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One day, Sir Topham Hatt arrived at Brendam Docks. “Hello, everyone.” he greeted, “Porter, you are to go to the Steamworks for routine maintenance.”
“But, Sir, I don’t know how to get to the Steamworks.” replied Porter.
“Didn’t you go there before?”
“Back then, my funnel was blocked up with flour, so Timothy had to take me to the Steamworks on a flatbed. Really, I just don’t know how to get there on my own.”
Just then, Timothy pulled up. “Don’t worry, Porter, I’ll show you the way.”
“Thanks, Timothy.” smiled Porter.
“But what about me, Sir?” asked Salty, “I can’t manage the work on me own.”
“I’ll send Nia down to help you.” assured Sir Topham Hatt.
With that, Timothy and Porter set off for the Steamworks. They arrived before long.
“Hello, my friends.” grinned Victor, “Porter, I’ve been told you needed to come here for maintenance, but what are you doing here, Timothy?”
“I guided Porter here.” explained the oil-burning engine.
“How kind of you.” smiled the narrow gauge engine. Next, Porter rolled onto the turntable and was hoisted up to be checked underneath.
~~~
It didn’t take long for Porter’s checks to be complete.
“You’re all good, my friend!” remarked Victor, “Now, off you go back to the Docks.”
Porter blew his whistle. Just before he puffed out of the Steamworks, however, he stopped.
“What’s the matter?” asked the smaller engine.
“I don’t know how to get back to the Docks.” explained the viridian saddle tank.
“Unfortunately, there are no narrow gauge tracks to the Docks, and therefore, I don’t know the way either. How about you go down the line until you find someone who can help?”
~~~
Meanwhile, Sir Topham Hatt had some news.
“I’m sorry, Salty, but Nia’s too busy to help you. Don’t worry, though. Things don’t look too busy right now.”
Salty wasn’t so sure how long that would last, “If you say so, Sir.”
~~~
It didn’t take long for Porter to reach Crovan’s Gate. There, James was picking up passengers.
“James, could you help me get back to the Docks?” he asked.
“Sorry, Porter, I’m collecting passengers. The points should be set for you to get back, though.”
James blew his whistle and puffed away. Porter took a deep breath, hoping James was right, and set off.
Soon, he arrived at Kellsthorpe Road. There, Sonny was collecting some vans.
“‘Ello, Porter!” chirped the navy blue engine, “What brings you out here?”
“I went to the Steamworks for maintenance and now I’m making my way back.”
“Would you like some help?”
“James told me the points should be set to the Docks, so thanks, but no thanks.”
With that, Porter puffed away. Sonny was worried. Many engines had to go down the tracks, and therefore, not all of them were taken into account.
Soon, Porter passed through the Whispering Woods, after that, he came to a junction. He looked up to see a green signal, so he puffed on through.
~~~
Meanwhile, the workload at the Docks was beginning to increase. Salty was getting worried. Just then, he had an idea.
“I’ll head to the Claypits and see if any of those guys down there can lend me a wheel.”
With a honk of his horn, Salty oiled off. The three cranes, however, were worried. Things didn’t go so well for them the last time they were on their own.
Once Salty got to the Claypits, he looked around. He saw Marion scooping up some clay, so he opted not to ask her, as she was busy. Then, he saw Timothy refueling. The dockside diesel rolled up to the oil-burning engine.
“Ahoy, Timothy!” honked Salty, “The docks are slowly getting busier, would you be willing to come and help?”
“I would, Salty, but then that would leave Bill and Ben to do all the work, here.”
“Oh, right.”
Just then, Timothy had an idea, “Why don’t Bill and Ben go to the Docks and you and I handle the Claypits with Marion?”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“Bill and Ben are great at shunting. Not to mention, with no other engines around, there’s really no one they can trick.”
“That is a great idea!” exclaimed Salty. With that, the little oil-burning engine pulled up to the tank engine twins.
“Bill, Ben, there’s been a change in plans. You two are to work at the Docks, while Salty, Marion, and I handle work here. Just until Porter returns, of course.”
“Say no more, Timothy.” replied Bill.
“We’re on it!” added Ben. With that, the twins raced away.
Back at the Docks, the cranes waited anxiously for help to arrive. Soon, it became clear with the sounds of two whistles.
“Oh, great.” groaned Cranky.
Bill and Ben pulled into the Docks, “Hello, you three. We’ve come to sort this dockside out!” exclaimed Bill
“Two engines are much better than one, you know!” added Ben.
“Except when it’s you two.” groaned Cranky.
“Come on, Cranky, give them a chance.” begged Carly.
“Have you lost your mind?!” snapped the green crane, “This is Bill and Ben you’re talking about. They’ll make the Docks worse than they already are!”
“It’s not like we’ve got many other options,” reminded Big Mickey.
Cranky groaned, “Fine. Just don’t make me regret it!”
“Don’t you worry, Cranky, you won’t!” responded Bill. The twins set to work in an instant.
~~~
Meanwhile, Porter’s trek had taken him all the way to the Search and Rescue Centre.
“Oh, dear, the points must’ve not been set the right way.” he wheeshed.
“Has there been an accident?” asked Emily.
“No, I’ve just been trying to get back to the Docks from the Steamworks. James told me the points should’ve been set the right way, but I guess not.”
“I’ll help you get there.” offered Emily.
“But what if there’s an accident? Someone will need to take Rocky.”
“I can do that.” answered Belle.
“But what if there are two fires on the Island? Flynn can’t get to both in a short matter of time.”
“That’s a good point.”
“Anyways, how can I get to the Docks from here?”
“Just go straight ahead and then you’ll find a junction,” explained Emily, “From there, you take a left.”
“Right!” whistled Porter, before puffing away.
“No, left!” called Emily.
“Yeah, I got it!” Porter affirmed once more.
The saddle tank went down the line until he came to the junction he was told of. Porter looked left and right, trying to remember which direction he was to take. Then, he remembered himself saying, “Right!” the triple-domed engine looked down at the points. He saw them set to go left, so he blew his whistle to get the signalman’s attention.
“I need to go right, please!”
The signalman then changed the points. Porter had no idea that he was going down the wrong track.
~~~
Meanwhile, the Docks had been sorted. While they waited for a ship to come in, the twins decided to push an empty truck back and forth between each other.
“Coming your way, Ben!” called Bill.
Unfortunately, one of the workers forgot to change the points that Ben was facing. Because of that, the truck ran over the opposing points and came off the tracks.
“I knew it wasn’t a good idea to have you two work here!” snapped Cranky.
“But it wasn’t our fault, Cranky!” protested Ben, “We had no idea the points weren’t set the right way!”
“Besides, it’s just one truck. Can’t you just pick it up and get it back on the rails?” asked Bill.
Cranky groaned. He lowered his hook down to the rail grabber and then used it to get the car back on track.
“With Salty and Porter gone, however, I’m technically in charge. Therefore, I’m making an executive decision to not have you silly little engines fool around at all! That means during work and break time!”
The twins sulked, “Yes, Cranky.”
Carly rolled as close as she could to Big Mickey, “I hope Porter gets back soon. Cranky’s a bit too cranky for my liking right now.”
“What are you muttering about, Carly?” creaked Cranky.
“She was just telling me that… uh… she wishes Bill and Ben weren’t so cheeky.” covered Big Mickey.
“You, too, Carly?” gasped Bill.
“We helped you three sort out these Docks and this is how you repay us?!” snapped Ben, “You know what? If you’re so mature, why don’t you handle the Docks, yourselves?!”
With that, the twins puffed back to the Claypits, leaving the three cranes on their own again, but not for long. Salty returned, but right as the Docks began increasing the workload yet again.
“Please hurry up, Porter.” whimpered Big Mickey.
~~~
As Porter puffed along, he came to a hill. “I think this is Gordon’s Hill. Wait a minute! Timothy led me over this on the way to the Steamworks. Now I know I’m heading in the right direction!”
What Porter forgot, however, was that Gordon’s Hill had three tracks. This hill had two. After Porter got over the hill, he continued down the line until he saw Rosie coming the opposite direction.
“Porter?!” she gasped. Her driver applied the brakes and she came to a stop, “What are you doing all the way over here?”
“I went to the Steamworks for maintenance and I’m making my way back to the Docks.” The viridian saddle tank then took a massive breath, as he was growing tired of repeating the same explanation.
“The Docks aren’t far from here, fortunately.” smiled Rosie.
“I know. I just went over Gordon’s Hill so I’m surely close to it.”
“This isn’t Gordon’s Hill!”
“What are you talking about?”
“Gordon’s Hill has three tracks. This one has two!”
“Really? Oh, I must’ve gone the wrong way.”
“Don’t worry, Porter, I’ll guide you the rest of the way.”
“Thank you so much, Rosie!”
With that, the two engines went over the two-track hill. Soon, they took a right and went over Gordon’s Hill. It didn’t take very long until they entered the Wellsworth Branch line. The giveaway was Reg’s Scrapyard. The two engines whistled at their friend.
“Hello, you two!” called the scrap crane. It took a bit, but the two engines had finally made it to the Docks. Salty beamed.
“Thank goodness, Porter, you’re back!”
With that, Salty and Porter began to sort the Docks out. The team was back together and the Docks had gone back to their regular flow.
After Rosie’s trucks were unloaded, she puffed away.
“You know, Salty, I’ve had quite an adventure today.” said Porter.
“Do tell!” beamed the dockside diesel.
With that, Porter told his friends all about his adventure that day.