started
away as soon as the guard blew his whistle. If she had, she would have noticed the rusty old
fuel tanker filled with petrol for the garage by the Big Station or the trucks full of hay that
hadn’t been fastened properly.

Edward hadn’t shunted Emily’s train, or he would have noticed. As such, he only spotted the
danger as Emily steamed out of the yard.
 “Emily! Wait!” he called, but Emily drowned him out with her whistle.

Her journey began well enough. The trucks behaved and even though the train was heavy
Emily made good time. Then she reached Gordon’s Hill.
“Hold back! Hold back!” giggled the trucks in their silly way. Emily strained to keep going.

As a ‘single’, Emily was designed to pull light, fast passenger trains. This meant she could go
very fast, but she was not very strong. Sparks shot from her funnel as she tried to keep the
trucks moving. Wheel turn by wheel turn, Emily struggled up the hill. She reached the top,
and whistled for the guard to apply the brakes.

“On, on, on!” cackled the trucks, surging forwards.

“Oh, no you don’t,” hissed Emily, and she braked hard. As she neared the bottom of the hill,
she eased off - too soon. The guard wasn’t prepared, and as Emily sped up the brakevan was
left with its brakes screwed on. The rusted tanker’s coupling broke, leaving the brakevan and
guard stranded on the line.

Emily felt a jerk, but thought it was the trucks.

“Behave!” she rapped.

She reached Edward’s station, and spotted James with a passenger train.
“Emily! Your train!!” yelped James.
“Yes, it is freight,” sighed Emily. “But I am doing so well!”
“It’s on fire!” shouted James. “Stop!”
“It is not on fire, that’s just me. I was straining so hard, but I did it,” huffed Emily, and
continued on. As she did, James spotted something that made his wheels wobble.

“The flames are headed for the fuel tanker - and there’s no brakevan! Quick, stationmaster!
Stop that train!”

The stationmaster rang the next signal box frantically. All traffic was halted.

Emily stopped at the red signal.

“Bother!” she huffed. “And we were going so nicely too.” The signalman came tearing out of
his box.
“Get away from the train, it’s going to blow up!” he screeched, unhooking Emily and dashing
into the cab.
“Nonsense,” scoffed Emily. Then she finally looked back. She screamed, then sprinted away.

She was just in time. The train exploded with an almighty boom, and then there was an eerie
silence. And for the first time, Emily didn’t know what to do.

Chapter End Notes

Again, I have been really cruel to Emily here. But she really is the youngest in terms of
real, tangible experience. As is sort of alluded to, she was built 1895 and worked as a
spare express engine for several years until she was sold to the scrappers and named
Emily - leaving her to learn intelligence, but not railway common sense. She will
improve, but she's still got further to fall first...
 Emily Goes Too Far
Chapter Summary

Emily is placed on the Works Train after her accident - but the Stirling Single does not
like it one bit...

Chapter Notes

I cannot tell you how happy I am that are already enjoying this instalment! I was
honestly really worried when I began that people wouldn't like this one because of how I
am depicting Emily, but I've been pleasantly surprised! Your kudos and comments really
warm my heart, thank you all so much!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

The Fat Controller surveyed the damage. The explosion had caused the entire train to go up
in flames, and the fire brigade had been rushed to the scene. The fire had been contained
before it could spread to the neighbouring fields, but all that was left of the train was ash and
melted frames. There was a crater in the track, and the rails around it were twisted and
ruined.

“This accident was easily avoidable,” sighed Sir Topham. Then he turned to Emily.
“You almost caused a deadly accident with your reckless behaviour! The stationmasters at
both Vicarstown and Wellsworth told me that both James and Edward tried to warn you but
you ignored them. This puts the entire mainline out of action! As punishment, you will help
the workmen repair the line. Be thankful I am not shutting you in your shed.”

Emily waited until the Fat Controller turned and walked away before rolling her eyes and
scoffing loudly.
“It wasn’t my fault,” she complained, glaring at the edge of the crater. “I was doing my job –
whoever shunted my train probably sabotaged me!”

Emily’s new driver (her old one had been fired on the spot) sighed. He pinched the bridge of
his nose, and began hoping for a transfer.

Works trains are very boring for an engine. They just sit in one place as the workmen fix the
line, then move to the next spot. As such, Emily quickly grew tired of the chore. It was
worsened whenever one of the other engines arrived to drop off supplies. None of them were
sympathetic now – not even Gordon.
“Even I know to check all my trains before a trip,” he muttered under his breath as he pushed
a truck of sleepers beside Emily.

Work on the line began on the track furthest from the explosion. The ground had not been as
badly hit, and temporary rails were quickly laid. James, Edward and the other lighter engines
began carefully running trains along the single line to keep traffic flowing – but it was slow
going. However, it did mean James pulled the Express almost every day.

Emily grew jealous now, watching as James steamed by every day with gleaming coaches
while she was forced to shunt trucks about. As the weeks wore on, and more of the damage
was cleared from the other lines, things became worse.

Emily was rough with the crane, and its crane arm broke – meaning that an older one had to
be brought in. Emily was rough with it too.

“Be careful with the crane,” advised Edward.

“Don’t be so reckless!” snapped James.
“Dinnae try an’ ask uz te do yer werk fur ye,” grumbled Donald and Douglas. They were all
growing tired of Emily’s constant complaining.

“It’s just not fair,” she moaned. “I am a passenger engine, and here I am on track duty! This is
a freight engine’s job. James can do it, he’d love rolling around in this mud.”

No one took any notice of her.

The weather changed, and the worksite was bogged down with heavy rain that turned the dirt
into sticky mud.

It was the last day of clearing out the remains of the trucks. Emily was being careless,
chuffering backwards and forwards with the crane while grumbling bitterly about the
weather. James puffed towards her on the other line. He was pulling a train of new express
coaches that had just been finished. They were empty, and James was eager to try them on a
train.

As he slowed for the damaged track, Emily started forwards again. With a groan and a snap,
the cables holding the arm in place broke, and the arm began to sway from side to side. Emily
didn’t care, picking up speed and screeching to a halt.
“Back up!” called one of the workers. James whistled to them as he puffed past. Emily raced
back, and the crane arm swung out.
“Stop!” yelped James. The arm just missed him, and he slammed on the brakes. Emily started
forwards again, too shocked to think, and the crane arm swung into the second coach! It
ripped through the body and right through the compartments. The driver tried to screw on the
brakes – but they wouldn’t budge. The crane arm swung into the next coach, then out of it
just as the front wheels of the crane reached the crater. With a crash, the crane fell into the
crater and toppled onto its side, taking Emily with it.

The driver crawled out of the cab and around to Emily.

“You stupid engine!” he bellowed. “You’ve broken a second crane, ruined several new
coaches and caused a major accident! The ground’s unstable too now – so traffic will have to
 stop again!” The crane arm was buried in the ground beneath the temporary rails. James was
afraid to move.

When the Fat Controller surveyed the damage, he could only sigh.
“When I bought you, I thought you would be a good worker. Now I see I was wrong. Now
someone else will have to pull the works train while you are mended.”

Emily didn’t reply – she had a lot to think about.

Chapter End Notes

It can only go up from here... Remember, this is a 5 part story, meaning it will take more
than one action for Emily to prove herself again.
Fun fact: In the Railway Series, Henry the Green Engine also had five stories, although
these were condensed into four episodes- with three in the First Season and One in the
Third. Emily's story arc is following this idea, simply because it takes more than four
stories to tell her tale.

Please continue to kudos, comment and share, it really warms my heart and keeps me
going!
 Boxes
Chapter Summary

Emily meets Bear, and doesn't understand why diesels use petrol instead of steam (she
has been stuck in a scrapyard for fifty years) - but when Bear needs help, Emily comes
through...

Chapter Notes

We've seen the worst of Emily (Seasons 8-12), now its time to meet the Emily we all
know and love today (literally any other season)!

This book has had the fastest uptake in popularity I've ever gotten, and I'm so happy!
Thank you all so much! Without further ado, here is today's story!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Emily was left at the back of the carriage shed for several days. She didn’t say a word as the
engines puffed around outside, none of them sparing her a glance. It was nearly a month
before the Fat Controller came to see her.

“You have caused a great deal of damage in the short time you have been on this railway, and
normally I would send away engines for far less… however I am giving you one last chance
because of your good work during your first few weeks here. You will shunt in the yard until
I can trust you to pull trains again.”

With that, the Fat Controller turned and strode briskly away. Emily didn’t reply. She didn’t
feel so clever now, and when her crew came she was unusually quiet as they got steam up and
headed out to the yards.

When she arrived, she found an odd-looking engine waiting patiently by the fuel pump. It
was a diesel. Emily hadn’t really ever met a diesel before. She’d seen then from far-away in
the scrapyard, and she’d heard of them from the other engines, but she’d never properly met
one. Even the diesel that had brought her to Sodor had kept her at the back of his train, so she
hadn’t really seen what he’d looked like.

“What an ugly, boxy thing,” she huffed before she could stop herself. The diesel looked up.
“I beg your pardon?” he asked, his engine growling as he rumbled away from the fuel pump.
“I… who are you?”
“I’m Bear, I don’t think we’ve met.”
“I’m Emily – I’ve heard of you. The others said you growled.”
“I do…” admitted Bear sheepishly. “Are you going to be shunting today?”
“Yes I am,” Emily said, preparing herself for teasing… but none came.
“That’s nice, would you like some help?”

Emily considered, thinking about what had happened the last time she had refused help. Then
she let off steam.
“Yes, but what exactly does a box like you know about shunting?”
“A… box?” Bear repeated. Emily froze.
“Well… yes,” she sighed. “You look like some sort of elongated box – where are your
pistons, your fittings?”
“I’m a diesel engine,” Bear replied. “We don’t run on steam, we use diesel fuel.”
“But why? Steam is a perfectly good power source!”
“I… don’t know…” Bear said quietly. “I… I have to take a train. Maybe Edward could help –
he’s really wise… I’ve got to go…” And with that, Bear rushed away.

Emily did ask Edward for some help, and with his guidance quickly gained the hang of
ordering the yard. She shunted together train after train, pushed coaches into the station and
even moved some trucks over to the coal hopper.

All the while, she watched Bear with a curious eye. The poor diesel didn’t understand that
though – he thought Emily was judging him for being a diesel.

A week later, the Fat Controller came to see Emily in the yards.
“Donald has been delayed with a ballast train, I need you to take his goods to the other end of
the line. Can I trust you?”
“Yes sir,” promised Emily.
“I hope I can. Have you spoken to any of the other engines about how to pull freight trains?”
“Aye sir, Edward gave me some pointers.”
“That’s good to hear. Hurry on now, and don’t disappoint me.”

Emily was as good as her word. She was very careful, and triple-checked her train before
even setting off. She made it safely to the other end of the line, and shunted her trucks away
into their proper sidings. Then she made her way into the yard to get a drink.

A Mainland diesel watched her, but said nothing. Then Bear arrived. The Mainland diesel’s
eyes gleamed.
“Fancy seeing a rotten piece of old technology like you here,” he sneered, rolling out of his
siding to stand beside Bear. “You here to give up? Your siblings are gone, and you ought to
join them. What a pathetic class – hydraulic nonsense. The managers had the right idea,
scrapping y—”
“Shut your filthy mouth,” hissed Emily, shocking both the Mainland diesel and Bear into
silence.
“What’d you say little missy?” sneered the diesel.
“Shut up, vulgar creature. What right do you have to bully Bear? He’s a hard-working,
selfless engine who does his best and always gets his trains in on-time. I’ve heard of your
type – you all are dirty, smelly late things that don’t care what happens to your train if you
break down. How dare you? If you come anywhere near Bear or any other engine on this
 railway again I’ll rip you wheel from wheel, shove your pathetic little engine through a
smelting-shed and push the remains off a bridge!”

The diesel cowered back, and scuttled away.

“Are you okay?” asked Emily.

“I… thought you… didn’t like me…” Bear murmured.
“I… really?”
“Yes… you kept looking at me weirdly…”
“Oh, I was just wondering how your engine worked, but that doesn’t matter. You are a really
useful engine, and one of the hardest-working engines I know. You deserve to be on this
railway, and nothing that diesel said is right.”

Bear smiled softly, and thanked Emily before wandering off to refuel. Little did either engine
know that the Fat Controller had seen everything…

Chapter End Notes

Sometimes, words have just as much of an effect as actions. Emily originally was going
to be even harsher to the diesel, but I eased off in the end... but not by much! As an
engine with a past like Emily's, I see her being very scary when she wants to be - at least
she puts it to good use!

Thank you all once again, and don't forget to keep kudosing (is that a word?),
commenting and sharing!
 One Final Act
Chapter Summary

After Emily accidentally takes Oliver's coaches, how will she make it up to the Western
engine?

Chapter Notes

Remember last book when Douglas and the Fat Controller went about finding engines
for the NWR? That's important to this story...

Also, final story in this special! I think this really is the best story for Emily's character -
and we're finally seeing our Stirling Single mature. Hope you all enjoy, and I'll see you
all on the other side!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Slowly, slowly, Emily found herself being given more goods trains. She built up her
confidence both in herself and in the Fat Controller.

Finally, he came to see her in the yard. Oliver sat off to one side, dozing quietly.
“I would like you to start pulling short passenger trains again – just along the Little Western
for the Christmas rush. Emily agreed, ecstatic to be pulling passengers again.
“Now, I want you to go and find yourself some coaches and learn the line.”
“Yes sir!” she answered, and puffed quickly away.

Having shunted the yard, Emily knew where all the coaches were, quickly finding a pair that
looked perfect for her run. She buffered up to them, and pulled them to the station. Gracefully
stopping, she waited for everyone to board before whistling.

“Off we go! Off we go!” she sang, easing out of the station and out onto the line. To her
surprise, the coaches didn’t sing along. Normally, coaches loved to sing with their engine, but
these two were unusually silent.

They quickly passed under the signal gantry, and past the yard. There Emily spotted Oliver.
“Hello!” she called. “Lovely day, isn’t it?” Oliver just glared.
“Those are my coaches! Isabelle! Dulcie! Give them back – I need them for my next run!”
But Emily didn’t hear Oliver’s rant, already far off into the distance.
The scenery along the Little Western was some of the nicest Emily had ever seen; pity the
engines soured the mood by constantly glared and ignoring her. Duck huffed something about
“stupid engines not knowing the Great Western Way,” and Donald simply puffed past her.

When she reached the other end of the line, she found Douglas waiting for Mike’s ballast
train.
“Hello Douglas,” Emily whistled, smiling at the engine that had rescued her from scrap.
Douglas looked over, then gaped.
“Those’re Oliver’s coaches!” he gasped. “Why’d you have ‘em?”
“They’re Oliver’s coaches? That’s why he looked so cross!” exclaimed Emily. “I must go
apologise… but I have to finish this run first.”
“Find a diff’rent pair o’ coaches,” Douglas advised. “Ye might be bett’r off ta do tha’.”
“Thank you Douglas.” And with that, Emily rushed away to find some other coaches.

All the way back to the yard, Emily thought about what she’d say to Oliver. She felt awful,
and began to worry if the Fat Controller would send her back to the shed. She arrived at the
Big Station, and prepared to go get a drink.

There is a section of track the Fat Controller has wanted to replace for a long time. It runs
from the sheds to the yard, crossing over the Little Western at the bottom of a long hill. The
Fat Controller had always wanted to change the line so the tracks did not directly cross one
another – it was dangerous, and had only been put in place ‘temporarily’ when the railway
was built.

Emily stopped in the yard, and looked all around for Oliver. The signalman came jogging
over.
“Oliver hasn’t cleared the block – could you please go see what’s wrong?” Emily agreed, and
they headed down the line. They spotted Oliver broken down on the crossing. Then, Emily
heard Douglas’ whistle.

“Oh no!” gasped Emily. Douglas saw Oliver, and tried to brake, but the ballast trucks pushed
him on, and the slush on the railways meant the poor engine just slipped. He blasted his
whistle.
“Get outta the way!” he shouted, putting all his weight against the trucks. Emily looked
between the two, and made her decision.

Emily charged at Oliver, and with a huge effort shoved him across the crossing and to safety,
just in time. Douglas thundered past behind them, skidding to a stop just down the line.
Oliver breathed out a sigh of relief.

“Thanks,” he said, and Emily smiled.

“It was nothing – let’s get you to the sheds.”

The Fat Controller came to see them as soon as he heard.

“Is everyone alright?” was the first thing he said, dashing over to check Oliver over.
“I’m fine sir,” the Great Western engine smiled. “It’s all thanks to Emily. She saved me.”
“Really? Well done Emily!” praised Sir Topham, turning to the Stirling Single. “You were a
really brave engine!”
“The bravest,” agreed Oliver quietly.
 “This more than proves your worth,” the Fat Controller beamed. “You’ve done great work in
the yard, and now you’ve saved another engine – and I heard you stick up for Bear. Now, tell
me Emily – do you like your green paint?”
“Yes sir,” said Emily. “But… why?”
“We will have you repainted to suit my railway!” the Fat Controller declared.
“Oh sir! Thank you, sir!” exclaimed Emily. She joyfully whistled.

Once the Fat Controller left, Emily spoke to Oliver.

“I’m sorry I took your coaches,” she apologised.
“It’s alright, I’m sorry I was so cross,” replied Oliver. “You really don’t have to apologise.”
“Friends?”
“Friends.”

Although some of the engines were still wary of her, Emily fit right in. The engines of the
Little Western are especially pleased when she helps out on their line. She really is
knowledgeable about coaches, so much so even Duck had to admit she “really knows her
stuff”. Edward’s been helping her understand trucks better, and she could not think of
anywhere else she’d rather be than Sodor.

Even if it does mean admitting that sometimes she does need some help.

Chapter End Notes

And thus, we finish. Interesting note - this particular story is exactly 900 words
according to Word.
This has been quite a wild ride so far, and its not over yet. I'm probably going to go back
into hiatus for Exam week - which is of course next week.

Why did I choose Chemistry and Physics?

Until next time, have a great day and hope you enjoyed!

Next time: Well, I want to call it Heavy Freight Engines, but that doesn't quite fit.
"Saved from Scrap Engines" doesn't work either... It's about Arthur and Murdoch, so I'd
love to hear some ideas!

I do know that after that one is Edward the Really Useful Engine!
Please drop by the Archive and comment to let the creator know if you enjoyed their work!