AU idea: What if Molly was an LMS Garratt?
Molly is one of the most underused characters in TTTE, and a big part of that is due to her basically being shafted after her introduction. I love Molly and I want her to be used more in the franchise, but how would I do that? Well, after watching a video about how someone fixed Rebecca's issues by referencing her basis', well, issues, I decided to apply that philosophy to Molly.
W.J. Gordon, Our Home Railways; How They Began And How They Are Worked; Vol 1 Published by Frederick Warne & Co Ltd, London, 1910 - Archive.org (https://archive.org/details/ourhomerailways00gordgoog) Google Books digitisation of public domain book.
This is Molly's basis, the GER Claud Hamilton, specifically Class D56. Seventy D56s were built between 1903 and 1911 in seven batches of ten apiece. The first batch were oil-burners, meaning that Molly is from one of the later orders. They really were "mighty", able to pull up to 400 tons over 130.2 miles in less than three hours. Sounds like the perfect basis for an engine who debuts hauling coal trucks, right?
There's just one problem: D56s were intended to be express engines. While they did go mixed-traffic after being displaced by their descendants the GER S69/LNER B12s, I don't think the D56 fits Molly's introduction or personality. Frankly, I'd have a D56 be an older engine who, unlike Edward, is resentful that they aren't an express engine anymore and schemes to regain their former glory. Maybe James should've been a D56.
So to make Molly's introduction episode work better, we have to change her basis. A mighty engine that hauls coal and is extremely self-conscious...is there such an engine?
As a matter of fact, there were thirty-three of them.
Unknown author - https://www.flickr.com/photos/124446949@N06/43384660011
Meet the LMS Garratt, one of the few British Garratts. Since double-heading large coal trains was economically inefficient, these locomotives were built to do the job of two locomotives. However, their design was sabotaged by the LMS' Derby design office, which insisted the locomotives use their standard axleboxes, which tended to overheat, among other poor decisions that made maintaining them a chore. Lack of maintenance during WW2 doomed them, and they were eventually replaced by the BR 9F; none survive.
This is a perfect basis for Molly. Garratts are uncommon in the UK and odd-looking anyway, so she would've likely been bullied for looking strange, resulting in a withdrawn and timid demeanor that would contrast with the haughtiness of Gordon. Her strength would be greater than a Claud Hamilton's, even more than Henry's, perhaps, and her distinctive appearance would make her more memorable than even a yellow 4-4-0 tender engine with large wheels. I would make her black with red stripes like James' original livery to further push the image of her feeling like a plain Jane despite being, y'know, a Garratt. With that said and done, here she is!
This depicts how she looks after getting her number. The black on her cheeks is coal dust meant to resemble a permanent blush.
So, what would the episodes be like? Here's what I came up with:
Molly's Special Special (S9): Molly was designed to pull coal trains, so she finds them quite fun. Emily is baffled by this and tells Molly as much, which makes Molly sad. Thomas tries to cheer her up by disguising her empty trucks as a "Special Special", but the ruse is exposed. Just then they learn that the coal plant needs trucks, and Molly gets to work, enjoying herself as she collects and delivers coal, while Emily and Thomas are humbled.
Molly the Mighty (S9): Henry is proud of his strength, only to feel insecure when Molly turns out to be even stronger than he is. When Gordon gets in trouble with a sinkhole, Henry tries to pull his train back all by himself, but he can't do it alone and needs Molly's help. Afterwards, Molly confides in Henry that she's a flawed design due to her designers following some bad rules, and Henry replies that he used to be a bad design too. They become firm friends.
James Lays About (S10): James doesn't want to take trucks, so he asks Molly to do it for him. Molly is too meek to say no, remembering how she was teased back on the LMS whenever she said no, and adds James' trucks to hers. Word spreads and soon some other engines – namely Gordon, Daisy, and Dennis – also convince Molly to take their trucks too. Molly ends up in a muddle over having to remember five trains at once and she has a meltdown after botching a delivery. Kind words from fellow ex-LMS engine Arthur encourage Molly to stand up for herself, and she tells the other engines to be responsible for their own trains.
Molly and Murdoch (S10): Molly is told to work with Murdoch to haul some very heavy trains (intermodal containers). Molly doesn't want to work with Murdoch and tries to avoid him to varying degrees of success. Murdoch is confused and hurt, and Edward realizes that Molly is avoiding him because she's afraid of Murdoch. He tells them to hash it out, and Molly reveals that all of her sisters were scrapped to make room for Murdoch's brothers, and adds that she was worried the same thing would happen to her on Sodor. Murdoch reassures her that the NWR has room for both of them and they complete the delivery as friends.
Shunting For Trouble (S11): Billy is tired after a long day of shunting and is cross when Molly asks him to shunt her trucks for her. He complains about it to Rosie, who replies that she hasn't seen Molly shunt either and is worried that Molly might be trying to get out of work. When a lot of trucks come the next day, Billy tells Molly to lend a buffer and help him & Rosie shunt, only to learn the real reason why Molly doesn't shunt: she's too big and bulky for the tight curves in the yard, and she comes off at the points. Rerailing her requires Murdoch delaying his goods train to help Billy and Rosie rerail her. Sir Topham Hatt learns of this and, while he scolds Billy for not simply asking Molly why she doesn't shunt, he does realize that perhaps he was a bit hard on Gordon for his refusal to shunt as Gordon is also a rather large engine.
Flawed Designs (S12): Derek and Molly meet in the Works and become friends over being flawed designs. Diesel is furious that Derek is befriending another steam engine and schemes to break them apart by spreading rumors, only for the rumors to hilariously backfire. Derek eventually figures out what Diesel is doing and tricks Diesel into making a fool of himself. (Flash-forward to A Most Singular Engine where Diesel is scheming to make Daisy and Harvey hate each other and Derek snarks "Didn't you do something like this already?")
The Great Race: Molly returns to the series and is the Strength entry instead of Henry. She thinks she's bound to win, but is bested by a UP Big Boy and feels bad about losing. Emily cheers her up, showing how much she's grown since Season 9.
Dolly Molly (S20): Molly sees Daisy, Mavis, and Rosie getting dolled-up and thinks that she's not pretty enough for makeup even though she would like to wear it, even if just once. The rest of the story more or less follows the magazine version.
Molly Goes Electric (S21): Molly gets mixed up and goes to the Peel Godred line, whose engines are electric. She gets teased for delivering coal to electric engines, but when the generator attached to the dam breaks Molly's blunder turns out to be the very thing the backup generator needed.
Nia's Old New Friend (S22): Nia meets Molly and is reminded of Kwaku, so she tries to befriend Molly, only to discover that Molly is very different from Kwaku. Nia is upset as she still misses Kwaku, but Edward encourages Nia to get to know Molly for who she is, not because she looks like Kwaku. The two girls become friends and even get to play a trick on a truck who's been giving the both of them trouble.
Grin and Garratt (S23): Rebecca thinks that Molly should smile more after noticing how Molly tends to get upset a lot. She tells Molly to smile more, only Molly, now quite self-conscious, goes too far the other way and smiles all the time, making everyone unnerved. Eventually, an accident occurs and Molly breaks down crying, and finds that she feels a lot better afterwards. Rebecca learns a lesson in toxic positivity and she & Molly make up.
Diesel Molly (S24): Diesel 10 is ordered to work with Molly to clear debris from a landslide. Diesel 10 thinks that Molly (whose face is on her water tank) is a diesel, having never seen a Garratt before, and Molly plays along, afraid that Diesel 10 will bully her if he realizes she's a steamer. Diesel 10 befriends her, but a jealous Diesel tells him that Molly is a steam engine. Diesel 10 is appalled at first, but realizes that he had fun working with Molly and starts to reconsider his bias against steam engines, especially after Molly reveals that Diesel 10's own class is being withdrawn because they weren't perfect enough for British Rail either.
Molly at the Museum (S24): Molly takes a rest at Ulfstead Castle and is mistaken for a new exhibit. She tries to leave but the tourists won't let her, even preventing her crew from boarding her. Diesel 10 learns of her abduction and works together with Molly's crew, Splatter, Dodge, and the most mysterious engine on Sodor – Lady, a purple NER Class K who works with the Culdee Fell engines – to break Molly out. With this, Diesel 10 finally makes peace with the steam engines, and Sir Topham Hatt gives Molly a number (34) so she is never mixed up with the museum engines again.
Thomas and the Royal Engine: Molly appears.
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