Amends

**Amends** is the eighth episode of the third season of the Stories of Sodor and the forty-third episode overall.

Amends/Transcript

## Plot

The winter of 1947 was an unusually very busy time as the island's industries and businesses stayed open for the season. Sir Topham Hatt had arranged for Geoffrey to transfer to Sodor to help the engines with the heavy workload and improve their morale. The approaching Nationalisation of the Railways was a divisive topic among staff and engines at this time.

At Knapford, Gordon, James and Reginald are talking about the pros and cons of Nationalisation, with James being optimistic about their planned overhauls once Nationalisation takes effect and that updating all engines to one standard will likely reduce the time and cost for maintenance. James then complains about how long they're taking to clear the snow. Mickey has been helping, as are Donald and Douglas who are working on Ballahoo Tunnel, with only the single line cleared. Gordon gets concerned upon learning this as Henry is supposed to go by with a goods train, as does Reginald.

Meanwhile at the tunnel, Donald and Douglas are clearing the double track side when Henry emerges from the tunnel on the other side. Henry and Douglas then get into an argument, to Donald's chagrin. Later, he talks to Edward about their feud. Both of them agree that something has to be done, but don't know what. Edward decides to talk with Sir Topham Hatt once he returns from London in a few days. Donald gets worried that something will happen before Sir Topham Hatt comes back, as does Edward.

We then cut to Geoffrey pulling a goods train, passing by a farmer and his dog as well as trees with someone calling his name. Geoffrey then stops, coming face to face with Alfred. This is then revealed to be a dream as Toby wakes him up to tell him that his train is ready. Geoffrey tells Percy and Toby about his dream with Alfred, and Percy asks what the history was about between the two of them. Back then, Geoffrey had been sabotaging the other companies in a false sense of being loyal to the LMS. One day, he heard Alfred had been assigned to take a special passenger train out of London, which had important people on board, including the Duke and Duchess of Boxford. Geoffrey had arranged for a goods train to derail near the Nor'Easter sheds to trap them inside in the hopes that either him or a Midi would be called upon as a replacement. However, Spencer was outside the sheds and took the train instead. Afterwards, the Duke and Duchess became interested in buying Spencer once his working career was over. Alfred was furious at missing out on the train and even more so when he found out Geoffrey was responsible for the incident. Even though he made amends with Alfred, he still despised him until he risked his life to save Knapford Harbour during the war. Geoffrey says he wished Alfred did forgive him, though doesn't see it happening soon. Percy reminds him: "Never say never, Geoffrey, especially on this island." Geoffrey then prepares to depart.

Geoffrey made his way along the main line, and just after Crosby, he sees the same farmer, dog and trees he saw in his dream, and suddenly, ahead of him, where Alfred was, is a massive snowdrift. He and his driver throw on the brakes, stopping only a few yards from the drift. The snowdrift had apparently slipped down from the hill just recently. Geoffrey's driver decides to go back to Crosby to raise the alarm.

Meanwhile at Vicarstown, Henry and Douglas are there, arguing because the former had been chosen by Mickey to help clear the line. Henry goes off anyways as they still hurl insults. After asking Douglas what Lily saw in him, he furiously bashes into Henry and he derails. However, Douglas soon realises that by doing so, he trapped himself in the siding and is unable to help.

A few hours later, Peckett had re-railed Henry and he and Douglas are now in the sheds. Just then, Sir Topham Hatt arrives and orders Peckett to leave while he talks with Henry and Douglas. Sir Topham Hatt confesses for being partly at fault, as he had been aware of the animosity between them since becoming Sodor's controller, but failed to see to it right away and apologises for not doing it sooner. However, the two engines don't want to apologise and Sir Topham Hatt scolds both of them for what they did. Douglas still blames Henry for Lily's death, which makes Henry realise that Douglas feels jealous for her having died to save him. Henry points out that Lily would have done so no matter which engine was there or if the situation was different. Douglas and Henry apologies to each other and to Sir Topham Hatt. Instead of letting the Inspector's Unit filing charges, they would allow him to discipline them himself. He assigns them to double-shifts until the new year, effective immediately with the Main Line now being cleared of snow.

Throughout rest of the night and into the morning, Douglas and Henry worked to clear through the many trains that were backed up. Once they reached Wellsworth, Edward and Donald were the first to find out about their reconciliation, but at the time, the others didn't know this. The day before, while the line was being clear, they held a meeting to discuss to the situation and decided to talk to the Sir Topham Hatt; More accurately, Percy was picked as their Deputation. By Percy's own account, it didn't go well. That night, he tells the others about it and that Sir Topham Hatt already dealt with it. Peter remarks that they should have kept their radios so they would know sooner. Gordon agrees, but they were military property and points out the best thing is to keep radio chatter minimised before the engines go to sleep.

Geoffrey then has another dream where he finds himself in a quiet siding in an empty Knapford Harbour. He then hears a whistle and the puffing of an engine grow louder and closer. Alfred suddenly appears on the track to his right. He calmly tells Geoffrey that he had warned him about the snowdrift before he apologises for the grudge he held, having learned that Geoffrey is now a different engine. Alfred then accepts Geoffrey's apology for the trick. Before leaving, Alfred reminds him that Colin, Lily and Mr. Star send their regards. The B12 then bids Geoffrey farewell and Merry Christmas as he leaves.

The next morning, Geoffrey told Percy, Gordon, Peter, Samantha and Toby about his dream. The news soon spread to the rest of the engines, who had no doubts that it was real. They were also given closure knowing that their deceased friends were happy. Christmas arrived, and on New Year's Eve, grand jubilee was held to commemorate the twenty-five years of service offered by the Big Four. Nationalisation took effect on January 1, 1948, officially beginning the days of British Railways.

## Characters

* Edward
* Henry
* Gordon
* James
* Percy
* Toby
* Donald and Douglas
* Reginald
* Peter
* Peckett
* Samantha
* Geoffrey
* Alfred
* The Fat Controller
* Thomas *(does not speak)*
* Mickey *(does not speak)*
* Spencer *(does not speak)*
* Colin *(as a ghost; does not speak)*
* Eric *(cameo)*
* Diesel *(cameo)*
* Adam *(cameo)*
* Neil *(cameo)*
* Matthew *(cameo)*
* Whiff *(cameo)*
* Flying Scotsman *(cameo)*
* Alice *(cameo)*
* William *(cameo)*
* Toad *(cameo)*
* Trevor *(cameo)*
* Paul *(cameo)*
* Justin *(cameo)*
* Barry *(cameo)*
* Jinty *(cameo)*
* Lily *(mentioned)*
* Mr. Star *(mentioned)*

### Trivia

* The events of this episode take place in December 1947.