Well guys, after over a year since season 1 ended, I bring you the second season of my Thomas fanfic series. for the first episode I've decided to write a story that tells the history of Sodor, and non-faceless vehicles. All from the perspective of a certain engine.

here we go:

Memories

Lily is one of the oldest engines on the north western railway. She originally worked on the Wellsworth and Suddery Railway as a passenger engine before her railway joined two others to form what is now known as the north western railway. Lily was Thomas' mentor after the loss of his brother and when the little blue engine recieved his branch line, she would work alongside him. Lily and Thomas were like mother and child to some, and they were that during Thomas' early years, but Thomas had greatly matured since then and the two engines formed a romantic relationship.

One evening the engines were ar Ffarquar sheds after a hard days work. Thomas was talking to Lily about their TV series. "I don't really mind BWBA as much now, season 22 was hit and miss, but season 23 had a lot of good episodes, even the international ones." said Thomas. "I don't really like those fantasy parts though." replied Lily "It's as if they're afraid that kids will get bored easily, as if they can't watch 5 seconds of calm withouth dying of boredom. Not to mention how innacurate some of those episodes were." " A lot of shows are like that nowadays unfortunately. But this isn't the first time they changed the story, remember magic railroad?" said Thomas. "Don't remind me." muttered Lily "That film was ruined and changed drastically from the original just because of some spineless idiotic parents." she ranted. "What really happened, then?" asked Nia from across the sheds. Nia was one of the newest additions to the north western railway and was assigned to the Ffarquar branch. "Oh right, you weren't around when this whole story began." said Thomas. "Do you want to hear about it?" asked Lily. "I'd love to." said Nia. With that, Lily began her story.

It all began many years ago, back when steam engines were just beginning to be used commonly amonst britain, and soon the world. Many people were fascinated by these new machines. Two of which were a boy named Burnet Stone, and his friend Tasha. "One day Tasha, I'll build my own engine, and I'll take you with me." he said one day. "Promise you will Burnet, promise?" pleaded Tasha. "I promise..." said Burnet.

Years later, their friendship evolved into love, and then marriage. The couple decided to move to the Island of Sodor to begin their new lives. One of Sodor's only railways at the time was a plateway from Ward Fell to Ballaidwail, some of which lay where the Skarloey Railway runs today. This line didn't last long as the plateway wasn't well-maintained. The other was the Sodor and Mainland railway, which ran from Kirk Ronan to Vicarstown. Both of these lines didn't have steam engines and used pack horses instead.
Burnet and Tasha wanted to build their own railway running from the town of Wellsworth to Suddery, however they didn't want to use horses like the other railways and wanted it to be the first railway on sodor with a steam engine. After talking with the many people in the towns the railway was to serve, Burnet Stone got to work. Little by little, he constructed the first part of the line, then he began working on an engine. An engine with four small wheels, an elegant funnel and dome, rounded side tanks, rich maroon paintwork, and an open cab. An engine that would change history forever.

Burnet and Tasha were in the workshop that Burnet had constructed in order to build their engine. "Oh Burnet, this engine is lovely. I can't wait to ride her." said Tasha excitedly. "There's just one more bolt to tighten, and our engine will be ready." Right as Burnet tightened the final bolt, it happened. A blinding light began to shine in front of the engine, and when the light had faded, they could see that the smokebox door was gone, and in it's place was a face.

To this day, noone knows how it happened. Some say it was because of Burnet and Tasha's love for eachother and for railways, much like parents creating offspring. Others say it was a strange reaction. But whatever the reason, the engine they had built had come to life. This news was big for everyone on sodor, and the world. All anyone could talk about was "the train that had come to life".
Regardless of all that, Burnet and Tasha were thrilled to have such a wonderful engine, though she didn't have a name. After the engine built up steam for the first time, she was off. Burnet and Tasha loved their first railway journey, even though the line that had been built wasn't very long. Thanks to their engine, whom they christened "Lady", the line was expanded and managed to reach far beyond Suddery and to Brendam. finally, the Wellsworth and Suddery railway was complete.
Not too long after the railway's completion, the Sodor and Mainland Railway decided to follow the W&S's footsteps and had three Neilson box tanks built in hopes they would get the same results as they did with Lady, all three succeded. Since then many vehicles of many types from many countries could come to life.

Lady ran the Wellsworth and Suddery Railway single-handed for a long time. She was popular among the many locals of the line. She was kind and loved talking to the many people living in the towns served by the railway she ran. Eventually, Burnet Stone decided to invest in more engines. Those being a small saddle tank engine, a medium-sized side tank engine, and a long well tank engine. the trio would be known as Colin Lily and Adam respectively.

Colin worked as the shunter of the line, and despite his naivety, he worked hard to get every train shunted. Lily was the passenger engine, she was a perfectionalist and wanted to see every train on time. Though this led to trouble sometimes, she always did her best. Adam was the goods engine, and the middle child of the three engines. He could be hot-tempered when things went wrong, but was otherwise level-headed and hard-working.

The four engines worked in harmony for many years. Lady remained kind-hearted throughout her working life. She would offer advice to the engines, and would comfort them if they were sad. And every night before going to sleep, Lady would sing a lullaby to them. They were like a family. they were inseperable, and despite an occasional argument, they got along fine. However, this wouldn't last.

PT Boomer was the biggest enemy of Burnet Stone. He had bullied Burnet as a child, and had a lustful crush on Tasha, but she chose Burnet. Boomer resented them for it and did everything in his power to ruin them, from false rumors to trying to sabotage the railway they owned. One day though, he went too far.

It was a sunny day when it happened. Burnet, Tasha, and Lady were at wellsworth and were getting ready for another journey down the line. Burnet had just entered the station to talk to the stationmaster. Boomer saw this as an opportunity. He grabbed a shovel by the coal hopper, and hit Tasha over the head with it. he then dragged Tasha into Lady's cab and took off with Lady. Burnet was horrified when he saw his beloved wife and engine being taken. Then he saw his biggest enemy from Lady's cab sneering at him. Adam was nearby when this all happened and was already steaming after them. The chase felt like an eternity, but it ended, but not happily. There was a sharp bent along the line where an engine could derail if it went too fast. Boomer knew this, he jumped from the cab just before the bend and ran away as fast as he could. Lady went off the rails and tumbled down the embankment. When Adam arrived, what he saw would forever stick in his mind.

Lady, the engine whom was a mother figure to him and his two siblings, was completely and utterly wrecked. Her wheels were now malformed ovals on snapped axles, her cab was crushed and her funnel was crumpled. But the worst thing was that her lovely face was now gone, instead there was nothing but a smokebox door. Tasha didn't survive the accident, and was killed on impact.
The entire Island of Sodor was devastated and heartbroken by this news. the Wellsworth and Suddery railway was especially affected by it. Thankfully PT Boomer was caught and hanged shortly after, but the damage was done.

The three engines were emotionally shattered by the loss of their beloved mother figure. Colin couldn't comprehend that Lady was gone, the sight of Lady's wreck would haunt Adam forever. As for Lily, she was the most heartbroken of the trio. She and Lady were very close and knowing that She'd never have that engine in her life again changed her, she became hardened and isolated for a long time afterwards.

Burnet Stone was more devastated than his other three engines combined. Though he recieved many words of comfort from the entire island, he was never the same again. He gathered up Lady's pieces and worked his hardest to try and fix her, but one night, she dissapeared. This was the breaking point for Burnet. He had not only lost the love of his life, but he lost the engine that he promised to bring them together with. After this, he hanged himself in the shed he built Lady in. The Wellsworth and Suddery Railway was in shambles afterwards, and despite the efforts made to keep the railway alive, it closed in 1907.
The three engines and their line were sold to the newly-formed Tidmouth, Knapford, and Elsbridge railway. The only other engine was a coffepot engine named Glynn, and though he managed to help Colin and Adam recover, Lily would still remain hardened. At least until a certain silver tank engine arrived...

"The rest is history." Lily finished. " I'm so sorry..." said Ashima. "Don't be." replied Lily "That was over a century ago, and many things happened since then. Even though the events of magic railroad weren't entirely accurate, they were still based off true events." "So Lady is still alive?" asked Nia. "Yes, but it's getting late. But once we get the time, I'll tell you the rest of the story." "Promise?" asked Nia.

"I promise..."