GWR Duck

"He's jealous because you look smart with those bright letters 'GWR' on your side. What do they stand for?" "Great Western Railway. That's where I came from." "I thought they stood for Going Wrong Regularly!"

- Mavis, Duck and Diesel

GWR Duck is a magazine story.

Plot
One night, a storm sends waves crashing over the track at a seaside station on Duck's Branch Line. When Duck goes to stop at the station the next day, he finds himself slipping on wet seaweed. Duck's wheels lock as he slides forwards, out of control, straight into a set of buffers. Duck tries to back to the station, but his brakes have jammed on. Duck is stuck until some engineers arrive to free his brakes. But that's only the start of the trouble for Duck.

The next day, Duck is crossing the yard when Diesel races by, blasting his horn rudely. Duck tries to whistle back, but his whistle makes a strange squeaky sound. Duck is told he will have to stay in the yard shunting trucks until his whistle can be fixed. Then, his coupling hook snaps, causing his trucks to roll away to a halt. Duck thinks things can't possibly get worse, but one of his connecting rods breaks as well. The Fat Controller tells Duck he will have to go to the works to be fixed, but Diesel suggests Duck should be sent to the scrapyard instead. Mavis overhears Diesel's snide remark and tells Duck that he's just jealous of the smart "GWR" on his side and she asks what they stand for. Duck tells her, but Diesel says he thought it stood for 'Going Wrong Regularly'.

Duck spends a whole week at the works. Then, Diesel breaks down and goes for repairs. While he is away, Duck does all of Diesel's jobs. Duck feels like a really useful engine again and even more so when the Fat Controller thanks him in front of Diesel and all the other engines. Mavis quips that GWR should stand for 'Going Well Really' which, she points out, is more than Diesel has managed recently.

Characters

 * Duck
 * Diesel
 * Mavis
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Thomas