Transcript/Rebecca the Substitute

**Narrator:** While Thomas was travelling around the world, The Fat Controller had brought in a new engine from the Mainland to take over Thomas’ duties on his branch line. This engine was named Rebecca. She was a cheerful, young tender engine, painted bright yellow. She had heard lots of stories about Thomas and him saying his branch line is “the most important part of the whole railway”. Rebecca being the young engine she is, took that thought literally, so on her first day on the job, she wanted to give the best impression. After Thomas left, Rebecca followed Percy and Toby to Ffarquhar. She slept with them in the sheds, but she was so excited about starting work, that she couldn’t sleep.

**Narrator:** The next morning, she found Annie and Clarabel in the station sidings.

**Rebecca:** “Hiya, Annie. Morning, Clarabel.”

**Annie & Clarabel:** “Hello, Rebecca.”

**Annie:** “I must say, it is rather strange to have a tender engine on our branch line.”

**Clarabel:** “But I’m sure you’ll do a splendid job.”

**Rebecca:** “Well, I hope so. There’s a lot of people relying on me, so I mustn’t let them down.”

**Narrator:** As she waited for her passengers to board, she saw Bertie the Bus pulling up.

**Bertie:** “Oh, you must be the new engine.”

**Rebecca:** “Aw cool! A bus! I’ve never seen a bus before.”

**Bertie:** “Haven’t you? Huh, you must be really new. Just make sure your coaches are coupled properly before you go.”

**Rebecca:** “Why would you tell me something like that?”

**Narrator:** Then Bertie told her all about Thomas’ mishap with the express coaches years ago. Unfortunately, Rebecca laughed so hard, she didn’t hear the guard’s whistle. By the time she stopped giggling, she was already 5 minutes late.

**Rebecca:** “Oh, no! Oh no, oh no, oh no! I’m late!”

**Narrator:** When she reached Hackenbeck station, she felt so bad about herself.

**Rebecca:** “I don’t believe it! Five minutes late and I’ve only just started!”

**Annie:** “Oh, don’t worry, Rebecca. It’s early days yet.”

**Clarabel:** “No one is an expert on their first day.”

**Narrator:** Then, Bertie rolled up along the road. He had an idea.

**Bertie:** “Rebecca? I might know how you can make up for lost time. Why don’t we have a race to Knapford?”

**Rebecca:** “A race? Oh, yes! I’ve heard all about Thomas racing you along this line. You’re on!”

**Narrator:** So, the engine and the bus raced each other to each station, until they reached Knapford. Annie and Clarabel don’t like travelling so fast, but they were at least glad Rebecca managed to get back on schedule by the end.

**Narrator:** A few weeks had passed and while Rebecca had a bit more to learn about life on the line, she soon learnt the route very well and she managed to keep herself on time. It was raining hard today. The clouds made it so dark that Rebecca had to use her lamp. Then, as she turned the bend, past Mrs. Kyndley's cottage, she gasped.

**Rebecca:** “Whoa! Stop! STOP!”

**Narrator:** She braked hard and halted just in time. Just before the tunnel, the rain had caused a landslide from the hill. The track was blocked.

**Annie:** “Goodness! It’s happened again.”

**Clarabel:** “In the exact same place, too.”

**Rebecca:** “Again? You mean, this has happened before?”

**Clarabel:** “Yes, and we had to wait for the line to be cleared before moving on.”

**Annie:** “Oh well, I’m sure Bertie or Bulgy will look after our passengers.”

**Narrator:** Rebecca looked at the landslide and thought.

**Rebecca:** “No, no, I think I can make it through this. I just need some speed and a lot of puff.”

**Narrator:** She reversed back down the line.

**Annie:** “We’re certain that isn’t a good idea.”

**Clarabel:** “The landslide is too thick. You’ll get yourself stuck.”

**Rebecca:** “But I don’t want to let my passengers down. I’ve let them down once, I don’t want to do it again.”

**Narrator:** She pumped her pistons, built up steam and took a deep breath.

**Rebecca:** “Okay, here I go!”

**Narrator:** She charged at the landslide as fast as she could, she crashed into the mud. She wasn’t making much progress, but she kept going. She pushed and puffed, struggled and struggled, but it was no good. It was too thick for her. And when she tried to reverse, she couldn’t. She was buffer-deep in the mud and rocks and it started to clog up her wheels.

**Rebecca:** “Oh, this can’t be happening. I’m stuck.”

**Narrator:** And she was.

**Clarabel:** “We’d hate to say we told you so, but-”

**Annie:** “We told you so.”

**Narrator:** The guard rushed over to Mrs. Kyndley's cottage to call for help and soon workmen arrived in Bulgy to clear up the mess and free Rebecca.

**Bulgy:** “Huh. Another problem with railways that everyone overlooks.”

**Narrator:** Soon, the Fat Controller arrived. Rebecca felt awful about herself.

**Rebecca:** “I’m so, so sorry, Sir. I’ve let everyone down. I was late on my first day and I thought that ploughing through this was a good idea. Maybe, I’m not cut out to work on this line.”

**The Fat Controller:** “Oh, Rebecca. While I agree pushing through this mud wasn’t the best idea, I am proud of you for thinking about your passengers first. Besides, I think you're doing a splendid job on this line. I have coped with worse engines in the past who never learned from their mistakes, but you, on the other hand, do learn from yours and you try to improve yourself. That makes you a really reliable engine.”

**Rebecca:** “Really? Oh, thank you, Sir.”

**Narrator:** This made her feel much better. A few days later, the track was clear and the engines could use this part of the line again. And from that day on, Rebecca pulled Annie and Clarabel well. Whenever there was a problem, like there was something on the line, she knew to call for help than to push it away herself. She managed to run her trains on time and whenever she was late, she and Bertie agreed to race each other to make up time. Annie and Clarabel in particular were very impressed with her work.

**Clarabel:** “I told you she would do wonderfully.”

**Annie:** “Indeed, in spite of those few silly incidents.”

**Narrator:** On the day Thomas came back from seeing the world, Rebecca was in the front of Vicarstown station with Percy. She couldn’t wait to see Thomas again and tell him all about her adventures. But when he came into the station, she and the other engines were surprised to see Samson with him too, carrying a small black tank engine.