Hither Green Marshaling Yard

2000 hours

Current Conditions: Clear

The screen opens where we left off, with the engines and their crews face to face with their respective mentors. Andy nervously looked to Vicki for comfort...only to find her crisply saluting.

Vicki: "MA'AM YES MA'AM!" she roared.

Rosie: "Good!" she yelled, "Now! Which of you is Andy Yan?"

The other crews pointed at the E2XX and Andy himself leaned out sheepishly.

Rosie: "My wife tells me you're a good friend." she said, "Don't think I'll go easy on you."

Andy: "I won't ma'am!" he shouted.

Rosie: "Good! Now, as for the rest of you sorry bastards, your parents have been notified that you will all be going here instead of home or school until the first Exhibition Matches begin so don't even think about crying to them." she said, hopping down and off her engine, "Now, for the first real test of your collective skills. You must get past us and into the roundhouse behind us. The first one to do so will get better rations for the first week. Those who crash or are otherwise unable to move have to eat near inedible slop for their first week. I hope you have your safety features ready, cause my friends and I aren't going to go easy on you suckers."

All steam engines are equipped with a sensor which notices when an Engine is either about to topple over or has been T-Boned and/or sideswiped, this sensor triggers a mechanism which drops the fire and prevents a boiler explosion as a result from a crash. It's an antiquated system since most schools no longer have steam locomotives, though it is still used, especially by those using American and Russian stock. Both teams have at least one steam locomotive in their fleets. A shocked murmur goes over the Eastwood High crews.

Christine Fields: "I can't eat MRE's!" she cried, "We need to get to that stupid...round....house...thing! All ahead!"

The 9F immediately shot forward in a cloud of steam.

Lorence Hill: "Oi! They're getting away!" he called.

Toby: "This won't stand! We must win!" he yelled, "Get after them! Now!"

Tha A4 raced off, its wheels spinning in place for a few minutes before it began to accelerate.

Billy: "All ahead, we can't lose on the first day!" he yelled, "Those bastards are going down!"

The Stirling Single then began puffing forward, trying to match its more modern companions' pace.

Andy: "Wait! All of you! Stop!" he shouted.

The other crews don't listen, in fact Christine turns off her radio as they charge headlong at their superior opponents. Vicki knew better and stayed by Andy's side, Alex however.........well....

Alex: "Wait for me!" he yelled, "I ain't backing away from a good fight!"

And the EMD FP-45 roared off following the other engines into battle.

Andy: "Oh dear..." he groaned, watching what happened next.

The Fairy Queen's crew radioed the signal box, ordering them to change the points, causing the Stirling Single to fly down a siding, through a pair of buffers, and into a ditch; the 9F ran straight at the Big Boy...but because the UP 4000 Class was in a league way above the 9F, the American Engine simply pushed the British Heavy Freight locomotive forwards as if it weren't there, the 9F screeching and groaning as it tried to push the massive American Engine back; the EMD FP-45 navigated the points and rammed into the back of the 9F trying to help but in the process it A) derailed the 9F and B) strained Alex's various upgrades...including the hyper sensitive transmission and gearbox needed to translate the power of 4 V20's to the wheels as a result the engine failed causing a massive fire in the engine bay and allowing the Big Boy shunt the failed diesel into a nearby siding out of the way; finally the A4 tried to brute force it and outrun everything but the Duchess pulled the same trick the Fairy Queen had done and the A4 ended up in a similar ditch.

Andy: "I warned them." he sighed, "I fucking warned them. But do they listen? No!"

Peter: "Yeah, you can go on about that later boss. What's the move?" he asked.

Emerald: "I say we set a trap!" she called.

Peter: "Where?!" he demanded, "All the sidings leading into ditches are pointing away from them."

Emerald: "Ok, what's your plan then genius?" she demanded.

Peter: "I say we go down the middle and try to push the USA Tank all the way to the finish." he said.

Emerald: "That's a stupid idea." she said, "For one, we only match the USA, we do not surpass it. For another, there's a Big Boy and a Duchess who can ambush us halfway."

Vicki: "Guys! I have a suggestion, I say we do a bait and switch. One of us baits the stronger engines away while the other deals with the USA or the Fairy Queen depending on who's left." she suggested.

Emerald: "That's a dumb bet." she said, picking up the radio, "For all we know we'll just draw away the USA Tank and we'll still have the heavy hitters."

Andy stayed silent the whole time, leaning out the cab window, he examined the field, watching the Big Boy and the Duchess begin to puff forwards while the USA Tank and the Fairy Queen guarded the roundhouse directly, but doing so meant they had their backs turned to the open turntable well, meaning if one of them was shoved in they'd clog the turntable and be unable to move.

Andy: "I have an idea." he said, suddenly.

Peter: "Jesus Christ! I forgot you were in here." he said, startled.

Andy: "Esme, relay this to Vicki." he ordered, laying out his plan.

With the UP 4000 a trio of big burly men were manning the massive American Engine, all of them were at least 25.

Tiger Robertson: "Um, Ms Rosie." he said, in a very deep but kind voice, "Not to be rude or anything, but should we check if the kids are alright?"

Rosie: "Nah, they'll be fine." she replied, "Besides, we're just having fun."

Harrison Coates: "Please do try to restrain yourself ma'am." he said, "They are only children after all."

Rosie: "Yeah yeah Harry." she said, "Looks like it's down to my daughter and Andy."

Desire Gregory: "Shall we move in to intercept ma'am?" she asked from the Fairy Queen.

Rosie: "Negative Desire, I wanna see what they're going to do." she replied, "Tiger, Aubrie; keep moving in and putting pressure on them."

Aubrie Collins: "Aye." she nodded.

Tiger: "Roger that." he said, hanging up.

Suddenly both the E2XX and the Class 04 roared forwards and into the fight. The little blue tank engine racing ahead of the Class 04, putting down as much steam as possible to make a smoke screen of sorts before shooting forwards and making a beeline for the roundhouse.

Tiger: "Welp, looks like another easy one." he sighed.

Harrison: "Those poor naive little kiddos." he added, flipping through the channels, "Points! D4."

The switch in front of the Big Boy opened, making the massive engine turn towards the little E2XX.

Sonya Warner: "Ma'am, it seems Mr Yan is making a Hail Mary rush." she said.

Aubrie: "I see, very well." she said, sipping some tea, "Sanders?"

Sanders Richardson: "Yes ma'am?" he said, turning to her.

Aubrie: "Radio the signalman please." she requested, "Let us join our brethren in pursuit."

Sanders: "Right away ma'am." he nodded, "Signalman, K6 please."

The switch in front of the Duchess opened as well, now both big engines were charging at the E2XX, the little tank engine wouldn't be able to get past them both and they knew that.

Andy: "Esme now!" he yelled.

Emerald: "Points! G9!" she shouted.

The points in front of the E2XX opened, forcing the tank engine to be head on with the Duchess.

Aubrie: "Hm?" she hummed, confused.

Rosie: "What in the world is he-?" she started, leaning out of her USA Tank.

Emerald: "H7!" she barked.

The E2XX darted to the side, narrowly missing the Duchess, the Express Engine slammed on the brakes.

Tiger: "Oh." he said.

Rosie: "Wow." she said, "That's the first bit of smart tactics I've seen today."

Aubrie: "Oh, you slippery little eel." she purred.

Desire: "We must help our colleagues, get ready to battle." she said.

The Fairy Queen began puffing forwards to intercept the E2XX while the Big Boy traversed the points, trying to find a way to join the fight.

Tiger: "Desire darling, wait for us to come into play." he said.

Desire: "Roger Tiger, we'll leave some meat for ya." she said.

The E2XX charged at the Fairy Queen with no indication that it was going to stop or otherwise make an effort to soften the impact. But at the last possible minute the points changed and the Fairy Queen flew past just as the Big Boy got on the scene and blocked the tank engine from advancing any further. As a response, Andy slammed on the brakes and shoved the engine into reverse, chasing the Fairy Queen down with the massive American Freight Engine also chasing him down.

Peter: "This is either ending really well or really fucking badly!" he yelled.

Andy: "Calm down, we got this." he said, "Tell Vicki to begin stage 2!"

Emerald: "She's already on it!" she called.

With the Duchess, it was searching for the Class 04 in the abnormally thick smokescreen Andy had made at the start of the match.

Aubrie: "Wherever are you?" she questioned, trying to peer through the smoke.

Suddenly, a small shape cuts the Duchess off as Vicki seems to make a run for the Roundhouse.

Sanders: "Tiger! Desire! The Class 04 is making a run for it!" he yelled.

The Duchess traversed the points and gave chase to the Class 04, rapidly gaining on the little shunter.

Vicki: "Ok, I have the Duchess on my tail, what's the plan now?" she asked.

Emerald: "Lead it over to us." she replied.

Vicki: "Roger." she nodded, "Points! G8!"

The 04 roared down the line on an intercept course with the E2XX, the UP 4000, and the Fairy Queen. With the trio, the E2XX was chasing the Fairy Queen and rapidly gaining, putting pressure on it to cloud its driver's judgement and make sure she didn't see the trap coming.

Desire: "Tiger, what's the plan?" she asked.

Tiger: "Slow down, let us crush them between our engines, then break away as we reach the dead end." he instructed, "Ready? One.....two....."

Andy: "Now Esme!" he yelled.

Emerald: "H4!" she barked.

With that order, the E2XX escaped from in between the Big Boy and the Fairy Queen.

Tiger: "What?" he wondered.

Desire: "Huh?!" she yelped.

Vicki blew her horn just as the 3 were about to collide, causing all 3 to panic.

All 3: "SHIT!!" they yelped.

All 3 slammed on the brakes but it was too late to avoid disaster, the Fairy Queen slammed into the Duchess's side, derailing them both and then the Big Boy, still carrying a ton of momentum crashed into the pair, snapping the Duchess's tender drawbar spilling water everywhere as the massive American engine crashes onto its side with the mangled Fairy Queen skidding along the ballast and into a nearby ditch.

Peter: "Holy shit! That fucking worked!" he shouted.

Andy: "It ain't over yet." he said, "Esme, call Vicki, tell her to regroup with us."

Emerald: "Copy that." she saluted, "But, how are we going to deal with Rosie?"

Andy: "I'm still thinking about that part." he admitted, "Just tell Vicki to stay with us, we may need the extra horsepower."

The Class 04 and the E2XX regrouped as Rosie's USA Tank stayed still, the last thing in between the pair of them and their prize.

Andy: "Ok!" he shouted, "We gun it, she can't intercept us both at the same time so one of us will win."

Vicki: "Copy!" she yelled back.

Peter: "Why are you leaving our win up to a 50/50 man?" he asked.

Andy: "I'm being nice. Besides, we can take a USA Tank." he replied with a shrug.

Emerald: "He's right, we have enough performance to fight it and since it's alone we don't have to worry about backup." she said.

Peter: "I still have a bad feeling about all this." he said, leaning out of the cab.

Emerald: "Relax Pete." she said, "We'll be fine, we took on 3 of them with ease, what's one tank engine gonna do."

Andy: "Alright, ready?" he called.

Vicki: "Ready!" she shouted back.

Andy: "Alright!" he nodded.

Andy blew his whistle twice and opened the regulator, his E2XX responding with a will as Vicki's Class 04 roared to life and followed him into the fray. The USA Tank made no moves forwards or backwards as the pair of engines charged at her.

Karis Woodward: "Ma'am, permission to answer their challenge ma'am?" she requested.

Rosie: "Negative." she said, "In fact, Jaylen."

Jaylen: "Yes ma'am?" he asked.

Rosie: "Grab the popcorn." she replied.

Jaylen: "Yes....ma'am..." he said, grabbing said bag and putting it in the firebox to cook.

Both shunters continued charging, easily surpassing 45 mph....and then....they realised that their tracks converged.

Andy: "SHIT! BRACE!!" he shouted, slamming on the brakes.

Both engines slammed on the brakes, but they were too late, they both sideswiped each other and rolled onto their sides from the impact.

Hither Green Marshalling Yard

1200 hours

Current Conditions: Raining

Before boot camp began properly there was a 2 day period of rest while the engines were all repaired, cleaned, and in some cases repainted. In that 2 day period Andy worked his ass off learning everything he could from the mechanics and helping where he could, showing his passion for Railroading.

It was a rainy Friday when bootcamp properly began, despite the rain the students did rigorous physical exercises so they were able to properly operate their heavy metal beasts, after about an hour in the pouring rain they were put into their engines but none of the fires and none of the engines were started as they practised every possible movement they'd ever need to perform in a competition moving their controls this way and that, after about 2 hours of that they would transition to half an hour of reaction training in a searing hot room where they had to react as fast as they could to various flashing buttons and lights, after that, they'd have another half hour of just maintenance making sure their engines were in tip-top shape said maintenance also served as team building exercises, during said maintenance work the engines were repainted into more sensible liveries. The A4 gained a silver livery reminiscent of the first 4 A4's which were painted bright silver in honour of the Silver Jubilee the year the premiered. The 9F was given Brunswick Green with black and gold lining making it blend in with almost every other Preserved Steam Locomotive in Britain. The Stirling Single was given an Apple Green paint job, reminiscent of the GNR Livery which made it look fancy.

Thankfully, by midday, the exercises would die down allowing students to have lunch and socialise and those that had enough energy were just able to recreate various memes and post them to their socials.

About a week of bootcamp had gone by and the students were either making memes and socialising or currently having lunch amongst the latter were Andy and Vicki who were currently watching Emerald and Peter goofing off with the others.

Andy: "How they have that much energy after the Hell we just went through, I will never understand." he said.

Vicki: "Meh, some people are just built like that." she shrugged, "I remember mom told me stories of when she was younger she always pissed her strict PE Teacher off in High School because she just had way too much energy for him to deal with."

Andy: "Really? Damn, I never knew Mavis was like that." he chuckles.

Vicki: "She usually tones it down nowadays." she said, "Something about noise complaints."

Andy: "Hopefully something we won't need to worry about in the future." he snorted, "So, who's your dad?"

Vicki: "My mom doesn't talk about him." she replied, looking down, "He probably died before I was born. What about you?"

Andy: "Same story...though the way my mom talks about him doesn't make him seem like a good person." he said, "Whenever me or my brother brought up girls my mom always warned us to not leave them or, and I quote, 'You'll be joining you dad as soon as I find out'."

Vicki: "Yikes." she winced, "And I thought mother was harsh."

Andy: "Yeah, she was a bitch now that I think back on all the times I was with her." he nodded, "Always pushing me to 'live up to the family legacy' and 'surpass my brother'. I always fell short of her unnecessarily high expectations."

Andy looked at his hand as Vicki stayed respectfully quiet, listening to him talk.

Andy: "I always tried to please her but I never was good enough, that day at Darlington was my last chance to prove I was worthy of staying in the family." he further explained, "If I won there and carried my brother, I would still have a family and a home....but then I saw the Doctor on the platform begging for a train to take him to London.........if I hadn't rushed off with him then the Headmaster wouldn't be here.........I saved someone but all my mom did after I returned was beat me up, like I murdered someone."

Vicki: "Messed up stuff." she said, "But, you acted so calm, so professional out in the yard, why all the self doubt all of a sudden?"

Andy: "Out in the yard, behind the controls of an engine...I feel....free. Like nothing can touch me, that I am good enough, that I am better than good enough." he explained, "I feel like I'm on top of the world......but....off the track....out of an engine's cab......I don't feel right..........like.......something's not good enough."

Vicki: "I think that's enough grounds for a therapist." she said.

Andy: "Who needs a therapist when one has a friend?" he chuckled, hearing Alex fire up his Fp-45, "Better yet a brother? I'll see ya in a bit Vicki."

Vicki: "See ya Andy." she said, "I'll keep the guys in order for ya."

Andy nodded and ran off to catch Alex, grabbing his diesel's handrails and knocking on the door.

Alex: "Come on in!" he called.

Andy opened the door and climbed into the cab.

Andy: "Sorry for intruding." he said, "Mind if I join ya in here for a bit?"

Alex: "Sure, Mi Casa Su Casa." he chuckled, patting the empty radioman seat.

Andy: "Thanks." he nodded, sitting down.

As he sat, Alex looked over at him, noting that he was pretty tense as if something was eating away at him mentally.

Alex: "Alright, spill it, what's eating at ya brother?" he asked.

Andy: "It's just....the whole Rail Wars thing......I'm starting to overthink things a little." he replied, "Sometimes I catch myself wondering if I'm really cut out for this stuff."

Alex: "Andy, my boy, if there's anyone cut out for this life, it's you." he chuckled, shaking his head in amusement, "You've got railroading in your blood."

Andy: "Yeah but..." he trailed off, hesitating with his thoughts, his gaze fixed to the tracks, "what if I'm not good enough.....what if I let everyone down?"

Alex: "Listen here Andy." he said, killing the throttle and bringing his engine to a halt, "You remember why I transferred here?"

Andy: "To help me and my team to gold." he chuckled.

Alex: "Damn straight. You know why?" he asked, "Because I believe in you. Hell, I believe in you more than you believe in yourself sometimes. But it's not just belief. It's about hard work, determination, and never giving up because let me tell you something little brother, I've never seen anyone work harder or care more about this stuff than you do."

Andy smiles bashfully with a small blush.

Alex: "This bootcamp? This is just the beginning." he said, squeezing Andy's shoulder encouragingly, "It's here to push and test your limits. Sure it's tough but that's the point, after these 2 weeks you'll be a better railroader, a better person, and a better teammate. Forget the bastards who said you can't do it or that you're not good enough! They have no idea what they're talking about. When we get out on the field I want you to prove them wrong. I want you to make them regret overlooking you."

Andy: "Thanks. I needed to here that." he said.

Alex: "Anytime kid." he smiled, "Now, the storm is getting a little more intense, mind driving us to the sheds?"

Andy: "I don't mind at all." he said.

Andy and Alex switch seats. Andy sits down and his hands immediately fly into their positions, feeling the familiarity of a diesel locomotive, remembering the happy days when he was able to drive a Class 08 without being yelled at for a tiny mistake. He slowly drove the FP-45 backwards, his eyes on the mirrors as the 4 V20's rumbled happily behind him.

A few hours later, Bootcamp was on hold due to the weather taking the ultimate turn for the worst, it was so bad that you couldn't even see a tanker 2 feet ahead of you. Of course, trains had to get through, thus commuter and express services all across the nation continued to operate...though the EMU's (Electric Multiple Units) had an issue since the power went out throughout the Southern Region, generators provided homes and businesses with much needed heat and enough current to get some trains to the nearest road or station, depending on which was closer.

At the moment though; Andy, Peter, and Emerald were hunkered down in their E2XX, having gained permission to light its fire and conserve the power of the generators. The trio were having a good time, sharing stories and cooking various snacks with their firebox and their shovel...but then, the radio crackled to life.

Southern Railway 455846: "This is Southern Local number 455846 to anyone who can hear us." he said, "We are currently on battery power, a landslide has crushed our rear most coach and we are stuck! We need assistance immediately!"

The trio immediately perk up at this, Andy gets up and begins examining the gauges.

Peter: "Wait! Dude! Bitch Sensei told us not to leave!" he protested, "She gave us strict orders not to otherwise we get punished!"

Andy: "I don't care!" he barked, "Innocent lives are at stake, we heard the message, and we've already got the boiler pressure to move."

Peter: "Yeah, but we can't see a thing in this rain, and what if we get struck by lightning!?" he demanded, incredulously gesturing towards the rain.

Andy: "We either save those people or die trying." he said, stubbornly refusing, "I'm not just going to let people die because of some stupid rule and the threat of some stupid punishment. Esme, call 455846, tell them we're coming."

Emerald: "On it." she saluted, flipping on the radio, "455846, we read you, we're inbound to your location."

SR 455846: "Oh thank god!" he said, "Wait, who are you?"

Emerald: "Eastwood High's Number 1, just hang in there." she replied.

Andy: "Pete, get the Light Engine Headcode on, put on the new high beam lamp." he ordered.

Peter: "Fine, but I'm leaving a note so the others can follow." he said, running out and setting the engine up with the proper lamps.

As soon as Peter was back in the cab, Andy opened the throttle and began leaving the yards and slowly puffing towards 455846's location.

Mountfield Tunnel, East Sussex

1500 hours

Current Conditions: Heavy Rain

The E2XX slowly puffed through the thick rain, its lamp lighting the way towards the disabled EMU. The rain was making it nearly impossible to see ahead so Andy had limited his engine's speed to 15 mph, just so he didn't hit anything. Soon though, they saw the flickering lights of the unfortunate EMU, its rear 3 coaches crushed by debris with one of them only half crushed.

Andy: "Ok; Peter, me and you will assess the damage,let's see if we can disconnect the crushed coaches; Esme, guide all the people into the front carriages so I can pull 'em away." he ordered, producing 2 radios, "Use these to communicate with me."

Peter: "Copy that boss." he nodded, taking a radio.

Emerald: "Backup should be arriving in a few minutes." she added, "If ya need help, radio it in and I'll relay it to the others."

Andy: "Alright Esme." he nodded.

Andy slowed his engine down and buffered up to the EMU, the trio hopped out and got to work, first coupling the 2 trains together before splitting up. Emerald grabbed the first aid kit in the E2XX's left tool box while Andy and Peter grabbed the crowbar, the chain cutters, and the chainsaw in the right tool box. Emerald climbed into the coaches.

Emerald: "Sir, is everyone alright?" she asked.

Conductor: "A few minor cuts and bruises but nothing serious." he replied, "The people in the last 3 coaches may not agree though."

Emerald: "Figures, ok, I need everyone to stay where they are while my crewmates disconnect the rear coaches, I will be here to help those in need." she said.

Mother: "Wait! Please!" she said, holding up a backpack, "My daughter, she's in the 4th coach. Please, you have to help her!!"

Emerald: "Ok, I'll make sure my colleagues get to her." she said.

Conductor: "Wait, the 4th coach was carrying 3 prisoners." he warned, "Be careful."

Emerald: "Got it." she nodded.

Emerald leaned out of the coach as Andy and Peter were beginning to inspect the couplings.

Emerald: "Andy! There's a kid in the 4th coach!" she yelled.

Andy: "On it!" he yelled back.

Andy ran over and got the heart before running over to the half crushed 4th coach and using the crowbar to pry the door open while Peter uncoupled the back half and disconnected the corridor. The door groaned open and revealed the child being comforted by the prisoners.

Prisoner 1: "Thank god!" he said.

Andy: "She alright?" he asked.

Prisoner 1: "Yeah, nothing to be afraid of, right kid?" he asked.

The girl whimpered and backed away.

Prisoner 2: "Don't worry, the nice man will bring you to your mommy." he said, "Right sir?"

Andy: "Yeah, that's right." he nodded, looking around the coach.

A third, female prisoner was tending to the guard, making sure he didn't bleed out and at the very least had a great view when he expired.

Andy: "Let's get you all out of here." he said, outstretching a hand to the young girl.

The little girl took a shy step back towards the male prisoners, not wanting to go with the strange dirty teenager in strange attire in the middle of the pouring rain.

Andy: "What's your name kid?" he asked.

Alice: "A-Alice." she replied.

Andy: "Ok, Alice, we have to get out of here before more rocks fall." he said, calmly, "You're first."

Alice still didn't wanna go, so he looked around for something to bargain with...then he noticed the little girl was clutching a little toy train, one that Andy recognized.

Andy: "Thomas fan, huh?" he chuckled.

Prisoner 2: "Thomas!" he yelled, "There's the name I was searching for! I knew I recognized that toy from somewhere."

The little girl nodded, hugging the little wooden model tightly.

Alice: "Yeah...Thomas is the coolest." she said.

Andy: "Yeah, I can get behind that." he said, peeking out to look at his tank engine and back to the little model, noting the similarities in their proportions, "Thomas is outside."

Alice: "Really?" she asked.

Andy: "Really." he replied, "C'mon, I can give you a ride. But you have to come to me, slowly."

Alice nodded and walked over, climbing into Andy's arms.

Andy: "Ok, one at a time you guys." he said.

One by one the prisoners got off the half crushed coach.

Prisoner 3: "The guard's trapped." she said, climbing out of the coach.

Andy: "I'll bring you guys to the other coach and then try to grab him." he said.

Andy escorted the 3 prisoners to the coaches and put them in with the passengers who greeted with smiles and pats on the back as Andy gave Alice to Peter.

Andy: "Peter, bring little Alice here to our engine and drive to safety, there's a guy trapped under the wreckage in the fourth coach, tell someone to meet us here." he ordered.

Peter: "Righto!" he called, carrying Alice to the front.

Andy ran back to the fourth coach and climbed in, seeing the guard dying on the floor.

Andy: "Hey, you're not dying on us today man." he said, "What's your name?"

James: "J-James..." he replied, "Is-is my daughter safe?"

Andy: "Alice? Yeah, she's fine, my crew are looking after her." he said.

James: "G-good..." he coughed, "Is my wife still here?"

Andy: "Yeah, we're not leaving without ya man." he said, beginning to try and lift the metal and the bits of rubble pinning James down, "Just....hang in there...."

Andy strained himself, managing to lift the rubble and the bit of metal a few inches but not enough to free James.

Andy: "Come....on....." he growled, still trying to lift it.

James: "T-.....tell my daughter.......I love her...." he said, weakly.

Andy: "No! You tell her that yourself!" he said, struggling to get the debris off.

Meanwhile, Alex and Vicki had just arrived, their diesels needing way less time to start up than the steam engines, they met the E2XX a few kilometres from the tunnel with the front 3 carriages of the EMU coupled up and a curious Alice looking around awestruck.

Peter: "Alex! Andy's in the 4th coach, I think he needs help!" he called.

Alex: "I'm on it." he nodded, driving towards the tunnel.

Emerald: "Hurry! But be careful! There is still a lot of loose debris on the hill!" she yelled.

Alex: "I noticed!" he shouted back.

Andy was still making steady progress lifting the debris but it wasn't lifting much. It was barely off the ground and there was no room for James to get out from.

James: "Kid.....you have to go..." he groaned, "You can hear the rocks falling from here..."

Andy: "No, I can't give up on a man with a family to get back to." he said, still doing his best, "It's just not me."

The metal groaned and creaked as it continued to slowly lift up but the sound of loose rocks falling and hitting the roof of the last carriage. But a few minutes before the really big rocks began to fall the sound of a diesel pulling up is heard and Alex runs into the coach, grabbing the metal wreckage and helping lift it.

Alex: "Cutting it a little close, eh Andy?" he said, beginning to lift the wreckage with ease.

Andy: "Alex." he said, laughing with relief.

Alex: "Focus on the task buddy! He's free!" he said.

Andy: "Oh! Right!" he yelped, leaning down and grabbing James, "Let's get outta here!"

Andy dragged James out from the wreckage which Alex promptly dropped as they began to run for the latter's FP-45 and roared back down the line just in time as the final bits of loose debris fell down the hill and completely flattened what remained of the 4th coach.

Battle Station, East Sussex

1600 hours

Current Conditions: Drizzling

The rain had died down to a drizzle as the E2XX pulled into Battle Station with the Class 04. The 3 remaining coaches of the EMU opened their doors and let the thankful passengers out with relieved faces, the police and the Press were there to greet them and began snapping photos and asking questions.

Reporter 1: "I'm here live at Battle Station in East Sussex where a school's Rail Wars team has just rescued an EMU from a landslide. But this isn't one of those flashy schools with all the new gear or anything, oh no." she said, the Class 04 and the E2XX rolling into frame in the background, "This school is made entirely of legacy stock. And from what I am hearing, there is still one more train coming in."

Reporter 2: "This school has been off the RADAR in the Rail Wars community for many years now with many wondering what became of the school. Many had also speculated why there was another spot in the bracket this year, now the questions seem to have answered themselves in the form of a dark blue tank engine." he said to a different camera crew, "Many recognize this tank engine as being the same shunter in the 1950's and 1960's renditions of Rail Wars, with many applauding its sudden return to the limelight."

Reporter 3: "How was your experience in the disaster?" he asked.

Survivor 1: "It was really scary." she replied, "I'm just glad we made it out ok and that these guys arrived in time."

Reporter 4: "Look! There's another train coming in!" he called.

On the up line, travelling against the flow of traffic, Alex's FP-45 slowly screeched to a stop at the platform, its cab lined up with the E2XX's so Andy and Alex could carry James through the cab and onto the other platform where the paramedics were waiting.

Andy: "WE NEED A DOCTOR OVER HERE!!" he shouted.

Paramedic 1: "We got him." he said, grabbing James's left arm from Andy.

Paramedic 2: "Thanks for making our job easier kid." he saluted, taking James's right arm from Alex.

As the Paramedics ran off to get James to the hospital Alice and her mother were seen running after him with Alice turning around and giving Andy a bright smile before following her mother. Andy smiled warmly back but as he was about to turn around and head back to his engine one of the camera crews saw him and began pointing.

Cameraman 1: "Yo...." he trailed off, pointing at Andy, "Is that...."

Reporter 1: "No way! It is! Breaking News! The second son of the Yan Family has just resurfaced, he seems to be part of this school's Rail Wars team!" she yelled, running after Andy, "Mr Yan! Mr Yan!"

The other reporters heard the 1st reporter's cries and began tumbling over each other to try and get to Andy to ask him some questions.

Andy: "Oh shit! Time to go!" he yelped, making a run for it.

Alex: "Let's move out people!" he yelled running back to his own engine.

Emerald uncoupled the E2XX from the dead EMU before the trio ran for the hills, leaving the reporters in the E2XX's steam.

Westside Charter High School Dormitories

1612 hours

Current Conditions: Drizzling

The news broadcast of the incident was playing on a television, showing Andy running away from the cameras and driving off in his steam engine.

Reporter 1: "Well, damn, he's much less talkative than before." she panted, "But you saw it here folks! Andy Yan has resurfaced on an enemy Rail Wars team. That's sure to make this year's Inter-School Nationals much more spicy than they already were-"

The report was suddenly cut off when a remote flew out of left field and crashed into the TV breaking it.

Sara: "That brat!" she seethed, "I specifically banned him from the sport but what does he do? He just joins another goddamn team!"

Nathan: "Oh little brother you fool." he said, shaking his head, "We can't possibly lose to a team of ancient relics like those."

Sara: "Which is why I will make sure you don't lose." she growled, "I'll bring in 2 more crews to man the Class 08's and order additional upgrades to the 125's."

Nathan: "You sure mom? That was a tank engine and a Class 04." he said, "A Baby Warship easily handles them."

Sara: "But that FP-45 is definitely not normal." she said, "When it growled past it didn't sound like it only had 20 cylinders. It sounded like it had 80!"

Nathan: "So? It's still a lone FP-45, those things aren't known for reliability or pulling power." he said, nonchalantly, "That thing'll break and then we'll have the Strength Contest all to ourselves."

Sara: "Think again." she said, "The number on that 04 was 6. Meaning 2 shunters and second Freight Engine."

Nathan: "Mom, that could mean 3 shunters." he retorted.

Sara: "I'm not so sure." she said, "I have an assignment for you. Look up Eastwood High and it's records, I want you to pinpoint which engines of their fleet are where. If you cannot find them, assume them to be part of the current fleet."

Nathan: "Um...sure mom, don't know if that'll dig up much." he said, confused.

Sara: "Just do it." she snapped, "I want to know exactly what we are dealing with."

Nathan shrugged and brought out his laptop to begin searching as the screen faded to black.

A/N: 

Andy: 6 THOUSAND words. Holy shit! Thank you all for reading this, it took way too long to make. dieHero, I have successfully remade the landslide rescue thing you did and have set up further conflict with Westside Charter. As for the battle royale at the beginning, that was just a sample of how insane the shunting competition is, I could add a Battle Royale mode where there are no weapons you just have to hit the enemy engines off the rails using the yard's various switches, points, sidings, dead-ends, etc. The Strongest Engine competition and the Fastest Engine competition are much more laid back and the Best Looking Engine Parade is...the most laid back. 

Thomas: I remember those, they were pretty cool....though I will say the rules feel....convoluted.

Andy: Yeah, the Movie I got all of these from was in no way focused on the various events so the rules are loosey goosey to put it lightly. DrFrostwire0 and dieHero what'd you think? I still have ideas for this so I'll continue working on it until midway through September when I switch to probably MJTM 3.