Ok, so this is an interesting question, and it's a hard one to answer because a number of the HiT and CGI characters are blank slates, I can press any characterization onto - so I'll run through a few I have considered for my ERS series:

Molly: she made it in! She's the only HiT era character who managed to sneak through the net, and that's because she's one of the few HiT era characters I felt had an interesting character (and design) and that gave me plenty to work with. You can read her spotlight book here.

Neville: I was sorely tempted when I was writing 'Searching for New Engines' to drop him in as a last-minute pickup. I even toyed with him replacing Emily in that particular book or being added with Murdoch. But I didn't in the end because I just didn't have much to say about Neville. I may change my mind and drop him in as a cameo, but otherwise don't expect him too soon.

Rosie: Rosie and I have a... turbulent history. I've never liked her as a character, and her CGI reboot never clicked with me either (it was the weird valentine's day thing). However, I did consider having her cameo at least once in 'Salty the Dockside Diesel Engine' due to her connection to both Salty and Thomas - her class somewhat replaced the E2's in Southampton, and then along came Salty and the 07s and replaced both.

Samson: he also made it in! Samson stars in one story, because he was built by the same company as Neil and has a similar shape, making it feel like he could have also been an S&MR engine. You can find his story in 'Neil the Boxy Little Engine'.

Den and Dart: Could be fun, but most likely as a cameo for diesels who live on the mainland (possibly at the NRM? I'm not sure).

Ryan: I have yet to decide where I fall on whether or not Ryan makes an appearance. He's a cool engine - and I like him, which is surprising for a CGI character - but at the same time, I must admit that it sort of felt like he was just a new version of Stanley to me. He may still appear as a cameo in a future story though!

Stanley: I already have a Stanley in the series, and it isn't the silver tank engine, though he would be one of the more interesting ones to have around for the weird one-sided rivalry Thomas has with him.

Paxton and Sidney: Another pair who may or may not cameo. I will say that there have been a number of Class 08s who make background appearances in 'The World Famous Engine', and you could headcanon them as one or both of the pair.

That's ten engines from past Season 7 that I debated plonking into my series. Thanks for the ask!

None of the above images belong to me. Thank you!

Traintober 2023: Day 24 - Odd Jobs

Rusty's Duties Have Always Been Odd Jobs:

Rusty’s duties have always been odd jobs.

It begins, as always, with Rusty being started up early in the morning by their driver, with Mr Hugh close behind. The little diesel is not the first out of the shed – that honour goes to Duke, who always pulls the first train of the day. Rusty quietly wonders if it’s so the others get some extra rest. Whatever the answer is, the heat from Duke’s boiler always warms the shed wonderfully, meaning the little diesel’s engine turns over on command, rather than coughing and spluttering in the cool of the early morning.

From there, Rusty’s first job every morning is to help Mr Hugh inspect the coaches and trucks in the yard. They check that they’re all in their proper places, that the brakes haven’t frozen solid (especially in the winter), that they’ve recently had their joints greased. It’s not a difficult task, nor is it a long one – but it’s enough to help Rusty wake up. The little diesel can’t drink coffee after all, so this has to suffice.

After the trucks and coaches have been checked, the pair inspect the points, and then Rusty is free to shunt trains until the track crew call.

The little diesel doesn’t always pull maintenance trains – it’s just not needed – but that’s alright. There are plenty of other jobs that need doing. Rusty’s roll on the railway – when the little diesel isn’t working on the track – is to act as the ‘relief’. This is a very important job. Whenever one of the other engines breaks down, has an accident, or is delayed, the ‘relief’ is called to cover for them. Rusty takes this job very seriously. It means that the little diesel has to be prepared at any moment to race up the line to help.

But Rusty loves the maintenance trains the most. These trains run up and down the line, and fix the track before there can be a problem. Rusty thinks there isn’t a job in the world more rewarding! Maintenance trains run most often in the autumn and spring – in the winter, it’s almost impossible to see the trackbed for the snow that coats it, and in the summer every engine is needed for the tourist trains. This leaves just the cold, wet month of November for maintenance trains in the autumn, and windy, wet March for maintenance trains in the spring.

Which was rather annoying, for the amount of rain that could fall and cause issues everywhere. Snow melted into torrents that threatened to wash away the line, but that never deterred Rusty. The little diesel dutifully trekked up and down the line, keeping their friends safe in their own way.

When not pulling maintenance trains or acting as the ‘relief’, Rusty could be found shunting trucks and coaches, or delivering coal to the villages in the mountains, or working the inclines. The little diesel did a million things in a day, and they wouldn’t have it any other way.

And as night fell, as the stars began to illuminate the night sky with their twinkling light, Rusty returns to the shed. The little diesel is not the first to return – Sir Handel came off the rails earlier after yet another argument with the coaches – and the little diesel is certainly not the last to return – Rheneas has the mail run – but everyone agrees that Rusty deserves a place in the shed beside Duke. Because in the morning, Duke will be the first engine to get up steam, with his boiler warming Rusty’s engine so the little diesel can do it all again, continuously doing the odd jobs behind the scenes to keep the Skarloey Railway running.

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Traintober 2023: Day 7 - Refreshment

Peter Sam and the Refreshment Lady:

Peter Sam hummed as he headed along the line, feeling better than ever. The Refreshment Lady was finally returning! She’d recently broken her leg on holiday, but her cast was off, and she had promised the little engine she would meet him up at the top station.

The little engine had really grown fond of the woman running the little café up at the top station – after their less than perfect introduction. And she was fond of him, always having ten minutes to pop out of the café and visit the little engine when he puffed through with the afternoon train. They were friends – yes, that was the word for it. Friends.

And Peter Sam couldn’t wait to see his friend and finally hear about her holiday, before she waved him off with her tea towel and went back to her café to serve the tourists cream buns and ice cream.

But… the refreshment lady looked downcast when Peter Sam arrived. “Jenny, what’s the matter?” asked Peter Sam. The refreshment lady sighed, and looked up at the little engine. “I asked to talk to you, because I have some news,” Jenny said. “Peter Sam… I’m retiring. I can’t keep doing this – I’m getting old and after I broke my leg… I guess I just realised that I’m not able to do everything I used to. I’ve bought a nice cottage overlooking the lake, and I’m talking to my daughter about handing over the café.” “Oh… oh, Jenny,” Peter Sam gasped. “I… will I still see you?” “I’ll be right along the line, don’t worry,” Jenny replied. Peter Sam put on a smile, but it felt fake, and he knew Jenny could see right through it. Nonetheless, they talked through her break, and then Peter Sam set off.

Only then did he let the tears fall. “She’s… getting old,” he whispered to himself. “She’s… retiring. But she’ll still be by the lineside…” He didn’t hum anymore, and neither did the coaches. They could tell Peter Sam wasn’t feeling up to it.

Peter Sam was there on Jenny’s last day running the little café, having been gifted the day off so he could sit up at the top station and see everyone as they said goodbye to the refreshment lady, who had faithfully served the community for decades. Peter Sam couldn’t tell if he loved it or hated it. He finally got to spend time with his friend… but it was because she was retiring.

There was no getting around the fact that the refreshment lady was getting older, and that soon she would be gone and then so would her son-in-law, who had already retired from Peter Sam’s footplate to work as a stationmaster, and Peter Sam didn’t know what to think. Everyone who had made the painful transition from his old home to his new one were leaving him, and it hurt.

It hurt that Ms Last and Mr Edwards were gone, and that Mr Sam was gone, and old Mr Hugh was now retired to a cottage and the owner was gone and it just wasn’t fair. They were gone, but still Peter Sam stayed the same.

Skarloey puffed alongside. “It’s a really curse, being as old as we are,” he said quietly. “The big engines will never understand, because they have new drivers all the time, as well as new passengers and new cleaners and new everyone. The big engines just don’t get as attached to the people on their line as we do.” “It hurts,” agreed Peter Sam. “I had friends on my old railway, but we closed before they could… could leave. And this generation – they did so much for us, to make us feel welcome and to help us fit in. Did you know Jenny set up a donation box to help raise funds to restore Granpuff?”

Skarloey raised an eyebrow – it was news to him. “She put it on her store counter; raised over a thousand pounds for us. All because she knew how much he meant to me. Is it wrong for me to not want to let go? I just want everything to stay the same, but it doesn’t, and sometimes I just want it all to stop for a moment, just a moment.”

Skarloey didn’t reply. He just smiled softly at his friend and puffed away. There was nothing he could do; this was the engines’ curse, and as much as it hurt to see Peter Sam suffer it, he knew that the little engine had to weather it. He’d felt the same when Mr Bobby had passed away. The world was constantly changing, while the engines were stagnant. Forever a constant.

Jenny watched the two talk, a sad smile crossing her face. She didn’t know what to say to her old friend – sometimes, she could tell that there were some things about the engines that she would never understand.

Jenny would sell the café to her Italian friend’s daughter – a feisty young woman who made some incredible pastries. The Italian loved the fresh air and tranquillity of Sodor, and the tourists loved her pastries and homemade gelato. All the same, it wasn’t the same, and Peter Sam quietly handed his afternoon train to Skarloey. Jenny Davies – the refreshment lady – would live to the old age of eighty, but to Peter Sam it felt like she was gone in the blink of an eye. It felt that way for many of the people he knew.

It was never going to ever be the same.

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