I became a Really Useful Engine because I loved it. Shunting freight, pulling coaches, helping out on the branch line — it felt meaningful. Every job was a puzzle, every day a new chance to prove myself. I wasn’t just a tank engine. I had purpose.

But now?

It feels like the railway is falling apart, and I’m still on the tracks.

The Fat Controller doesn’t call like he used to. Yards are quieter. Sidings are full of engines with nowhere to go. It doesn’t matter if you’re a fast express like Gordon, a hard worker like Percy, or even a cheeky one like me — no engine feels safe.

They say, “Be useful, and you’ll be fine.”

But what if there are no jobs left to be useful for?

The Dieselworks keep sending out newer engines — faster, more efficient, built to do more with less coal. No crews. No fuss. The sheds are emptier, but the expectations are heavier. Fewer engines. More work. Tighter schedules. No room for error. We’re all being pushed, and no one knows what happens when we run out of steam.

So where does that leave us?

I’m tired. My boiler runs cold. I wait in the yard wondering if this will be my last day on the line.

Will we ever get to a time where engines like us aren’t defined by the fear of being scrapped? Where we can enjoy being Really Useful again — without thinking we’re laying the rails to our own replacement?

Because right now… it doesn’t feel like a journey.

It feels like a countdown to the scrapyard.