Tender Engine Drama

**'Tender Engine Drama'** is a nickname given to the drama surrounding Edward, Henry, Gordon, and James in the early days of the North Western Railway.

## Phase 1 - beginnings of the drama

Edward was the first of the current drivers to work on the railway. After Glynn retired, he was the only driver working for a while. Eventually, the Fat Controller bought another engine, the green No. 3 tender engine. The engine's driver, Henry, also came to work on the railway.

**Topham was about to buy another engine: a faulty hybrid for cheap. The choice was necessary as the railway desperately needed another engine but was struggling financially. It also lacked a driver. When Topham told Edward about his plans, Edward immediately suggested Henry as his driver. He explained how Henry had shown interest and dedication to his job, and how he was able to operate Edward's engine around the yard. With a little more training, he believed Henry could be an excellent full-time driver. Topham trusted Edward's word and he offered Henry the job. Henry gladly accepted it.**

Edward and Henry got on well for a while. Then, with demand increasing, the Fat Controller bought another engine, the blue No. 4 tender engine, or the 'express' engine as it would later come to be known. He also employed another driver, Gordon, who belonged to the prestigious Featherstone-Redferne family of engine drivers.

Perhaps because of his family background, Gordon was conceited and prideful when he first arrived on the railway. He looked down on Edward and Henry for their backgrounds and for driving smaller engines. Edward tried to ignore him, but Henry tried to seek Gordon's approval, and eventually both of them were bullying Edward. Edward now felt pushed out by both Gordon and Henry, and worried he would lose his job, due to the other two driving bigger, stronger engines.

## Phase 1 events

### Edward and Gordon

One drama-related incident was when Gordon was made to pull a freight train (something he dislikes doing), but got stuck on a large hill (later known as 'Gordon's Hill'). Edward was sent to help push him, but Gordon was dismissive and said Edward and his engine wouldn't be any help. However, eventually Edward pushed him over the hill, only for Gordon to take the credit himself without thanking Edward.

### The Sad Story of Henry

Henry has a fear of the rain stemming from an incident in his childhood. One day, when he was driving a passenger train, he got so panicked by the rain that he stopped inside a tunnel, refusing to go on. When the Fat Controller demanded an explanation, Henry said he didn't want to spoil his engine's paint. The Fat Controller was very angry, so he sacked Henry and bricked his engine up in the tunnel.

## A temporary truce

Having lost his job, Henry got on a train that Gordon was pulling, to go back to the Mainland. But when they approached the tunnel where Henry's engine was bricked up, Gordon's engine burst its safety valve and the train came to a sudden halt.

The Fat Controller wasn't sure what to do. The only other engine available was Edward's, and though Edward did come and try to help, his engine was too small to move the train. After making some mocking comments, Gordon, feeling bad for his previous treatment of Henry, suggested that the Fat Controller unbrick Henry's engine, and let him try pulling the train.

When he saw that Henry was truly sorry for what he had done, the Fat Controller agreed. Henry was very happy to be able to drive his engine engine, even though it was dirty and covered in cobwebs from being in the tunnel. After a short drive to ease the engine's joints, Henry came back to pull the train, with Edward's help. The Fat Controller was very proud of them both, giving both their engines a new coat of paint.

Later, Edward and Henry went back to help Gordon to the Steamworks. After this, though the engines still had their differences, they had bonded somewhat and started to get on better.

**another inexpensive faulty engine, this time for mixed traffic duties, and a stronger, more reliable express engine.**

## Phase 2 - the arrival of James

**The next person to join the railway's driving team was a young man from London who had just turned 18. On paper he seemed perfect: he could start working immediately, would accept any pay, and claimed to be willing to any type of work. Topham hired him hoping to ease Edward and Henry's strain, but James did just the opposite. He was arrogant, stubborn, and didn't want to do work that was even remotely dirty. In fact, he didn't want to work at all. Only a week had gone by before Henry and Edward expressed concerns to Topham that James would surely do more harm than good. Topham admitted he might have made a mistake, but he lacked the time and money to fire him and wait for another applicant. Edward and Henry would just have to deal. So they did. - copied in**

It was a short while after this that the Fat Controller bought another engine, the (then) black No. 5 tender engine. He hired a young man named James to drive it. James had never driven an engine before, so this became the start of the NWR's driver training scheme; James, under Edward's instruction, was to learn to drive an engine.

James was very prideful of himself, especially his appearance. He would often flout uniform rules. His and Gordon's egos frequently clashed, Gordon looking down on James for his youth and background. Edward, meanwhile, had trouble with James being 'disrespectful' during his training.

I'm not really sure what happened after this lol - petork