Yaniv and the Railway Trains

This is the fourth book written in the 10th Grade (2011-2012) and the seventeenth story in the series. This story marks Eli's first appearance and it takes place in December 2011.

Summery
There are two known railways where talking trains threive. One is on the Island of Sodor where Thomas the Tank Engine lives. The other originates down in the valley of Piney Vale where Little Engine (aka the Little Engine that Could) lives. However the two engines recently met and have grown fond of each other.

One day while visiting the Island of Sodor, Little Engine notices that 'Starlight Express' is performing in Tidmouth. She recalls to Thomas when she saw 'Starlight Express' perform on tour. Armand then lists all the productions that have occured so far and mentions that he plans to catch the second UK tour version. However, by much convincing by his friends, he decides to see the show on Sodor. Afterwards Yaniv makes the mistake of saying that he'd prefer it if the electric engine had won as Thomas gets all heated up from the remark. Armand and the others attempt to soothe him before his next train.

Later the kids bring a huge crate to their Sudrian residence. Opening it up they discover that there are unused train costumes modeled on those of Starlight Express. They all try them on, each choosing which costume they like. Yaniv discovers, by accident, that they are magical as putting every piece on (including skates and helmets) turns him into the engine his costume is modeled on. Excited the kids rush out to the train yard and become trains. They surprise Thomas and Little Engine as soon as they arrive though Thomas faints upon realising that it's the kids. Thomas is excited that Armand and Willa are steam engines, though he develops an open distrust towards Danielle as she is a diesel.

The next day Yaniv (a bullet train) and Evan (a Burgatti Veyron fitted with Hi-railer wheels) argue over who is the fastest and decide to race down Thomas's Branchline. The race ends nearly with disaster as Evan flies off the road and Yaniv flies off the track at Knapford Junction ripping some rails as they crash land. Thomas and Armand quickly seizes the situation and manage to stop Willa, pulling her first train, before she derails. However, they are unable to stop Danielle, who derails suffering light damage. Danielle is angry at the pair for not warning her though Thomas explains that they never knew she was coming as she ignored the whistle signs and thus made no indication that she was arriving.

As a human Danielle goes back to Ffarquhar, cleans herself up and makes repairs to whatever damage was done. Things don't get any better for her as Taylor (an electric engine) sneaks up behind her to make her jump, unaware that his touch would cause an electrical shock. Furious Danielle chases him out to the yard where they both become trains and race down the track. They end up at Tidmouth where Thomas is having a washdown and Armand is helping Willa load her tender with coal. Rose Tui (a coal gondola) notices the pair coming down on Willa's track and urges her to clear the track. Willa does so before Armand is ready. Falling off her tender, Armand takes hold of the coaling plant's release chain and coal falls out all over Danielle, covering her in a coat of black dust. Her new appearance amuses Thomas and Armand but Danielle, in rage, splatters them in oil and shoves Taylor off the track.

Meanwhile Yaniv and Evan decide to race on the mainline instead as it is a double-track and has less turns than Thomas's branchline. Yaniv wins by a default as Evan took a wrong track and ended up in the center of Sodor instead of England. The two agree to have a rerun next morning.

The next morning Danielle, still in a foul mood, confronts Thomas, Little Engine, Armand and Willa about being steam engines. The four explain to her that steam engines are more fascinating than diesel engines. During the conversation, Evil Diesel oils up and seduces Danielle into accompanying him to the Dieselworks where, he explains, that she'll be more welcome there. The four steam engines try to convince her that Diesel is a liar and a trickster, but she ignores them. Little Engine chases after them but is forced to reverse when Yaniv, and Evan come barrelling into the yard finishing their race. By the time the tracks are clear for the steam engines, Danielle and Diesel are long gone.

Some time later Thomas and the kids visit Little Engine's railway. Diesel comes along as well to the invitation of Danielle and to the suspicion of the steam engines. As the kids have no residence in Piney Vale they have to sleep as engines, but the yards aren't big enough to accomadate everyone. So some of the kids sleep in yards out of the valley and some sleep in the yards in the valley. The next day a very long train is called to be taken into the valley. Willa is asigned to the task but is faced with the problem of getting up the steep mountain grades. Armand offers to help and the two double-head the long train, with Tui and Katherine (a caboose) tagging along, along the track and up the steep slopes.

At the top of the mountain the two stop to rest and to pin down the brakes before the trip down. However Danielle comes up behind the train and starts arguing with Kat and Tui. Finally losing her patience, Danielle bashes into the train sending it down the other side before Armand and Willa could even start to pin the brakes. Kat tries to stop the train but is disconnected from the train due to a faulty coupling. Willa and Armand, as humans and trapped in Tui, try all sorts of tricks to stop the runaway but all prove to be either dangerous or unsuccessful. Yaniv comes across them and offers to race ahead and warn the others in the valley. Seconds later Evan appears and tries to stop the train himself, but his rubber tires fail to grip the steel rails and his hi-railers just slide as he is pushed by the runaway train. At a bend on the mountain side, he flies off the edge and lands on Yaniv who carries him to the next station where they warn the other engines about the runaway. Little Engine and Thomas head to the mountain to see what they can do. At the foot of the mountain they meet the runaway and chase after it. Coupling up to Tui, Thomas and Little Engine put all their strength into pulling the train to a halt. At the last minute, Tui disconnects herself from the rest of the train before the runaway flies off the rails and crashes in a spectacular fashion.

Moments later Danielle and Diesel arrive. Danielle is horrified by what she nearly did to Willa, Tui and Armand. Everyone almost immediately puts the blame on her until she reveals that she had been told that the runaway wouldn't cause any harm, leading all eyes towards Diesel. The engines apprehend Diesel and put him in the back of the shed. Thomas gives Danielle a good-talking to concerning railway safety and for once she does not react in a negative way. Armand then explains that diesels have a tendency to get angry easily, much of the cause being the fuel. Everyone offers Danielle a supply of waste vegetable oil as not only a means to reduce the anger issues, but to also reduce polution. Afterwards Danielle is a better engine, though most of the kids get hungry whenever they are around her and smell at her.

Kids

 * Willa
 * Danielle
 * Alisa
 * Rose Tui
 * Katherine
 * Sophia
 * Thea
 * Sabine
 * Alana
 * Yaniv
 * Armand
 * Gabriel
 * Taylor
 * Evan
 * Eli
 * Dakota

Trains

 * Thomas the Tank Engine
 * Little Engine
 * Evil Diesel
 * Spencer
 * New Engine
 * Strong Engine
 * Shiny Engine
 * Freight Train

Songs

 * Working Together (2 versions)

Trivia

 * The train costume designs were all inspired by various costume designs for the train characters in the musical Starlight Express.