The Bridge Of Doom Part 1

Some time in 1965, in Dartmoor, in the cold silvery night,  a little train was pushing some slate trucks, guided only by it's flickering light. The air was dark, hazy and silently still as it chuffed up the hill, approaching the iron bridge that would take them to the other side. When it crossed half way over, it's crew were too late to release their blunder and the trucks derailed, taking them down with them. They plummeted off the side and down into the marshland, dragging them under. There was no one for miles to hear the crew's yell for help, alone and terrified they screamed until the watery tentacles dragged them under from the world above. The engine and it's crew were lost, never to see the light of day again... and remained buried in it's marshy grave. Sometimes in the cold and eerie darkness, you can hear them call out, crying out desperately for someone to stop their fall to their demise... but no one can come and save them... no one at all...

In the decades after it's loss, the line was closed and abandoned, becoming a natural nature walk and on more than one occasion, people who wondered out to the bridge late at night could hear was sounded like an engine hard at work... working when there are no rails for it cross on... then when the moon shines full, they see the little engine, hauling a load set of trucks or by itself, trying to make it over the bridge, until it vanishes into thin air only halfway through. The story of the engine's loss is one of the many legendary tales that is told... but that along with it's crew that shared it's death would not be alone... the Old Iron Bridge on the Skarloey Railway would share similar incidents and the dark tales that it had secretly stored within had only begun to emerge.



The Island of Sodor, December, 2017

The cold signs of winter was coming to the Island of Sodor. Weather forecasters predicted that a strong snow storm was due within a matter of days and would cover the railway. The worst to happen on the Skarloey Railway. The little engines were to start getting prepared for the harsh winter that was to come. As the month of November came to close, December began and the cold weather started to show. Temperatures dropped below the freezing point, which made people to wear warmer clothing to withstand it. Three days into December, the Thin Controller gave out his orders to his engines.

"I am counting on you to be on your best efforts and show great teamwork. The railway will be under great threat of the winter weather that is approaching. Once it comes please work your hardest and give everything that you all have got to prove that no matter what, you are my loyal engines and to be the pride of this railway. I know you can do it and I want you all to do it again."

The Thin Controller was true to his words and the engines worked their wheels off, delivering passengers and slate back and forth with each day coming and going.


One evening, Duncan and Sir Handel were taking a late night delivery of slate from the mine. It was a misty moonlit night. The conditions were similar to that when Duncan crossed the Old Iron Bridge and thought he saw the ghost engine from the story Skarloey told Rusty a while back. Soon Duncan and Sir Handel were approaching the bridge. They blew their whistles and started to cross it. The mist was rising around them with the air now feeling cold and damp. The mist then turned into a thick blanket, blinding both engines. Then there was trouble... Duncan's coupling rod snapped and Sir Handel was pushing the train by himself when the first truck suddenly derailed, dragging the rest of the train down into the ravine below. The echoing splash echo around the valley, causing both Duncan and Sir Handel to stop in their tracks.

"What's going back there?!" Duncan wailed in alarm.

The driver and fireman looked back, almost unable to see through the thick fog.

"I can't see a thing!" he said.

"Neither can I!" added the fireman.

"Duncan, what's happened?!" Sir Handel called out. "Did you hear something fall off?"

His driver and fireman looked out from the cab but unlike Duncan's crew, they saw that the trucks were not there anymore and great fear of the worse came upon them. But before Sir Handel could call out, a whistle sounded out and it didn't sound familiar to him.

"What was that?" he thought to himself.

Duncan heard it too and wondered where it was coming from. Suddenly an engine appeared right before Sir Handel's eyes, causing him to wail out in fright. Then in a matter of seconds, it vanished followed by it's whistle along with the mist and cold air. Duncan's driver was relieved when seeing Sir Handel and not fearing that he had not fallen off the bridge... but he saw that he looked spooked. Duncan couldn't answer either, he was wondering who's whistle he heard a moment ago. Taking great caution, both engines moved off the bridged, returning home.

At the shed's, the next morning, they told Peter Sam, Rusty, Skarloey and Rheneas all about their experience. They were at a lost for words but Skarloey and Rheneas thought otherwise. Just then the Thin Controller arrived.

"Duncan and Sir Handel, I have been informed of what happened on the Old Iron Bridge," he said. "My thoughts on this is that the weather conditions, caused by the thick fog, and the condition of the track were to blame for the accident. I'll be phoning up workmen to carry out inspections before commencing repairs to the bridge."

"But sir, if that happens, non of us will be able to go up to the mines on the other side." said Rheneas.

"I understand that but there are others on this side of the line that can used for the time being." replied the Thin Controller.

"So what your saying is, half of the Skarloey is closed until then?" asked Duncan.

"Unfortunately, yes," said the Thin Controller, almost sighing. "Duncan, you and Sir Handel will be doing shunting in the yards for a while. I'm not punishing you both for what happened. I'm only just trying to do what's right to keep you and the safe. I'm also glad that you weren't attached to the trucks when they fell.... otherwise one of you or even both would've ended up having the same fate that the other engine had who lost his train on that bridge in Dartmoor."

He turned and walked away. Sir Handel looked across to Skarloey, almost with concern.

"What did he mean by that?" he asked.

"You don't know about the accident at Dartmoor?" said Skarloey. "A friend of my driver called Simon knows about it as do I and Rheneas. The story was well known in local legend and still is to this day."

"Oh please, do tell us." said the other engines.

With that, Skarloey took a deep breath and began his story.