Jane, Austin, Max, Liliana, and Belle, the tank engines and shunter diesel of the Josephine Railway, are all considered the backbone of the railway, and they all work together to keep the railway going. Diana and Braedey are considered assets of the railway, but the tank engines and shunter diesel have helped out a lot.

~*~*~

On a Friday morning, Austin and Max have been doing some shunting for the other engines, lining up the trucks, vans, flatbeds, and coaches for their trains of the day. The two of them seem to have some kind of synchronised movement to know what goes where and which engine will take them.

After about half-an-hour, the two finished up their shunting and parked up to get coal, water, and diesel fuel. The two friends smiled to one another, as if mentally telling each other they did a good job. As they waited for their tanks to be refilled, Diana arrived with Charlotte alongside her.

"Wow, you two. That must be a new record to get this yard ready." Diana commented.

"Nah. Half-an-hour is nothing." Max shrugged. "We can get it down in about 20 minutes or so."

"Impressive." Charlotte commented.

"Diana, your stopping train is on Track 3." Austin said to the Caledonian locomotive. "Charlotte, your goods to Barrow-in-Furness is on Track 1."

"Thanks, you two." The two female locomotives go ahead to collect their trains, and travelled on their way.

"By the way, have you seen Jane today?" Max asked to Austin.

"Not since this morning, no." Austin replied. "Why do you ask?"

"Just thought I'd ask you." Max then fired up his engine, ready to go and get another train ready for the others. "Well, I'm off to work again. Take care."

"Same here too, lad." Austin, once topped up with water and coal, chuffed away to arrange the coaches.

~*~*~

Jane, meanwhile, was taking a stopping train along a quiet section of the railway. It was home to a few farms and such along the way, with station halts being served by the engines. The roads were not as good for cars and buses, but off-road trucks and tractors can handle the dirt roads.

Jane sat at the platform patiently for her passengers to climb on or disembark from her coaches, just as she saw a redhead little girl walking up to her with a group of other schoolchildren.

Jane smiled when she saw who it was. "Hello, Claire." She had heard about the little girl from Liliana and at times, whenever she saw her, she'd toot her whistle to the redhead and she'd wave to her.

Claire turned to Jane. "H-Hello, Jane. I can't stay and talk for long. Good-bye." She smiled gently then headed off to go with her class into the coaches.

"Guess Penny the Bus couldn't reach the stations. No surprise to me, though." Jane's driver guessed. "The roads are more suitable for tractors like Greyson."

"I heard the roads are gonna be paved because of the condition they're in." Jane's fireman spoke up. "Some folks are saying this'll be a good thing, but others say it'll cause problems for their way of life. They like the rails more than the roads."

That gave Jane some concern. If that was the case, what would happen to the tracks she rode upon? What will happen to the stations and the goods? Jane's crew could sense she was feeling worried, but reassured to her that everything will be alright.

Once the passengers were onboard, the guard blew his whistle, waving his green flag. Jane whistled back, and she puffed away, heading off down the line at a gentle pace. The red E2 looked to the dirt road to see if there is anything to indicate the roads were going to be fixed or paved, but she didn't see much. She eventually made her way down to the main station of Marion at the end of the line, and arrived about 2 minutes early. When she arrived, she sat by the platform for the next 2 minutes, then saw Penny the Bus pulling up in the station's carpark.

"Morning, Penny. Good run so far?" Jane asked.

"Well, nothing bad so far." Penny replied, although she did sound a bit exasperated. "You're lucky to have that line of yours, Jane. I can't go up and down that road. Well, not for long, anyways."

"What do you mean?" Jane asked in concern. "Is something wrong, Penny?"

"I've gotten word from my manager that another bus is arriving here to, in his words, "assist me and the railway engines with passenger work", but I think he's just gonna cause trouble." Penny grumbled, looking down at the road. "Plus, a part of the dirt road will be paved by the line you take."

"Gee, that sounds bad." Jane commented.

"You think? I said to my manager that I can handle the passengers and workload easily." Penny fumed. "But he said that I can only carry as much as the next bus, and that got my oil boiling. It's as if he's trying to replace me."

"I'm sure he wouldn't dare." Jane reassured. "Mr. Franklin would never dare get rid of you."

"That you are right, Jane." Both female vehicles jumped and looked to see Mr. Franklin stepping out of his office to walk up to the two machines. "I will be talking to your manager regarding this bus, Penny, for my own staff will be riding with him and you over this trial week. If this bus succeeds, then I'll consider that bus among the group. If not, you will stay."

"Thank you, sir." Penny honked her horn, and she drove away to continue her bus route.

"Yeah. Thank you, sir." Jane thanked, and she puffed away down the line to continue running her stopping train.

Mr. Franklin, meanwhile, was thinking about the new bus that the bus manager was bringing in. He learnt from Sir Topham Hatt about a red double-decker bus who said ridiculous stories, or 'whoppers', to try and persuade people to ride with him instead of the railway, and proclaiming himself as an anti-rail vehicle, stating that roads are superior to railways.

'If this bus is indeed the very same one Sir Topham has told me about, I'm going to put him on an extremely short leash to make sure he doesn't cause trouble.' Mr. Franklin thought to himself, walking back to his office.

~*~*~

Throughout the week through to the next week, news had been confirmed about the roadworks on the dirt road. Greyson had been tasked to deliver gravel and asphalt to the roadwork vehicles, which he did so without fuss, although he did feel some concern for his locomotive friends. The roads were finished and set up so the small stations were connected so far.

Once the roads were set up, Penny was sent along the roads to go and do a trial run. She did her best, and she got some good reviews, but it wasn't enough for the bus manager. So, he made the call to bring in the new bus, much to Penny's frustration and exasperation for this information, as well as the engines. It also gave concern for Jane that she may lose her passengers, but she was reassured that she'll be working in unison with the new bus.

Sure enough, Braedey met up with this new bus when he was getting some coaches in a siding. He took note of the new bus parked up in the carpark nearby, who looks to be scowling at the locomotive.

The bus looks to be an AEC Bridgemaster double-decker bus. The bus is painted scarlet and cream. He has a sign on his left side reading "RAILWAY BUS" and another sign on his right reading "RAILWAY BUS". He also has signs on his front and back, reading "FREE THE ROADS" and a nameplate above his rear door.

"So, you're the new bus?" Braedey noted, his eyes narrowing to the double-decker bus. "And you must be Bulgy, the scarlet-faced double-decker deceiver the engines on the NWR told me about. Yeah, I know who you are. Duck and Oliver told me about you and your deceiving schemes."

Bulgy growled as he gazed at the happy passengers over on the platform, waiting for the next train to arrive. "Stupid nonsense. I wouldn't have brought them if I'd known. I'd have had a breakdown or something." He grumbled.

"I'm glad you didn't." Braedey said simply, looking to the passengers. "You would've spoiled their fun."

"Bah! Enjoyment is all you engines live for. One day, railways will be ripped up." Bulgy proclaimed with pride.

Braedey was taken aback by this, then scowled at the red vehicle. "No matter what you say or do, roads and railways will always work together. We are BOTH essential." He stated, then he blew steam at the bus as he puffed away.

A little later, Braedey met up with the others to tell them about the double-decker bus and what he's done to Thomas and his friends back on Sodor over the years.

"Right. Keep an eye on him, and don't give him any reason to try and mess with you." Max noted. "Plus, call him a 'scarlet-faced deceiver'."

"I am not gonna trust that tin-can." Austin stated back. "Especially after what my driver told me about the stories regarding Bulgy and his exploits."

"True. He talks some big whoppers." Liliana agreed.

"Right. Let's go to work." Braedey announced, and with that, the others made their way out of the sheds to go to work.

~*~*~

Later in the day, Liliana was pushing two coaches along the little line leading on forth to the farms and stations. It was a nice section of track, green fields all around with trees nearby. However, there's a part of the line that links with a dirt road, so all road vehicles have to give way for engines since trains can't stop on a dime, and the speed limit is only 10mph.

Liliana couldn't see where she was going, so she was relying on her crew and the guard up in the front coach to give the signal if the track is clear or not. It didn't worry the little green tank engine, for she's done this many times. But then, her concentration was broken when a honking horn from behind got her attention.

It was Bulgy, who was stuck driving behind the little green engine. The double-decker bus honked his horn at Liliana, trying to get her to move, but to no avail. "Get out of my way." Bulgy demanded, still honking his horn and trying to get past Liliana, but the road was too narrow and fenced off either side.

"Sorry. Can't do that." Liliana replied casually, ignoring the bus behind her.

"Go faster. I need to get past." Bulgy demanded, now bumping up against Liliana's rear buffers, much to her surprise.

"The speed limit is 10mph." Liliana spoke back firmly.

"Go faster." Bulgy demanded from the tank engine.

"There's a speed limit." Liliana again spoke back firmly at Bulgy. "I cannot go faster or slower. You'll just have to wait."

Bulgy fumed in frustration. This was making him late, and he wasn't built to go slow. He would bump into Liliana's rear buffers, much to her annoyance, as well as honking his horn at her. Eventually, the road turned away from the tracks, and Bulgy sped away down the road to carry on.

Liliana grunted in annoyance. "What a horrid bus." She muttered as she headed off down the line.

Later that day, Bulgy was driving towards one of the stations and awaiting to collect some passengers for his run back to the main station and bus depot. But as he waits for the passengers, he saw almost all of them boarding Diana's coaches, and the blue Caledonian engine steamed away with her passengers.

"Big blue behemoth." Bulgy muttered as he drove away to try and catch up with the blue Caledonian locomotive.  "Stealing away my passengers..."

Diana took note of the double-decker bus driving up alongside the tracks, but she ignored him as she goes on her way. Bulgy honked his horn at the passengers to tell them to board him for comfort and convenience, but the passengers didn't understand. Eventually, the road turned away from the rails, to Bulgy's frustration and annoyance, while Diana continued on her way.

"What an arrogant machine..." Diana muttered to herself as she goes on her way. "No wonder all the stories said he was so bad..."

Throughout the rest of the day, Braedey, Diana, Jane, Liliana, and even Austin and Max have had to contend with Bulgy and his 'Free the roads from railway tyranny!' nonsense, as well as his attempts to try and make passengers try and travel with him rather than the railway. He even blocked a railway crossing in front of Jane, only for Penny to yell at him to reverse away, much to Bulgy's annoyance and proclaiming Penny is a traitor to road vehicles. Penny simply ignored his word, and she continued on with her work. Austin and Max want nothing more than to slam some trucks into him.

By the evening, every one of the engines has had an encounter with Bulgy, and they all agreed that he was not welcome on their railway, or on the roads at all. Even Greyson and Penny were getting annoyed by him.

"That Bulgy is a scarlet-faced deceiver and a terrible bus." Austin grunted in annoyance.

"You don't know how much I would love to smash up that double-decker disgrace of a bus." Max huffed and growled with a snarl of his engine.

"Aye. He tried to bump me off the tracks earlier when he said I was blocking the track that crosses with a road." Liliana fumed.

"And he had the audacity to say that I was outdated and useless." Jane complained. "And he even called me a degenerate and a knockoff of Thomas. How dare he?!"

"It's to send him away, is what I'd be wanting to do." Diana grunted. "But how do we do it?"

Just then, Mr. Franklin walked up to stop the noise. "Alright, that's enough." He said calmly. "I understand how you all are feeling about Bulgy. I have gotten a number of complaints from folks saying that he's been talking about nothing but lies and stupid statements that our railway overtook whatever roads there were here, when in fact there wasn't any. The farmers have also said his disturbance has been unnerving the cattle and other animals, and plus, his appearance is nothing but a sore thumb."

"So, what are we going to do, sir?" Braedey asked to his controller.

"I shall tell the bus manager everything, and he'll have to remove Bulgy from the roster." Mr. Franklin stated firmly.

Unbeknown to the engines or anyone else, Bulgy was driving about with a plan on his mind. He drove over to one of the water towers, his driver pouring something into the tower. He then drove off to another area to do the same again.

'Soon, everything will go into motion...' Bulgy thought with a smirk.

~*~*~

The next morning, Jane was taking the first stopping train down the line. She had topped up on water, but she commented that it tasted funny. She just guessed she was feeling sleepy. But as she took her train down the line, she felt something wrong. She began losing steam and struggled to go along down the line. But then, Jane began to feel a pain in her boiler. Steam began to hiss from her safety valve in an alarming way.

"There's too much steam." Jane's driver yelled, he and the fireman beginning to shut off steam and damped down her fire as they struggled on.

"I've got such a pain!" Jane hissed out.

Jane soon stopped just outside the station, uncoupling the coaches from behind, and Jane, who was still hissing and fit to burst, moved onto a siding right out of the way. The guard telephoned for an engine inspector, while Bulgy drove up to pick up her passengers.

"I shall take your passengers down the road." Bulgy said with a smug tone of voice, seeing how hurt Jane was. "Well, too bad the railway is failing." He mocked, and he drove away, leaving Jane breathless and unable to speak.

"It'll be okay, Jane." The driver said reassuringly to Jane, Mr. Franklin driving up with the inspector to see what's going on. The driver told them what had happened.

"So the feed pipe is blocked." The inspector noted, getting a ladder from his van. "I'll take a look in the tanks to see what's wrong." He climbed up the ladder, opening the tank lids, and he took a look inside. He then got down and turned to Mr. Franklin with a serious expression. "Sir, you might want to take a look inside."

"Certainly, inspector." Mr. Franklin nodded, clambered up the ladder, and looked into the tank. He then looked very serious. "This water is contaminated. It's got mud, sticks, and twigs inside." He informed.

"That's what I was about to tell you." The inspector stated.

"It must've been the water tower nearby the station." Jane's driver realised. "It must be contaminated."

"Right. I will have that tower out of action until we flush it out." Mr. Franklin looked serious. "I shall see to it at once." He then got a phone call that said Max has broken down. "I'll be back soon." With that, he got into his car, and he drove away, leaving a wheezing and groaning Jane behind.

~*~*~

Down at the shunting yards, Max was stuck on a side track with a brakevan behind him, but there was smoke belching from his air intakes, his engine coughing and spluttering to start. Max was fuming in annoyance as he coughed and struggled to turn his engine over.

"Stupid... ridiculous..." Max coughed and spluttered. "Oh, for the love of..."

"Easy, boy." Max's driver calmed him down. "We will figure out what's wrong and fix you up."

"Got it." One mechanic spoke up, climbing out from underneath Max. "Looks like the fuel is contaminated with seawater. He'll have to have his engine and fuel tanks cleaned out before he could get underway."

"Now how did that happen?" Max's driver asked to him in surprise and confusion.

"That is what I want to know." Mr. Franklin's voice spoke out as he walked up to them. "Jane has taken up some contaminated water from the water tower nearby the station. Has other engines taken water from that very tower?" He asked them.

"No. Only Jane, Belle, and Diana have. The others have taken water from the tower nearby the sheds." The mechanic informed. "Seems like someone has possibly sabotaged the water towers."

"But who would do that?" Max spluttered.

"I have a suspicion as to who..." Mr. Franklin replied, cupping his chin in thought. He then got a call on his phone. "Yes? Oh, dear. Right, I'm on my way." He ends the call and turned to the mechanic and Max's driver. "Seems as though Belle has also gotten boiler issues."

"This is not good." Max spluttered.

~*~*~

Meanwhile, Liliana was making her way down the little line at her own leisurely pace, taking the time to relax and be at peace with her surroundings. She's pushing her small train, so it was alright for her.

Liliana then heard the honking of Bulgy's horn behind her, but she didn't care. She was taking her time down the line, and didn't matter about Bulgy's frustrations.

"Get out of my way!" Bulgy demanded, bumping behind Liliana and honking his horn repeatedly, but to no avail.

"Sorry. There's no room and there's a speed limit." Liliana replied casually, not wanting to talk back.

Bulgy, however, wasn't going to sit behind her and wait all day. He backed off from Liliana, then he drove up at speed, bumping into the green tank engine, much to her surprise. But the bump made her front wheels rise up of the tracks, end up on a dirt hump, derailing her front wheels as the train came to a stop.

Liliana was rather shaken by the accident, as were the passengers, then they saw Bulgy driving by with a low chuckle. "You insolent road-hog!" Liliana yelled out. "That was your fault! You did that on purpose!"

"No, I didn't. That was your fault, you useless kettle." Bulgy spoke back as he drove away. "The railways are too dangerous for the passengers. They would feel much safer riding in me." He added as he drove off, leaving behind an angry Liliana and her passengers.

"What till Mr. Franklin hears about this!" Liliana's driver declared angrily, while the other passengers also complained about what happened.

Liliana, however, wasn't going to just sit where she was. At once, without her driver or fireman's control, she began to chuff backwards to the dirt hump behind her with all her might, dragging the coaches in the process. She slowly got up the dirt hump, and she got her front wheels back onto the tracks with a clank. The passengers were impressed and cheered for her.

Liliana's fireman walked around to inspect if there's any damage. He looked to his engine. "Not bad there, old girl." He patted her buffer beam. "Can you make it to the next station?"

"Yes, I can." Liliana replied with a determined expression. With that, she surged ahead to go and give Bulgy what for, the passengers cheering her on.

~*~*~

Further down the line, Diana was stuck in the middle of the tracks, black dirty smoke coming from her pistons and her funnel, and she didn't look too happy. No doubt it was from all the bad water she took from the water tower at the station earlier in the day. It took until now to make her feel the way she did.

"Oh, dear..." Diana spluttered in pain, trying to even make steam but to no avail. "This is terrible..." She muttered out.

"Never mind, Diana. Once we clean your boiler out, you can have a long rest and recovery later." Diana's driver said softly to her with reassurance.

Bulgy then arrived. "I can take the passengers the rest of the way." He said, and Diana's passengers climbed onboard the double-decker bus. "One in the headlight for the roads against rails." Bulgy chortled at Diana, and he drove away.

Diana coughed and groaned in pain. She then saw Liliana pulling up next to her on the opposite platform. The little green tank engine looked to Diana and she understood what had happened. She uncoupled from her coaches, switching to Diana's track, and coupled to her front buffers. After that, the little engine began to pull the Caledonian locomotive away down the line.

With Bulgy, he never felt so lucky and fortunate to carry so many passengers at once. He drove along the roads without a care. "This is much more like it! No more railways! The buses have finally won!" Bulgy proclaimed with a smile.

But as he made his way along, he soon got more than he bargained for: he felt his engine struggling to get along the road with a rumble and roar. But as Bulgy reached a part of uneven road, he felt something wrong, and suddenly, his right tyre came off the axle when it snaps, and he groaned to a halt at the side of the road.

After coming to a stop, the passengers crowded all around Bulgy in frustration and annoyance, all of them demanding their tickets and money back from Bulgy and his driver, the bus groaning in exasperation and pain from his snapped axle.

"Oh, why did I even put all that murky water into that water tower?" Bulgy muttered to himself.

"Is that so?" The double-decker bus stopped as he looked to see Mr. Franklin standing nearby his parked car, while also accompanied by the bus manager, Penny parked up nearby. "I should've figured it be you sabotaging my engines and stealing away their passengers." The railway controller said.

"And to think I allowed you to work here after hearing your reports from the NWR." The bus manager spoke out next. "After today, you're not going to be taking ANY more passengers for as long as you're around. I'll have you replaced with Penny and another bus that'll do the job just as, if not better, than you."

Bulgy was aghast. "You... you can't do that." He said to the bus manager.

"He can, and I WILL, especially after this." Mr. Franklin held up an iPad, broadcasting what looks to be footage of a security camera nearby the tracks when Bulgy bumped Liliana off the tracks. "Did you honestly think I wouldn't put cameras on my railway, just in case of any saboteurs and vandals?" He next showed footage of Bulgy and his driver sabotaging the water towers. "And with all this information, you could end up in an impound for your reckless conduct and behaviour."

Bulgy was too stunned to say anymore words. He then saw a repaired and cheerful Jane arrive with her coaches, and the passengers began to board her and Penny. After that, the two drove/chuffed away from the area.

"You shall be towed away and leave the railway, and to never come back." Mr. Franklin stated firmly. "Your actions shall be put on record, and every bus and travel company from here to Scotland will know."

Mr. Franklin and the bus manager both got into the former's car and they drove away, leaving a broken and shaken Bulgy behind. It wasn going to take a while for someone to come along to pick him up, but he still wasn't going to let go of his anti-rail propaganda ideas anytime soon.

~*~*~

That evening, the engines have arrived home without issue, Diana, Max, Belle, and Jane feeling much better and happy to hear that Bulgy was caught out by his actions and his treachery, and the fact he won't come back to their railway. Also, they greeted the new bus that came to replace Bulgy and work with Penny.

His name is Benson. He is an AEC Regal "T Class" London Country Area bus. This bus is painted in a blue colour instead of the common red livery of buses in the United Kingdom. Benson got along with the engines and he promises to do a better job than Bulgy did.

"Well, with Bulgy gone and dealt with, we don't have to deal with him anymore." Austin spoke out.

"And it's definitely worth it after what he's done." Max agreed.

"I still couldn't believe that Bulgy would do such a thing, and with his driver conspiring with him." Belle fumed. "But after realising it... I now know he'd do that."

"But let's forget that now." Benson spoke up as he drove up with Penny. "We're gonna do whatever we can to help out this railway, and to provide assistance when needed." The former announced.

"That's a good attitude, Benson." Braedey winked to the blue bus. "You will do Mr. Franklin and the whole of the Josephine Railway proud."

The other engines and vehicles conversed with one another for a little while later, until they fall asleep under the starry sky above their heads. After what has happened, they deserve the sleep they need now. Nearby, Mr. Franklin looked over to his fleet of engines and vehicles, and he smiled at them before driving off for home.

Their family has now grown just a bit bigger than before...