Author's notes: This story is probably the darkest one in the saga, but it does hit all the emotional cords it needs to. Also, ThomasAngryBirds (Zack) has kindly let me and atsf borrow one of his OCs, Sarah the B12. Very fitting for a story based on the GER.

Just A Part Of Life

Narrator Molly: A year or two later, 2 new S-69s arrived to mine, Claude's and Alexander's sheds.

Molly: Oh no! More S-69s are coming to bully us.

Claude: Oh bother! Their probably going to boast how great they are at pulling trains!

Alexander: Just brace yourselves!

Narrator Molly: But we had no need to do that.

S69 1: Hullo there. Um, are you three alright?

S69 2: You do look a bit shaken.

Narrator: We all blinked. These class S-69s didn't speak any banter what so ever.

Molly: Oh um… We… Uh.. um… We're alright.

S69 2: I hope we didn't startle you lot.

Alexander: Oh well, not exactly. It's just, we had a S-69 class here before and he was not very nice.

S69 1: Ah yeah. We've heard of that blockhead 1506… to be honest, I think it served him served him right for injuring his passengers and killing half his crew and that guard.

S69 2: I think scrapping may have been a bit far, but nevertheless, at least the GER is back at peace.

S69 1: Oh by the way, I'm Holden. Named after my designer, Stephen Holden.

S69 2: And my name is Sarah. I'm named after my driver's daughter.

Alexander: Well um, pleasure to meet you Holden and Sarah, my name is Alexander.

Claude: Name's Claude. Pleased to meet you.

Molly: And um… I'm um… Molly. Nice to meet you Holden and Sarah. It's so nice to finally get another female engine to talk to Sarah.

Holden: Wow. You're the famous Claud Hamiltons.

Sarah: It truly is an honour to meet our ancestors.

Claude: You mean you don't mind us?

Holden: Of course not. You truly have great wisdom about our railway's heritage, and in our books, experience always out weights modernisation.

Sarah: Why, we actually met a nice little C53 steam tram engine recently working down at Yarmouth when we went to pick up our boat trains on our way down here.

Molly: That must have been Toby. We talk to him quite often.

Sarah: Yes. I think that's his name.

Molly: Well, I am glad that you're much nicer S-69s than 1506.

Holden: So are we Molly.

Narrator Molly: We got on very well Holden and Sarah, and all 5 of us were soon great friends. We worked together throughout the first world war, carrying troop trains, hospital trains and military goods trains until the war ended in 1919. Soon when the grouping act of 1923 began, the engines had change. The S69s were later reclassified as B12's whilst myself and Claude were reclassified as D-15's and D-16's and Alexander was reclassified as a J15 class under the ownership of the London North Eastern Railway. The engines livery changed too, barring Alexander's who remained black. Holden, Sarah, myself and Claude's dark blue livery of the GER railway was now repainted into LNER'S Famous Apple green livery. We found it very little to hard to get used to change, but on the bright side, we were still running together.

Molly: Ah well. I suppose it's just life. At least were all still running together.

Claude: That's right Molly. At least we're all still together.

Holden: That's spirit fellows. I'm glad you guys always have a positive look out in life.

Sarah: Just keep your fires going, pull the trains that we are asked, follow the rules, and we'll be fine.

Alexander: True that young Holden and Sarah. True that.

Narrator Molly: Despite the minor changes, we still carried on. Holden, Sarah and the rest of the B12's were now relegated to working mix traffic duties when the LNER Gresely pacific's took over the express runs. But soon on, we Claud's began to struggle. Throughout the 20's and 30's most of, if not all the Claud's had been suffering from poor steaming due to a bad order of coal that LNER was using. Adding to the fact that all Clauds' had a very small coal capacity, myself and Claud often rolled home back to the sheds very tired and out puff.

Molly: I tell you, I never had steaming trouble before in my life back in the Great Eastern Days.

Claude: I know. It's that new coals fault! I tell you, and that's not all. I hear tell there going to alter shapes to manage this filthy stuff. (Sigh) Ah well. I guess it's just life I suppose.

Molly: Same here. One minute your riding high, and next your shot down. But as long as we're running, we'll be alright.

Narrator Molly: Claude was right. All Claud Hamilton's were rebuilt with a GN-style chimney, a flatter firegrate, and a revised blastpipe arrangement to help us cope with the steam trouble but my driver Rex Cooper wasn't fond of the new design, so he kept me the way I was. So as a result, I was now relegated onto slow short distance trains and branchline trains. Then, in the second world war, the London and North Eastern Railway had changed into the North Eastern Railway. Like all engines in world war 2 in England, us claud hamiltons all had to be painted black came, thus causing even more changes to me and Claude. Even so, myself, Claude, Holden, Sarah and Alexander pressed on with war trains, goods trains, hospital trains and passenger trains. They were dark times, especially at night. In all my years, I had never felt so frightened in life. When enemy aircraft flew over british cities and bombing them, I would quiver and shake. The other engines would try to sooth my ruffled feelings.

James (Through flashback): My word. That would have been frightening.

(Air raid siren ringing)

Molly: (Frightened) Oh no. Claude, Holden, Sarah, Alexander, they're coming again.

Alexander: Don't panic. We'll all be fine. Just try to keep calm.

Holden: I know. Don't worry.

Sarah: We've all had worse. I had to take a hospital train today.

Narrator Molly: Every night and day during the war, we kept on going regardless.

Molly: Oh Lord, please don't take us from this world.

Narrator Molly: At last the war ended and it seemed that things seemed to recuperate from the war and everything we go back to normal. Then hard times came. After the nationalisation turning all of the big four railway into one network, know as british railways, we Claud Hamiltons had become worn out after many decades of good service. In the late 40's mid 50's, the Claud Hamilton's had been condemned for scrap. The scrapping had begun in 1955 and poor Claude was the first to feel the cruel cutters torch and many others followed until I was the last engine of the Claud Hamilton's.

Molly: (Tears) Oh no Claude, my brother. They can't do this too you!

Claude: I'm sorry Molly, but I can't go on anymore. Just remember, death is just another part of life. I'll miss you Molly.

Molly: And I'll miss you too, Claude.

Narrator Molly: I continued on and knowing that this was just a part of life, I carried on my work until 1960 when I was at last condemned for scrap, and placed into the scrapyard in1960 in early cold snowy January.

(Molly being pushed into scrapyard by a Class 05 diesel shunter)

Molly: (Singing sadly) Oh, Danny Boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling
From glen to glen, and down the mountain side,
The summer's gone, and all the roses falling,
It's you, it's you must go and I must bide.
But come ye back when summer's in the meadow,
Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow,
It's I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow,
Oh, Danny Boy, oh Danny Boy, I love you so!
But when ye come, and all the flowers are dying,
If I am dead, as dead I well may be,
Ye'll come and find the place where I am lying,
And kneel and say an Ave there for me;
And I shall hear, though soft you tread above me,
And all my grave will warmer, sweeter be,
For you will bend and tell me that you love me,
And I shall sleep in peace until you come to me!

(Back to the present)

Narrator: Rarity, James and Mr Holden tried hard but they couldn't help but cry when Molly finished story.

Rarity: Oh you poor darling. Surely some preservationists tried to save you.

Molly: (Sadly) Not a single one wanted me.

James: The nerve of those Preservationists! I'd like to get my buffers on them and….

Molly: It's alright James. It's not their fault. This is just part of life.

Mr. Holden: Wait a minute! I've got an idea. Molly, once we get our train London, I'll telephone Princess Celestia and the Fat Controller to see if we can restore you at the Sodor Railway Trust Society.

Molly: Do you think the society would bother with me?

James: Well only one way to find out. (Winks at Molly)

Narrator: At last the signal dropped and James set off for London, leaving Molly in suspense.

Will they get to Molly in time? Find out in part 4.