Extension

"*Ah, Edward, excellent timing."*
"Even though I'm late sir?"

"Are you? I hadn't noticed. At any rate, I'd like to introduce two new engines who will be joining us here on Sodor.*"*

— Edward and Sir Topham Hatt

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

Extension/Transcript

## Plot

It took the engines of Sodor a long time to come to terms with what Peter had done and that he would spend a decade and a half in Rail Gate Prison. To make the rest of 1949 and the opening months of 1950 more agonising for them is that without Peter, they struggled to keep up with the goods work, even with Henry doing his best, and the engines double or triple-heading the larger trains. Eventually, after much difficulty, Sir Topham Hatt retrieved a replacement engine in April 1950. The replacement engine, Geoffrey, was made a permanent member of the North Western Region. Thanks to the extra set of wheels, the engines caught up with the goods work and a slight normality was restored.

One day, Diesel and Adam ask Joey how Peter's doing. The police engine confirms to them the 8F is doing relatively fine, and is allowed twice a day to go up and down the line he's on. Adam then asks Joey when he'll be arrested for  drowning the POWs back in Germany. Joey tells him that they won't, as the men he killed had already been indicted on heinous crimes against humanity (the one criminal Adam did know about, Radek's brother Andrea, who was a career conman and a thief, had also ran an insurance scam on Jewish families at the height of the holocaust). Joey now works for MI5, and has access to their entire information network. He couldn't speak about Peter's crimes because they were classified. Joey tells Adam the United Nations isn't going after him because they know about the backlash that would come if they charge Adam and that many of the investigators who looked into it agreed that Adam did a "global service". Adam is left conflicted, as he'd been wracked with the guilt after his last encounter with Radek and he wonders if what he did was right. Joey tells Adam that he will have to decide on his own, or else live with it for the rest of his days.

At Knapford, Geoffrey, who has brought in another goods train asks Edward about the line that runs north of Killdane which he hasn't seen any traffic on that line. Edward explains that the line was meant to be the Peel Godred Branch Line. It was a government initiative during the Great Depression but the small amount of money assigned to it ran out quicker than expected and since then, the three miles of track that were built have been left to rust. Samantha has heard about Peel Godred, a town built completely within the walls of an old castle. As popular of a tourist attraction it is, the actual way to get there is inefficient: One would have to take a train to Arlesburgh to King Orry's Bridge on the MSR and then get on a bus to the castle. Edward also points out that the arrangement gives the Mid Sodor Railway much needed revenue. Just then, Edward's driver reminds him that they're already late for delivering their goods train to Vicarstown, and Edward hurries off.

Upon arriving at Vicarstown, he finds two new engines and Sir Topham Hatt there. Sir Topham Hatt introduces the two new engines as Paul and Hurricane. The two know about Edward, Paul from the Railway Series and the war, while Hurricane is friends with Molly, who mentioned Hurricane frequently  during her time on Sodor. Hurricane also tells Edward that she looks forward to seeing him soon, leaving Edward perplexed if this means Molly is coming back, though Sir Topham confirms she isn't. He then reveals that The Peel Godred Branch Line will be completed. There will also be an industrial complex and a steel mill constructed outside of the town for jobs, proving the rumour about finding iron ore deposits around Culdee Fell to be true. This is very goods news to them as any excess ore that will be mined will be exported. Of course, they would have to build the branch, mill and mine first, which is scheduled to take three to four years to complete; Paul and Hurricane will carry out the majority of the construction and once the branch is built, they will work the line with Molly as well as a yet to be assigned engine. The other engines will involved in the project only if necessary and will carry out their usual jobs. Edward chuckles, remarking how coincidental this is.

He then explains to Sir Topham Hatt about the conversation he had with Geoffrey and Samantha. Sir Topham then instructed Edward to escort Paul and Hurricane to Killdane to start work on the branch at once. First, they ripped up the old and rusty rails which had been unused for so long and afterwards, the construction began in full swing. The work was sluggish and difficult due to the rough terrain. The biggest obstacles were building the viaduct over the Hawin Ab and the digging of the one mile long tunnel through solid rock beneath Peel Godred. Edward remembers the first time he saw the fabled wall town during one of the days he helped out. He remarks how awe-inspiring the experience was, as well as seeing the Culdee Fell Mountain up close. Two years after the project began, Sir Topham announced the previously unassigned engine to the branch had been chosen and will be arriving on Sodor.

On the day of the engine's arrival, Edward, Toby and Paul are at Killdane. Toby tells them that the peace talks have broken down at Korea. Edward had forgotten about it and feels bad for doing so. Edward then notices Toby looking shocked. He looks ahead and gasps as the new engine arrives, a red LMS Ivatt tank engine, which to Edward and Toby, the engine looks familiar. The engine prepares to introduce himself, when Edward and Toby shout his name, "ARTHUR!" The engine guesses they know about him, and their shock turns to fury when Arthur seems to deny his past. Arthur's bewilderment turns to rage by their aggressive behaviour and insists that he doesn't know them. Suddenly, Sir Topham Hatt climbs out of Arthur's cab, appalled by Toby and Edward's words. Sir Topham tells them that he personally wanted to welcome Arthur to Sodor and scolds the two engines for attacking Arthur. He then explains that he knows this engine, who served on distinction on the Mainland during the war and was at his first firing in 1943. Edward and Toby realise their mistake. The former reminds Sir Topham about the  Great Preston disaster. Arthur is familiar with the crash, as that was why his class was shelved and the prototype was scrapped. Sir Topham is still confused on what this has to do with Arthur, as he doesn't know the full details of the crash. Edward then explains that Arthur's prototype looked exactly like this engine and had the same name. Arthur is disturbed by this, and Sir Topham and Arthur himself assure Edward and Toby that he would never act with such recklessness. Edward apologises for his and Toby's words. Arthur understands given the circumstances, and remarks how they looked like they'd seen a ghost when he arrived. Edward and Toby then glance at each other, and the former tells Arthur they need to tell him something else about his predecessor.

The next year, the Peel Godred Branch Line has been completed. Sir Topham Hatt is at the sheds at Peel Godred with the three engines. He congratulates them for their work and that the grand opening will be next week, but they will be operating starting today so developing flaws can be caught. He also explains that there has been a change in plans regarding Molly; she had been reassigned to the South Eastern Region, with another engine has been given her spot and will be arriving this afternoon. He assigns Hurricane to collect the first steel shipment from the mill to deliver to Killdane, Paul on shunting duties around the yard and Arthur to run the line's first passenger service.

That afternoon, Hurricane is prepared to take his steel shipment down to Killdane when he meets up with Paul, who has been trapped in a siding for an hour due to a points failure and because the phone lines are down, they can't get help to fix them. Hurricane is ahead of schedule, so he decides to shunt some trucks over to the goods platform for Paul.

As Hurricane goes to move the trucks, the coupling on the brake van snaps and the steel flatbeds start rolling downhill. Paul and Hurricane notice this and the former realises Arthur will be coming up the branch with his passengers. Hurricane goes after the flatbeds. The flatbeds were quick to gain speed due to the steep gradients, though Hurricane was quick to pick up speed and gain on them. Hurricane chases the flatbeds at full speed through the tunnel under Peel Godred, over the viaduct and past Kirk Machan where the flatbeds narrowly miss Arthur. Hurricane had almost caught up to the flatbeds when an engine suddenly buffers up to them and manages to bring them to a complete stop. The engine is revealed to be Samson, Molly's replacement. Hurricane is amazed by how Samson stopped the trucks, and by Samson's knowledge of steel.

The explanation for the incident was simply due to one of the broken couplings on the brake van. That and some faulty points were the worst things to happen to the line in the seven days leading up to the grand opening. The Peel Godred Branch proved to be an excellent extension to the North Western Region, with massive boosts to the NWR's profit margins from the numerous commuters and tourists and the vast amounts of steel, iron ore and other goods. However, as the Peel Godred Branch was prospering, the Mid Sodor Railway was withering…

## Characters

* Edward
* Toby
* Diesel
* Adam
* Geoffrey
* Samantha
* Hurricane
* Paul
* Arthur (1943)
* Samson
* Joey
* The Fat Controller
* Edward's Driver
* Henry *(does not speak)*
* Peter *(does not speak)*
* Thomas *(cameo)*
* Gordon *(cameo)*
* James *(cameo)*
* Percy *(cameo)*
* Donald and Douglas *(cameos)*
* Eric *(cameo)*
* Reginald *(cameo)*
* Whiff *(cameo)*
* Duke *(cameo)*
* Falcon *(cameo)*
* Stuart *(cameo)*
* Arthur *(mentioned)*
* Molly *(mentioned)*

## Trivia

* A reference to King of the Railway is made in the opening; Percy, Thomas and James triple head a large goods train in that order, which is the same order as they do in said Special, which in turn is similar to when Percy, Thomas and Duck triple headed a passenger train in The Railway Series story "Triple-Header".
* It is revealed that Joey now works for MI5.
* The Lucky Lamp can be seen just after Arthur has a near miss with a runaway steel train.