#traintober2023

Day #1: Free Day

Ideally, I would have liked to have inked and coloured this one, but I'm not sure I'm that confident yet...

Prompt list:

Traintober Day 2: Bridge

Summary:

Edward’s in the Works for maintenance, so an engine from the Other Railway arrives to fill in on his branch line. She soon proves herself to be a bully. Bill and Ben aren’t about to let that slide.

Hi guys, just dropping in to say that , no I'm not dead or anything. I've merely caught a major case of capitalism with a side of adult, so I've been working a lot.

With that in mind, let's get into why I am here:

As you might have seen @theflyingkipper has taken on this year's Traintober duties, and I imagine it's going to be a blast. However if you're like me and have (checks watch) negative time to devote to a month of train content, then I have the solution for you! Just one Halloween themed TTTE prompt/challenge, which you can devote as much, or as little, time to as you want.

And that prompt is:

Sodor's Ghostwatch

To explain what this is, we have to go down a bit of a British TV history rabbit hole:

On Halloween night, 1992, the BBC aired Ghostwatch , an hour and a half long programme that purported itself to be a live TV investigation into a haunted house in London. The poltergeist, named "Mr. Pipes", or just "Pipes", is tormenting a family by possessing their daughter on a regular basis. I'll spare the specifics for brevity's sake, but while the broadcast starts off normal, it gradually becomes clear that Pipes is using the broadcast as a way to transmit himself across the TV airwaves, eventually kidnapping the presenter in the house, and jumping into the broadcast studio to possess Michael Parkinson as the broadcast ends.

Now, if that name rung a bell with you, well done. Michael Parkinson was a very famous BBC talk show host... as was every other on-screen personality on the show. That was on purpose, because while the show was actually scripted, it was intended to give the appearance of being a live broadcast, using real TV personalities, real TV facilities, and during a real timeslot on BBC 1, the flagship TV station for the country, at a time when satellite TV and alternative cable channels numbered in the low double digits.

Let me rephrase this: The BBC, an organization that does not joke around, created their own version of the War of the Worlds broadcast, except that instead of aliens invading, they told the entire country that they were doing a live show about a real haunting... and then the ghost escaped and attacked the presenters.

The BBC got over thirty thousand phone calls before the end of the night. Michael Parkinson's mother was one of the callers. Numerous people who believed that the show was legit had actual problems afterwards, ranging from the absurd (a woman called the BBC demanding they pay her husband's laundry bill after he soiled himself while watching) to the more upsetting. (lots of children got nightmares)

To this day the special has never aired again on British TV, regardless of network, and it likely never will again. It predated, and inspired, films like Derren Brown's Séance, The Blair Witch Project, and Host (2020).

It is one of the greatest TV events of its time. It scared the shit out of a lot of people.

So... with that in mind,

What do we think happened on Sodor?

That's what this challenge is:

Traintober 2023

Other Stories

Day 22-Top Hatt

Succession

Autumn 2016

Edward simmered lazily outside Tidmouth Station, the crisp autumn air swirling around his boiler and down to his wheels pleasantly. He stretched slightly, sighing. His valve gear had to started to have minor aches lately, signaling that he wasn't far from an overhaul.

Finally, the back door to the Controller's Office opened and she stepped out.

Jane Hatt II, the newest Fat Controller, cut a striking figure in the traditional 3 piece suit and top hat. She had exchanged the black tie for one in North Western Blue with red lining. Rather than black, her pants and overjacket were a very deep blue, her undershirt a light purple in honor of her grandfather.

"You look splendid Ms.Hatt!" Edward said with feeling.

Jane shrugged, "It feels like I'm playing dress up." She said.

Edward chuckled, "Your father said much the same thing, and your grandfather too. I think that's why Charles chose purple instead of yellow, the difference made it feel more real to him."

"Rather than just playing at being his father." Jane guessed. 

"Exactly." 

"What was he like? The first I mean."

Edward blinked, "Topham?"

"Yes, Dad and Grandpa have told me about him but..." She hesitated.

"You wanna know from one of his engines, not his children."

"Yes."

Edward considered the question carefully, I'm honestly not sure there is all that much of a difference in later years honestly."

He looked at Jane seriously, "He was a serious but passionate man. He cared for us deeply, even early on, but...it was a very different time. Men were expected to be stronger, harsher...He had to learn how to be a controller, and he sometimes got it wrong in the early years."

"The tunnel incident."

Edward snorted, "Remind me to tell you what actually happened with all that when we have time. Topham was fair most of the time but had quite the temper when wronged.  He learned to control it in later years, but by then he had his reputation."

Edward paused, "I think the clearest image I can give you of his later years was the last time I saw him. He was taking your namesake for a picnic, and had come to talk to me while waiting for their trains." Edward closed his eyes, remembering, "He'd been having health problems for months but refused to let them slow him down...they finally caught up with him."

Edward took a deep breath, "He asked me to look after Charles, to help him as controller. He wasn't worried about himself, he was worried about his son having someone to turn to as Controller."

He looked at Jane seriously, "I have kept that promise to him ever since, from Charles to Stephen, and now to you."

He smiled suddenly, "He would have loved you, you know. You would have reminded him of Jane, who he always said was his better half. He often looked back at his early years as a controller far too harshly. He got us through the 20s and 30s, with all of us intact. No other controller could say that."

"So he would be okay with me being controller instead of Richard?"

Edward snorted, "He would be relieved. He'd have loved Richard too, but he reminds me of a young Thomas in all the wrong ways." he chuckled. 

"He would have been very proud of you, and proud of your brother for realizing you were the better fit."

Jane snorted, "If only the news agreed.,

"Just ignore them." Edward advised, "It's what he did."

She patted his buffer beam, "I'll keep that in mind. Thank you, Edward."

"Any time Ms. Hatt."

The fourth Fat Controller turned and walked towards the platform and her first day running the North Western Railway, collecting her Top Hatt from her office as she did so.

Chapters 1 to 7 of my contribution for Traintober 2023

As I continue to add more chapters, I will make a new post with the link and updated tags. Below the 'Read More' are the current relationships, characters and additional tags.