The Story of Lana

The Story of Lana

Sodor, May 1968

The engines at Tidmouth Sheds had just came back from their daily jobs, the engines were just settling as they look all around and saw the evening sky drawing in with dark cloud along with it, the engines all goes backing in to the shed if it it’s to rain, in the shed there was only one spot leave out. The engines all knew this spot was for one of the new mainline passenger and goods engine and the engines were happy for her to have a spot in the shed after Thomas moved away to Ffathquar Shed so he can be near his branch-line and get to work more and more quicker.

Soon the new engine backs down in to the spot in between Gordon and Henry, the new engine was named Lana; Lana is a replica of the LNER Peppercorn A1, she was painted in NWR blue with white lining with 30 on the side of her cab also in white and NWR on her tender as well. Lana was a loyal, friendly and helpful engine as she runs faster passenger trains throw the mainline and also takes long goods trains too and sometimes takes the express if Gordon, Henry or James are busy, unwell or needs repairs.

“a very, very busy day again?” asks Henry.

“yes, as busty as always” said Lana “I had to take a huge goods train to the docks, then take a passenger train to the end of the line but the diesel had failed so I had to take it as far as were the bridge was as another diesel to took it”

“I can imagination that” said Gordon “well my brother Flying Scotsman is the first……”

“second Gordon!” interrupted Lana “Flying Scotsman is the second one to go 100mph if you forgotten”.

“o-oh yes true” said Gordon as his face went a deep shade of red “the Great Western Railway City of Truro did go 100mph first”

“yes, yes very, very true” said Lana “he is lucky to be at National Railway Museum in his wartime black lively”

“I supposedly say he did have an overhaul at all” said Gordon.

“but at less my brother Tornado is running on the mainline on the main land I say” said Lana “even if I am just a replica”.  

“come on even if you’re a replica you’re still a really useful engine” said Emily “you can pull both a passenger train and a goods train all at the same time”.

“true and true I was mainly built as a display so people gets to see the Peppercorn A1 up close since Tornado does his trains on the mainline along with those diesel at all” said Lana, she looked across the shed to where Bear was “no offence Bear”.

“none taken” said Bear “and I must agree on Lana about some diesels”.

“ohhh yes” said James “like that roughing Old Stuck-Up, or Spamcan or the diesel that told lies about Duck”.

“hey some diesels are nice you know James” said Lana “like Bear here, BoCo, Daisy, Salty uhh…. oh that little narrow gauge diesel Rusty and the works diesel that took you back to the sheds one winter”.

James went bright red of embarrassment remembering the incident at Crovan’s Gate when he got too much water in his tank that caused his injector to fail, although he did get help by the works diesel and learned his lesson to respect diesel engines after that.

“at less we know there’s going to be a new line is going to be built” said Emily “I heard that it will help with trains on both the mainline and branch-line”.

“supposedly yes” said Lana “I heard it’s going to be the new way from the mainline to The Other Railway…. So it will be easier to do the express won’t it Gordon?”

“yes, yes it will indeed” said Gordon.

“well let’s all get some shut eye for the night” yawned Emily as she goes to sleep soon the engines were all asleep as well.

The next day, the engines waked up when the run raised up since it was early in the morning most of the engines went to their daily jobs as now, Donald and Douglas went off to the branch-line to get the morning passenger trains ready when Emily goes to the big station to do some shunting work and get all the mainline coaches ready.Soon enough the other engines also leaves the sheds as well, Gordon was going to take the express as normal to the end of the line.

Henry and James went on to do goods work and passenger trains whiling Lana was to take some equipment to the new line as it only began to get built, Lana backs down on to her train as Gordon just leaves with the express and Henry takes a goods train to the branch-line so they can be building their own way to the new line.

Lana takes the goods train to the new line when she got there she saw that half of the entrance of the line had been built and the men were about to build the new piece of truck on the top of a edge near a hill tunnel down the edge was the mainline went it joined up to the each of the branch-lines as well. Lana gently brings her train on to a siding out of the way and she helped shunt the truck on to the hill to help carry the new rail truck.

“a passenger engine doing shunting work is it” called a voice, Lana looks down at the bottom of the edge was James going by with a long goods train “I suppose you like doing those type of works”

“well excuse me I was helping them with the new line” said Lana “what if you was doing this job then... hmm?”

“well…I…..I….” started James when his crew just laughed at the matter thinking it was a good joke “humph” James just didn’t listen and goes on with his train.

Soon Lana was done her part of the new line, she goes to the junction to take her fast passenger train, when Lana met Gordon who just returned from his train when Emily took Gordon’s train away Lana talks with Gordon about how of the new line was going on.

“ahhh very good indeed” said Gordon “soon it will be easier to take the express to the end of the line then running all the way across the entire mainline until you get to the shed that is it is tiring”.

“I agree on that” said Lana “however there is going to be a speed limited on the hill so we can not have any accidents at that” Gordon agreed with her “I hope I can remember the limited…… I sometimes get short term memory lost”

“oh I understand that” said Gordon.

Soon Lana puffs off with her fast passenger train as Gordon puffs off backyards to the sheds as he knew he did some rest for his long journey to the end of the line and then back again. Meanwhile Lana was speeding throw the line with her train she slowed now when she came to the hill were the new line was, Lana checked the line to see how the work was going on and saw it was gong very well.

“ah ha I see it’s going well than I thought” said Lana “actually very well you can’t never be sure what can happen on a line like this”.

“oh yes your very right there” said Lana’s driver “at less we’ll be get to run a few tests on the line as well”.

“really?” said Lana confusedly but also surprised upon what her driver just said.

“oh yes” said her driver “but we best be careful just in case something might happen”

Lana agreed with her driver and carried on more quickly after they passed the hill and goes off in speed throw the mainline when Lana kept on thinking about how she can run the tests. That evening Lana told the other engines about the tests she was going to take, luckily the engines were not angry or jealous at her.

“I suppose it’s fair” Henry started off “Lana is the engine that is helping building the line gets to run the tests on it”

Soon the line was done and the very first test was to begin, the first test was to see if the express can run on the line from the junction to the end of the line, Lana’s crew finds some spare express coaches and The Fat Controller agreed that they can uses the coaches. Lana couples up to the spare express and took it away out of the junction; Lana passes the entrance to the new line successfully and starts to climb the edge of the hill towards the new mainline.

“so fair so good” said Lana to herself “this is going more well than I thought it would”.

Lana manages to get throw the hill tunnel and heads towards the new line and heads to the end of the line when she got there a men in a suit and a cap was looking throw his clipboard which confused Lana until his driver told her this man was to check the tests to see how successfully they want.

“well I must say this test went on very, very well” said the man.

“wow” smiled Lana “imagination that the express going on for testing”.

Lana backs in to the siding when Bear took the spare express back to the yard as Lana took some rest soon she went back to the sheds and told the engines all about the test and how well it went.

“I wonder what’s next?” asks Lana.

“you just did a passenger train” said James.

“so it meant as well be a goods train next” said Henry.

“I purpose so” yawns Lana “personally I won’t mind taking both at the same time and she goes to sleep.

The next day, Lana helped Emily with some shunting work as this will be for the second test that night and Lana took stopping-passenger trains for the rest of the day until she was ready to take the second test. That night Lana backs down on to the goods train, it was a long train with 12 trucks but Lana didn’t mind this at all as it was the work she was made for. Lana puffs off out of the big station towards the new line slowly but goes abit faster when passing the entrance Lana goes on faster and faster that she forgot about the speed limited and just carries on at top speed.

When the driver noticed the edge they had to slow down but the train was heavy and the rails were wet from the other night, Lana tries to break hard but she still can’t stop soon enough as she runs on to the line her front wheels spins helplessly on the truck as Lana nearly got to the tunnel when the line snaps and Lana tips over the side, Lana’s crew managed to jump off in to the bushes in time, but Lana fells down the edge and smashes on to the mainline. Lana lies on her side on the truck badly damaged; her buffer-beam was creaked opened, her front wheels were gone and one side of her boiler was very, very damaged.

The Fat Controller was working late at his office when he heard the crash and goes over to the window to see what happen “oh my goodness!” he called in alarmed when he saw Lana on her side, The Fat Controller made a mad dash to his telephone and rings for help at once “emergency, NWR No. 30: Lana, at derailed and is very badly damaged get the Tidmouth breakdown train here now and quickly”    

The engines were all asleep when they heard a bell ringing from across the yard they know it might there was accident somewhere on the line. They saw Donald and Douglas speed passed with the break-down train and some flatbeds, The Fat Controller comes to were Lana was lying; Lana was scared he’ll be mad at her but saw he had a worried look on his face.

“what happen?” asks The Fat Controller as the crew makes their way down to the mainline.

“we couldn't see the speed limited and we knew we couldn't stop Lana in time before we got to the tunnel” explained the driver.

“hmmm I see” said The Fat Controller rubbing his chin “well Lana you’ll have to go in for a monthly repair I’m afraid”  

“y-y-yes sir” moans Lana weakly.

Before long Donald and Douglas arrived with the breakdown train, Lana was carefully put on to a flatbed as the twins took her to the works, The Fat Controller knew it was going to be alot of work to repair Lana and the damaged part of the mainline, so he had a new workshop at Tidmouth and the engines had to be repaired by the yard workmen there and the new line was to be the mainline until the normal one can be fixed up.

The engines also did Lana’s work as well as their own but they didn’t mind they knew Lana was at a bad state as it.

Six months had passed and Lana was still at the works, Victor and Kevin were doing all they can to get her back to full working order again but it was getting very tricky for them as well to find the parts needed to repair her. Soon on the seventh month The Fat Controller orders all of the engines from the mainline and the branch-lines to come to the sheds for some reason, but the engines didn’t know why.

“what the hay is going on here?” asks Mavis “why are you all at the sheds”

“bets me” said Gordon “but The Fat Controller wanted said he wanted something to all of us”

“must be very impotent then” said Emily.

“of course it will be something important!” commented James “why else will be we here for?!”

“shush up James” said Belle “here comes The Fat Controller”

The Fat Controller walks up to the engines with a smile on his face “I got good news” he said “the damaged half of mainline has been fixed…. but more importantly she is fixed up”.

“who?” asks Percy.

The Fat Controller just laughs and points towards the main-line as Edward rolls on the turntable and goes in to his spot of the sheds as a whistle was heard, the engines all went silent they knew who’s whistle that was but couldn't believe it soon a shadow appears from a cloud of smoke and when the engine came in to view the engines were amazed at what they saw.

The engines whistle and horns happily as……. Lana puffs in to the yard and goes on to the turntable, Lana’s boiler was repaired, her painted work was brighter then normal and her buffer-beam was rebuilt as it looked almost like Gordon’s one. The engines were happy to see their friend as good as new with her new coat of paint that shines in the sun light.

“welcome back Lana” said Gordon, James and Henry.

“It’s good to see you up and about again” smiled Emily.

“yes it’s great to be back” said Lana smiling at each of the engines.

From then on all of the engines on The Fat Controller’s railway were all happy again.