Annie without Clarabel

Thomas the tank engine has worked his branchline for many years, and knows it very well. He has two brown coaches called Annie and Clarabel. They're old and needed new paint, but Thomas loves them very much as much as Molly, and they loved him back.

Now, I'll tell you about the coaches - Annie can only take passengers, also, not only could Clarabel take passengers, she could take luggage and the guard, too!

Whenever Thomas collects passengers from the stations, he sings:

Thomas: Oh, come along! We're rather late! Oh, come along! We're rather late!

And Annie and Clarabel would sing, too. They'd sing:

Annie and Clarabel: We're coming along! We're coming along!

They don't seem to mind what Thomas says to them, because they know he's trying to please Sir Topham Hatt. If Thomas is cross, he's not cross with them, because he always has to know he must be kind to the coaches. He is cross with the main line engines, which makes him really late. Quite frequently.

One day, Thomas arrived at Elsbridge station, and he, Annie, Clarabel, Homestar Jr., and Palm Palm had to wait for Gordon to arrive with the express. It was late, and Thomas was becoming impatient.

Thomas: Where's Gordon! He was supposed to be here five minutes ago!

Homestar Jr.: Don't worry, Thomas. We must be patient until he arrives.

Thomas: How can I run my branch line if Henry and Gordon are always late? {growls frustrated} They don't even realize that Sir Topham Hatt depends on me!

At last, Gordon arrived, trying to make up for lost time.

Thomas: Where the heck have you been, lazy wheels?

Gordon: I got held up at the station, and pigs on the line made it worse!

Thomas: Rubbish! You're too fat! You need exercise!

Gordon: Oh, why'd you call me fat! I'm not like Mr. Greedy!

Thomas: You know what your problem is, you lazy excuse for a steam engine? You're just a heaping pile of scrap metal!

Homestar Jr.: Don't worry, Gordon. Thomas is just a little impatient right now.

Soon Thomas was ready to go, but he was in a rush, and started too quickly, that the guard almost crapped his pants!

Clarabel: People crapping themselves is disgusting.

Ahem! Back to the story here! Anyway, Thomas was going fast, too fast, and sped past Emily pulling Martha and Jennifer.

Emily: Be careful, Thomas! There's danger ahead!

But Thomas didn't hear Emily, and he sped on. Up ahead, the crossing gates were broken, and the signal man tried to fix them. It had rained by now, and Thomas was going too fast. Homestar Jr. saw a red signal, and applied the brakes.

Homestar Jr.: Whoa! Thomas!

Thomas: What-?

But then he saw, just in front of him, a large, heavy crossing gate swinging towards him on the line. The signalman tried to stop it, but it slipped through his hands.

Thomas: Oooer! HELP! I must stop!

But the rain had made the rails slippery, and he couldn't stop! He slithered helplessly. He was still moving when he reached the level crossing. With a loud crack, the gate broke against his bufferbeam!

Thomas: Ouch!

The signalman ran to his telephone, and directed Thomas into a siding, where an inspector examined him. His bufferbeam was bent, and one of his buffers was broken.

Inspector: You can't carry on like that, not on the railway anyhow.

Thomas: But I'm going to be late for my passengers!

Inspector: I know that. Never mind, I'll see what can be done.

Homestar Jr.: {annoyed} Why, Thomas, were you too impatient? It's lucky we didn't derail, or things couldn't been worse!

Thomas: {upset} I'm sorry. I just wanted to get there on time. Insensible engines shouldn't be late, should they?

Homestar Jr.: No, but sensible engines know that patience is a virtue. Remember that next time.

Thomas: I'll try!

Soon, Edward took Thomas to the works, and Molly took Annie and Clarabel home. Molly felt very sorry for Thomas, but vowed to do his work while he was away.

Sir Topham Hatt made rearrangements: Olivia would do Molly's mixed-traffic work whilst Molly took Annie and Clarabel, and Diesel would do Olivia's work. Diesel was mean to the engines on Norramby branch line.

Diesel: I don't get why your worthy Fat- erm, Sir Topham Hatt doesn't have any diesels on your line. {spots Dennis} Oh, I mean enough diesels on your line! Steam is superior to diesels!

Dennis: Stay outside then if you're so proud of it! I'm going to join my friends!

Molly loved Thomas' work. They were many stops, and she didn't get cross with the other engines if they were late. But Annie and Clarabel had different opinions.

Annie: She is sort of an overgrown banana with wheels.

Clarabel: Her whistle's like Thomas' just deepened.

Molly: Don't make remarks about me. I'm trying to be kind to you.

Annie and Clarabel weren't convinced. One day, James was late at the junction, and Molly had to make up for lost time. Unfortunately, the coupling between Annie and Clarabel had weakened, and as they went over a crossing, the coupling snapped! Clarabel's front wheels were clear of the cross, but her front was still sticking in front of the line! Molly and Annie didn't notice until the next station.

Annie: Oh, no! We've left Clarabel behind!

Molly: I think the coupling was weak.

Clarabel's passengers and guard were outside Clarabel, when they heard a whistle. It was Spencer, the silver A4. He was on his way to Knapford, when he saw Clarabel in his way.

Spencer: Ohhhh! Get out of my way!

Spencer braked hard, but it was too late! The blow derailed Clarabel, and her front was badly damaged. Poor Clarabel lay on her side, looking surprised.

Clarabel: {weakly} Help...

Molly and Annie arrived and were shocked at Clarabel's condition. She was taken to the same works as Thomas. And jobs were reassigned again. Molly and Olivia returned to their usual jobs, but Daisy, Emily, and Toby were on their own taking passengers.

Sir Topham Hatt: No other coaches are available, so Annie will have to be taken by James on his passenger train.

Annie wasn't liking the sound of this. When James collected her, he was cross.

James: I can't believe I'm doing this! If Thomas and Clarabel were here, I wouldn't be taking you!

Annie: And I wish you weren't this cocky!

James was rough with Annie and the other brown coaches, and he banged them as he arranged his train.

James: Don't talk! Come on! Gordon never does, and he's painted blue! They think Gordon's the only engine who can pull coaches!

To make James even more cross, no one came near him. James started slowly, and began to go faster.

James: Hurry, hurry, hurry!

Annie and Coaches: You're going too fast! You're going too fast!

James didn't care, and reached the first station early. He waited angrily for Emily to arrive, and at last she did.

James: You're late! I've no patience with others!

Emily: James, if you go too fast, you'll fall off the track!

James: I won't! You'll see!

And James started too quickly. He left behind the passengers, Strong Bad, Pom-Pom, and the guard!

James: This is the life! I showed her!

He tried to whistle, but he couldn't. He tried to stop, but he couldn't! Then he realized he had no driver!

James: HELP! I can't stop!

Suddenly, up ahead was a broken bridge! James couldn't stop! The coaches held back as much as they could, but it was no good. The bridge collapsed as James was on it, and he landed with a splash!

James: Not another accident! Oh, my life is a joke!

Soon, Percy and Stanley arrived with Rocky, and Sir Topham Hatt! He was not very happy.

Sir Topham Hatt: James! I am not very happy with your behavior! We must now try to manage until Thomas and Clarabel return, and you need to learn how to be patient.

James: I'm sorry, sir....

Sir Topham Hatt: Now, you'll be taken to where Thomas and Clarabel are being repaired, Eagle will take over your work, and Gordon is also taking over your express runs while you're away for now.

James felt even sadder than ever. He was lifted from the water, and Percy took him to the works. James said nothing along the way. At last, they arrived at the works, where Thomas' bufferbeam was fixed, and a new buffer bolted on. Clarabel was nearly repaired, and was smiling from ear to ear.

Thomas: Well, James, another accident, I see.

James: Thomas, I'm sorry. I just didn't want to take Annie. I thought of doing the job done fast, but I derailed from a bridge and landed into the water. And I indeed felt very silly.

Thomas: Like the time you crashed with Bill and Ben!

James: How did you know about that?

Thomas: Neville told me.

James: Oh, crooked cucumbers!

Soon, Clarabel was fixed, and Thomas took her to see Annie. Annie was happy to see her engine and sister again.

Thomas, Annie, and Clarabel were working together once more. They took passengers, and Thomas was now more patient. I guess in some ways, the accident taught Thomas a lesson on patience. And lets hope the three don't get separated again. I know James does!

THE END