#mid sodor

[firecooking]

[beforerailwayengines]

Watch Carson's New Video!!!

Carson released the first installment of Forgotten Engines last night, written by Mike (The Buried Truck) - the first in a series that has been in production for 5 years. I was invited to join the Video Workshop in 2021 directly because of this project, and I ended up writing the following 6 stories of the arc as Mike was busy - with help from him, Carson, Luke Ryan and Dan (TardisRescue). I am so honoured to be involved in the project, and so happy to be able to talk about it publicly (no spoilers though!)

Please check Patchwork out, and keep an eye out for the rest of the stories when they're finished :)

(Also I wrote the trailer/foreward for Forgotten Engines, if you haven't seen that yet then watch it!!!)

[railwaysparrow]

"I heard Manager say we had another bad season" Falcon said quietly.

"We have had worse" Duke grunted.

"He said it could end us!" Falcon insisted.

"Pah! His Grace would never allow it! Focus on your work & it will all come alright" Duke reassured him but he wasn't sure...

[duskstargazer]

[1925]

Duke glared as his presumed rescuer pulled up alongside.

“No.” He said, hotly. “Not you.”

Stanley stood unmoving as Duke seethed.

“You are not heading my Picnic.”

“Manager's orders.” Stanley replied, simply. “I was the nearest engine. Now are we taking these passengers home or what?”

“I'd rather take them myself than entrust you.”

Stanley glanced down at the severe amount of steam leaking from Duke's system.

A low rumble of distant thunder quelled whatever Duke may have wanted to add.

“Look.” Stanley began, in a much calmer tone. “I think I've worked out what the issue is. If I'm careful, neither of us is comin’ off the tracks.

‘So long as I don't become another Jennings,’ he thought to himself.

“You're one of the most careless engines I've ever met.” Duke said, flatly.

“Well, it's either that, or your passengers come home soaked.”

Duke grimaced. He hated the thought of Stanley heading his beloved train, but he hated the idea of his passengers’ day being spoiled by the rain more.

He chose between the lesser of two evils, and hoped, as Stanley backed down in front of him, that he'd chosen correctly.

[brendambois]

Here is a small headcannon

When the skr decided to connect to the old msr slate quarry, Duke, Handel, and Sam were ecstatic. Once the line had opened, the slate quarry became the most profitable slate quarry on the island. On the other buffer, the small raggedy blue mountain quarry was running on dimes money wise, and the mine engine and a faceless garatt engine wise. In all honesty, the bmq could make loads with their iconic namesake, "The Blue Mountains", due to te loads of slate in the hills of those peaks, but they were never in range because of their being only one engine who was able to either pull trains to lay rail or/and deliver the heavy slate to the harbours (where they have a contract for slate to

Scotland) so the trains would have to be juggled on a tightrope over lava type schedule. After a year and a half. The bmq had run down to their last $10, and the owner Jefferson Rheneas, was about to close up shop, when the manager of the Skarlowey said that they had a contract for the bmq, due to a spectral incident at the old quarry. The contract, you may ask, is to bring slate from the quarry to a construction site at Crovan's Gate to build a works for reparing, making and upgrading/updating any and all types of steam (fireless included), in return, the Skarlowey would by an engine for the bmq along with their purchase for a narrow guadge works shunter from Cuba. During the constructed of the newly nicknamed "Steamworks", the skr sent daily trains to work on building the quarry up, and during the calmest of days when trains were minimal, the skr would sometimes do construction trains to help build the quarry faster. A week before the new arrivals, "The Blue Mountain Quarry" finally finished the extention construction, and the morning of the arrivals the soon to be officially named "Stamworks" was finished. Unfortunately, during unloading of the new engines an incident occurred where the Cuban engine was accidentally knocked in to a shallow patch of water by the new Irish engine who would go to work at the quarry. Drowning in guilt that he had just killed an engine, the new quarry engine left for work as soon as he was steamed by his crew, who had been allowed to come with their engine. Luckily the yellow Cuban engine was fished out before any majior damage was done, and he got to atend the name christening and become the works very first repair and paint job. Que events of Blue mountain mystery. To this day still, the Steamworks get regular visits and the BMQ is the most profitable quarry on the Skarlowey Railway taking regular slate trains to Ulfstead castle making a tidy profit and getting regular trains of brakeroom snacks in return.

[spud-dud]

also headcanon

[duskstargazer]

[1929]

“This is simply absurd.” Albert III declared.

“Not this again, please-”

“Why ever not? We are perfectly capable of operating on our own. We have been since before that ruddy “Mid-Sodor Railway” came along. Why are we the ones being lumped in with them?”

“It is true that our railway has existed longer,” Tim said, patiently, “but the MSR is the larger company. And we aren't exactly being “lumped in” with them. Our railways are coming together to pool their resources-”

“And'ja know why that is?” Jim broke in. “It's caus'a that big fancy electric railway.”

Tim groaned as Albert snarled.

“Just wait until those rat bastards and I finally meet!” The red engine stormed. “You can rest assured I will show those parasites without one iota of doubt just the sort of railway they've trifled with!”

Tim gazed up to the sky, making a silent pray for divine intervention as her brothers fumed and ranted about the “leaching Earthworm Railway”.

“If this is our last Christmas in our own sovereignty, we may well try and enjoy it.” Albert sighed at last. Tim didn’t say it, but he felt that was the most sensible thing her brother had said all night.

[spud-dud]

this is what i imagine happened when the mid sodor manager learned he could turn smudger into a generator