The Great Railway Show

**The Great Railway Show** is an adaptation of *The Great Race* for the Seventyverse.

## Plot

### Chapter 1: Some Exciting News

Gordon is up bright and early, determined to set a new record with the express. The reason is that Flying Scotsman is coming with a railtour and Gordon is determined to make a good impression on his brother.

Gordon is standing at platform one when Stanley brings his coaches instead of Philip. Stanley explains that Philip is arranging a goods train for Donald and Douglas. Gordon, Stanley, Stafford and Emily comment on Philip's behaviour, especially after his so-called "race" with Gordon. Then the guard blows his whistle and Gordon sets off.

Gordon has a good run with Thomas hoping all goes well with Flying Scotsman. When Gordon arrives at Vicarstown, he sees Pip and Emma at the other platform, who inform Gordon that Sadie and Delilah's driver has become a father. Just then, Scotsman arrives and the two brothers are happily reunited. Scotsman is also acquainted with Pip and Emma before telling Gordon that he is taking part in the Great Railway Show and he will be racing. Then, Scotsman leaves for his photo shoot and Gordon starts thinking about the Great Railway Show.

Meanwhile, the other engines hear about the Great Railway Show too and start singing about it, even begging Sir Topham Hatt to take them, no matter where he goes in Winston. Eventually, Sir Topham tells the engines that he hasn't finalised his decision on who will be going and reminds them that they still have a railway to run. Realising this, the engines quickly get to work, much to Sir Topham's relief.

Diesel is at Knapford with Bruno and is grumbling about embarrassing himself by joining in with the song just as it had finished. Duck then arrives with Tillie's latest ducklings to show Diesel, who is very grateful. Diesel then tells Duck how Thomas had got him to behave in exchange for keeping quiet about his secret, and then eventually showing Arry and Bert when he couldn’t keep up the act. Duck is shocked at Thomas for blackmailing Diesel and after explaining to Bruno what it means, Diesel is furious at the realisation. Duck agrees and tells Diesel he and Thomas need to sort this out before it escalates into the Dieselworks fire all over again. This leaves Bruno worried for Diesel.

### Chapter 2: Choose Your Candidates

Gordon is making the return trip from Vicarstown and stops at Crovan's Gate where he meets up with Connor and Luke. After Gordon explains about Scotsman's participation in the Great Railway Show, Caitlin speeds through, giving Gordon a hint of inspiration. Connor also reveals he's to partake in The Great Race.

Down at Knapford, the engines are discussing the Great Railway Show and Stafford points out that with Murdoch and Amanda on overhaul and BoCo, Bear and Derek on loan to the mainland, the North Western Railway was short staffed. Douglas states that no one might go to the Great Railway Show, not to mention that Oliver was being mended too. James was optimistic that he would be chosen though. Presently, Gordon arrives and announced his intention to have himself temporarily streamlined, much to the shock of the other engines.

That night at Tidmouth, Percy, Thomas, Henry, Edward and Emily have heard the news and raise their concerns but Gordon is determined to go through with it. As the engines go to sleep, Gordon has a dream about being streamlined and sings a song about it. Then, just as Gordon crosses the finish line, he hears a voice call his name. Gordon wakes up to see Thomas telling him it is nearly time for the express. Realising this, Gordon rushes off.

Meanwhile, inside his office, Sir Topham Hatt is making his decision on which engines to take to the Great Railway Show when he hears Gordon calling for him and goes outside to see what Gordon wants.

Percy is about to head back to the Ffarquhar branch when he hears someone crying, "WHAT?!"

### Chapter 3: Sodor-National

Down at Brendam Docks, Edward has arrived with some trucks and is still missing BoCo. Just then, a ship pulls up at the docks, despite Cranky saying the next ship is not due in for another hour. Then a group of unfamiliar engines disembark all bound for the Great Railway Show. One of them, a brightly coloured Indian tank engine, introduces herself as Ashima. When Edward explains that the engines are in the wrong place as the Great Railway Show is supposed to be on the mainland, the ship captain explains that the ship had to make an emergency stop due to some creaking noises and it would take days to fix. Porter then reveals that the Vicarstown Rolling Lift Bridge is under maintenance and it is not safe for anyone to cross. Luckily, the captain has informed Sir Topham Hatt about the international engines' sudden and untimely arrival. Edward leads the engines to Knapford station although, one of them, a German tender engine named Frieda is shown to be tired and grumpy from the long boat ride.

As the engines head for Knapford, Ashima admires the scenery and many passengers are amazed to see the international engines, wondering if Sir Topham Hatt had purchased some new engines without anyone realizing it. Soon, the cavalcade arrives at Knapford where Thomas, Annie and Clarabel are most surprised. Sir Topham Hatt welcomes the international engines to Sodor and promises to do all they can to make the visitors feel welcome and comfortable until the bridge is fixed. The international engines introduce themselves - Shane of Australia (for the Strength Competition), Gina of Italy (for the Shunting Challenge), Gabriela of Brazil (for the Best Dressed Engine Parade); Raul of Brazil (for the Shunting Challenge); Axel of Belgium, Etienne of France (both for the Great Race), Yong Bao of China, Rajiv of India, Carlos of Mexico (all for the Best Dressed Engine Parade), Ivan of Russia (for the Shunting Challenge), Frieda of Germany and Vinnie of Canada (both for the Strength Competition). Ashima reveals that she is also representing India, but for the Shunting Challenge. Thomas offers to let Ashima help on his branch line, which is short staffed at the moment, due to Daisy moving to Harwick. Ashima is excited, having heard about him from the newspapers and the Railway Series books; although Thomas says there's a lot of discrepancies, which he'll explain on the way.

Etienne is allocated to the Peel Godred branch line where Harleen is excited to see an engine from France. Selina also flirts with Etienne, much to Pamela's annoyance. Gabriela helps Dennis with the shunting up at Vicarstown but has to keep the lazy diesel from taking a nap. Raul helps out on the Little Western in Oliver's absence, but Raul is treating the yards like a playground, much to Duck's annoyance and it isn't long before Raul derails at some points that are set against him. Gina is helping Victor and Kevin at the Steamworks where it is revealed Oliver had another accident involving the turntable well, only this time, instead of Oliver being overconfident, it was a lack of communication between a lazy signalman and turntable master. Gordon then arrives to be temporarily streamlined and despite everyone else's concerns, they can't think of a suitable counter-argument.

Axel is pulling the express in Gordon's absence. Sir Topham Hatt and Annabelle are finalising the international engines' temporary roles on the North Western Railway, with just Yong Bao and Carlos left. Annabelle suggests that Yong Bao could help Edward on the Brendam branch and the Chinese engine is more than happy to oblige. Carlos is assigned to help Harvey, Charlie and Stanley with their jobs in Amanda's absence. Edward is grateful for his help as it has been difficult to keep on top of everything with Amanda on overhaul and BoCo and Derek absent. Yong Bao senses how much Edward misses the two diesels, especially BoCo. Yong Bao assures Edward that no matter where one may roam, their heart will always lead them home. Edward appreciates this. Back at Knapford, Carlos is about to tell the story of when he competed in the very first Great Railway Show, only to be cut off by Philip having an accident whilst shunting Henry's trucks. Carlos offers to get a breakdown crane but Harvey says he can easily do that so Carlos decides to tackle Harvey's train. As Carlos leaves, the engines raise concerns about Carlos' workaholic behaviour.

### Chapter 4: The Grumpiest Engine of All

Frieda, Shane and Ivan are allocated to Cronk where Ivan arranges trains leaving the main line's middle station for either Knapford and Vicarstown whilst Frieda and Shane handle trains to and from the airport. Shane is very friendly towards passengers. Both Ivan and Frieda question Shane being a tour guide, but the former changes his tune after Shane points out that airline announces welcome people to places all the time.

Vinnie is getting impatient with Rosie, who retorts that if he keeps up his negative attitude, she will get Young Bao's train before his. When Henry asks why Vinnie is allowed to compete with that attitude, Yong Bao explains that Vinnie does a good job of hiding it when he's performing. Just then, Rosie arrives with Yong Bao's trucks and the Chinese engine thanks her before puffing away. Vinnie is cross with Rosie and when he insults smaller engines like her, Henry defends them that saying smaller engines are useful for areas that bigger engines like them can't go.

Rajiv is helping Stephen and Millie with visitors to Ulfstead Castle and the passengers stand in awe of Rajiv's design. Stephen then reveals that he will be taking part in the parade as the Earl provided him to take the band along. James then arrives, boasting that he's been chosen to take part in the Best Dressed Engine Parade. Rajiv scoffs at this, saying that James' class were all as plain as he is. James argues that he was selected for an experiment of having a front pony truck and made and a name for himself here. Rajiv asks cheekily if it was by needing a bootlace to mend a hole in James' coaches’ brake pipe, having heard it from the Thin Clergyman's books. James retorts that a lot of things in the books are a bunch of baloney, causing an argument between the engines. However, when Thomas, Ashima, Annie and Clarabel arrive, Thomas tells James that his incidents with the bootlace and the tar wagons actually did happen, leaving Rajiv feeling smug.

Frieda is at Crovan's Gate where she meets up with Peter Sam, Ada, Jane, Mabel and Cora. Unfortunately, Frieda scolds Peter Sam for not letting his coaches introduce themselves but Ada speaks up for Peter Sam and Jane demands that Frieda apologises to him. The German engine refuses, accusing all men of being the same, always keeping woman in their 'place' and never allowing them to speak for themselves. Fred then arrives with a maintenance train and after she explains that she performs maintenance duties alongside Rusty, Frieda is cross that both girls are on maintenance work. Peter Sam then tells her that Rusty is a boy and he doesn’t like it when someone misgenders him. Frieda is cross when she learns that Fred is the only girl engine and the rest of the girls on the Skarloey Railway are coaches, but before anymore is said, Frieda's guard blows the whistle and the German engine rolls away, still grumbling.

At Knapford, things are very chaotic, as Vinnie and James are getting into a argument and Frieda adds fuel to the fire by wheeshing steam at both of them. Henry then intervenes by telling James to calm down and ignore both Vinnie and Frieda. After that, Henry then reveals that he will be participating in the Great Railway Show, in the Strength Competition. Vinnie is in hysterics, boasting that Henry has no chance compared to him, although Frieda mutters that Vinnie is one of the biggest cheaters.

Later that day at Vicarstown, Shane meets up with Hiro, who explains how he came to Sodor to try and mend relations between England and Japan after the Second World War, how he was then abandoned for a long time, before Thomas organised a plan to restore him and how he went back to Japan, before coming back to Sodor when Murdoch needed an overhaul. Shane then explains how he is taking part in the Strength Competition and it would be difficult keeping Frieda and Vinnie in check. Luckily, Hiro is taking part in the Strength Competition as well so he offers to help keep the peace too.

### Chapter 5: Philip's Folly

One year ago, Rusty was at the Steamworks, where he was testing his brakes when  he heard Kevin calling, "Watch out!". Rusty quickly braked to a halt but Kevin wasn't talking to him and there was then a clash of buffers from an unfamiliar boxcab and a truck of spare parts. The boxcab was apologetic and this reminded Rusty of when he first met Flyer. Rusty recalled how he would have suggested ‘Pip’ or ‘Phil’ himself as it could be short for Philip or Philippa. The boxcab became excited as he felt 'Philip' was a wonderful name for him. With that, Philip thanked Rusty and headed on his way, much to Rusty's bewilderment.

Back in the present day, Philip is shunting trucks around Knapford but is once again not paying attention and he bumps into Diesel, who scolds him for his hyperactive behaviour. Then Philip brags about his 'race' with Gordon for the umpteenth time, only for a voice to mock him for it - but the voice didn't belong to Diesel, who then leaves for the Dieselworks. Philip glances over to see Vinnie who then recalls hearing about Philip's past events and cruelly states that Philip has been nothing but trouble for the other engines, which upsets the boxcab. Philip then races off to Knapford with the red coaches for Henry. Emily, her coaches, Stanley and Edward are also there and after Philip tells them what Vinnie said, Stanley harshly tells them it was true whilst listing the consequences of Philip's cocky behaviour. Philip is shocked by this revelation and when Emily says that cheering for him after that 'race' was a mistake, the boxcab runs off, crying. Stanley feels awful for being so hard on him. Meanwhile, Philip hides at a corner of Knapford sheds and thinks he should never have been built to begin with.

The other station pilots are doing their best to pick up the slack in Philip's absence and are worried for him. When Stafford suggests that Charlie could tell one of his jokes to cheer Philip up, the purple tank engine does not think they will do any good this time. Then Ashima arrives and learns of the situation with Philip and asks why the other engines had been going too easy on him. Rosie replies that it was best to ask the Skarloey engines about it, so Ashima asks Paxton if they can swap jobs for today. Although Paxton reminds  Ashima that she needs to practice for the Shunting Challenge, the Indian tank engine firmly says she needs to help Philip first so the green 08 agrees.

Ashima finds Philip and tells him she's here to help him. Philip states that he's more of a hinderance then help but Ashima says that engines aren't of any use if they stand around all day and tells Philip that they need to get to the Blue Mountain Quarry. Philip agrees and follows Ashima out of the shed to collect some empty trucks.

When Philip and Ashima arrived at the quarry, Rheneas greets Ashima, who apologises for Frieda and Vinnie's attitudes. Rheneas then notices that Philip is upset and the boxcab explains what happened with Stanley and Vinnie. When Philip asks why nobody told him he was doing anything wrong, the original six look at each other, thankful that Luke has gone up to Ulfstead Castle whilst this is going on. They explain that Philip reminds them of Flyer, before revealing how Flyer saved Duke from an avalanche and took the blow. After losing Flyer, they didn't want the same thing to happen to Philip. Philip is shocked as he understands and thanks everyone for telling him. Skarloey then asks Philip not to tell Luke yet and the boxcab promises.

Later on, Philip and Ashima return to the yards, with the boxcab thanking the Indian tank engine for bringing him out of the sheds. Then, the two engines come across a shocking sight with Judy and Jerome explaining how it will take forever to explain and this started six years ago. Ashima and Philip are puzzled but they help to clear up the mess.

### Chapter 6: Coming to Blows

Six years ago, Diesel was staring in horror at the sight of the Dieselworks on fire and was panicking on what to do. Then, he heard Thomas calling for help, followed by Arry and Bert sneering at the blue tank engine. Diesel was appalled as he thought he'd set them straight and hope to do the same with Diesel 10 but there they were, still wanting to kill steam engines, even going as far as staying and burning in the fire themselves. Thomas' cries for help reminded Diesel of the time Arry and Bert almost killed Duck but despite Diesel's insistence to help Thomas, his driver didn't want the black 08 to put himself in danger so Diesel reluctantly left, hoping that Thomas would still be alive when he got back.

Back in the present, Diesel is on his way to the Dieselworks with Bruno and a shipment of parts. As they pass Elsbridge, Diesel hears Sir Topham Hatt informing Thomas that he will be going to the Great Railway Show to compete in the Shunting Challenge. Thomas is delighted but Diesel, who is still angry at Thomas for blackmailing him, is furious.

Den and Dart are waiting for Diesel when the black shunter rushes in, still cross that Thomas was chosen for the Great Railway Show. Diesel states that if Thomas thinks that he can get away with this, he has another thing coming, before breaking into a song about being full of surprises, much to the concern of Den, Dart and Bruno. Once the song is over, Diesel informs Bruno that he will leave him in Rosie's care when they get back to the yards.

Back at the main yards, Thomas, Gina, Raul and Ivan are gathered together with Percy and Harvey. After Ivan jokes how an actual duck would have been more help to Duck than Raul has been, Thomas then tells him and Gina about the ducks at Haultraugh. Then Gina notices that someone is missing and realises that it's Ashima. Harvey decides to go and look for her whilst Percy continues to keep rearranging the rolling stock alone. Little does anyone realize that a certain black shunter is lying in wait. Gina is up first and looks as if she's been doing it for a long time. Thomas is impressed and when he asks how one remembers all that, Ivan explains that the rolling stock is shuffled every time another competitor starts. Ivan is next and, whilst not as quick as Gina, he still does pretty well.

Thomas is nervous since he was only the station pilot for a few weeks before he got his branchline but Gina advises him to believe in himself and as long as he doesn't do anything foolish, he can achieve his goal. Next, it's Raul's turn but he goes too quickly and one of the vans rolls away. Raul's van nearly collides with Diesel and despite his mishap, the Brazilian engine manages to compete his run. Without Percy of the competitors noticing, Diesel swaps out one of the trucks for another with a broken coupling.

Soon, it's Thomas' turn and does well at first but after shunting the third flatbed, the van's coupling comes loose as he pulls back. As everyone wonders what happened, they heard Diesel laughing. Percy instructs to Gina, Ivan and Raul to get out of the way, before following suit and Thomas yells at Diesel for sabotaging his practice run. Diesel snaps back saying how Thomas and nearly everyone else on the island have been on his back for supposedly siding with Arry and Bert when he really went there to keep an eye on them and make sure no one got hurt. Thomas, whilst trying to avoid the trucks, reminded him of how Diesel called Arry and Bert his friends and the time he teamed up with Diesel 10. Then with tears burning in his eyes, Diesel revealed that Arry and Bert blackmailed him by threatening to scrap one of the steam engines if Diesel fell out of line. As for Diesel 10, Diesel thought he could help him too but realised his mistake when Diesel 10 set the Dieselworks on fire and because everyone refused to let up, Diesel decides to stop being nice to anyone. Thomas is horrified by the revelation but Diesel, still angry at Thomas for blackmailing him, launchs the truck with the broken coupling right at the blue tank engine. The impact knocks Thomas into his handywork and Diesel right off the tracks.

Ashima and Philip are helping Judy and Jerome to clear the mess and Duck, who bought the breakdown train, says he'd be lying if he said he didn’t see something like this coming. When Thomas asks what Diesel means when he said Thomas blackmailed him, Diesel refers to the duckling incident and Duck reveals that he already knew about Diesel and the ducklings. He also reveals how the two formed an alliance after Diesel saved him from Arry and Bert. Thomas feels guilty for his actions and wishes he hadn't been so angry with Diesel over the Dieselworks fire but Diesel points out it was his fault as well. Then Sir Topham Hatt climbs down from Duck's cab and scolds Thomas for blackmailing Diesel. He also scolds Diesel for holding such a traumatic secret to himself and acting out for so long instead of confining in the rest of them for help, reminding him of Emily, Sir Handel and Peter Sam's experiences.

Diesel then reveals how he felt he didn't deserve help as he was still having nightmares of the whole Barrow incident and what could have gone wrong. The fire at the Dieselworks also gave him more nightmares and he felt like he had to punish himself for being a coward. Diesel's behaviour from his first visit didn't help. Duck then points out that if one can’t take care of themselves, they can't take care of others and says that he's still grateful for Diesel for saving his life at Barrow and Thomas says that he now understands that Diesel tried to get help in another way during the fire. Diesel then promises to seek counselling once he's mended and thanks Duck for sticking with him during a tough time. When Duck points out that someone will need to take Thomas' place at the Shunting Challenge, Diesel suggest that Duck should go but the pannier tank still has a branch line to run. Then Thomas has a great idea on who should go.

Percy is unsure about going to the Great Railway Show until Thomas reminds him that just before his race with Spencer the day Thomas found Hiro, Percy told him that he could do anything he wanted to, if he just put his mind to it. Thomas then says that he believes in Percy so the green saddle tank engine agrees to do his best for Thomas. Sir Topham Hatt then tells Percy to go with Ashima and practice before the big day. With that, Percy rushes off excitedly to find Ashima, Gina, Ivan and Raul. Then Harvey comes rushing in, still looking for Ashima and is surprised to see the accident Thomas and Diesel had caused.

### Chapter 7: A Flying Start

Later that evening, Thomas is at the Steamworks where Oliver's repairs are almost done and Gordon is undergoing his streamlining. Thomas explains what happened to Oliver who confirms he knew as did Bruno and Rosie (however, Rosie was only vaguely aware of the details). Toad, Gladys and the slippies also knew by association of Oliver and Duck. When Thomas says that he and Diesel have apologised to each other, Oliver is pleased.

The big day arrives and Percy, Henry, James and the international engines gather together at Crovan's Gate; Stephen is on a flatbed between Henry and James. Many of the other Sudrians are there to see them off. When Vinnie is rude to Carlos, Frieda grumbles about males attacking each other for superiority. Emily finally loses patience and scolds Frieda for her horrible attitude, saying how it reminds her of her bossy phase. Frieda is shocked by this and goes silent. Presently, the now streamlined Gordon emerges from the Steamworks and announces that he will be known as the Shooting Star for the show.

Inside the Steamworks, Kevin is helping to put away all the tools and leftover parts when he makes a horrifying discovery - Gordon's safety valve! He quickly rushes to alert Victor. Thomas, Oliver and Murdoch, who is going through his safety inspection, are left concerned.

Back at the station, Sir Topham Hatt thanks the international engines for their service during their stay on Sodor and Ashima thanks him for the hospitality they received. Then the guard blows his whistle and the cavalcade sets off for the Great Railway Show. Kevin, still carrying Gordon's safety valve, is dismayed to see them leave. Victor overhears the crane's panicking and Kevin leads him back inside. There, Kevin shows Victor Gordon's safety valve and the Cuban engine is horrified as Gordon's boiler could explode. Thomas and Oliver aren't fast enough to catch up and Murdoch can't go when he hasn't passed his inspection. Fortunately, they hear Hugo's horn and as the rail zeppelin pulls into Crovan's Gate, Kevin explains the situation. Hugo promises to do his best and asks them to get Caitlin to take his passengers.

Hugo races along the main line, causing some stones to fly from Barry's trucks at the junction to Great Waterton. Then Hugo comes across Molly at Vicarstown who says that the group passed through. With that, Hugo races off again. Unfortunately, the Rolling Lift Bridge is up and Hugo has to stop. Every second that passes is one less second Hugo needs to reach Gordon and the others in time. At last, the ship fully passes and the bridge slowly lowered much to Hugo's relief. As soon as the gates lift, Hugo sets off again, hoping he would get to Gordon in time.

### Chapter 8: Strength and Style

The Great Railway Show is getting underway at Bridlington where the announcers, Stan and Nigel explain each event to the audience. Shooting Star, Etienne and Axel line up with Scotsman and Connor, who is competing for the United States at the starting line for the Great Race. Whilst there, Percy is reunited to a certain Class 13 unit. The green saddletank engine congratulates Sadie and Delilah's driver and introduces them to Gina, Ashima, Ivan and Raul. Then, Zeke tells Sadie and Delilah to get back to work.

A few minutes later, the Strength Competition gets underway. Henry is surprised at how heavy his load is but Hiro reminds Henry to do his best. Percy cheers for both Henry and Hiro. Whilst Raul points out that Hiro isn't even a Sudrian, Percy says that Hiro is a good friend of the Sudrians and Ashima commends him for showing good sportsmanship.

Frieda is pulling ahead of the rest of the Strength competitors when Vinnie's driver throws his empty lunch box at Frieda's driving wheels, causing some damage to her motion. Frieda is shocked and is brought to a sudden stop whilst Vinnie crosses the finishing line first. Then, to the surprise of everyone, including Hiro and Shane, who come second and third, respectively, Henry goes back to help. Though Frieda is now in fourth place and Henry finishes dead last, the green engine doesn't care. Everyone praises Henry for showing good sportsmanship and Frieda is left with a lot to think about.

As for Vinnie, Frieda's driver presented the remains of the lunchbox and Vinnie is disqualified from the Strength Competition. This means that Hiro, who was second to finish, takes the victory by default. Henry tells Frieda that she can come back to Sodor with them so that the Steamworks can fix her as good as new. Frieda thanks him and apologises for misjudging everyone on Sodor.

Once the Strength Competition is finished, Frieda is taken to another part of the yards to be inspected for any further damage. Then the Best Dressed Engine Parade gets underway. Whilst the judges are impressed with Rajiv, Yong Bao and Gabriela's appearances, Carlos and James prove to be a disappointment. When Nigel and Stan go easy on Carlos due to the hiccup of ending up on Sodor, they can't make any excuses for James.

After the parade ends, the head judge announces the results. James ends up in fifth and last place, much to the red engine's shock. The head judge explains that minimalism isn’t what they look for in the Best Dressed Engine Parade. Carlos comes in fourth place as his livery, despite the lack of decorations, was a little more striking than James’... but not by much. Carlos doesn't mind since he spent too much time helping everyone else and says he knows better for next time. Gabriela wins third place as for a first time decorated paint job, Gabriela has excellent taste. Yong Bao comes second as his red and green paintwork and the gold outline of the tiger are very magnificent. That means the winner in the Best Dressed Engine Parade is Rajiv, marking his twelfth consecutive victory. Naturally, Rajiv is pleased with himself but the other engines groan, knowing that he was going to be bragging about it.

James is still sulking about the judge calling his paint minimalist when Hugo rushes in the yard. When the rail zeppelin explains to Henry and James that Gordon doesn't have his safety valve, the two engines are alarmed. With that, Henry, James and Hugo quickly make their way to the starting line, unaware that Vinnie has overheard them.

### Chapter 9: The Great Race

Shooting Star, Flying Scotsman, Axel, Connor and Etienne are being looked over by their crews before the start of the race when Shooting Star asks if it is getting hotter. Then just as the race is about to begin, Henry, James and Hugo rush up and tell Shooting Star about his missing safety valve. Shooting Star feels uncomfortable from the negative attention and begs them to let him race if he controls his speed but Scotsman and Connor tell him to not as it's too dangerous. The referee agrees with them but before anymore is said, Vinnie comes up and in retaliation for being disqualified, he charges towards Scotsman. Shooting Star quickly switches onto Scotsman's line and prevents Vinnie from ramming into him.

Whilst the two engines are engaged in combat, James goes to get Sir Topham Hatt and Henry goes to get the police. Despite Gordon telling Scotsman to stay back, Scotsman helps him like brothers should. Slowly but surely, Vinnie is pushed over the points onto the other line. Unfortunately, Shooting Star's boilers starts to warp from the heat and his vision begins to blur as a result of pushing against Vinnie. Then, just as Vinnie charges forward, Shooting Star's driver changes the points just in time and Vinnie derails, crashing into a tree whilst Shooting Star's fireman puts his fire out. When the police arrive, Vinnie's driver and fireman attempt to run away with the officers chasing after them. Sir Topham Hatt checks on Shooting Star, who wishes to be called Gordon again whilst Henry praises him for his bravery. Gordon then suggests that Hugo should take his place. Hugo agrees and the referee allows it since the race was delayed enough.

After the delays, the Great Race finally gets underway with Hugo representing Germany. Gordon cheers for Scott although Frieda points out that Hugo used to hold the record for the fastest rail speed record. Etienne takes the lead with Axel not that far behind but the two engines start bragging to each other and their distraction allows Hugo, Scotsman and Connor to overtake them in a three-way lead. Etienne and Axel are now out of the running whilst Connor takes the lead. Hugo overtakes Flying Scotsman and is neck and neck with Connor. Both Connor and Hugo seem to cross the finish at the same with Scotsman coming in a very close third. Etienne comes fourth whilst Axel is stone dead last. Then Stan learns that from the crew that Connor won the race with Hugo in a close second by a couple of sleepers. Frieda lets a excited yell for Hugo coming in second place whilst Gordon praises Scott for being very close too, to Scott replies that it was thanks to Gordon.

### Chapter 10: Made of Sterner Stuff

It's now time for the final event: the Shunting Challenge. The competitors must shunt three flatbeds, three vans and three tankers before shunting a brake van at the end of their train in the quickest time possible. Percy is feeling nervous whilst Raul boasts that he's going to win. Raul is up first and to everyone's surprise, he actually does pretty well, causing him to get cocky, which annoys Gina. Next, it's Gina's turn and she makes a great start, but towards the end, she messes up by going for a fourth van instead of her first tanker, which costs her time. Ivan is next but he is too rough, no thanks to Raul's cockiness. Percy notes that Raul brings out the worst in engines but is determined to stay sharp. Ivan completes his train, albeit with a van that has a damaged door, much to his disappointment. It's Ashima's turn and she focuses on being careful, thus she doesn't make any mistakes. In fact, Ashima beat Raul's time and set a new record for the Shunting Challenge, much to Raul's fury.

Percy is the last one up and despite being nervous, he remembers what Thomas said and says that it's for him. Most of the engines are calling out to him, especially Henry, Gordon, Stephen, Connor, Scotsman, Hiro and Hugo, whilst James is still sulking for his earlier defeat. Percy isn't paying attention to either announcers, the spectators or the engines watching him, he is solely focused on the wagons. Whilst Raul mutters anxiously for Percy to come third or worse, Ashima, Gina and Ivan cheer him on. By the time Percy is nearing the end of his round, he is laughing and singing to himself. Percy completes his time and breaks the record again. The crowd goes wild and Sir Topham Hatt tossed his hat so high it gets caught in the wind. Ivan is last place, Gina is fourth and Raul is third. Raul throws a tantrum, which drowns out the rest of Stan's commentary. Percy is so excited that he doesn't even hear the last part of Nigel's announcement, or Raul’s sore comments of despair. He's just pleased to have completed the shunting challenge. Whilst Gina, Ashima and Ivan congratulate him, Raul goes to a siding and cries.

All the competing engines, barring Vinnie, were gathered together. Hiro’s controller, Sir Takaboushi Hideki, accepted the trophy for the Strength Competition on Hiro’s behalf and shakes hands with the show organizers. Rajiv's controller Miss Charubala accepts his trophy for the Best Dressed Engine Parade, whilst Rajiv hopes to get a baker's dozen for the next show. Connor's old controller, Mr. Daveed Jefferson accepts the trophy for the Great Race on Connor's behalf and agrees with the NYC Hudson that Scotsman and Hugo put up a good fight at the end. Then, it comes to the trophy for the Shunting Challenge to which Percy congratulates Ashima but is surprised when his name is announced instead. Ashima explains that Percy broke her record just minutes after she completed her trial. Percy is so excited that he accidentally let off steam...all over Raul! Gordon and Henry congratulate Percy who praises them and Hugo as well.

Soon, it's time for the engines to go home. Gordon and Frieda are each on a flatbed to be towed back to Sodor whilst most of the other international engines head for the ship. This includes Hiro since Murdoch was having his safety checks done today but he asks the engines to pass his goodbyes to Thomas. Henry, Gordon, James, Percy, Connor, Hugo, Frieda and Stephen bid farewell to the other international engines. As they leave, Gina asks if they're missing someone until Shane points out that Frieda's staying on Sodor for a while longer. Ashima comments how she's going to miss Sodor as the engines were really nice.

Later that evening, everyone returns to Sodor for a big victory party at Vicarstown. Even Flying Scotsman and Caitlin show up for the celebrations and Thomas, who has been fully repaired, attends the party too. Thomas and Mavis congratulate Percy and Emily praises Henry for his good sportsmanship. Percy, Gordon and Henry then pass Hiro's message to Thomas that he says goodbye. Scotsman calls Gordon and Hugo heroes. When Henry notices Philip and Diesel's absence, Duck reveals that Diesel is getting counselling from Mrs. Kyndley and Philip rushes into the station, having done Percy's last job for the day. Everyone has a good time at the party, all except James who is still sulking over coming last place in the Best Dressed Engine Parade.

### Epilogue

As for Vinnie, his driver and fireman manage to escape the police and Vinnie attempts to sneak aboard the ship late at night, but he ends up with a crate on him. Vinnie ends up, rushing about Bridlington yards and manages to escape the shunters there but is still trapped. He ends up getting lost trying to find the boat, ending up in all sorts of locations such as an abandoned goods yard, where an American cab-forward engine, a railway traction engine and a King Arthur class engine were hiding, a steelworks where a diesel and a large tank engine were trying to find help and nearly runs into Derek, Bear, Pip and Emma. Vinnie finally ends up at the docks much to his relief, but the crane operator mistakes him for an actual crate and loads him onto the ship as thus.

When the crate finally comes off, Vinnie is shocked to see Diesel 10. After the engines introduce themselves to each other, Vinnie explains how Henry, Scotsman, Gordon and Hiro showed him up at the Great Railway Show. Diesel 10 recalls his experiences with Henry and Gordon and upon realizing that Vinnie is a common enemy, he proposes that the two take on Sodor together, to which the Canadian bully agrees.

## Characters

* Thomas
* Edward
* Henry
* Gordon
* James
* Percy
* Toby
* Duck
* Donald and Douglas
* Oliver
* Emily
* Barry
* Charlie
* Julie
* Arthur
* Murdoch
* Johnson
* Hurricane (non-speaking role; unnamed)
* Lauren
* Jinty
* Ryan
* Pug
* Harvey
* Scruff
* Belle
* Porter
* Stanley
* Molly
* Whiff
* Merlin (non-speaking role; unnamed)
* Theo (non-speaking role; unnamed)
* Lexi (non-speaking role; unnamed)
* BoCo (mentioned)
* Diesel
* Daisy
* Bear (non-speaking role)
* Derek (non-speaking role)
* Salty
* Dennis
* Paxton
* Sidney
* Philip
* Pamela
* Selina and Kyle
* Harleen
* Stafford
* Winston
* Mavis
* Bill and Ben
* Timothy
* Marion
* Victor
* Kevin
* Annie and Clarabel
* Martha and Julian
* Gladys
* Judy and Jerome
* Bruno
* Skarloey
* Rheneas
* Sir Handel
* Peter Sam
* Rusty
* Duncan
* Flyer
* Duke (mentioned)
* Fred
* Luke
* Stephen
* Millie
* Flying Scotsman
* Connor
* Caitlin
* Pip and Emma
* Christopher (non-speaking role)
* Diesel 10
* Frankie (non-speaking role; unnamed)
* Sadie and Delilah
* Ulli, Zeke, Rayker and Matias (only Zeke and Ulli speak)
* Hugo
* Frieda
* Ashima
* Rajiv
* Etienne
* Axel
* Ivan
* Gina
* Gabriela
* Raul
* Carlos
* Vinnie
* Shane
* Yong Bao
* Sir Charles Topham Hatt
* Annabelle Percival
* Nigel and Stan
* Sir Takaboushi Hideki (non-speaking role)
* Miss Charubala (non-speaking role)
* Mr. Daveed Jefferson
* Mrs. Lucy Kyndley (mentioned)

## Differences between the original special and the adaptation

* In the original special, Thomas was the main protagonist. In the adaptation, Thomas is reduced to a minor role.
* In the original special, Thomas was tasked with taking Gordon's safety valve to him. In the adaptation, Hugo is the one who takes the safety valve instead.
* In the original special, Ashima is left behind after the ship taking the international engines docks at Sodor by mistake. In the adaption, the ship has to dock at Sodor due to engine trouble and the international engines stay on Sodor for a while.
* In the original special, Henry came last in the Strength Competition but it was never revealed who won. In the adaptation, Vinnie, despite crossing the first, was disqualified for sabotaging Frieda (who was helped over the line by Henry) whilst Hiro, who crossed second was declared the winner by default. Shane came second, Frieda third and Henry fourth.
	+ Furthermore, the engine who got the 'good sportsmanship' award in The Great Race special was Thomas. Here, Henry is the one who gets the 'good sportsmanship' recognition.
* In the original special, Gordon took part in the race despite lacking the safety valve and damaged his boiler as a result. Whilst Scotsman showed concern, he left his brother to suffer for the race itself. In the adaptation, Gordon damaged himself protecting Scotsman from Vinnie and Scotsman helped Gordon to push back against Vinnie. As a result, Gordon pulls out of the race and Hugo takes his place.
	+ Even if Gordon didn't damage himself by pushing Vinnie, he would have had to drop out anyway because he didn't have his safety valve.
* In the original special, Etienee won the race. In the adaption, he and Axel got distracted and came fourth and fifth, respectively whilst Connor won the race with Hugo coming in second and Scotsman third.
* The "engine taking another's place mid-show" in the original special was Thomas taking Percy's place after the latter dropped out from stage fright (despite Thomas being damaged). In the adaptation, the "engine taking another's place mid-show" plot point saw Hugo took Gordon's place as the latter damaged himself from protecting Scotsman from Vinnie.
* In the original special, the Vinnie bully plot had him chasing Philip simply because the diesel boxcab got in the way and Thomas and Ashima dragged Vinnie away, allowing Philip to escape and leading to Vinnie's derailment into a pylon. In the adaptation, Vinnie went against Scotsman in retaliation for being disqualified but Gordon, with the help of Scotsman, pushed Vinnie back, leading Vinnie's derailment into a tree.
	+ In this special, Philip remains behind on Sodor as no other country had an engine carrying a flag. This also ties into his character development in chapters 5 and 10.
* In the original special, Percy dropped of the Shunting Challenge due to stage fright and Thomas took over. In the adaptation, Percy competes in the Shunting Challenge as intended.
* In the original special, Emily was in the Best Decorated Engine Parade and Spencer in The Great Race. In this special, Gabriela (from Big World, Big Adventures) was in the Best Decorated Engine Parade and Connor in The Great Race to make it one competitor per country in the events.
	+ This also sets up Gabriela as a major character for the Brazil stories.
* Instead of the Shunting Challenge having everyone going at once, it's now a time trial. Whoever completes the challenge in the quickest time is the winner, and any incorrect or damaged rolling stock results in a time penalty.
	+ Furthermore, Ashima wins the competition in the actual special while Thomas gets the 'good sportsmanship' award, with Gina, Ivan and Raul getting unknown placements. In this special, Percy wins the competition, Ashima second, Raul third, Gina fourth and Ivan fifth.

## Voice Cast

### Official

* John Hasler as Thomas
* Keith Wickham as Edward, Henry, Gordon, Harvey, Whiff, Salty, Stafford, Den, Skarloey, Sir Handel and Stan
* Rob Rackstraw as James, Toby, Donald, Hugo and Nigel
* Nigel Pilkington as Percy
* Steven Kynman as Duck, Paxton and Peter Sam
* Joe Mills as Douglas and Oliver
* Teresa Gallagher as Emily, Belle, Mavis, Annie, Clarabel and Judy
* Eddie Redmayne as Ryan
* Matt Wilkinson as Stanley, Rusty, Cranky and Kevin
* Kerry Shale as Diesel, Arry and Charles Topham Hatt
* Tracy-Ann Oberman as Daisy
* Bob Golding as Sidney and Stephen
* Rasmus Hardiker as Bill and Philip
* Jonathan Broadbent as Ben
* Tim Whitnall as Timothy and Jerome
* Olivia Colman as Marion
* William Hope as Bert
* Rupert Degas as Dart as Flynn
* David Badella as Victor
* Ben Small as Rheneas
* Tom Stourton as Duncan
* Michael Legge as Luke
* Miranda Raison as Millie
* Rufus Jones as Flying Scotsman
* Jonathan Forbes as Connor
* Rebecca O'Mara as Caitlin
* Neil Crone as Diesel 10
* Shane Jacobson as Shane
* Dan Li as Yong Bao
* Tina Desai as Ashima
* Nikhil Parmar as Rajiv
* Anna Francolini as Gina
* Federico Trujillo as Raul
* John Scwab as Vinnie, Zeke and Ulli
* Monica Lopera as Gabriela

### Fan chosen

* Jessica DiCicco as Barry
* Claire Corlett as Julie
* David Tennant as Arthur
* Lewis MacLeod as Johnson
* Linda Cardellini as Lauren
* Susan Roman as Jinty
* Eddie Glen as Pug
* Andrea Libman as Molly
* Tim Whitnall as Dennis
* Lake Bell as Pamela
* Cree Summer as Selina
* Phil LaMarr as Kyle
* Margot Robbie as Harleen
* David Holt as Julian
* Su Douglas as Gladys
* Ian Hanlin as Bruno
* Tegwen Tucker as pre-transition Rusty
* Linda Ballantyne as Flyer
* Marÿke Hendrikse as Fred
* Fiona Riley as Ada
* Rachel Crow as Jane
* Savannah Smitha as Mabel
* Sophie Reynolds as Cora
* Ashleigh Ball as Pip
* Sandy Duncan as Emma
* Debi Derryberry as Sadie
* Kath Souice as Delilah
* Jean-Claude Van Damme as Axel
* Jeff Bennett as Etienne
* Diane Kruger as Frieda
* Gael García Bernal as Carlos
* Gary Schwartz as Ivan
* Bonnie Wright as Annabelle Percival

Undecided for characters who do speak

* Mr. Daveed Jefferson

## Trivia

* Working titles for the chapters were:
	+ Chapter 1: Will You, Won't You?
	+ Chapter 2: Washed Up (this plot ended up being moved to Chapter 3)
	+ Chapter 3: Streamlining (this plot ended up being moved to Chapter 2)
	+ Chapter 4: Heated Up
	+ Chapter 6: Shunted
	+ Chapter 9: Falling Star
	+ Chapter 10: You Can Only Be You (TobyandMavisforever's suggestion); Sodor Stars (Railfanbronymedia's suggestion)

## Links

* Chapter 1 on DeviantArt
* Chapter 2 on DeviantArt
* Chapter 3 on DeviantArt
* Chapter 4 on DeviantArt
* Chapter 5 on DeviantArt
* Chapter 6 on DeviantArt
* Chapter 7 on DeviantArt
* Chapter 8 on DeviantArt
* Chapter 9 on DeviantArt
* Chapter 10 on DeviantArt
* Epilogue on DeviantArt
* Fanfiction.Net