On the Railways

On the Railways is the 2nd story of The Miniature Railway Adventures written in 2009 by Michael White.

Synopsis
The events take place some time after the events of the first story where Casey and Whitehouse are trying to cope with a new Station Master for the railway. At the same time Corps and Jane become members of the team.

Plot
Whitehouse is running late and Casey is wanting to get started on their work. He decides to go for a quick run but notices a man standing on the platform in railway uniform. It turns out to be Cars, who has now recovered form the 'Lost Engine' experience and has volunteered to work at the railway. Whitehouse arrives much to the surprise of Cars who still believes he'd died.

With that sorted, Cars begins his work but makes it difficult for Casey and Whitehouse to deal with. He charged Casey for leaving his engine on the main line when he was the only engine out on the line to begin with. To get their own back, Casey and Whitehouse plan on embarrassing Cars by videotaping him dancing to a music video he liked and showing it to everyone.

When Cars finds the DVD copy of the video, he plots revenge. While the two were out on a diversion he set them on, Cars gets Corps to buy him some bottles of cola and drugs with laxatives - "to keep those two on the run". This has an immediate effect and as a result, most of the trains were running late.

Frustrated by the whole ordeal, Whitehouse and Casey have had enough and plan on reporting Cars to the chairman. But Casey decides to calm down and show Whitehouse a new engine that he had just bought, Lady Grange. Cars arrives and claims the engine is unfit for running, proving his point by forcing the buffer off the engine, much to Casey's infuriated anger. But before a fight breaks out, a young girl arrives at the railway looking for work. The girl introduces herself as Jane, who is the grand daughter of a past member who used to deal with the catering for the society. Jane is welcomed on board and is shown around by Casey, to the disappointment of Cars.

Whitehouse decides to arrange Casey's coaches to the platform, to which he meets Corps having a falling out with the boating exhibit after he 'improved' their visitors simulator machine. Whitehouse suggests Corps works with them on the railway as a workshop attendant to which he accepts. Betty is in the way of the coaches so, while Corps sees to the coaches, Whitehouse moves Betty towards the sidings. But her brakes fail and crashes into Cars' newly built office-really a garden shed on the platform.

Livid with rage, Cars tries one last time to get his own back on Casey and Whitehouse, but ends up getting fired by the Chairman after he accidentally bumps into his wife while chasing the two railway staff. Casey and Whitehouse feel guilty for their actions and decide to put in a good word for Cars.

The next Morning Casey is waiting once more for Whitehouse but finds him arriving on a new engine. Whitehouse explains that he has now been given the task of station shunter and with the help of his engine, Puffa, he won't have any troubles. When Casey asks who will be doing guard for his trains seeing as Whitehouse isn't, he is shocked to find that Cars has been given the task while working his way back up the ladder. Unable to take it all in, Casey leaves the sheds with Cars chasing after him. Whitehouse laughs as he states that "It's just another day on the railways"

Basis
The story is heavily inspired by the ITV comedy series 'On the Buses' but it gets most of it's material from the film version of the series.

Audiobook
The story is available to listen on YouTube as a fully casted audio play. it was first released in 2010 but re-uploaded in 2013 on the official Miniature Railway Adventures YouTube Channel.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Trivia

 * The story takes place 2 weeks after the events of The Search of the Lost Engine.
 * This is Jane's debut to the series. Although her original introduction was in Pirates of the Railways
 * This is Lady Grange debut to the series.
 * The title is based on the title of the TV comedy  'On the Buses'

Goofs

 * Cars should have mentioned the events of the 2015 events of lost Engine when he states to have seen Whitehouse die. Instead he references the 2008 version.
 * The Time Toilet should not have featured in the story as it served no purpose to the plot.