Animosity

**Animosity** is the eleventh episode of the fourth season of the Stories of Sodor and the sixty-first episode overall.

Animosity/Transcript

## Plot

As the 1960s began, it became apparent oil was going to be the future fuel source for Britain. Many projects were commissioned to build the infrastructure needed to prepare supply levels for the high demand, one of which was on Sodor. At Waterton, on the north-west coast of Sodor, a big storage facility was constructed, from where oil would be delivered to the mainland via rail. The local community had wanted rail access for years, so British Railways amended the project in response to the positive reception, turning the industrial line into a full-fledged branch line that would be constructed by the engines brought to run it.

When Duck and Oliver arrive, they tell Edward and Douglas that their old branch had become overrun with diesels who not only fail regularly but also act ungrateful and mock their rescuers. Duck is also skeptical as to whether or not Diesel told the engines the truth about how the pair met, despite Edward saying that Diesel is a different engine now. Duck and Oliver take a works train to the start of the new branch line, Tidmouth, where they will be assisted by the engines from the Ffarquhar Branch Line, with two engines from there taking in turns to help. Work goes smoothly until Oliver falls bunker first into the turntable well due to a mistake by a workman named Maurice. Sir Topham Hatt arranges for another engine to fill in while Oliver is at the works.

The next morning, Duck is not happy to see that the fill-in is Diesel. Immediately getting into an argument puts Diesel in a bad mood, and he angrily bumps the trucks as he moves off. Duck takes this as vindication for being skeptical of Edward's words. Percy admits that while Diesel has not been devious since the war, it bothers him that Diesel hasn't apologised for any of his prior actions. Duck deduces that Diesel must think his past actions are justified and, seeing how apologising won't change anything, decides to avoid Diesel as much as possible until Oliver is repaired.

Unfortunately, the accident with the turntable well had made Oliver's underlying problems worse and would force him to stay in the works for several weeks. To make sure things wouldn't turn ugly, Sir Topham Hatt talks with Duck and Diesel, urging them to put their differences aside. However, as the work progressed, Duck and Diesel began arguing again, with Percy joining in on Duck's side. Since the project is being affected by their behaviour, the supervisors try to keep the peace, but they aren't omnipresent. One day, Diesel causes an accident and gets into another argument with Percy and Duck. Eventually, Duck leaves without helping Diesel clean up, and when Diesel refuses to apologise for his actions with the Duchess "and everything else", Percy refuses to help too.

That night, Toby scolds Diesel for what he did, but understands that Percy should've chosen a better time to ask for an apology. When Diesel says that time would be "never", Toby asks Diesel if he regrets anything he did during the Big Four era. Diesel admits he never thought about it and that he thought his actions were justified at the time, but he wonders if he was more trouble than he was worth for the LMS. He then remembers that there were times when his actions hurt others, including Toby. In order to help Diesel further move on, Toby suggests apologising, and Diesel agrees to think about it and to try getting along with Duck and Percy if they don't give him grief. Toby then talks to Duck and Percy, pointing out how it isn't like them to hold grudges. He advises them to give Diesel a chance to prove himself a different engine and points out the many jobs that are on the line if the project is unsuccessful. Duck and Percy eventually agree and thank Toby.

The next morning, Duck and Percy arrive for work to find Diesel already working. The two engines were delayed because of a points failure outside their shed, and then they and Diesel start ranting about how bad British Railways is. Duck is about to compare the frequency of signal failures to diesel breakdowns, but catches himself and says "the Modernisation Plan" instead. Diesel then chuckles about how stupid BR is for building the branch line with signalboxes and then tearing them down. After a long pause following their shared laugh over BR's shortcomings, Diesel tells Percy and Duck to take a train of loaded flatbeds to Tidmouth Hault while he takes the empty flatbeds back to Tidmouth, and he thanks them. Later, Diesel overhears the trucks singing the same song he'd heard on the Hao Zowyn branch line. One truck called "S.C. Ruffey" claims they had heard the song from Duck.

Infuriated, Diesel storms over to Tidmouth Hault where Duck, Percy and Toby are unloading the supplies. Diesel bumps into Duck, then into Percy and into the crane which smashes the load on one of the flatbeds to pieces. Everyone is furious, and Percy reveals it was actually him who taught the trucks the song. Toby tries his best to keep the situation from going out of control but the gloves have come off by this point; Diesel claims he not only doesn't regret anything he's done but also wishes he'd done more, Percy calls all diesels a disgrace, and Duck admits that he had intended to say that the signals failed as much as diesels, made worse by them looking like Diesel. This makes Diesel so angry that he rage-quits, and Duck and Percy, equally furious, follow suit.

Later, Toby meets up with Sir Topham Hatt and apologises for the mess, while Sir Topham Hatt comforts him and decides to deal with the matter himself. After Toby explained what had happened, Sir Topham Hatt meets Duck and Percy, who explain that they are on strike and will not work with Diesel. Duck has thought about pressing charges, and Sir Topham Hatt agrees; Sir Topham Hatt also admits that he sent Diesel over because he volunteered and mentioned that the project was too important to be held up by ancient history, surprising the engines.

That night, Sir Topham Hatt reprimands Diesel and threatens to report the incident to the Railway Inspectors Unit. Duck points out that Diesel volunteering and letting go of the past does matter since it is a marked difference from his past self. Diesel expresses disappointment in himself for stooping to his old ways before tearing up for every devious thing he had ever done, eventually apologising to Duck and Percy and hoping the project hadn't been derailed. Surprised by Diesel being more concerned about the project than about being forgiven, Percy forgives him, using his real name "Bruce", and apologises for teaching the trucks the song, adding that Bruce is not "Diesel" anymore, as "Diesel" never would have apologised. Duck also forgives Bruce, catching himself about to say "Diesel" and instead saying his real name, and tells Sir Topham Hatt to not press charges. However, Sir Topham Hatt has no choice but to do so, and Bruce hopes that if he is sent to RailGate, he can meet up with Peter.

While Bruce would receive thirty days for his crimes, he would be allowed to serve his time on Sodor. Sir Topham Hatt also convinced the authorities to suspend the sentence because the project was important. Throughout the next fortnight, Bruce worked his hardest, and the engines got back on schedule. Bruce and Duck also gained even more trust between them after Duck learned that when Bruce had told the other engines about their past, he had actualy told them the truth. The pair confronted S.C. Ruffey, who admitted that he wanted revenge after getting bumped and lied about who taught him the song. Duck, Bruce and S.C. Ruffey apologised to each other. Bruce also made amends with all the other engines he had wronged in the past, who all forgave him. Once Oliver returned, Bruce was shunted in the sheds at Brendam to serve his time and after his sentence, he returned to work a more enlightened engine.

## Characters

* Edward
* Percy
* Toby
* Duck
* Douglas
* Oliver
* Bruce
* S.C. Ruffey
* The Fat Controller
* Morty
* Thomas *(does not speak)*
* Joey *(does not speak)*
* Toad *(does not speak)*
* Dennis *(flashback appearance; does not speak)*
* Splatter *(flashback appearance; do not speak)*
* Dodge *(flashback appearance; do not speak)*
* Henry *(cameo)*
* Gordon *(cameo)*
* James *(cameo)*
* Donald *(cameo)*
* Eric *(cameo)*
* Reginald *(cameo)*
* Mickey *(cameo)*
* Kate *(cameo)*
* Whiff *(cameo)*
* Andreas *(cameo)*
* Terence *(cameo)*
* George *(cameo)*
* Peter *(mentioned)*
* Mr. Star *(mentioned)*
* Mr. Zorro *(mentioned)*

## Trivia

* Events and dialogue from Donald's Duck, Diesel Does it Again and Oliver Owns Up take place.
* References to Percy, Quarantine and Diesel are made.
* Douglas' line, "Stop gossiping in the sun when there's work to be done!" is taken from Escape. His line, "Well, break out the crayons and colour me tickled pink! is a reference to several of the Sodor Shorts. There is also an episode of the television series titled "Tickled Pink".