ㅤYes, I do realise that I've posted about "The Flying Kipper" story before. I'm just doing it again anyway as I really love the story. I also realise that it's way past Christmas, but I'm just posting these two stories anyway as, again, I love these two stories.

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ㅤ"The Flying Kipper" by Reverend Wilbert Vere Awdry. Recreation and video by 4F Productions.
ㅤThe Flying Kipper - YouTube

ㅤLots of ships use the Harbour at the Big Station by the sea. The passenger ships have spotless paint and shining brass. Other ships, though smaller and dirtier, are important, too. They take coal, machinery, and other things abroad, and bring back meat, timber, and things we need.
ㅤFishing boats also come there. They unload their fish on the quay. Some of it is sent to shops in the town, and some goes in a special train to other places far away.
ㅤThe Railwaymen call this train "The Flying Kipper".

ㅤOne Winter evening, Henry's Driver said: "We'll be out early tomorrow. We've got to take 'The Flying Kipper'."
ㅤ"Don't tell Gordon," he whispered, "but I think if we pull the 'Kipper' nicely, The Fat Controller will let us pull the Express."
ㅤ"Hurrah!" cried Henry excitedly. "That will be lovely."
ㅤHe was ready at 5 o'clock. There was snow and frost. Men hustled and shouted, loading the vans with crates of fish. The last door banged, the Guard showed his green lamp, and they were off.

ㅤ"Come on! Come on! Don't-be-silly! Don't-be-silly!" puffed Henry to the vans as his wheels slipped on the icy rails.
ㅤThe vans shuddered and groaned. "Trock, Trick, Trock, Trick; all right, all right," they answered grudgingly.
ㅤ"That is better. That is better," puffed Henry more happily as the train began to gather speed.
ㅤThick clouds of smoke and steam poured from his funnel into the cold air; and when his Fireman put on more coal, the fire's light shone brightly on the snow around.

ㅤ"Hurry, hurry, hurry!" panted Henry.
ㅤThey hooshed under bridges and clattered through stations.
ㅤThey were going well; the light grew better, and a yellow signal appeared ahead.
ㅤ"Distant signal - up," thought Henry. "Caution."
ㅤHis Driver, shutting off steam, prepared to stop; but the home signal was down. "All clear, Henry; away we go."
ㅤThey couldn't know the points from the Main Line to a siding were frozen, and that that signal had been set at "danger". A fall of snow had forced it down.

ㅤA goods train waited in the siding to let "The Flying Kipper" pass. The Driver and Fireman were drinking cocoa in the brake-van.
ㅤThe Guard pulled out his watch. "The 'Kipper' is due," he said.
ㅤ"Who cares?" said the Fireman. "This is good cocoa."
ㅤThe Driver got up. "Come on, Fireman, back to our engine."
ㅤ"Hey!" the Fireman grumbled. "I haven't finished my cocoa yet."

ㅤHenry's Driver and Fireman jumped clear before the crash. The Fireman fell head first into a heap of snow. He kicked so hard that the Driver couldn't pull him out.
ㅤHenry sprawled on his side; he looked surprised.
ㅤ"You clumsy great engine! The best cup of cocoa I've ever had, and you bump into me and spill it all!"
ㅤNever mind your cocoa, Fireman," laughed his Driver. "Run and telephone the Breakdown Gang."

ㅤThe Gang soon cleared the line, but they had hard work lifting Henry to the rails.
ㅤThe Fat Controller came to see him.
ㅤ"The signal was down, Sir," said Henry nervously.
ㅤ"Cheer up, Henry. It wasn't your fault. Ice and snow caused the accident. I'm sending you to Crewe, a fine place for sick engines. They'll give you a new shape and a larger firebox. They you'll feel a different engine, and won't need special coal anymore. Won't that be nice?"
ㅤ"Yes, Sir," said Henry doubtfully.

ㅤHenry liked being at Crewe, but was glad to come home.
ㅤA crowd of people waited to see him arrive in his new shape. He looked so splendid and strong that they gave him three cheers.
ㅤ"Thank you very much!" he whistled happily.
ㅤI am sorry to say that a lot of little boys are often late for school because they wait to see Henry go by.
ㅤThey often see him pulling the Express; and he does it so well that Gordon is jealous. But that is another story.

ㅤ

ㅤ"Arthur's Tedious Christmas" by 4F Productions.
ㅤArthur's Tedious Christmas - YouTube

ㅤIt had been about a year since Arthur joined the North Western Railway. Even though he enjoyed being on the island, he wasn't confident in his work.
ㅤHis first day had been a total disaster, and as a result, he and Thomas weren't speaking to each other. And though Thomas owned up to his mistake, there was a distrust between the two.
ㅤDispite this, he worked hard his first year; but soon, he got tired of shunting around at the Yard. Most of the bigger engines ignored him, though, as they had seen this kind of behaviour before.

ㅤ"I feel like I'm not meant for this kind of work," he said sadly. "I used to haul local passenger runs back home; and now I'm just shunting wagons and coaches about in the Yard. I feel more underworked every day I'm here."
ㅤ"Just be glad you got work at all, laddie," Donald replied. "Otherwise, you would have been in a worse place than where you were back on B.R."
ㅤNow, to be fair, Arthur was glad of this, but he still wished for better work than what was asked of him. Fate would seem to change things, though.

ㅤChristmas was coming around the corner on the island of Sodor. All around, everyone was readying for the festivities. The Fat Controller announced that a big Christmas Eve party was to be hosted at the Big Station to celebrate the end of the decade.
ㅤAll the engines were working their hardest, whether it be steam or diesel, to get the final preparations set for the big day. On Thomas' Branch Line, it was especially busy, as the town of Ffarquhar was decorating the streets with bunting and lights.

ㅤToby helped by delivering supplies to the many townsfolk on the Tramway Line. All of this would take a long time to finish.
ㅤ"Where is he?" Thomas complained at the Junction. "That woolly bear has been late for 2 days now!"
ㅤ"Probably got delayed by some last minute 'Christmas Joy' from the Stationmaster," said his Driver. "He's been real uptight on how his station is looking for the holiday season."

ㅤ"Goodness me! Are you still here?" asked James, surprised.
ㅤ"Yeah," Thomas grumbled. "Percy's late again. Are you picking up his train to take to the Big Station?"
ㅤ"I was tasked to do so before heading back to the Sheds. It seems that green bugger can't keep to his timetables, hey? There hasn't been any haystack clearing, has there?"
ㅤ"Goodness no! That hasn't been done since the end of Spring."
ㅤ"Hmph!" James harrumphed. "Well, this is brilliant! I'm going to be late getting back to the Sheds tonight."

ㅤMeanwhile, Percy was not having an easy time with his trucks. Before he left the Top Station, one of his box-vans had developed a fault with its brakes, and had to be replaced with an older van that was in the Yard.
ㅤHowever, no one had realised that the fish-van had a problem of it's own. A flat spot on one of its wheels had formed over time.
ㅤPercy was unaware of this, as was his Guard, as he trotted along the line reaching the Junction that split the line into two tracks.

ㅤ"Finally," sighed Thomas. "He must have gone to the Junction at last. Well, I must be off."
ㅤ"You better have a word with that little pest!" said James crossly. "I don't think The Fat Controller would appreciate him being late with the Christmas decorations for the party on Christmas Eve!"
ㅤ"James isn't going to like this one bit, Percy," said Thomas. "One more late journey, and The Fat Controller…"

ㅤBoth engines' crews ran to the side of the derailment, but they soon found the worst of it all.
ㅤ"I saw it all," said the Signalman. "That old fish-van came off first. Would've been lucky if the rest of the train didn't; but unfortunately, me box got hit by the brake-van."
ㅤ"That's not the only probably," Thomas' Fireman complained. "Looks like the wreck damaged the track. Can't reverse back on that line."
ㅤ"And neither can we go to Ffarquhar from the Junction," Percy's Fireman replied.
ㅤ"Oh, dear. We're cut off," said Thomas' Driver.

ㅤ"Are you all right, Percy?" asked Thomas.
ㅤ"Yeah," Percy called out. "I'm still on the rails. Barely."
ㅤ"Come on, old boy," sighed Thomas' Fireman. "Let's go get help."
ㅤNext morning, Arthur was tasked to bring some cranes down from the Big Station to help clear up the mess.
ㅤThe Fat Controller was there, too, examining the damaged track. He then went over to see Thomas who had brought workmen from Ffarquhar to help with the cleanup.

ㅤ"This'll take a few days to repair," said The Fat Controller. "But right now, there's not a lot of spare material left to replace the broken sections of track. You're to repair the signal-box as the repairs on the Peel Gordred have taken up most of it all. We may have to get a shuttle service set up in order to ferry passengers from Hackenbeck to Elsbridge as it'll take some time to repair the tracks."
ㅤ"With that said, I'm not sure if the repairs will make it in time for the party on Christmas Eve. It'll be a longshot without other necessary supplies needed," he finished.
ㅤ"Yes, Sir," said Thomas sadly.

ㅤ"We are cut off, are you?" asked Toby to Thomas.
ㅤ"Yes," Thomas sighed.
ㅤ"How long did The Fat Controller say it'll take to repair the line?"
ㅤ"Likely not in time for the party at the Big Station."
ㅤ"Well, lad, it looks like we're staying here, then."
ㅤ"And the Big Station can't get their tree for this year."
ㅤ"That's if it snows. And if it does, and the roads get blocked, then…"
ㅤ"Yeah," sighed Thomas.

ㅤOnce the wreckage was cleaned up, Arthur went back to the Big Station to catch up on his work there.
ㅤOn his way, he couldn't help but think about the situation at hand. "He and Toby will be all alone up there knowing that most of us are at the Big Station if the tracks aren't fixed in time," he said to himself. "I just wish… No, I've got work to do back at the station. I can't worry about this."

ㅤ"First the repairs on the Peel Godred Line, and now this," said The Fat Controller to himself. "Out of all the times for something like this to happen."
ㅤ"I just got word from Crovan's Gate," said the Stationmaster as he walked in. "They just sent a repair team to get the signal-box righted. They should be finished in about a day."
ㅤ"That's good, but that doesn't solve our big issue. Weather reports indicate a snowstorm sometime this week; and we still don't have the tree for the party yet."
ㅤ"Well, what are our options, then?"
ㅤ"Let's go for a walk, Callum."

ㅤ"We have enough in the budgets to repair the line, Sir, right?" asked the Stationmaster.
ㅤ"That's the thing," said The Fat Controller. "It's not a problem about money considering the Railway's been doing pretty good since British Railways ended steam operations last year. That signal-box isn't an issue either; it can be ready for rewiring before the track is fixed. No, it's material. We simply don't have enough fresh rails and ties for the repairs."

ㅤ"Yeah, I've checked," said The Fat Controller. "I've checked all around the island, and not even the Steelworks on the Peel Godred are able to supply the amount we need; and not just for the Ffarquhar Branch."
ㅤ"Excuse me, Sir," said Oliver, pulling into the station.
ㅤ"Yes, Oliver?" asked The Fat Controller.
ㅤ"I think I know an answer to that problem, Sir."
ㅤ"I'm listening."

ㅤ"Well, you see, Sir, when the Beeching report went through and some of the Branch Lines started shutting down, some of them were ripped up afterwards since they were not being used anymore. My old Branch was one of those lines ripped up after it closed."
ㅤ"Go on."
ㅤ"What I'm saying, Sir, is there may be a surplus of rails and ties from those Branch Lines able to be reused if the need be."

ㅤ"That might work in our favour," said the Stationmaster. "We could buy the amount we need directly from British Railways and use it for the repairs including the Ffarquhar Branch."
ㅤ"Excellent," said The Fat Controller. "Oliver, thank you very much for the suggestion. I'll go call the General Manager of the northwestern region and see if he has supply available." He went back into his office to make the call.

ㅤBefore he left, he went to see the Stationmaster.
ㅤ"Right," he said. "I've spoken to the General Manager of the northwestern region, and they've got a supply that they can free up for both Peel Godred and Ffarquhar. The question is, who can go over to Barrow-in-Furness to pick it up?"
ㅤ"James, Henry and Murdoch are both down with goods work, Molly's got local runs, the Scottish twins are busy on The Little Western with the coal runs to the town, and I'm afraid Bear's packed with Express runs with Gordon," answered the Stationmaster. "No small tank engine can make the run without needing a refill."

ㅤ"And that snowstorm is getting closer every hour… You said no small tank engine could make it non-stop, right?"
ㅤ"Yes… Yeah, Arthur could… Yeah, he can make it there in one go."
ㅤ"Then I'll go speak to him about it."
ㅤOnce Arthur had finished shunting, he backed down towards the Shed. "Well, there's another day down the line," he sighed. "That makes it 4 days before Christmas now."
ㅤ"Good evening, Sir. What brings you this way?" Arthur asked.

ㅤ"Arthur, I've got an important job for you," said The Fat Controller. "As you are aware, there was an accident on Thomas' Branch Line that resulted in the line being cut off from the rest of the North Western Railway."
ㅤ"Now, the Railway has been in a situation where we are low on repair supplies for fixing the Railway lines. I have just bought a supply of spare rails and ties from the northwestern region to use on the Railway, including the repairs needed on Thomas' Branch Line.

ㅤ"Seeing as everyone else is going to be unavailable tomorrow except for you, I want you to go down to Barrow-in-Furness and pick up the supplies when they arrive there."
ㅤ"But what about my shunting duties here?" asked Arthur nervously. "Isn't there someone that can go down there and get it instead? What about Jinty?"
ㅤ"Jinty won't be able to make the trip down there in one go as he'll have to stop halfway for water. We're also on a major time crunch as there's a snowstorm that's getting closer by the hour, and it might hit us earlier than expected."

ㅤ"There's no one else available, nor anyone that can do the job but you," he finished.
ㅤ"I'll do it," Arthur said at last.
ㅤ"Good. You'll head over there tomorrow morning. Hopefully, B.R. has gotten a train for the supplies set up and will be heading to Barrow-in-Furness, hopefully around the same time you'll be travelling there."
ㅤ"Well, laddie, looks like your wish to do something else has finally come true," said Murdoch.
ㅤ"Yeah, I guess," Arthur replied. "Sort on an early Christmas present, I suppose."

ㅤ"You'll be doing Thomas and Toby a real good favour helping them out, Arthur," Emily added. "You could think of it as a way to help ease the issues between you and Thomas."
ㅤNext morning, Arthur was at the water tower having his tanks topped up for the long journey to the other end of the line.
ㅤ"I'm still on the rocks about this one, Driver," he said nervously.
ㅤ"You'll be doing a big favour, my boy," soothed his Driver. "And not just for the two engines stuck up there."
ㅤ"Really? Who else?"

ㅤ"Well, there are many people who live up at Ffarquhar that will want to come down yo the big party here at the Big Station. And, of course, most of the traffic that goes to and from there is direct from the Harbours here and at Knapford, which does make it somewhat on an important area on the island, not to mention the traffic from the quarry up there."
ㅤ"Well, that makes me feel better, knowing that I'm helping other people in need."
ㅤ"I don't like the look of that cloud cover, though," Arthur's Fireman pointed.

ㅤ"Yeah. Let's hope it doesn't get worse by the time we get to Barrow-in-Furness," his Driver added.
ㅤSoon, they topped up off on coal and water, and Arthur was on his way.
ㅤ"Looks like the snow is getting thicker by the hour," said his Driver. "Let's restock on coal and water, then rest up."
ㅤSoon, Arthur was ready for the journey to the Junction; but the train of supplies hadn't arrived. It was late afternoon, and the snowstorm was starting to get worse.
ㅤ"Blast!" his Driver complained. "It'll be bearing down before we even get across the bridge at this rate."

ㅤ"Arthur, is it?" asked the diesel who brought his train. "Is this your load?"
ㅤ"Yeah," Arthur replied. "Thank goodness you made it!"
ㅤ"It's got to be a blizzard back on the island," said his Driver. "We'll have to wait here until it blows over."
ㅤ"We can't do that!" protested Arthur. "The people over at Ffarquhar, Thomas, Toby; they're all depending on us to get these supplies over there on time. I'm sure I'll be able to battle this storm!"
ㅤ"All right," his Driver sighed. "We'll risk it. Let's just hope that we'll at least make it to Cronk before the worst of it comes."

ㅤArthur started his journey back toward the island. But as he went over the bridge, the wind started picking up.
ㅤ"Woah! Goodness me!" said his Driver, surprised.
ㅤ"Yeah! Lucky we left when we did, or this rotten blizzard would have blown us off the bridge!"
ㅤBy the time they went past Crovan's Gate, it was a full white town. Arthur kept on going through regardless of his visibility in the storm.
ㅤ"I've got to get through this!" he said, struggling.
ㅤ"Steady on, lad!" warned his Driver. "Boy, he can make a racket."

ㅤ"Driver! Brakes!" he called out.
ㅤ"Oh, blimey!" said his Driver frantically. "Brace yourself; we're going to hit a drift!"
ㅤWhen Arthur opened his eyes, he found himself half buried in the snowdrift he plowed into. His Driver immediately lit a lantern and trotted his way in front of Arthur.
ㅤ"Well, lad, that's done it," he said. "We're stuck here. And with the visibility down to nothing, we'll have to wait out the storm before going for help."
ㅤ"Oh, b-b-b-bother," Arthur shuddered.

ㅤ"Don't let yourself down that much, you brave lad," encouraged his Fireman.
ㅤ"Wasn't too bad of a run until now," his Driver added. "And even then, you did sterling work."
ㅤ"Y-You s-sure about that?" asked Arthur.
ㅤ"Of course I am, Arthur."
ㅤ"Just though we made it about a quarter mile past Kellsthorpe Road before we got stopped," said the Driver to the Guard.
ㅤ"Jeez, it's freezing," the Guard shivered.

ㅤ"What's our time?" asked the Fireman.
ㅤ"Looks to be about 5:30 PM," the Guard answered.
ㅤ"Well… we didn't make it tonight," the Driver sighed.
ㅤ"Yeah. Let's just hope this fire here lasts all night, otherwise, we'll all freeze," said the Fireman.
ㅤArthur was thankful that his fire was still going. Despite this, though, he felt extremely cold. The snow by then had piled up next to his side tanks, almost covering him completely.

ㅤ"This has turned into one of my worst nightmares, hasn't it?" said Arthur to himself. "First, my record spoiled on my first day here, and now I'm freezing in a snowdrift in the midst of a blizzard."
ㅤ"Losh sakes!" cried Donald. "Oy, Douggie, I found him!"
ㅤ"You found the lad?" said Douglas.
ㅤ"Aye! He's stuck in this drift! Don't worry, laddie. We'll have you out of there in no time."
ㅤIt took a while to clear the snow around him, but soon, Arthur was finally free.

ㅤFortunately, he and his train stayed on the rails when they plowed into the drift, so they didn't need rerailing.
ㅤHis crew and Guard were okay, too, and the workmen treated the three with plenty of cocoa to warm them up.
ㅤ"The phonelines got knocked down," Donald told Arthur. "The Fat Controller couldn't get ahold of Ballow to find out if you had left there or not. I canna tell you how worried we all were about you last night."
ㅤ"Thank you, both of you," Arthur thanked. "I'm sorry about my past behaviour around the Yard lately."

ㅤ"Ah. Dinna worry about it, laddie."
ㅤ"Aye," agreed Douglas. "When we were shunting with Duck, we had at least some thought as well. I wadnae worry, though. Sooner or later, you'll get your chance to do what you did back in the day."
ㅤ"We started small here, but soon, we went up a few places," said Donald. "Now, let's get you coupled up for the rest of the run, aye?"

ㅤ"I just spoke with the Stationmaster," Arthur's Driver told him. "Weather's all clear now, and the Junction has managed to phone in that the lines are being cleared up to do Loop. We should be able to complete the run now."
ㅤ"That's good," Arthur smiled. "Let's get to it, then."
ㅤArthur slowly rolled in to the station, tired but triumphant.
ㅤSoon, the workmen were hard at work repairing the tracks. And by late the second day before Christmas, they had finished.

ㅤWhen Thomas rolled over with the Christmas tree for the party, there were no problems whatsoever after that. He made good timing, and soon, the tree was up and ready for the party tomorrow.
ㅤ"Arthur," said Thomas.
ㅤ"Thomas," Arthur replied.
ㅤ"Thank you for helping me out with my Branch Line."
ㅤ"Not a problem at all."
ㅤ"I'm sorry for tricking you on your first day here," Thomas apologised.
ㅤ"It's all right," said Arthur. "Thanks for owning up to it."

ㅤ"It does make me think. Maybe spotless records are meant to be broken."
ㅤ"And then mended again," Arthur smiled. "Just like friendships."
ㅤIt was finally the night of the party. All the engines were gathered around the station as the festivities were going on.
ㅤArthur was enjoying it along with the other engines.

ㅤ"Ah. Sir," he said.
ㅤ"Your Driver told me how brave you were attempting that blizzard," said The Fat Controller. "I am pleased with you; however, I must advise you to not try something like that again. A blizzard like that can be very dangerous."
ㅤ"I understand, Sir. I'll try not to think it up again."
ㅤ"Good. That's not all I have for you, though."
ㅤ"It isn't, hey?"

ㅤ"The Norramby Branch has been in need of an engine for quite some time. I have decided to trial you on that line after the new decade begins. If you prove satisfactory on there, I'll have you reallocated to the branch Line to pull passengers and goods on it."
ㅤ"That's the Branch Line that runs on the south coast," put in Thomas. "Beautiful seaside views, and plenty of fish traffic coming from there."

ㅤ"Sir, I'll be happy to participate in the trials!" said Arthur excitedly.
ㅤ"Good," said The Fat Controller. "You'll start after New Years Day. Merry Christmas, Arthur."
ㅤ"Merry Christmas, Sir."
ㅤIt had been a tedious Christmas for him, but at last, and a happy new year, things were turning out good for him. He finally felt at home on the North Western Railway.