Harvey's Goods Train

"*I've never pulled a goods train before.*"
— Harvey

**Harvey's Goods Train** is the ninth episode of the first season.

## Plot

Harvey is a crane engine who lives on the Island of Sodor, he is number 27 of the Fat Controller's railway. Harvey usually helps put engines back on the rails or lift cargo and shipments, but sometimes when he is not busy, he pulls goods train if the engine who's meant to pull them can't.

One morning, Harvey chuffed into the docks, the Fat Controller had sent him to work there while there were no rescues. When he arrived, he saw a tank engine nearby, he had viridian paintwork, a bell and a whistle, and three domes. It was Porter. Harvey had never seen an engine like Porter before and Porter had never seen a crane engine, Porter started to speak "Hey there." he said "You're a really useful engine." said Porter "Or should I say... a really useful crane?" Harvey laughed "I'm a crane engine." he said "So, err, you could see either, I suppose." the two engines laughed "Then I suppose you must be double useful." said Porter "Please to meet you. My name's Porter." "A pleasure. My name's Harvey." Just then Bill and Ben arrived "Ooh, look Ben. It's Harvey?" "I don't know Bill." said Ben "He's probably trying to go fishing Bill." he said "Better put your hook in the water Harvey." joked Ben "If you want to catch something." the two engines laughed and backed away "Oh, they're always teasing like that. Don't mind them Porter." "I won't." said Porter. As Porter went to back up, he bumped into one of the flatbeds Bill had left." "Oh!" cried Porter, Bill and Ben laughed "Watch where you're going bumpy boiler." joked Bill. Ben laughed "Bumpy boiler!" he said "Because of his three domes." laughed Ben "That's a good one Bill." said Ben as the two engines backed away laughing. Porter laughed too "I guess I am a bumpy boiler." joked Porter to himself "See what I mean." said Harvey "They're always saying teasy things." "It's ok Harvey." said Porter "I'm proud of my three domes." said Porter "I find them very useful." "Ah." said Harvey "Why do you have three domes anyway?" he asked "Oh..." said Porter, "The middle one's me steam dome and the other two are me sandboxes." "But why do you have sandboxes on top of your boiler, a lot of engines usually have their sandboxes on their running plates?" "The heat keeps the sand dry, so it's always ready to pour, if the tracks get slippery, I'll show you." "Is that it?" "Yes it is, that's all." "It doesn't matter what anyone else says." said Porter "My domes make me special." he said "Besides, water off a duck's back." chuckled the viridian engine "What does that mean?" asked Porter "It means I don't let it bother me. I just let what they say... slide out of my mind. The way Porter slides off a duck's back." finished Porter. "Anyways, what are you doing?" asked Harvey "Well, Arthur's taking a goods train to Vicarstown, and I have to shunt his goods train, and I believe, you were asked to load the cargo onto the flatbeds." said Porter "Am I right?" "Yes Porter, you're right, that's why I'm here.", said Harvey. "Anyways we need to get to work, nice meetin' ya Harvey." "Nice to meet you too Porter." said Harvey "Well, that engine looks nice and cheery." Harvey said to himself.

Meanwhile, Porter had shunted Arthur's goods train and Harvey had loaded all the cargo onto the flatbeds. "Okay, that's it." said Harvey to the Dock Manager "This cargo's ready to go." They waited and waited and waited, and still Arthur didn't come "What's taking him so long?" asked Harvey, "I don't know." said Porter "But it's been over half an hour now." Then the Dock Manager arrived "Arthur won't be pulling this goods train." he said "Why?" asked Porter "Because he had an accident at some broken points." he explained "Then, if Arthur can't pull it then who can?" asked Harvey, then Bill and Ben puffed beside Harvey "Oh, how about Bill and Ben?" thought Harvey. "They're not doing anything after all." said Harvey. "Oh, we just remembered." said Bill "We have to get back to the clay pits right away." "That's right." chuckled Ben "We have such a lot of work to do there." he said "You wouldn't believe it." "Why don't you take the train Harvey, besides, you're not just a crane, you're an engine too." "But, I've never pulled a goods train before, I'm usually for lifting cargo, not pulling it and also, I might not be that good at it." said Harvey, Bill chuckled "You don't have to *pull* the train Harvey." said Bill "That's right." said Ben "You could pick them up with your hook and carry them if you like." "Like fish." said Bill "Yes, like fish." said Ben, the twins chuckled "Water off a duck's back, remember?" said Porter, "Water off a duck's back?" thought Harvey "Maybe I will take this train to Vicarstown." "That would be an excellent idea." said the Dock Manager "I agree..." said a voice coming from the distance, it was the Fat Controller, who had just came in to have a very important meeting with the Dock Manager "Let's get you coupled up and you can show us, what a fine engine you can be." said the Fat Controller "Off to our meeting then." the controller said, so Harvey was coupled up to the heavy line of trucks "Oh and be careful of the troublesome trucks, they might play tricks on you." said Porter, "I know all about trucks Porter, I can handle those teasy things." and started to move forward "Oh and remember... Water off a duck's back." said Porter as Harvey chuffed out of the docks.

Harvey chuffed happily through the countryside, he was enjoying his first train run. "Nice to pull a goods train for a while, so I can rest my hook." he said to himself, but the trucks were bored "What can we do?" asked the first truck "I dunno!" said another, but then Harvey approached Gordon's Hill, he found it hard to get up it, Harvey heaved and hauled, he was nearly out of breath. The trucks started to hold back "Hold back! Hold back!" they chanted, "Mustn't give up, mustn't give up, I'm not just a crane, I'm an engine too!" huffed Harvey and he puffed with all his might and then he finally puffed to the top of the hill and raced down the other side "Pulling trains down hill is easier than I thought." he said to himself, but then there was trouble, the trucks started to push Harvey faster and faster "On! On! On!" they yelped. But then there was trouble, a sharp bend was at the bottom of the hill and Harvey knew he didn't have much time to stop." "Oh no... Help!", he wailed, he raced down the hill at full speed with the trucks pushing him from behind, he rounded the sharp bend and with a loud 'CRASH!' the flatbeds toppled over each other and derailed. Harvey was disappointed. "\*sigh\* I was right all along, I'm not good at pulling trains at all. Stupid trucks." Then Harvey remembered what Bill and Ben had said, "You could pick them up with your hook and carry them if you like." "Like fish." "Yes, like fish." "That's it." said Harvey "I have a hook. So I could pick up these derailed flatbeds." "Ha!" shouted Harvey "Bill and Ben couldn't do that." puffed Harvey "I can lift these flatbeds back on the track in no time." So Harvey got working, he was very busy "These flatbeds are very heavy, but I shall not give up." he said to himself. At last, the train was put back onto the tracks and Harvey was pleased with himself.

It was late by the time Harvey had delivered his train to Vicarstown and that night. He stayed at Knapford Sheds with Porter and Arthur. "So did you manage to pull the train?" asked Porter, "Indeed I did." said Harvey, "It was easy." "Did the trucks play tricks on you?" asked Porter "Well yes, they pushed me down the hill at full speed and made me derail at a sharp bend "Thank you for taking my train to Vicarstown." said Arthur. "Oh, it was nothing." said Harvey "I've had troubles with the trucks before." said Arthur "Yeah, I know." said Harvey "That time when you were taking those trucks to market but the trucks pushed you down the hill and you crashed into Duck's goods train." "Yep, that's right, I just hope the points will be fixed soon." Just then the Fat Controller arrived, he had just finished his meeting with the dock manager and he came to see Harvey "You've done a good job of pulling that train." he said "I declare that from now on, you will pull goods trains while you're not busy." said the Fat Controller, Harvey was delighted.

From now on, Harvey would always pull goods trains if the other engines were not around, and he'd always enjoy it. "If it wasn't for Porter, I would've never took the train to Vicarstown at all." he said to himself happily.

## Characters

* Bill and Ben
* Harvey
* Arthur
* Porter
* The Fat Controller
* The Dock Manager
* Salty (*cameo*)
* Cranky (*cameo*)
* Gordon (*mentioned*)
* Duck (*mentioned*)

## Locations

* Tidmouth Yards
* Brendam Docks
* Sodor Shipping Company
* Coastal Cliffs
* Gordon's Hill
* Knapford Sheds
* Sodor China Clay Company (*mentioned*)
* Vicarstown (*mentioned*)

## Home Media Releases

* Pull Together!
* The Complete First Series

## Trivia

* This episode is a rewrite of the seventeenth season episode *Gone Fishing*, quotes from said episode are also used.
* A reference to the seventh season episode *The Spotless Record* is made.
* This episode marks the first of a few things:
	+ Harvey and Porter's first appearances.
	+ Arthur's first speaking role.
	+ The first episode to feature neither the Steam Team, nor the Skarloey Railway engines.