The Maritime Line is very popular with railway enthusiasts owing to the large numbers of heritage locomotives that work there. Many of them also bring cameras and video cameras too, so they can film what they see going by and show the pictures and videos to friends and family. Or, failing that, upload it to YouTube. Whilst it has led to a few question marks as to whether rights surrounding filming apply to railway equipment, the engines themselves have different views about being filmed.

Some, such as Charles, enjoy the attention they get from the cameras. He feels it is only right and proper people are filming diesel locomotives for posterity, given how they often got the cold shoulder back in steam days. Others, such as Porter, fear being filmed will distract him from his work at the dockside.

Around that time, Fergus and Tempest Shadow were visiting from their usual base in Darlington, helping out at Lighthouse Quarry. Unlike some engines, Fergus was happy to be filmed- provided visitors were following all the rules, of course. "We appreciate the views!" he would say. "But stay a safe distance away and keep off the tracks. Get it right!"

Most railway enthusiasts do follow all the rules and respect the engines, as they realise that engines are large and heavy pieces of machinery. They cannot easily slow down and stop, and could severely injure or even kill someone who got hit.

Most railway enthusiasts appreciate this. Sadly, there are some bad eggs who think the rules do not apply to them. And this is a problem, as all it takes is for a few bad eggs to ruin the fun of everybody else, as anybody who follows the railtour scene will be able to testify.

Some stand too close to the line, or do daft things like climbing up signal poles to get a better view. One even stood on the level crossing, nearly causing an accident. Sophie and Pipp had not been very happy with him.

One day, one of these bad eggs, a teenage railway enthusiast, arrived at Lighthouse Quarry. Lighthouse Quarry had recently allowed filming via permit, which had to be secured from the foreman's office. There were a limited number of these, so the foreman knew precisely how many trainspotters were on site at any one time. Fergus and the other engines didn't mind, provided the trainspotters stayed a safe distance away. "Do it right!" Fergus would remind them, sometime ad nauseam.

The teenager secured a filming permit, and was then taken to the safety briefing. Tempest Shadow quickly filled him in. "Ensure you stay a safe distance from the track," she said, "and avoid the use of flash bulbs, as these can startle and blind engine crews. Always obey any instructions given to you by a member of staff. And most importantly of all- do it right. If a location feels unsafe, it probably is, so move to a new spot and always watch for vehicles moving."

"Understood!" the teenager said. He set up his camera to record some shunting moves, keeping a safe distance away. Unfortunately, nobody knew that this was a ruse. He had other ideas. Terrible, dangerous ideas.

As I alluded to earlier, railway enthuisasts often upload footage they have recorded to platforms such as YouTube and TikTok. Whilst this activity in and out of itself is harmless, people hunting for views can be very dangerous, as they often disregard common sense.

The teenager was one of these people. His social media presence was not as big as some of his contemporaries, and as such he had plans to make his channel go big- just not in a good way. He rubbed his hands with glee. "If this works, I'll be bigger than Chris Eden-Green and Geoff Marshall combined!" he said, smugly.

"Where did these dodgems come from?" Sunny asked.

"We got them delivered for the amusement park," Izzy said. "Would you like to test them?"

"I guess," Sunny said, before hopping into one.

Hitch was manning the stand. "Remember everybody!" he said. "Drive sensibly, and try to avoid spinning the cars. Keep to the speed limits, and ensure you drive safely."

"I thought crashing into each other was the point!" said a passenger.

"OK, it is," Hitch said. "But you must crash into each other safely. Drive sensibly and try to avoid sending people home with concussions, OK?"

He hit the start button, and with the ring of a bell the cars were underway. They whizzed about and slammed into one another, sending cars flying and bouncing about.

"Hey, this is fun!" Sunny smiled. "Reminds me of my visits to Paignton Pier!"

"Did you go there often?" Izzy asked.

"Yeah, sometimes," Sunny replied. "But that's all in the past no- HEY! WATCH IT!"

One car slammed into her and set her spinning, before she slammed into a wall. "How do I reverse this thing?"

Izzy slammed into another car and span it round. "Like a record, baby!" she said.

Suddenly, another series of collisions signalled the end of the run, and people started jumping out- before Hitch had sounded the bell.

"Get back in your vehicles!" he shouted. "I haven't said it's safe to move!"

Sunny sighed. "It's always annoying when people decide the rules don't apply to them," she said. "They ruin the fun for everybody else, and it's always tedious educating them on proper safety."

Sunny had no way of knowing it, but her words perfectly described what the teenager was doing at that exact moment. He started breaking the rules on purpose. He set his camera up too close to the track, causing Fergus to whistle at him. "Move that camera back!" he snapped. "You're far too close!"

"Sorry!" the teenager replied, although in reality he wasn't.

So, he set his camera up right next to the loader- with predictable results. "Do it right!" Fergus said to him. "You're far too close to the loader! What if a rock hit you?"

"Whoops! I guess I'm too close!" the teenager said.

Tempest rolled her eyes. "You sure are. Move back, now."

Truth be told she was beginning to have her doubts about the teenager, and when they went to shunt some loaded trucks to the main yard in Falmouth she raised this with Fergus.

"I'm not convinced our visitor is all that interested in following the rules," she said.

Fergus wasn't too worried, though. "I think he's just eager," he said. "We were all like that once."

"But what if he gets hurt?" Tempest asked.

Sophie then arrived to pick up the trucks. "What's going on?" she asked.

"There's this kid in the quarry who's filming," Tempest explained. "We've had to correct him on rules procedure at least twice now. Haven't had to do that in a long time."

Pipp popped her head out of the cab. "That is concerning. Speaking as somebody who does a lot of filming, I always make sure there is plenty of space and no obstacles around me when filming. Don't want to bash into some buffers whilst talking, that's for sure!"

"Or drop down into a mine," Fergus added.

"Or role into an ocean because you passed a danger sign," Tempest added. "Come on, Fergus. Let's get this lot taken to the Quarry."

As Fergus rumbled back into Lighthouse Quarry with his empties, he suddenly felt himself lurch in the wrong direction. "I don't think we're meant to be going into this siding!" he said.

Tempest had spotted the problem, and slammed on the brakes. "This siding has stock in it!" she shouted. The brake blocks screeched as they tried to slow down, but it was too late. Fergus slammed into the parked vans and came to an abrupt stop.

"Are you alright?" he asked Tempest.

Tempest groaned. "I think so. But- OI! GET BACK HERE!"

The teenager was making a run for it! Luckily, security staff intercepted him and dragged him back to the quarry itself.

"I didn't do anything!" the teenager said. "Get your hands off me!"

"The security camera suggests otherwise," said a member of staff. The video he was playing showed the teenager changing some points when nobody was looking, then positioning his camera with a clear view of the crash.

"You caused the crash on purpose!" Fergus said. "But why?"

"So I could get popular online!" he said. "Train crashes always do very well for views!"

Tempest was furious. "So, let me get this straight," she said, her voice betraying a tranquil fury. "You deliberately caused an accident... all for views?"

"Yes."

"Social media presence is no excuse for breaking laws and compromising safety," said Pipp, who had suddenly arrived. "I know I sometimes look like a vapid airhead, but safety rules are paramount. What you did was against the law, and I'm certain the Judge will find your reasoning interesting."

The teenager was later sentenced to three years in a Young Offenders Institution, as he was not yet 18. For a time, the quarry decided to remove permits until they felt they could trust trainspotters again. Proof that all it takes to ruin everybody's fun is the actions of one bad apple.

Author's Note

This chapter is loosely based on a Thomas and Friends fan episode of the same name, which itself is based on an incident where a railfan intentionally caused a derailment with the intent to film it. Safety on railways is always paramount, which is why it is infuriating when people decide they know better. Whilst the news is often filled with horror stories of the lengths people will go to in order to film Flying Scotsman (including walking on active railway lines to get better shots), I've seen a fair share of idiocy on heritage railways too. So always be safe-remember, all it takes is one accident for everything to be lost.