Bill and Ben (episode)

**Bill and Ben** is the twentieth episode of the first season.

## Plot

Bill and Ben are tank engine twins who work at the China Clay Pits on the Brendam Branch Line. They love to play tricks on the other engines especially the bigger ones. BoCo, Marion and Timothy.

"Shall we play a trick on Timothy, Ben?" asked Bill.

"Yes of course," replied Ben. "Say Bill, what trick have you got in mind?"

"Hmm," Bill pondered, "I was thinking we should tell Timothy that the Fat Controller would want to see him, so then he'll leave the clay pits and we can stay and have fun, without being interrupted."

"Yes, that's a great idea Bill!" chuffed Ben. "But what if the yard manager sees us?"

"The manager isn't here remember," retorted Bill, "he's at that meeting with the dock manager."

"Oh yes, I forgot," puffed Ben, "so shall we get started on our trick?"

"Yeah, of course," replied Bill hastily. "What are we even waiting for anyway?"

"I'm waiting for you," huffed Ben. "Right now, we're just sat here doing nothing." and the two twin engines puffed up so they were side to side with Timothy.

"Hey Timothy," said Bill as he pulled up alongside the oil-burning engine.

"Yes?"

"The Fat Controller wants to see you," smirked Ben.

"Does he really?" asked Timothy, eying the twins suspiciously.

"Yes!" the two tank engines exclaimed in unison.

"This isn't one of your tricks is it?"

"No!" exclaimed Bill. "It isn't, we're being very serious." They tried not to smirk in front of Timothy.

"Alright," said Timothy, "I'm going to see the Fat Controller, but the clay pits better be cleaned up before I come back... Got that?"

"Yes!" replied Bill and Ben together and as Timothy chuffed away. Bill and Ben laughed helplessly to themselves. "Fooled you!" they said, but Timothy was no longer in sight.

Timothy came back eventually, but he now knew that Bill and Ben had played a trick on him.

"I went to see the Fat Controller, but he said he never said he wanted to talk to me. Which one of you thought of the idea of this trick?" Timothy asked crossly.

"It was Bill who thought of the trick first." replied Ben.

"Yeah, but you said 'Yes!' when I was asking if you wanted to play a trick on Timothy." spluttered Bill.

"No I didn't." argued Ben.

"Yes you did!" snapped Bill.

"Didn't!"

"Did!

"Didn't!"

"Did!"

"Didn't! Didn't!" Didn't!"

"Did! Did Did!"

Timothy blew his whistle loudly. "That's enough!" he boomed as his voice bellowed across the pits. "I don't want to hear you accuse each other again." and Timothy puffed crossly away, this is what happens if the twins' trick has been foiled or if the Fat Controller finds out that they've played a trick, they always start to blame each other, and will start arguing with each other continuously until a day ends, this is what annoys Timothy and Marion more than anything.

One day, Bill and Ben were working at the clay pits as usual, they had been shunting trucks there all day and now they were bored, Bill sighed.

"Uh, I'm bored, there's nothing to do." he complained.

"I know," agreed Ben, "but shunting trucks is all we can do."

"I know, Ben." huffed Bill.

"Why can't Timothy do all this work instead?" groaned Ben.

"I don't know," puffed Bill, "but I'm not doing anymore work for today."

"Me neither."

Bill and Ben refused to shunt any more trucks that day, they were thinking of what they should do.

"What can we do, Ben?" asked Bill.

"Well, we could play tricks." suggested Ben.

"Brilliant idea Ben," chuckled Bill, "let's go and play a trick on Marion."

"Great idea Bill." agreed Ben and the two tank engines puffed over to Marion who was digging part of a wall which was covered in dust and stone.

"Hello Marion!" said Bill, along with a loud whistle.

"Oh, hello Bill," replied Marion, "don't you have to shunt trucks rather than doing nothing?"

"I've done that." lied Bill.

"Oh, okay then." said Marion and she went back to digging. "Bill, you wouldn't mind shunting these trucks out of the way for me would you?" she asked.

"Oh not at all." said Bill smugly, but secretly he didn't want to do it. Then he thought of a trick to play on Marion. "Marion!" he cried out.

"Yes?" Marion replied.

"Look up there, it's a pterodactyl!" Bill shrieked.

"Where?!" exclaimed Marion horrified and Bill rushed off quickly laughing.

"Hey!" shouted Marion. "You played a trick on me."

"Bye!" whistled Bill, who was still laughing during the coincidence, he chuffed back to Ben.

"How did your trick go?" asked Ben.

"It was good." replied Bill.

"Uh, Bill... Ben!" came a voice, it was Timothy. "Bill! Ben! Come back and help move these trucks please." he ordered. Bill and Ben sighed and they did what they were told.

Bill and Ben got back to work, but they were still bored. "I don't want to shunt stupid trucks!" complained Bill.

"Neither do I," huffed Ben, "but unfortunately we'll have to." The twins were shunting trucks all day, the trucks did not like being bumped around.

"Hey, Bill, stop bumping us!" one said.

"Well it's not my problem," snorted Bill, "blame ol' Timothy, he got us to do all this work."

"Okay, but still, we hate being bumped around!"

A while later, Bill and Ben had finally cleared all the trucks, then the quarry manager arrived to talk to Bill and Ben.

"Bill and Ben, I want you two to take these trucks of clay to Brendam Docks, the ship leaves at 4pm and you've got to be there on time."

"Yes sir!" said Bill and the quarry manager walked away.

Ben sighed. "More work for me."

"And me," added Bill, the two tank engines chuffed away to the docks.

Bill and Ben arrived at the docks with the trucks.

"Argh mateys, glad you delivered these clay trucks, the ship is leaving in 5 minutes." observed Salty.

"Okay..." muttered Bill and Ben.

"Shall we start unloading these clay trucks?" asked Porter. "Come on, Cranky."

"Okay, okay, I'm doing it." retorted the crane.

"Okay, Bill," said Ben, "let's get back to the clay pits." and the twins puffed away.

They arrived back at the clay pits, this time they refused to do any more work.

"I'm not doing any more work!" Bill snapped. "I'm going on strike!"

"So am I," agreed Ben.

"Let's go and play tricks like we usually do."

"Why don't we have a race instead?" suggested Ben.

"Yes! A race would be good." chuckled Bill and the two engines got ready. "Ready! Set! Go!" And the twins were off in a flash. Bill was in the lead. "Haha, I'm winning," he chuckled, then Ben overtook Bill.

"You thought wrong, I am!" he retorted, then Bill overtook Ben.

"No! I am!" Bill said crossly.

"I am!" argued Ben.

"I am!"

"No, I am!"

"No, I am!" The twins argued as they raced, but not until they had reached a sharp bend. Bill gasped. "Ben, look out!" And as Bill swerved around the corner, Ben crashed into the pit wall, stones started to tumble down onto him. Bill stopped and watched his twin get covered in dust and rocks. Ben was stuck, his driver and fireman had jumped clear, but the quarry manager was not impressed.

"Bill and Ben! Racing is *not* allowed in a quarry like this!" he boomed. "You should know better than to do things like this." Bill and Ben felt bad for themselves. "I'll have to call the Fat Controller."

"Yes sir." said the twins sadly.

The Fat Controller soon came on Winston. "Bill and Ben!" he boomed. "You should know better then to race about in a very hazardous area, none of my engines would do such a thing!"

"We're sorry sir." muttered Bill.

"We didn't mean it." added Ben.

"And now," continued the Fat Controller, "Ben is damaged severely and he cannot work. Ben will have to go to the steamworks, so you Bill will be managing alone!" Bill was sad.

"Can Bill still work with me once he's mended?" asked Ben innocently.

"No!" bellowed the Fat Controller.

Bill and Ben were horrified. "B-But... why sir?" stuttered Bill in shock.

"Because you two cannot be trusted to work well together!" scolded the Fat Controller. "You can do on a couple of occasions, but most of the time, you can not!" Timothy and Marion sniggered quietly.

"But, where is Ben going to work when he's mended?" quipped Bill.

"Ben will work at the docks while you will stay working here." replied the Fat Controller.

"Yes sir," said Bill sadly. It wasn't long before Ben was towed out of the rocks. "I'm going to miss you, Ben."

"I'm going to miss you two, Bill." Ben replied.

"How can we be able to work on our own?" questioned Bill. "Because I can't do that."

"I can't either." puffed Ben.

"But you'll have to now." smirked Timothy.

"Indeed." chuckled Marion.

Ben was taken to the steamworks while Bill was left to manage alone, he was once again shunting trucks. Much like earlier, they hated being bumped about. "Again! Stop bumping us about!" they yelled.

"Sorry," muttered Bill, "but you'll just have to do with this now." Bill was shunting trucks all day, he missed Ben already. "I wish Ben was here." he muttered as he continued working.

Ben was at the steamworks, he was waiting to be given a new wheel and repainted because of the dust on his paint.

"Don't worry my friend," smiled Victor, "you'll be repaired in no time."

"Thanks Victor." muttered Ben.

"Ben, I know you've been separated from your twin, but there's nothing much I can do, nor you either," chuffed Victor, "the Fat Controller separated you two because of that accident that happened at the clay pits."

"Yes, I was being careless." admitted Ben.

"Well now you don't have to worry, Kevin will come soon with your new wheel and paint." Victor said comfortingly.

"Thanks Victor." Ben was sort of looking forward to be working at the docks, but not by the fact that he had been sent away from his twin. "How long is this going to take Victor?"

Victor smiled. "Not long now, my friend, just be patient, Kevin is coming along now. Kevin!"

Kevin skidded up alongside Victor. "Yes boss?"

"Please go and get a new wheel and paint for Ben."

"Yes boss! Right away, boss!" said Kevin as he rushed off to find the two things he was told to bring to Ben, who sat on the hoist for a very long time, he didn't want to wait any longer.

"Has it arrived yet?"

"Not quite yet, my friend." After a moment of waiting, Kevin finally came with Ben's new wheel and paint. "Ah, glad you finally come with the things you need." smiled Victor.

"Yes of course boss," replied Kevin, "sorry for taking so long, I couldn't find them anywhere, but they were behind a machine down at the back."

"Anyhow, let's get you repaired Ben." said Victor. While the workmen were fixing Ben, the china clay twin waited impatiently for the repairs, but he was still thinking about his twin. It wasn't long before Ben was repaired, he had shiny new paint and a clean red wheel. "Right Ben, you're ready to go."

"Thank you Victor." said Ben and he chuffed away to the docks.

Ben had arrived at the docks. Salty, Porter and Cranky were waiting for him.

"Hello matey." chuffed Salty.

"We heard about that accident you had at the clay pits," said Porter, "and that you've been separated from your twin."

"Well, yes... that's true." muttered Ben.

"Ha! Serves you right from racing around sharp bends in a quarry!" taunted Cranky and he laughed hilariously. Everyone glared at the dockside crane, who stopped laughing. "Well... I'm sorry, geez."

"Anyway now that's stopped," began Salty.

"Let's get to work." finished Porter and the three engines got to work. The engines were very busy shunting, loading, lifting and hauling all day. While working so hard, the docks got busier later on, engines with flatbeds and conflats, shunting and whistling were all over the dockside. Ben was working so hard that not once he was thinking about Bill.

"This is fun." he commented.

"Argh, I told you it be fun," chuckled Salty, "it reminds me of a story."

"Lifting and loading," moaned Cranky, "that's all I ever do."

"We know!" said the three engines in unison as they were working.

Meanwhile back at the clay pits, Bill was not happy at all, he had been shunting trucks and delivering clay, he wished Ben was back working with him, he couldn't manage without him. Timothy and Marion on the other hand were glad that they could finally get some peace and quiet now that one of their team had gone, but they also felt sorry for Bill and they wanted to try and cheer him up somehow.

"It is peaceful now one of the twins has gone, wouldn't you say?" Timothy whispered to Marion.

"Yes," replueid Marion, "but Bill has been upset all day, he can't do work without Ben."

"I've just noticed that myself," acknowledged Timothy, "Ben will come back here soon, the Fat Controller just wanted to separate them so they wouldn't cause trouble."

"Wait, haven't you noticed Timothy?" exclaimed Marion. "Ever since they both got separated, Bill hasn't been causing trouble at all, not even a trick."

"Oh yes!" cried Timothy. "it has been quiet since the Fat Controller told Bill and Ben to work apart, but really that's the only good thing of why they have been separated. Quietness!"

"I agree with you there." smiled Marion.

"But I can still see Bill sad now," said Timothy, feeling sorry for the tank engine twin. "You know, I might have a word with the Fat Controller." and Timothy puffed away out of the clay pits.

At the docks, all the work had been done.

"Great work everyone, the work has now been done." chuffed Porter.

"Indeed me hearty," smiled Salty, "and we couldn't have done it without you matey!"

"Thanks Salty." replied Ben bluntly.

"You're welcome me hearty."

Cranky was pleased that he didn't have to do any more work for the day. "At last, I can rest." he said with a calming sigh.

"Yes Cranky, you can rest now," observed Porter, then he remembered. "Oh, uh Cranky, you can't rest just yet."

Cranky's smile quickly turned into a confused look. "But why?"

"Remember, Mavis is coming to bring a shipment of stone so it can be loaded onto the ship."

"What… but, ohhh!"

Then Mavis oiled in. "Hello Everyone," she said kindly, but she was surprised to see Ben there. "Oh, hello Ben, "I thought you'd be working at the clay pits."

"Well, the Fat Controller split me and my twin apart." Ben told her.

Mavis was puzzled. "But why?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Is it because you were playing tricks like always?"

"Well yes, but it was something else that was quite dangerous and I'm not really comfortable of explaining."

"Oh alright," said Mavis, "Cranky, here's the shipment of stone." Cranky sighed and lifted the shipment onto the ship. Then Mavis oiled back to the quarry.

Cranky had placed the shipment of stone onto the ship and was now very calm, but not for long. "When I said quiet time, I mean being without any of you little bu-" Cranky was about to say bugs, but quickly corrected himself. "Should I say... without you little trains disturbing my quiet time." chuckled the crane sheepishly.

"That is no way to talk to an engine like that." scolded Salty.

"Well, sorry," muttered Cranky, "but I want quiet time and that's final!"

The Dock Manager came out of his office and was pleased to see the engines had done a good job. "Well done everyone," he said, "the docks is all sorted now, work has been done, trucks have been shunted, it looks like you can be part of our Dockside Team Ben."

"Yes, I could you know." muttered the latter shyly.

"You've been a really useful engine me hatey," smiled Salty, "no more trickery for once."

"I agree." puffed Porter, even Cranky had to agree.

Then suddenly, a blue car drove up, it was the Fat Controller. Ben was worried. *Oh no, what have I done now?* he thought, but the Fat Controller wasn't cross, he was pleased.

"Ben, I heard you've done a very good job working at the docks, helping Salty, Porter and Cranky with the work without playing any tricks, and I must say... you've done an excellent job!"

Ben was pleased. "Thank you sir." he said proudly.

"Oh, and I've got something to tell you," said the Fat Controller, "it is something that you'll be happy of."

"What is it, sir?"

"I am letting you go back to the clay pits to work with Bill." The Fat Controller declared.

Ben beamed from buffer to buffer. "Working with Bill!" he exclaimed. "Thank you, sir."

"You're very welcome." smiled the Fat Controller.

"Can I go back now sir?" asked Ben, bubbling with excitement.

"Of course you can." The Fat Controller chuckled.

"Yippee!" whistled Ben and he chuffed quickly away back to the clay pits.

"Yah, that's one happy mate." remarked Salty.

"He's so happy to be going back with his twin, I can tell." laughed Porter.

"But that means they'll be going back into playing tricks again." groaned Cranky.

"Well, if that's what they like," responded Porter, "then they can play tricks if they want."

"I'll have to agree with you with this one." Cranky muttered, unamusingly.

Ben returned to the clay pits, Bill was still shunting sadly. Ben pulled up alongside Timothy and Marion. "Ben, Bill doesn't know that you've come back yet." whispered Timothy.

"He has not?" quizzed Ben.

"Nope, not at all," said Marion chuckling a little, "but that'll be the only way to cheer him up."

"Okay." muttered Ben and he pulled up alongside his twin, who was feeling as sad as ever. "Guess who's back again!" announced Ben as he pulled up alongside his twin.

Bill was pleased to see his twin. "Ben!" he exclaimed.

"Bill!" The two tank engine twins reunited immediately.

"I'm so glad you've come back." chuffed Bill.

"I'm glad I'm back too." smiled Ben.

"Now we can play tricks again."

"Tricks?!" exclaimed Ben. "Well, yes I suppose we can still play tricks, but maybe outside the pits, don't you agree?"

"Yeah, I agree." murmured Bill in agreement.

"And it's all thanks to Timothy for letting you two reunite." chuckled Marion.

Bill and Ben were confused. "Timothy?!"

"Was it really you?" asked Bill.

"Yes it was me," admitted Timothy, "you can play tricks all you want now."

"No, we've decided to only play tricks outside of the clay pits." puffed Bill.

"Really?" exclaimed Timothy.

"Yes, of course." replied Ben firmly.

"Well okay," puffed Timothy, "now let's get back to work." and the four engines got back to work.

Bill and Ben were glad to be back together again, they would play tricks less often now and would promise to never race about in quarries again, they would do all the work they were told to do without a fuss, they would still get into arguments, but they are still friends, much like twins are.

## Characters

* Edward
* Bill and Ben
* Fergus
* Porter
* Timothy
* Marion
* BoCo
* Mavis
* Derek
* Salty
* Victor
* Cranky
* Kevin
* The Fat Controller
* The Quarry Manager
* The Dock Manager
* Winston (*does not speak*)
* Rosie (*cameo*)
* Stanley (*cameo*)
* Diesel (*cameo*)
* Rocky (*cameo*)
* Butch (*cameo*)
* Big Mickey (*cameo*)

## Locations

* Sodor China Clay Company
* Brendam Docks
* Sodor Steamworks
* Anopha Quarry (*mentioned*)
* The Mainland (*mentioned*)

## Trivia

* The plot is slightly similar to the sixth season television episode *Twin Trouble*.
* This episode marks Marion's first appearance and Timothy's first speaking role in The Adventures on Sodor, and the latter's only speaking role in the first season.