Trevor and the Level Crossing

"Trevor and the Level Crossing" is a story written by Loco123456.

Story
There are many different things used to keep both the engines and road vehicles safe; the level crossing is one of these many safety measures. The level crossing consists of gates, which are closed to let trains and vehicles pass by without having one of them collide with the other. The level crossing is looked after by a gate-keeper, who locks the gates. They are situated in the signalbox close to the level crossing. On Edward's Branch Line, there is a special gate-keeper. Joel is well known by the engines; he cares about making sure the railway runs smoothly and is friends with some of the engines and vehicles. Joel was going away on a short holiday. "Now Dan, you must make sure to know the schedule for the day so you're ready to close the gates to let the engines pass through," instructed Joel to his substitute. "Relax, you just go on your holiday and I'll look after things," said Dan. Joel wasn't sure; Dan wasn't someone he knew that he could trust. But he also knew that he had to give Dan a chance. "Fine then; I'll see you in a week!"

The next day Trevor was delivering crates of apples from the Orchard to Wellsworth Yard; he had to cross the level crossing. "PEEP! PEEP!" "That's Edward's whistle," thought Trevor worriedly. The confusing part was the fact that the gates were open to allow vehicles to pass through. "PEEP! PIP! PEEP! STOP EDWARD!" Edward heard the warning and stopped just in time. "I thought the gates were open for me to pass through." "I know; I wonder if Joel forgot." "Either way, he probably didn't mean it. Knowing Joel, he'd make sure not to make the same mistake again." But the two friends were still puzzled about how the mistake could have been made. When Trevor was returning to the Orchard he slowed down, due to the sirens at the level crossing warning him about the gates being closed. When he arrived he saw no train. Lorries and cars stood waiting. "What's going on?" grumbled Elizabeth. "We all have jobs to do and things to see." Finally Trevor got his answer; Dan arrived. "Lousy siren," he grumbled, banging the gate locks hard to stop it from ringing. "Please pay more attention," scolded Elizabeth, "because you've caused a lot of trouble already."

A few days later fog came rolling in. Fogmen stood a few feet away from the signals, with two lanturns; green for 'clear' and red for 'danager', so in case of an accident the engine could stop safely. Dan tiredly waited for the first train of the day; BoCo's fast goods to Brendam Docks. Meanwhile Trevor was returning from Wellsworth Yard. "Look at that Jem," noted Trevor, "the gates are against us." "We should have the right-of-way then," agrred Jem Cole. Then they heard a horn. "PEEP! PEEP! ELIZABETH, STOP!" But Elizabeth was going too fast. Her driver jumped clear; seconds later she'd crashed through the gates and had landed on her side in a ditch. "We must warn the train that's due to pass through here," decided Elizabeth's driver, who rushed quickly away. Five minutes later- "BoCo!" wailed Trevor. "I wish Joel was here. He wouldn't let something like this happen." Trevor whistled a warning. "Sounds like there's danager ahead," said BoCo. He tried to slow down, but couldn't. Trevor had moved as far back as he could, and as he had predicted, BoCo hit the debis and derailed.

Elizabeth's driver soon returned to find things in a mess. He went back to the signalbox to warn the fogman and signalman, and also call for help. Soon Edward arrived with Rocky and workmen, along with Butch and some workmen too. "Who is responsible for this accident?" said the Fat Controller furiously. "I am," said Dan weakly. "You did what?! You didn't look after the level crossing! Well I never! You shall never work on my railway again. I only allow safe workers who take care of things and make sure the trains run on time!" Dan was sent away in disgrace. BoCo needed his front buffers repaired, and Elizabeth needed a new front bumper and head-lights. When Joel returned, the gates were under repair. Engines and road vehicles took different routes to get to and from Wellsworth. in regards to staff, the Fat Controller has made sure that when new people join the Sodor Railway family or act as subsitiutes, that they won't cause any trouble. And the staff that currently work on the line know that they too shouldn't make the same mistake, for they know the Fat Contrller won't let others put his engines, or anyone for that matter, in harm's way.