Heroic Engines: Part 1

Smudger to the Rescue

One evening, the little engines were resting in the sheds. The skies above them had turned a murky grey color.
"The winter will be here soon," said Edward Mann in a worried tone. "Once the snow falls, it'll be much more difficult to get around."
"I hate the snow," shivered Candy. She was weaker than the other engines, so she had much more trouble pushing through the snowdrifts.
Just that moment, the Little Controller arrived. "Your new snowplows will be arriving at the harbor tonight," he said, "so I want you all to go there now, so we can start work early tomorrow. We can't let the weather delay us."
"Yes, Sir," they all replied, and they scurried off to the harbor.

When they arrived, the sun had already set, and a full moon illuminated the harbor waters. The harbor ran on a special dual-gauge line, so both little engine and big engines could run on the same track.
The engines backed into a siding, waiting for their snowplows to arrive. Just then, Smudger noticed a familiar man standing next to something massive on the rails, dark grey with "SCRAP" chalked all over.
"Isn't that the Representative?" he asked. Before the other engines could stop him, he had hurried over to get a closer look.
"Smudger!" said the Representative. "Just the engine I wanted to see! I need some help, if you don't mind."

The Representative pointed to the big object next to him. "I've just rescued this engine from scrap," he explained, "and I need to find him a good home. I know he doesn't look much like a steam engine, but once he's all fixed up, he'll be one of the most amazing engines you've ever seen. Can you find a bigger engine to take him to the Big Railway?"
Smudger stared at the big engine. He felt a small pain in his boiler. "I won't have to find anyone else," Smudger said. "We'll take him there ourselves."
Edward and Candy had just pulled alongside. "Are you crazy?" Candy hissed.
"Don't be foolish," snapped Edward. "Even if we all put our effort into it, I don't think we could pull him."
"Well we have to do something!" Smudger said. "That could have been me!"

The other two engines stared at him. Smudger glanced up at the big engine and sighed.
"I could've just been easily scrapped myself," he said. "I was lucky to have been bought when I was. I don't think any engine should have to live with that kind of fear…you know? The Big Railway's carriage shed isn't too far from here," Smudger insisted. "We can at least make it that far."
Edward and Candy glanced at each other. "It'll be really difficult," said Edward, "but if it's this important…"
Their drivers talked for a bit, and soon began to make preparations.

Lewis the military engine was sleeping in a siding. After the fire accident, he had to stay there and help clean up the mess. He woke up and saw what was going on, and before he knew it, the other three engines had dragged him into their plan.
The four little engines formed a line in front of the big engine. Lewis was at the back, followed by Smudger, then Edward, and finally Candy. They were all coupled to each other, and strong ropes were fastened between Lewis and the runaway engine.
On the Representative's signal, Lewis, Smudger, and Edward all began to pull. As they began to pick up speed, Candy began to pull too.  They were soon clear of the harbor and gently puffing along, the big engine rattling behind them.

The sun was rising by the time they arrived at the Big Railway's carriage sheds. The dual gauge line ended here, so they shunted the engine into a siding.
Suddenly, Misaki, one of the Big Railway's tank engines and a good friend of Smudger's, pulled up alongside. When they explained to her the situation, she was only too happy to help. She coupled up to the engine, who was by now fast asleep, and shunted him slowly into the sheds.
"You all should hurry back now," she advised, "before somebody else catches you wandering around here."
"Thank you, Misaki!" Smudger whispered as the four engines hurried away. He was exhausted and knew he'd probably get into trouble later, but he'd never felt so proud of himself before.