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English
Series:
Part 33 of The Extended Railway Series
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Published:
2022-09-30
Completed:
2022-10-02
Words:
3,017
Chapters:
4/4
Comments:
31
Kudos:
52
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Pip and Emma the High-Speed Engines

Summary:

Dear Friends,
Pip and Emma are the twin power-cars of a High-Speed Train that the Fat Controller recently bought. The pair pull the express between the Big Station on the Island of Sodor and the city of Lancaster in England. They are fast, hard-working and reliable – but that didn’t stop the pair from having a few incidents while they got used to their new railway. This book tells you all about them.
The Author.

Notes:

Please do not put this story into an AI for any reason or copy it elsewhere without my permission. Thank you.

Chapter 1: The Inside Joke

Summary:

Pip feels left out when the other engines engage in their usual banter and inside jokes...

Notes:

I'm back again... yep, I have no chill. I literally posted the last story from the other book less than four days ago. Enjoy the continuing madness and insanity that is my mind!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Pip and Emma sat in the long, quiet carriage shed, dozing after a long day’s work. The pair were still getting used to their new schedule, which saw them crossing the island thrice daily: morning, noon and night. Emma was already asleep, but Pip was still awake. Her end of the shed was right next to the edge of the sheds, and sometimes some of the engines sat nearby and talked to her.

Tonight was no exception – Gordon, BoCo and Andrew sat just next to her, all looking very tired.
“I had no idea stopping trains were so tiring!” groaned Gordon. “Stop, start, stop, start – it never ends!”
“It’s not that bad,” chuckled Andrew. “Plenty of breaks.”
“I prefer long runs with long breaks,” Gordon said grandly. “Plenty time to stretch your wheels, followed by plenty of time for a drink and a nap.”
“You’re just lazy,” teased BoCo. “But if you wanted a long run that badly, you could pull my goods…”
“Goods!” spluttered Gordon.
“You’re all so weird,” chuckled Pip, unable to keep it in any longer.
“It’s not weird,” huffed Gordon. “We just know each other. BoCo here still has trouble telling apart the terror twins.”
“And you still fear them,” retorted BoCo. Gordon flushed red and spluttered indignantly.
“What about Andrew?” he huffed. “Youngster overworked himself to destruction!”
“Little goodie-goodie?” chuckled BoCo. Andrew glared.
“Look out for the twins you two!”

James puffed past.
“And don’t slither into a ditch again!”
“Don't forget your bootlaces!” called Henry from inside the shed.
“Once an engine attached to a train~” the entire shed chorused.

Pip felt rather left out.

She talked to Edward about it at the Big Station the next morning. The old engine looked at the HST, and chuckled.
“It’s called ‘inside jokes’,” Edward explained. “They come after years of spending time around each other. For example – you know Gordon’s Hill?”
“Yes…”
“I coined that term as payback after Gordon forgot to thank me for helping him. And it stuck. This is what friends do; we tease each other over things that we do – and sooner or later you will have something of your own. Just… take it in stride when it does happen.”

Pip agreed, and the HST glided out of the station.

As they raced along, they passed by Murdoch with a long coal train. Murdoch was working hard, and thick clouds of smoke billowed from his funnel. Some floated through a window left carelessly open by a rather grumpy woman – and several sparks landed on the seat.

The seats were old, and hadn’t been properly reupholstered by the Other Railway – so everyone could guess what happened next.

The grumpy woman sat on the sparks, and hurt herself. She had, inadvertently, saved the entire train from a fire. But now she was very sore.

When Pip and Emma stopped at the Works Station, she stormed off the train to complain to the stationmaster – but when she showed him where she’d been burnt, he suddenly had other duties to attend to. Poor Rusty got an eyeful of something he did not want to see, and then the police arrived.

The sparks had burnt through the woman’s dress, and a concerned passenger had rung the police about ‘public indecency’.

Pip and Emma were most embarrassed as the woman was led off the platform screaming something fierce. Especially when James puffed past, seeing everything.

That night, the engines had nothing other than ‘un-dressed ladies’ and 'hotseats' to talk about. Pip was bright red, and wanted nothing more than to shout some insults of her own back, when Edward’s words came floating back.

“Oh yes, Gordon!” she sighed. “That woman could only have been on my train – but at least we made it to Crovan's Gate! You got stuck halfway there on a hill.” Gordon turned bright red, then laughed.
“Touché!” he grinned. And just like that, Pip realised that really was part of the North Western Family, inside jokes and all.

Notes:

I will accept no questions - just don't ask. Thank you.

See you tomorrow! Kudos, comments and shares are hugely appreciated!

Chapter 2: Emma and the Banker

Summary:

Bank holiday is coming, and the High Speed Sisters have to bring trainloads of people from the mainland...

Notes:

The amount of references I'm making to ShunterProductions in this book is insane. See if you can spot the ones in both this chapter and the previous.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

It was the day before the early May Bank Holiday, and the HST sisters was exhausted. They had been packed with families travelling up to the island to visit relatives or sightsee, and were exhausted.
“I hate this,” groaned Emma that evening, as she watched another man in a business suit exit the station, hug his family while still on his phone, then wander off to the car. “They don’t care about their families at all!”
“I think it’s nice that they’re coming this far to be with them,” soothed Pip.

Emma didn’t reply. She was watching a woman in a suit clack her way along the platform towards an awaiting car, complaining into her phone about the trip from London.

Emma practically growled away, dragging the HST set to the sheds. This evening, Emma got to sit with her engine nearest the sheds, and she was determined to find another engine that agreed with her.

“I don’t deal with passengers. Too noisy,” mumbled Murdoch as he left for an evening goods train.
“All passengers are fickle!” James said brightly.
“I liked pulling the bank holiday trains,” came Bowler’s voice, surprising the other three. The Class 40 rarely slept at the big sheds with the rest of them, and on the rare chance he did, didn’t often speak. “I liked seeing how happy they all looked, when reunited. How the husband would pick up his child and hug her while giving his wife a kiss and just how… together they felt.”

Bowler got a far off look in his eyes, and Emma wondered when such adorable moments had been exchanged for unhappy people always doing something different, even when together.

The next day, Emma pulled into Lancaster with the express when she saw a young man in a business suit standing on the platform, looking rather forlorn.
“Is everything alright sir?” asked Emma. The man looked up.
“Is this the express for the Island of Sodor?” he asked. Emma frowned.
“Why yes – this is the express. We stop at Barrow, Crovan’s Gate and Tidmouth.”
“I see,” said the man. He rose, and stepped aboard the train. Emma was confused!

She thought about the odd man all the way back to Tidmouth. He looked like one of the bankers, they had been travelling to Sodor even on the day of the bank holidays as part of a day trip, to stop at one of the many picturesque locations on the island. Pip and Emma had carried many day-trippers to the Skarloey Railway, dropping them off so they could catch a train up to the famous lake.

But he also seemed downcast. It made Emma wonder if he was expecting anyone to be waiting for him at the end of their journey.

As hard as she tried, Emma did not see the man get off at Barrow-in-Furness, where she met Spamcan grumbling by with his own holiday train, nor did the man get off at Crovan’s Gate, where Rusty met their train and cheerfully explained that there were so many visitors even they were getting the chance to pull passengers.

That left Tidmouth.

To Emma’s surprise, she spotted the Fat Controller and his wife on the platform, waiting patiently for the express. Yes, sometimes Sir Stephen liked to watch his trains arrive at the Big Station, but Lady Hatt was very rarely there.

The HST glided to a gentle stop in the station, and out stepped the last of the passengers. In amongst those wearing the normal clothes for holidaymakers were the usual suits – and the man from Lancaster. He strode up to Emma, and smiled at her.

“Thank you for a smooth ride. Father must be very proud of you.” Then, he turned and hugged Sir Stephen Hatt and Lady Hatt. Emma was stunned! Sir Stephen noticed, and with a chuckle he walked over.

“Emma, meet my son Richard. He is an important banker on the mainland, but agreed to take some time off to come and see us.”
“Hello sir!” beamed Emma. “I suppose all the time you spend on the mainland is why you didn’t recognise us then?”
“Er…” Richard blushed. “Yeah. Dad told me he’d bought some new assets – but he didn’t tell me he bought the entire line to Lancaster! Then again… It’s been some time since I last got time off – work’s very busy. They keep calling me to ask about this and that, and I just want to turn off my phone!”
“Sounds difficult,” sympathised Emma. Richard Hatt smiled.
“It can be – but it’s good to know for when I one day want to take over the railway!”

With that, the Hatt family walked away. As they did, Emma quietly realised that maybe the families that Bowler remembered were gone – but it didn’t mean that they weren't connected together as one family in spirit, even when busy working on different sides of the country.

Notes:

Who expected that? Me, cause I wrote it XD
Who liked meeting Richard Hatt? It's about time I noted that there are more Hatts running about here and there - and just as notably, this is the first time the mobile phone has made an appearance in my stories! Wonder what the future has in store for those things?

Kudos, comments and shares are this author's coal and water!

Chapter 3: Unfortunately Guaranteed Connection

Summary:

Pip and Emma have a guaranteed connection with the WCML at Lancaster, only it's always a bit of a problem...

Notes:

I am loving talking about the new section of line more often - especially because it means that the Fat Controller's engines meet so many more Other Railway engines now too!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Every day, Pip and Emma ran three express trains from Tidmouth to Lancaster and back. The round trip took around three and a half hours, with a half-hour rest at Lancaster, and two ten-minute stops at Crovan’s Gate and Barrow. The trains were run so that they would arrive in Lancaster right on time for work and school to begin, and left Lancaster at the exact right time so students could board and return to Sodor.

It was also timed to connect to the Other Railway. At this point, British Rail still ran on the West Coast Mainline, with no buyer taking up the sprawling network. As such, the pair often met either a Class 87 or a Class 90 with their connecting train. They were a guaranteed connection, and the Class 43 HST were never late. Their connecting train however…

“Late again?” asked Bear as he rumbled in with a local train. Pip and Emma sighed grimly. The two had brought in their usual morning express, and were waiting impatiently. They needed to cross the mainline to reach the North Western yard, but they also needed to wait for their connecting train first. And to both their and their passengers’ chagrin, the train was nowhere to be seen.

Bear sighed. He could spot Spamcan grumbling in the yard from the platform. The Class 46 diesel had a freight train bound for Killdane, but he too was stuck waiting. All four of them were.

Finally, a horn sounded out across the station, and a Class 90 slunk in. Pip and Emma glared.
“What time do you call this?” the pair demanded. The Class 90 looked over.
“Electrics issue at Glasgow,” she said in a monotone voice.
“We never have those,” muttered Pip grumpily. Pip meant the Peel Godred Electric Railway, but the Class 90 didn’t realise that.
“That’s cause you’re a dirty diesel!” she spluttered. “All those noxious fumes—”
“Excuse me?!” The Class 90 stared at Bear for a long time.

“What… are you?”
“I’m a Hymek,” Bear sighed. He was used to the modern engines not knowing his class by this point.
“A hybrid!” the Class 90 exclaimed, excited. “Hybrid of what? Electricity and… well, you’re a Sodor engine, so maybe steam? But there’s no smoke, so…”
“No, a Hymek. I’m a diesel-hydraulic,” Bear corrected. The Class 90 looked horrified. And said so – loudly.

It took some time for them to stop Bear from ripping the Class 90 into pieces, and then Pip and Emma didn’t have a chance to rest before having to return.

The next day, Pip and Emma arrived right on time – as usual – but were stunned to see the Class 90 waiting for them.
“Finally on time!” the two cheered. The Class 90 went bright pink.
“Er… no…” she said quietly. The twins stared at her in confusion. Bear raised an amused eyebrow from where he was waiting on one of the through lines with a goods train.
“She’s very late indeed!” he chortled. “Go on then – tell these lovely engines which train this is.”
“I’m… an hour late,” muttered the Class 90. Pip and Emma were horrified.

“How?!” the two squawked. Bear began to giggle.
“Go on – tell them,” he said, barely keeping the grin off his face.

The Class 90 glared at Bear, then sighed.

“Someonedroppedabagofgroceriesoutofthewindowandpulledtheemergencycord.”
“Pardon?”
“Someone dropped a bag of groceries out of the window and pulled the emergency cord,” she muttered gruffly, glaring at her buffers. Pip bit her lip to stop herself from laughing – but Emma burst into joyous cackles.
“Groceries!” she guffawed. “You were late because of some groceries!”

The Class 90 sulked away, leaving Pip, Emma and Bear to grin at one another.

After that, trains from the Other Railway continued to be late, however Pip and Emma didn’t let that slow them down. After all, engines on the North Western Railway didn’t let little things like grocery bags slow them down!

And rumour has it Emma still sometimes bursts out into laughter whenever she remembers it…

Notes:

Once upon a time, I said I wanted to look at how Bear interacted with Pip and Emma, and now they are! I definitely want to look a bit deeper into how they act around one another, but who knows how the story ideas fall.

Oh, and Pip and Emma's regular daily schedule is:
Leave Tidmouth 7am - Arrive 8:30am
Leave Lancaster 9am - Arrive 10:30am
Leave Tidmouth 1pm- Arrive 2:30pm
Leave Lancaster 3:30pm - Arrive 5pm
Leave Tidmouth 6:25pm - Arrive 8pm - this being the train mentioned in Wrong Road.
Leave Lancaster 8:30 - Arrive 9:30pm

Kudos, comments and shares are greatly appreciated!

Chapter 4: The Model

Summary:

There is a small museum at Crovan's Gate, and in this museum there are models of every express engine in the NWR's history. Now it's Pip and Emma's turn...

Notes:

Hope you enjoy!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

When one travels to the town of Crovan’s Gate, they will find a small museum attached to the station. In this museum, there are ancient photographs, memorabilia and almost every document that the NWR has maintained since its’ founding, and from the companies that came before it.

And in amongst this treasure-trove for railfans exists a line of custom-made models. These are models of the express engines that the North Western Railway has owned. There is a model of Neil, one of Edward, of Henry, and of Gordon. Each of these engines was the primary express engine for the NWR, or for the Sodor and Mainland Railway.

Pip and Emma’s driver came to see them one morning looking excited.
“We’re getting a model!” he said. The twins were confused.
“Why do we need a model?” asked Pip.
“We’re getting a what?” called Emma.
“We’re getting a model!” called back Pip.
“Where are we toddling?”
“Model! MODEL!” shouted Pip.
“Who are we modelling for?!” Pip paused.
“Who are we modelling for?” she asked her driver. The driver groaned.
“No, we’re getting a model – like a little toy version of us.”

It took quite a while to explain, but eventually both Pip and Emma understood what was going on.

The company contracted to make the special model arrived the next week, and Pip and Emma were given the day off while the group took measurements and pictures. Gordon was supposed to pull the express in their absence, but he handed the duty over to Bowler – much to everyone’s surprise.

Pip and Emma sat on a siding, paint polished until it shined. An old woman and her husband stepped forward, measuring tape in her hand, sketchbook in his.
“Nine feet.”
“Nine feet what?”
“Width. They are exactly nine-feet across.”
“That’s useful. Makes scaling easy.”

Emma looked down at the pair.
“What’s scaling?” asked the HST. The two looked up.
“We can’t make a full-sized model of you,” the old woman explained. “It wouldn’t fit in the museum! So we do what is called scaling: we record you size, the measurements for every detail on you from your windows to your cushions, and we divide these numbers by a certain factor.”
“Every number?” asked Emma.
“Yes. Your width, your length, your height – every single number gets divided by the same factor to find the new measurements we need for the model.”

Emma thought that sounded very cool – though she didn’t say it. She had to stop talking, as one of the young assistants began prodding at her lips with a weird metal pole.
“Dental hygiene is annoyingly good,” grumbled the young man. “Why do all engines have such good teeth!”
“Stop complaining, and give us the numbers,” grumbled the old man. Emma caught a flash of his sketchbook, where he’d done a three-sided drawing of her, with the different measurements scrawled in place. Now, he was writing down numbers associated with recreating her face in clay.

At the other end of the HST, two more assistants were buzzing around Pip.

“This colour – would you say its Moroccan Blue or Bleu de France?”
“It’s close to a Spanish sky blue,” suggested the other. Pip sighed. Her new NWR blue livery was several shades lighter than her original BR blue, and definitely much nicer than her drab ‘Swallow’ grey and white livery.

“It’s the same shade as Edward, Gordon, Thomas, Donald, Douglas…” she began, only to be interrupted by one of the assistants shushing her as he placed a colour sampler against her yellow paint.

“I beg your pardon?!” hissed Pip.
“I need to find my Zen with this colour, be silent!” the young man exclaimed. His fellow assistant, a young woman, shrugged when Pip shot her the stink-eye.

The group took all day. They went through the carriages, considering the upholstery and the doors, the wooden panelling that the Fat Controller had installed in first class and the new, modern diesel engines that replaced their old Paxman engines. Indeed, the complete overhaul they’d had made them into a very attractive train to travel in – and the passengers certainly agreed!

When they finally finished, they left, promising to see the High-Speed twins at the unveiling ceremony.

None of the assembled engines quite understood why they had been summoned to Crovan’s Gate, but when the old woman announced they were unveiling Pip and Emma’s model, they kept respectfully quiet so the two could have their grand…

The model only had Emma’s face. But on both ends.

While it was taken back for fixing, and Pip raged, Emma took the chance to look around.

For all that the pair had enjoyed their first few weeks on the Fat Controller’s railway, she could tell that there was still much to learn. But she also saw how Pip joked with James, how Gordon smiled gently at Bowler, how Murdoch tentatively spoke to her about how the mainland was getting on. She saw these moments, and realised with a grin that they wouldn’t be left alone for any of it – the engines of this island wouldn’t dream of being anything other than their nosy, boisterous selves.

And she was excited to be one of them.

Notes:

A quick warning before I wrap up: I am not planning on releasing another RWS-style book for a little while, due to a massive exam block. This doesn't mean I won't upload something if I am hit with far too much inspiration, it just means that it's not likely. All the exams ought to clear up by mid November. I do have a number of projects for other fandoms that are near completion however, so they might pop up. Thank you all for understanding!

Kudos, comments and shares are this author's coal and water!

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