Seeing-Eye Engine - ThomasNATION Fanstory
July 31, 2021
One day on the island of Sodor, Samson and Bradford had been sent over from the Mainland to help out at the Waste Dump. Being as boastful, self-involved and arrogant as Samson was, you can probably tell he wasn’t too stoked about working with garbage.
“Ugh…” grumbled Samson. “it’s just not fair, Bradford.”
“Oh, behave yourself, Samson.” Bradford scolded. “Sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to in order to get on with life.”
“I get that,” Samson rebutted, “but rubbish?! Not what I was made for, old bean!”
As Samson rolled into Vicarstown, Bradford still wasn’t having any of his bickering. “Samson, I thought all you wanted was to be a really useful contributor to the North Western Railway!”
“Yeah, but not like this.”
“Will you quit your whinin’, matey? You don’t even know Whiff!”
“Yes, but I know he’s very pongy!”
“Again, you don’t know that!”
“It’s in the name! His name is Whiff, Bradford!”
As Samson and Bradford bickered, Whiff approached the two. “Hello!”
Samson took one good long look at Whiff, and he knew all there is to know about the lad. But one thing managed to catch his eye.
“I take it you two are here to help me and Scruff?” Whiff asked.
“Uh…”
“Yes, we certainly are,” Bradford called out from behind. “It’s nice to see you again, Whiff. This is my associate, Samson.”
“Uh, yes, hello. Come along, lads, let’s just…get this over with.”
“Ah, eager to go, I see,” Whiff chuckled. “Away we go, I guess.”
As the three left, Samson had to quietly talk to Bradford. “Do you see that too, Bradford?”
“Eh?”
“Whiff, he’s wearing glasses. I’ve never seen an engine with glasses before! I didn’t even think it was a possibility.”
“Well, plenty of folk on the Mainland are visually impaired, Samson,” said Bradford.
“Yeah, but not engines.” Samson protested.
“I’m sure it’s best to get on with your work as per usual and just ignore his spectacles, lad,” Bradford assured his friend. “After all, Whiff’s glasses don’t make him any less useful.”
Soon, Whiff, Samson and Bradford had arrived at the waste dump, where Scruff was awaiting their arrival.
“Ah, hey, guys!” Scruff called out. “Samson, was it?”
“Yes it is.” Samson sighed. “Practical, strong, and not wanting to be here at all.”
“Samson…” Bradford scowled.
“Oh, alright. What do we need to do, Scruff?”
“First off,” Scruff started, “we have some trucks of recyclables on Sidings 2, 4 and 9. Can you two take care of it for us?”
“Huh. Guess you’re going easy on us.” Samson smirked. “Alright, Scruff. We’re on it!”
Soon, Samson and Bradford had collected the trains of recyclables and lined them up in one long train. As soon as Samson was about to disembark for the other end of the dump.
“WHOOAA!” Bradford cried as he slammed the brakes.
“Bradford?” asked Samson. “What’s wrong?”
“According to the Railroad Safety Guidelines, goods trains pulled by tank engines are not permitted to exceed 15 trucks.”
“So?”
“I counted, and the amount of trucks lined up here culminate in a total of 22! You need to uncouple seven or find a back engine before you can continue.”
Samson simply scoffed. “Oh, tish tosh, Bradford. I think you’re forgetting I’m the strongest tank engine on Sodor. These recyclables are nothing!”
Samson tried pulling away from the dump, but he couldn’t proceed. “Bradford, let go of the brakes.”
“Uncouple some trucks first, Samson!”
Samson and Bradford went back and forth, but the brakevan wouldn’t let him move, until…
SNAP! The coupling on the trucks snapped, sending Bradford hurtling down the line. “Whoa, whoa, whoa!”
Bradford tried applying his brakes, but he was too late as he collided into the back of Whiff.
Then there was trouble. Whiff’s glasses wobbled on his nose for a couple of seconds, until they fell off and landed on the rails below. Thankfully, they were unharmed. “Phew!”
But Whiff’s relief was short-lived. “Watch out, Whiff!”
Samson crashed into the train, knocking Whiff forward, and over his glasses, cracking the lens. “No!”
Samson and Scruff had sent Whiff and his broken glasses to the Steamworks to inspect the damage. Victor take a good, long look at the damaged frames.
“What happened here, anyways?” Victor asked.
“There was a bit of a mishap at the dump, Victor,” Samson explained. “You can probably guess the outcome, eh?”
“Ai, no me diga…” Victor groaned. “Don’t tell me you ran over your frames, Whiff.”
“It was an accident, Victor.” Whiff tried to explain. As a result of his busted glasses, he had a noticable squint to him. And even then, he couldn’t see much.
“I know, but these frames take a while to make, my friend. Thankfully, we have the right materials to make you another pair, and we should get them to you by tomorrow, problema resuelto!”
“I should hope so!” Sir Topham Hatt bellowed as he entered the Steamworks. “But for now, Whiff, I need you to take a goods train up to Crovan’s Gate.”
“Yes, sir…” Whiff mumbled. “…uh, sir? Where exactly are you?”
“Right here, Whiff.” Sir Topham Hatt said further. “Seeing as you’ve had an…ahem, accident, I’m appointing you what I like to call a seeing-eye engine.”
“What’s a seeing eye engine, sir?” Scruff asked.
“The seeing eye engine will be Whiff’s banker engine, in addition to pointing him in the right direction. Now, does anyone know where I can find Thomas?”
“Ah, you don’t need Thomas, sir!” Samson said, triumphantly. “I’ll be his seeing-eye engine!”
“You, Samson?”
“Yes, I know this island like it’s the back of my buffer! Plus the fact that this is a little bit my fault.”
“Very well, then.” said Sir Topham Hatt. “Now, you two get going. Chop chop!”
As Samson and Whiff pulled into the Docks, Whiff was still struggling to see. “Uh, Samson? Are we there yet?”
“Yes, Whiff. We’re here.”
Salty immediately noticed something was different about Whiff. “Ahoy, lad. What happened to your spectacles?”
“Long story, Porter,” replied Whiff. “is our train ready?”
“Uh, Whiff?” Samson corrected. “That’s Salty.”
“Oh. Sorry, Salty.”
“No worries, matey. Yer cars are right there.”
Samson coupled up to the back of the train, while Whiff coupled up to the front…of Thomas. “Hey! Whiff, what’s going on?”
“Oh! Thomas, is that you?”
“Yeah, what’s going on?”
Samson had to explain the situation to Thomas as Whiff coupled up to the train, and before long, the two disembarked.
“Oh, this is going to be a long journey…” Samson moaned.
Soon, the two were on their way to Crovan’s Gate. It was hard to keep on the right track, but Samson was doing a fine job of being Whiff’s seeing-eye engine, until they came to a junction.
“Alright, Samson,” Whiff called. “what way do we go?”
Samson thought for a little bit. Truth of the matter was, he didn’t actually know the right way to go. He just wanted to do it because…well, anything was better than working at the dump.
“Uh…take the left track.”
“You sure? I can’t see much, but from what I can see, it looks overgrown and rusty.”
“Trust me, Whiff-o,” Samson smirked. “I told you. I know this railway as if it were my own!”
“Uh, okay…if you say so.”
And away they went down the left track. Whiff was right, this track was overgrown and rusty. The biggest issue with that is, the tracks were also in shambles. But neither Whiff nor Samson could notice before it was too late and Whiff rolled off the rails and into the mud.
“Oh, dear…” Whiff sighed. “I’m starting to think this isn’t the right track.”
“This is unbelievable…” Samson groaned.
Soon, Whiff had to be put back onto the rails as Sir Topham Hatt inspected the issue.
“Sir, if I may-” said Samson.
“No, Samson, it’s not your fault,” Sir Topham Hatt interrupted. “I simply realised the issue with my seeing-eye engine plan.”
“Oh?”
“You see, the problem is that the seeing-eye engine had to go at the back of the train. I think you can guess where the problem lies.”
“The engine wouldn’t be able to see where he’d be leading the train?”
“Bingo.” Sir Topham Hatt smiled. “So, I came to a solution. You need to couple up to the front of Whiff!”
“That’s…actually a good idea.” said Samson as he coupled up in front of Whiff. “Come along, Whiff, Crovan’s Gate awaits!”
Samson and Whiff had finally arrived at Crovan’s Gate with the goods train.
“Ooh, hello, lads!” called Sir Handel. “Whiff, where are your glasses?”
“I’m waiting on a new pair,” Whiff explained. “but for now, Samson’s my seeing-eye engine.”
“Right you are, Whiff!”
Suddenly, Percy raced into the station with a flatbed, with a small crate on it. “Whiff! Whiff! I have something for you!”
“Wait, what?” Whiff asked. “I thought they weren’t due to be fixed until tomorrow.”
“I know,” Percy explained. “but Victor was ahead of schedule and was able to fix up your glasses in no time at all.”
Two workmen opened the crate to reveal brand new glasses for Whiff! “Whoa! They’re amazing!”
“I know, right?” Percy chuckled.
The workmen fitted the glasses onto Whiff’s face. At long last, he could see again. “They work perfect!”
Samson smirked at Whiff’s new frames. “Very stylish, Whiff. Guess this means ya won’t need a seeing-eye engine anymore.”
“Not until the next time my glasses break,” Whiff chuckled. “but that doesn’t mean the two of us can’t work together!”
“I guess so,” Samson smiled. “but I do have one question.”
“Go for it.”
“...does it have to be at the waste dump?”
Whiff chuckled at Samson’s question. Samson joined in as the two chuffed off.
“No, I’m being serious. Does it?”
“Yes.”
“Aw.”
“Ugh…” grumbled Samson. “it’s just not fair, Bradford.”
“Oh, behave yourself, Samson.” Bradford scolded. “Sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to in order to get on with life.”
“I get that,” Samson rebutted, “but rubbish?! Not what I was made for, old bean!”
As Samson rolled into Vicarstown, Bradford still wasn’t having any of his bickering. “Samson, I thought all you wanted was to be a really useful contributor to the North Western Railway!”
“Yeah, but not like this.”
“Will you quit your whinin’, matey? You don’t even know Whiff!”
“Yes, but I know he’s very pongy!”
“Again, you don’t know that!”
“It’s in the name! His name is Whiff, Bradford!”
As Samson and Bradford bickered, Whiff approached the two. “Hello!”
Samson took one good long look at Whiff, and he knew all there is to know about the lad. But one thing managed to catch his eye.
“I take it you two are here to help me and Scruff?” Whiff asked.
“Uh…”
“Yes, we certainly are,” Bradford called out from behind. “It’s nice to see you again, Whiff. This is my associate, Samson.”
“Uh, yes, hello. Come along, lads, let’s just…get this over with.”
“Ah, eager to go, I see,” Whiff chuckled. “Away we go, I guess.”
As the three left, Samson had to quietly talk to Bradford. “Do you see that too, Bradford?”
“Eh?”
“Whiff, he’s wearing glasses. I’ve never seen an engine with glasses before! I didn’t even think it was a possibility.”
“Well, plenty of folk on the Mainland are visually impaired, Samson,” said Bradford.
“Yeah, but not engines.” Samson protested.
“I’m sure it’s best to get on with your work as per usual and just ignore his spectacles, lad,” Bradford assured his friend. “After all, Whiff’s glasses don’t make him any less useful.”
Soon, Whiff, Samson and Bradford had arrived at the waste dump, where Scruff was awaiting their arrival.
“Ah, hey, guys!” Scruff called out. “Samson, was it?”
“Yes it is.” Samson sighed. “Practical, strong, and not wanting to be here at all.”
“Samson…” Bradford scowled.
“Oh, alright. What do we need to do, Scruff?”
“First off,” Scruff started, “we have some trucks of recyclables on Sidings 2, 4 and 9. Can you two take care of it for us?”
“Huh. Guess you’re going easy on us.” Samson smirked. “Alright, Scruff. We’re on it!”
Soon, Samson and Bradford had collected the trains of recyclables and lined them up in one long train. As soon as Samson was about to disembark for the other end of the dump.
“WHOOAA!” Bradford cried as he slammed the brakes.
“Bradford?” asked Samson. “What’s wrong?”
“According to the Railroad Safety Guidelines, goods trains pulled by tank engines are not permitted to exceed 15 trucks.”
“So?”
“I counted, and the amount of trucks lined up here culminate in a total of 22! You need to uncouple seven or find a back engine before you can continue.”
Samson simply scoffed. “Oh, tish tosh, Bradford. I think you’re forgetting I’m the strongest tank engine on Sodor. These recyclables are nothing!”
Samson tried pulling away from the dump, but he couldn’t proceed. “Bradford, let go of the brakes.”
“Uncouple some trucks first, Samson!”
Samson and Bradford went back and forth, but the brakevan wouldn’t let him move, until…
SNAP! The coupling on the trucks snapped, sending Bradford hurtling down the line. “Whoa, whoa, whoa!”
Bradford tried applying his brakes, but he was too late as he collided into the back of Whiff.
Then there was trouble. Whiff’s glasses wobbled on his nose for a couple of seconds, until they fell off and landed on the rails below. Thankfully, they were unharmed. “Phew!”
But Whiff’s relief was short-lived. “Watch out, Whiff!”
Samson crashed into the train, knocking Whiff forward, and over his glasses, cracking the lens. “No!”
Samson and Scruff had sent Whiff and his broken glasses to the Steamworks to inspect the damage. Victor take a good, long look at the damaged frames.
“What happened here, anyways?” Victor asked.
“There was a bit of a mishap at the dump, Victor,” Samson explained. “You can probably guess the outcome, eh?”
“Ai, no me diga…” Victor groaned. “Don’t tell me you ran over your frames, Whiff.”
“It was an accident, Victor.” Whiff tried to explain. As a result of his busted glasses, he had a noticable squint to him. And even then, he couldn’t see much.
“I know, but these frames take a while to make, my friend. Thankfully, we have the right materials to make you another pair, and we should get them to you by tomorrow, problema resuelto!”
“I should hope so!” Sir Topham Hatt bellowed as he entered the Steamworks. “But for now, Whiff, I need you to take a goods train up to Crovan’s Gate.”
“Yes, sir…” Whiff mumbled. “…uh, sir? Where exactly are you?”
“Right here, Whiff.” Sir Topham Hatt said further. “Seeing as you’ve had an…ahem, accident, I’m appointing you what I like to call a seeing-eye engine.”
“What’s a seeing eye engine, sir?” Scruff asked.
“The seeing eye engine will be Whiff’s banker engine, in addition to pointing him in the right direction. Now, does anyone know where I can find Thomas?”
“Ah, you don’t need Thomas, sir!” Samson said, triumphantly. “I’ll be his seeing-eye engine!”
“You, Samson?”
“Yes, I know this island like it’s the back of my buffer! Plus the fact that this is a little bit my fault.”
“Very well, then.” said Sir Topham Hatt. “Now, you two get going. Chop chop!”
As Samson and Whiff pulled into the Docks, Whiff was still struggling to see. “Uh, Samson? Are we there yet?”
“Yes, Whiff. We’re here.”
Salty immediately noticed something was different about Whiff. “Ahoy, lad. What happened to your spectacles?”
“Long story, Porter,” replied Whiff. “is our train ready?”
“Uh, Whiff?” Samson corrected. “That’s Salty.”
“Oh. Sorry, Salty.”
“No worries, matey. Yer cars are right there.”
Samson coupled up to the back of the train, while Whiff coupled up to the front…of Thomas. “Hey! Whiff, what’s going on?”
“Oh! Thomas, is that you?”
“Yeah, what’s going on?”
Samson had to explain the situation to Thomas as Whiff coupled up to the train, and before long, the two disembarked.
“Oh, this is going to be a long journey…” Samson moaned.
Soon, the two were on their way to Crovan’s Gate. It was hard to keep on the right track, but Samson was doing a fine job of being Whiff’s seeing-eye engine, until they came to a junction.
“Alright, Samson,” Whiff called. “what way do we go?”
Samson thought for a little bit. Truth of the matter was, he didn’t actually know the right way to go. He just wanted to do it because…well, anything was better than working at the dump.
“Uh…take the left track.”
“You sure? I can’t see much, but from what I can see, it looks overgrown and rusty.”
“Trust me, Whiff-o,” Samson smirked. “I told you. I know this railway as if it were my own!”
“Uh, okay…if you say so.”
And away they went down the left track. Whiff was right, this track was overgrown and rusty. The biggest issue with that is, the tracks were also in shambles. But neither Whiff nor Samson could notice before it was too late and Whiff rolled off the rails and into the mud.
“Oh, dear…” Whiff sighed. “I’m starting to think this isn’t the right track.”
“This is unbelievable…” Samson groaned.
Soon, Whiff had to be put back onto the rails as Sir Topham Hatt inspected the issue.
“Sir, if I may-” said Samson.
“No, Samson, it’s not your fault,” Sir Topham Hatt interrupted. “I simply realised the issue with my seeing-eye engine plan.”
“Oh?”
“You see, the problem is that the seeing-eye engine had to go at the back of the train. I think you can guess where the problem lies.”
“The engine wouldn’t be able to see where he’d be leading the train?”
“Bingo.” Sir Topham Hatt smiled. “So, I came to a solution. You need to couple up to the front of Whiff!”
“That’s…actually a good idea.” said Samson as he coupled up in front of Whiff. “Come along, Whiff, Crovan’s Gate awaits!”
Samson and Whiff had finally arrived at Crovan’s Gate with the goods train.
“Ooh, hello, lads!” called Sir Handel. “Whiff, where are your glasses?”
“I’m waiting on a new pair,” Whiff explained. “but for now, Samson’s my seeing-eye engine.”
“Right you are, Whiff!”
Suddenly, Percy raced into the station with a flatbed, with a small crate on it. “Whiff! Whiff! I have something for you!”
“Wait, what?” Whiff asked. “I thought they weren’t due to be fixed until tomorrow.”
“I know,” Percy explained. “but Victor was ahead of schedule and was able to fix up your glasses in no time at all.”
Two workmen opened the crate to reveal brand new glasses for Whiff! “Whoa! They’re amazing!”
“I know, right?” Percy chuckled.
The workmen fitted the glasses onto Whiff’s face. At long last, he could see again. “They work perfect!”
Samson smirked at Whiff’s new frames. “Very stylish, Whiff. Guess this means ya won’t need a seeing-eye engine anymore.”
“Not until the next time my glasses break,” Whiff chuckled. “but that doesn’t mean the two of us can’t work together!”
“I guess so,” Samson smiled. “but I do have one question.”
“Go for it.”
“...does it have to be at the waste dump?”
Whiff chuckled at Samson’s question. Samson joined in as the two chuffed off.
“No, I’m being serious. Does it?”
“Yes.”
“Aw.”
About the Author: JF the LOLZOR
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