Twist Left or Right?

Saturday morning by one of the many water towers in the Land of the Inch High.

Trouble is brewing. Rumours of a mouse infestation have reached Andrew, and he’s is absolutely terrified of mice. So terrified, in fact, that he refuses to climb down from the engine and operate the giant tap.

This presents a problem because turning the tap left dispenses moonshine, while turning it right produces water.

With Andrew frozen in fear, Barclay volunteers to do the job instead. Unfortunately, Barclay suffers from a chronic inability to tell left from right, making him perhaps the worst possible substitute.

Normally this would be the moment for Bob Geeza Cat to stride in, solve the crisis, and demand payment in sardines. But, as regular readers will know, Bob is currently tied up with his many appearances across the countless layouts and adventures of the Land of the Inch High.

As a result, nobody is entirely sure whether today’s locomotive will be running on water, moonshine, or a bold new mixture of both. The crew remain optimistic. The insurance company less so.

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Tanked Up Thursday

Fireless locomotives run on highly compressed superheated air and need topping up from time to time from a suitable reservoir.

Here we see such an operation in progress, the crew confidently connecting their engine to what they believe is the overhead compressed-air tank at the local distillery.

Unfortunately, neither of them actually read the memo.

Instead, they’ve coupled up to the distillery’s moonshine storage tank.

The mistake only became apparent when the locomotive immediately developed an extra 200 horsepower, a cheerful whistle in three different keys, and an overwhelming desire to overtake express trains.

Driver Bert reports that the regulator now has only two positions: “steady” and “good grief.”

Meanwhile, several sheep in a nearby field claim to have witnessed the engine briefly achieve flight.

Railway management insists everything is under control, although the locomotive was last seen disappearing towards Highbridge at alarming speed whilst whistling sea shanties

It could be a very interesting day indeed. 🍻🚂

~~~🤫~~~

Thank you those who occasionally 👉 www.buymeacoffee.com/Nevardmedi3