Elmer came back to the sheds one night, tired after a long day of work. Timothy was already in the sheds, seeing a tired Elmer.

“Hello there,” Timothy said, “Are you okay?”
“I’m tired,” Elmer answered, “Do you have any other stories?”
“I have one,” Timothy said, as he started to tell the story.

The Ignis branch line was small, and didn’t have a town. The line only went to a small coal mine. It was small, but busy. We engines enjoyed most of our line, and the important job of the coal. However, the line had an old bridge. None of us engines liked the old bridge.

I came into the big station, dropping off my coaches. Steven the switcher came by to talk to me.

“Hello Timothy,” He said, “The controller told me to tell you that you're going to get a coal train.”
“Is that all?” I asked, “Who’s going to take my passengers?”

“I’ll get Arnold to do it,” Steven said, “If he’s not able to, I’ll do it.”

“Alright then,” I replied, “I’ll go then.”

All good engines knew not to approach the bridge too fast. It was very old, older than any of the engines on the railway. The coal mine was on the other side, making the bridge essential. I crossed it, and heard it creak under me. After getting to the other side, I rushed away to the coal mine. I arrived at the coal mine on time, but the cars still had to be filled. A workman approached me.

“A tree has fallen onto the line ahead,” He said, “You’ll have to wait here until the line is cleared.”

“I can’t be delayed,” I said, “I have a train to get back at the big station.”
“You’ll be on time,” The workman said, “You’ll just have to hurry your way back.”

It took awhile for my cars to be loaded, and when they finally were I still had to wait for the tree to be cleared. The cars behind me started bickering.

“I think he’ll be late,” Said one car.

“He’ll have to be really fast to be on time,” The other added, “Unless he also hurries ahead of the bridge.”

“I guess I'll have to hurry then,” I thought as I pulled away.

Back then, I was a very foolish engine. I rushed along the line, trying to get back. Ahead though, was a red signal. I went too fast past it, and didn’t see it. Farther ahead, was the old bridge. There were red flags right in front of the bridge that I did see. I braked, and tried to stop. I went slower and slower, but it wasn't enough. I slid down the bridge, which collapsed in front of me.

“I got back onto the line though, Steven was able to pull me up,” TImothy finished, “The coal was pulled back with few winches, and missed the next few shipments.”
“What happened to the bridge?” Elmer asked.

“Well it fell apart due to a large amount of rust,” Timothy replied, “They eventually made a new bridge, and it’s completely safe.”

Elmer enjoyed TImothy’s story, and slowly fell asleep.