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DEAR FRIENDS,
Back in May 1945, when the first of my father's books, The ¢ Th hres
Railway Engines, was published, it certainly wouldn't have occur le ri
my not-quite-five-year-old mind that I would be writing a foreword fo or
a collection of my own stories 60-plus years later. Bs r oe
Even a mere six years later, when, at Great Yarmouth on ay Aug us ist 2 |
apie which became the prototype for Toby, I was no wiser. What the
August evening may have done was to give me the beginnings of a
of how and why stories are conceived and written, and perhaps i it vi
then that the first seeds of this book were sown. But it was another fiy
years before I announced to a schoolfriend that I wanted to write or
living, and still longer before my initial efforts turned into anything that
could be published. ; q |
In 1982, busy with the research for a magazine article, I visited one of |
Britain's many heritage railways. During a conversation with an engine ; |
driver, he made the connection between my surname and Thomas. a
“Why don’t you carry on writing the stories?” he queried.
“One of the reasons why father gave up,” I replied, “Is that he felt Pr 7
was running out of ideas. Well, he’s forgotten more about railways than 1S |
know, so what chance does that give me?” -
“No problem,” he said. “I can give you an idea — it happened here only
last week.”
So he did, and I went away and thought about it. Eventually I decided
to see what I could do. I'd never written a Thomas story and thought ie |
might be interesting to try. Besides, my son Richard had, over the last |
few months, heard all of my father’s stories at bedtime three or four times:
over, and I felt like a change even if he didn’t!
Thus Triple-Header was born. It worked fairly well, so over the next
couple of months I put together another three stories, all based on ideas
taken from my railway reading. Then, having concluded my writing
exercise reasonably satisfactorily, I put the whole lot to one side.
The following March, my parents came to stay, and, during a lull while
we awaited their taxi home, I produced the stories as a talking point.
“Do Kaye & Ward (as my father’s publishers were then known) know
about these?” my father asked.
“Good heavens no, why should they?” was my reply.
He suggested that I send them to his editor, who duly presented them
at their next production meeting, where they seem to have been greeted
with what the popular press now calls acclaim. What they all knew, and
I did not, was that Britt Allcroft’s first TV series was due to air in October
1984 — for Kaye & Ward to have a brand new addition to the Series before
then was most timely.
Whatever, it was certainly a breakthrough so far as I was concerned.
Over the following years until 1995 there were 14 new titles, bringing
the Railway Series to a total of 40. With the 2007 publication of Thomas
and Victoria, it has reached 41.
I am delighted to welcome this collection of my stories. It is similar
in style to the volume produced in recent years of my father’s stories, but
has one notable difference: his used work by four different illustrators
whereas this uses only one, Clive Spong, whose work is, I think, superb
and who has already ‘done’ more Railway Series books than anyone else.
Any children’s writer knows how important illustration is, and I
commend his work.
Compiling the tales themselves over the years has taken me to many
places and been a thoroughly enjoyable exercise. | hope that the reading
of them will be just as much fun.
‘THE AUTHOR
gas meee = THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION SFE pene ypmaey,
Meet the Engines
any of the characters in Christopher Awdry’s stortes appeared in the first 26 books of
the Railway Series, which were written by the Reverend W. Awdry and published in
one volume as Thomas the Tank Engine: The Complete Collection. Here's a recap of
some of the famous faces who you will meet again in these pages.
Steam Engines and Rolling Stock
Thomas
Tank engine Thomas ts a cheeky fellow, with a strong sense of his own importance
to the Fat Controller's Railway. But his heart is in the right place, and he likes to
work hard — when he isn’t being cheeky, or sulking about the lack of respect he
gets from some of the bigger engines.
He used to work at Vicarstown, fetching coaches for the big engines, but after he rescued
James in Thomas and the Breakdown Train he was given his own branch line.
Annie and Clarabel
Thomas's coaches are his most loyal friends, but they aren’t afraid to give hima
talking-to when he gets too big for his buffers!
Annie always travels immediately behind Thomas, while Clarabel, who can
carry luggage and a guard, goes at the back of the train.
Gordon
Gordon is a big, powerful engine — and doesn’t he know it! He likes to boast, and
he can be patronising to smaller engines. His arrogance sometimes gets him
teased, but fortunately he usually recovers from his fits of pique, given time.
He really is the fastest engine on Sodor, and works hard at his main job of pulling the Express.
Percy
Percy is the youngest and smallest of the major characters in the Railway Series.
According to Thomas, Percy is “a green caterpillar with red stripes”, but he’s also
a very Useful little engine who works hard pulling goods trucks on Thomas's
branch line. Thomas knows this and, really, they are the best of friends.
peer peo RR MEET THE ENGINES BIE opens eer,
James
James is probably the most self-satisfied of all the engines. He sees his sparkling
red coat and brass dome as a sign of how special he is.
However, James is definitely fallible, and on one occasion had to be fixed with
a bootlace when he rattled his coaches about so bad-temperedly that a brake pipe burst. The
others remind him of incidents like this when they want to keep him in line.
Henry
Henry is one of the largest engines on Sodor, but not quite as powerful as
Gordon. In the past, he was often ill, until he was rebuilt and given a new and
larger firebox.
Henry's special responsibility is the Flying Kipper, an overnight express which takes fish from
Tidmouth to the Mainland. He also sometimes pulls the Express when Gordon is not available.
Edward
Not only is Edward the oldest engine on the Fat Controller's Railway, he actually
helped build it. So these days he’s getting a bit old and clanky, but he still
manages to run his own branch line, with the help of BoCo the diesel.
Sometimes the more vigorous engines are rude to Edward, but his kindness and patience
bring everyone around in the end.
Toby
Toby is a tram engine, with distinctive cowcatchers and sideplates that make him
seem to glide along the rails (of course he does have wheels, underneath!) He is
often seen with his coach, Henrietta. Toby works on Thomas's branch line, where
his experience and calmness make him a valuable source of advice.
Donald and Douglas
These Scottish twins were due to be scrapped when the Fat Controller
ordered a new engine for his Railway. The twins’ crews couldn't bear
to save only one engine, so they both came to Sodor, where they
proved themselves to be Really Useful Engines.
The Twins used to enjoy impersonating each other, to the great confusion of other engines
and railway people, but the Fat Controller put a stop to that by having nameplates attached to
their boilers!
oo
i
,h
agi
hot
is
| =a ee THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION SOON ‘pe ‘ay
Duck
Duck is a Great Western Engine who came to Sodor to take Percy’s place pulling
goods trucks at Tidmouth station. He has fond memories of his time on the Other
Railway, and considers that there are two ways of doing things, “the Great Western
Way or the wrong way .
Bill and Ben
Sodor’s other twin engines are just as naughty as the first pair, and
even cheekier, being smaller and younger than Donald and Douglas.
As they are identical, they particularly enjoy making other engines
think that there is only one of them, who is able to be in two places at once.
Bill and Ben shunt trucks for the Sodor China Clay Company, under the watchful gaze of
Edward and BoCo.
Diesels
Daisy
Daisy came to Sodor while Thomas was being repaired. At first she refused to
settle down to work, claiming she was too “highly sprung” for heavy jobs. But
since then she has begun to work hard on Thomas's branch line.
Mavis
Mavis is a diesel who shunts trucks at the Ffarquhar stone quarry. Her sideplates
and cowcatcher make her look a little bit like Toby, who is her biggest friend
among the engines. When he is busy, she sometimes helps him.
BoCo
BoCo had a difficult introduction to the Fat Controller’s Railway when Bill and
Ben pulled their ewins trick on him and called him a “diseasel”. Fortunately
BoCo’'s easygoing nature allowed him to make light of their teasing, and he
settled down to become known as one of the kindest engines on Sodor.
i
pica premees Rene MEET THE ENGINES
Narrow Gauge Engines
Off the Tracks
The Fat Controller
The Fat Controller (Sir
Topham Hatt, to you and
me!) is in charge of the
main railway on Sodor. He takes a close
interest in the welfare of his engines,
and guides their moral development as
a parent would. Praise from the Fat
Controller is the ultimate achievement
for any hardworking engine.
Harold
Harold is Sodor’s only
known helicopter. He
speaks in a clipped sort of
way, and uses words like “wizard”.
Skarloey, Rheneas, Sir Handel,
Peter Sam, Rusty and Duncan
These six little engines work on the Skarloey Railway, which
serves the slate works in central Sodor. Skarloey and Rheneas
are the elders of the group, having joined the railway in
1865. Later, Peter Sam and Sir Handel were brought across
from the mid-Sodor Railway. They were followed by Rusty
the Diesel and the bad-tempered Duncan.
Terence is a tractor who
is very proud of his
caterpillar tracks which,
he says, mean he can go anywhere.
Trevor
Trevor is a kindly old
traction engine who lives
in the Wellsworth
vicarage orchard and enjoys giving
rides to children.
THE RAILWAY SERIES NO. 27
Keeally Useful Engines
(uA. nes
ie
CHRISTOPHER AWDRY
with illustrations by
CLIVE SPONG
FOREWORD
DEAR FRIENDS,
[ am happy to say that Thomas and his friends are still
at work, trying as hard as ever to prove themselves to be
Really Useful Engines. Sadly my father is no longer able to
be involved with the Region’s affairs, but it is with
grateful thanks that I would like to dedicate this book to
him, the person who began it all.
‘THE AUTHOR
=a ee THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION SFOS rece way,
4 ty REALLY USEFUL ENGINES SO ‘aaa aa
Stop Thief! |
By the time they were
through the tunnel the train
_ "Tuomas stood at Ffarquhar,
was running nicely. Road and
the top station of his branch j .
railway were beside each other
line. He had brought round
here, with only a stream
Annie and Clarabel after the
between them. Thomas
rning journey and wa
me 8) oy ~ remembered his race with
enjoying a short rest before Bertie the Bus: he had only
the run back down the valley. won because he could go through the hill, while Bertie had to follow the
His Driver and Fireman | road over the top.
stood beside his cab talking to the Guard who had brought startling news. : A flash of colour on the road ahead caught his eye. He tried to go faster
“Did you know that the Stationmaster was burgled last night?” the to look more closely.
Guard was asking. “Steady, Thomas,” said his Driver. “There’s plenty of time.”
Thomas’s Driver shook his head. “Can’t we get closer to that
“You don’t say!” he exclaimed. “I didn’t know he had anything that would car?” panted Thomas. “It
looks like the Stationmaster’s
be worth stealing.”
“He’s won cups for gardening,” explained the Fireman. “All taken, and Caf tO Me.
‘ale
“Lots of cars look like that,”
then the scoundrels had the q
‘s laughed his Driver, but he
cheek to pinch his car to carry :
bes, : opened the regulator and the
them away in! Bs P 6 y
TRS ; iy began to draw level.
Not that new one he’s so .
ae Ma There were two men in the car. They waved when they saw Thomas, and
proud of?” said the Driver.
Be i tried to go faster.
The Guard nodded, and at i : ripe i i
i “That’s the car all right, Thomas,” said the Fireman, “and those two must
that moment the signal rose 4
be the thieves. But we can’t stop them, and they'll be gone long before the
to show that the line was clear. . ile
% next station.
Che Driver and Fireman climbed into Thomas’s cab. The Guard blew his 4
“We need pencil, paper and something to put a note in,” said the Driver.
whistle, waved his green flag and got into Clarabel as Thomas set off.
Se Pe
rey preys THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION B08 ape gpa yremmey mae HUE REALLY USEFUL ENGINES Fd pay peewee
“We'll throw a message out at “Thomas showed how valuable
the next signalbox.” he is to the smooth running of
Quickly he wrote the note My Railway. I am sure you
and they put it in the will all agree that today he has
5, once again proved himself to
Fireman’s empty lunch-tin.
be a Really Useful Engine.”
Then, drawing ahead of the
car, Thomas whistled to
attract the Signalman’s
attention. They slowed down so that the Fireman could throw the box up
to him, and as they went past both the Driver and the Fireman shouted
“POLICE!” at the top of their voices.
By now the stolen car had gone well ahead, and Thomas did not see it
again. But the Signalman .
telephoned police headquarters Svev
at once, and the thieves were
stopped at a road block about
ten miles further on.
That afternoon, the Fat
Controller travelled in Annie
| to Ffarquhar. When he got
there he and the Stationmaster climbed onto a porters trolley. They told the
passengers the whole story, and the Stationmaster thanked Thomas, his
Driver and his Fireman for their prompt action.
The passengers cheered loudly, and they cheered even more when they
| mie :
heard that the Stationmaster’s gardening cups had all been found
’ undamaged in a sack in the boot of the car
“A long time ago,” said the Fat Controller, holding up his hand for silence,
a
— OO ee
wana —p- THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION 5 at
Mind that Bike
Percy had never known Tom
Tipper to be anything but
cheerful. Tom was the
postman at Ffarquhar, and
every morning he would have
a cheery word for Percy as he
helped to load the mailbags
on to the train. Percy then
took them to the town where there was a big office for sorting the letters
But one morning, Tom wasn’t there. A postman they didn’t know just
dumped the bags on the platform and cycled off without stopping to help.
What's happened to Tom?” wondered Percy’s Driver.
“And his old van,” added | Ee
te Os ae ee eee
the Fireman. “No wonder the
new chap looks fed up.
Carrying mailbags on a bike
would make anyone glum.”
Tom was soon back, but
without his yan. During his
illness it had been decided
that the van was too expensive to run. P
oor Tom was no longer cheerful and
load the train.
now he had no time to help
Il wish I could cheer him up, sighed Percy the Small Engine
One day a man f tacl f
day a man from the station office came to tell Tom that some papers
needed signing.
— —-- + -——— as ie Rs
Se tnd eet
——a 2 REALLY USEFUL ENGINES OFA ween aoe
“Oh dear,” he said
anxiously. “This is going to
make me very late.”
He asked Percy to keep an
eye on his bicycle while he
was gone, and propped it
carefully against the fence
near the platform ramp. He
was gone a long time, and had not returned when Percy was ready to go.
Some boys were playing on the platform and Percy was worried.
“Sorry, Percy,” said his Driver. “We must be off — time and the Fat
Controller wait for no man.”
In the flurry of starting,
no one noticed that one of
the boys had picked up Tom’s
bicycle. He pedalled too far
along the platform, and before
he could stop, ran out of
control down the ramp. He
reached the bottom just as
Percy started away. Fortunately, the boy fell clear just in time, but the
bicycle swerved beneath Percy’s wheels and disappeared with a crunch.
Percy’s Driver stopped the train quickly and they extracted the remains,
but the red bicycle was beyond repair. Tom came running, and he, the
Driver, the Stationmaster and the Guard all told the boys what bad boys
they were.
“I’m sorry Mr. Tipper,” apologised Percy.
ee
le
an
pmccpy pou WRlp! THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEw COLLECTION co
“Never mind, Percy,” said
the postman. “It wasn’t your
fault, and I never liked that
bike much anyway.”
When the Fat Controller
heard about the accident he
ordered that Tom should be
given a new bicycle at once.
But the next morning, when Percy arrived at Ffarquhar he saw a brand
new red van standing in the yard beside the ruins of the bicycle. Close by
stood Tom Tipper, beaming
~.> 5 gees _— Te ree
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1. pace
. . Bt onli
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ee
from ear to ear.
“That accident did me a
_Ee 3 good turn, Percy,” he smiled,
SAC | E §=6“and now my Chief has
—— fi ame apn : _ decided to let me have a new
Tree : ia san after all.
ite HM TNT ets, = “So I did help,” said Percy
to himself when Tom had gone. “By accident, as you might say.”
somone meme Me REALLY USEFUL ENGINES EH open geen
Fish
Tue fishermen who used the
port near the Big Station were
bringing in more fish than
ever before. Each day the
sheds on the quayside were
piled high with boxes. Much
of this extra fish had to travel
by rail, so the trains which
Henry and the other engines had to pull became heavier.
One night a special load of fish was ordered, and the Fat Controller
decided that extra vans must be added to the train that the men called “The
Flying Kipper’.
The only spare vans that they could find were old ones that had been
standing unused on a siding
for some time. Workmen soon
cleaned them and they were
added to the end of the train.
Henry grumbled about it, but
there was nothing to be done.
“You ll just have to put up
with it, Henry,” said his
Driver. “At least the extra load will mean we can have a banker up
Gordon's Hill.”
Duck often waited at Edward's station so that he could help heavy trains
by pushing them from behind.
rig New COLLECTION Pe mpea pcan
nd THOMAS THE TANI ENGINI
Tonight, Henry made good
progress 1n spite of his extra
load. When they reached
Edward's station, his Driver
stopped the train beyond the
platform. Then, using Henry's
whistle, he gave the special
signal that meant that he
wanted help getting up the hill.
‘ whistled Henry. “I need a banker, please.
“Peep pip peep peep,
“Peep peep,” replied Duck. “I shan’t be long.”
Duck buffered gently up
to Henry’s train. He was not
coupled on, so Henry could
run on without stopping
when they reached the top
of the hill.
“Ready,” Duck whistled.
“Push hard, push hard,”
puffed Henry.
“We're doing it, we're doing it,” replied Duck.
Henry was pulling harder than he thought he was. It was a dark night,
and Duck felt the weight on his buffers slacken. Because of the dark, he
could not see that Henry had taken the train on his own and was slowly
drawing ahead.
All trains carry a red lamp on the final vehicle to show that che train is
complete. This is called a tail-lamp. Duck’s Driver began to get con phiod:
ecm omens Die REALLY USEFUL ENGINES |
“There’s no sign of a tail-
lamp,” he said. “But we must
keep going.”
Duck whistled, but there
was no reply from Henry.
Henry, meanwhile, was
going well, but his train
seemed to be getting heavier.
He had to keep moving, but he could not avoid slowing down.
Suddenly, from behind him, there came a splintering crash. Duck’s front
bent and pieces of broken wood began to fall on him, one of them denting
his funnel. He stopped quickly, and Henry, feeling the jolt, stopped too,
just beyond the top of the hill.
Over Gordon’s Hill, a smell of fish hung on the air. By the light of
torches the Drivers and Firemen tried to work out what had happened,
while the Guard ran back down the hill to warn the Signalman.
When daylight came it was
all too obvious. The lamp-iron
on the old van which should
have held the tail-lamp had
broken, and the lamp had
fallen off at the bottom of the
hill. The van had been
invisible in the darkness.
“Not your fault, Duck,” said the Fat Controller. “That lamp-iron should
have been checked. Don’t worry, we'll soon have your funnel and front
straightened out.”
IND
We
I
t
as
THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE New COLLECTION WE era pet
“Thank you, Sir,” said Duck
sadly. “Thomas told me once
to be careful about fish. He
was right, Sir, wasn't he?”
5 : ~, “2 ee Y i
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prmeey maven OS REALLY USEFUL ENGINES HRB pecan ngreey
Triple-Meader
GorDON was resting ina
siding. It was a hot day, and
the Express had been heavy.
“I get so out of breath,” he
complained, “but nobody
cares — they just say I'll be all
right after a rest.”
“Get the Fat Controller to
give you tanks and a bunker,” suggested Thomas cheekily. “You'll feel like
a new engine. We tank engines never get out of breath, you know.”
Perhaps it was lucky for Thomas that poor Gordon hadn't the energy to
make any reply.
The men worked hard on Gordon, but they couldn’t make him better.
“You need new tubes, Gordon,” they said. “You'll have to go to the
Works to have them fitted.”
While Gordon was being
mended Henry pulled the
y i
\ \i
‘Ui? * = ‘ )
ann |
&, o
a,
a ail 1 Express. But one morning,
just before Gordon was due
back, Henry was ill too.
“We've no spare engine
except Thomas,’ the Inspector
told the Fat Controller, “but he can’t pull the train on his own.”
“Could Percy help?” asked the Fat Controller.
The Inspector shook his head.
Pe ie
na dk he re hel
aa ee THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE New COLLECTION RF poem ey
“The two of them with
Duck might manage,” he
suggested. “It’s only as far as
the Works — they re sure to
have a spare engine there.”
So the three tank engines
were coupled together —
Thomas nearest the train,
Duck in the middle and Percy at the front. Then, slowly, they started.
“Come on, come on,” fussed Percy importantly.
“We're doing it, we're doing it,” puffed Duck.
“Pull harder, pull harder,” grumbled Thomas to the others.
The heavy train drew out of the platform. The engines couldn’t go as fast
as Gordon, but the passengers didn’t mind. They knew that Percy, Thomas
and Duck were doing their best.
Expresses are not like branch line trains. They don’t stop at all the little
stations, and the engines don’t have a chance to get their breath back. Soon,
the three began to feel tired.
They struggled valiantly up
Gordon’s Hill, but the strain
was beginning to show.
“I’m glad we didn’t stick
there,” thought Thomas.
“Gordon would never have let
us hear the last of it.”
But the hill proved too much for Percy. His Driver blew his whistle and
stopped the train.
spam reansy GSW. REALLY USeruL ENGINES SF geen wer
We can't take you off, Percy,” said Thomas’s Driver. “Do the best you
~ypeeeeee can to keep your brakes off.
It’s not far.”
This made things harder for
the other two, but they
struggled on gamely, twin
columns of steam shooting
high into the air.
“We're nearly there, we re
nearly there,” puffed Thomas and Duck together as they summoned a last
brave effort. Poor Percy had
no steam left to say anything.
They were just passing the
Works when Duck found he
could go no further. Thomas
could not pull the heavy train
on his own, and the cavalcade
came to a standstill a few yards
short of the station platform. And there, watching from the Works’ siding,
stood Gordon.
The Fat Controller, who
had been on the train, told
the three engines he was
proud of them.
“You did very well to get so
far,” he said, “and now you
deserve a rest.
a a
net th eS
Lt ee ue x eS
ene oem BEE THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE New COLLECTION Fl spc esse:
Duck, Percy and Thomas were uncoupled and a new engine t
As the tank engines moved wearily away, Gordon looked at Thomas and
smiled. Then he took three deep breaths and winked. He didn’t need to say
anything — Thomas knew exactly what he meant.
ook their place.
THE RAILWAY SERIES NO. 28
James and the Diesel Engines
CHRISTOPHER AWDRY
with illustrations by
CLIVE SPONG
FOREWORD
DEAR FRIENDS,
To hear James talk, sometimes you might have thought that
he ran the Fat Controller's Railway on his own. He certainly
needed no help from diesels — or so he imagined. The other
engines were more sensible, and realised that diesels could take
some of the weight off their own couplings. But now the Fat
Controller tells me that James has had a change of heart. These
stories tell you how it happened.
‘THE AUTHOR
THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE N
EW COLLECTION SPH epee epee
Old Stuck-Up
BoCo and Bear were proud of this, but James was not 1m
Tue Fat Controller preferred
steam engines on his railway,
but he found diesels useful
because they could pull either
coaches or trucks.
“You're versatile,” he would
say to them. “Real mixed-
traffic engines.”
pressed. He
liked these two diesels, but he treated all others with deep suspicion.
“Diesels don’t use coal
and water,” he would say darkly. “How can you
trust an engine who isn’t normal in his habits?”
Visiting diesels sometimes
boasted about how special
they were: usually BoCo and
Bear had to spend the next
day smoothing ruffled feelings.
One day a particularly
haughty diesel came from
the Other Railway. When the
visitor found that he was to share the Shed with steam engines he stopped
outside in disgust and refused to go any further.
“Why on earth does your Controller keep such out-of-date objects?” he
growled rudely. “Dirty, smoky, slow things. Ugh!”
He shuddered delicately.
eee JAMES AND THE DIESEL ENGINES 49? Soca
“On our Railway,” the
diesel continued loftily,
“steam engines are kept
strictly in their place and not
allowed on the main line
without special permission.” | o |
BoCo, who was showing the >
diesel round, lost patience. | oS ——=
. < LSS Ei ae iaied
“Stay outside then, 1 it
y en, if you’re so proud about it,” he said crossly. “I’m
going to join my friends.”
“T hope it’s cold tonigh i |
‘ 1 Y ~ 5 ss ”
| ght and he can’t start in the morning,” snorted
James. “At least someone might want to preserve us. Who'd need him?
Old Stuck-up!”
The engines were glad when morning came. They went to fetch their
trains as early as they could,
and the visitor was left alone.
“That's better,” he purred
to himself. “How can an
engine rest in all that hissing
and clanking?”
The cleaning equipment
and fuel supply were in the
part of the Shed that BoCo and Bear shared. Old Stuck-up was so full of
self-importance that he had forgotten he would need cleaning and re-fuelling
before he went home.
It was getting late when he remembered.
The Shed is empty,” he thought, “If I go now, no one will know I've been.”
——o THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION a pee ee AMES AND THE Diesen ENcines il spe gy
He scuttled forward quickly Crossed Lines
Too quickly! The rails wie |
Bear and BoCo h Most of the Fat Controller's
ad stood Were
oily and when the Visitor tried engines accepted diesels. ey, |
to stop, he couldn’t. James had never liked them. Ze
“Brakeblocks and buffers, “They're all right,” said : ry
I'm slipping!” he wailed, Henry. “Just mixed-traffic |
as his wheels locked and | engines like you and me.”
slithered. He shut his eyes as, with a despairing whoop of horror, he crashed “Mixed-up engines, you
into the wall at the end of the Shed. | mean, James grunted. “With
The diesel was not badly damaged, but a dreadful draught came through windows at each end how can they know if they’re coming or going?”
the hole in the wall. When the other engines came home they heard the “Toby has two cabs,” remarked Duck, “and he gets on all right.”
story from Douglas, who had cleared up the mess. “Toby's just a little engine,” scoffed James. “Tf an important engine like
“Ho, ho, ho,” chortled me didn’t know which way to turn, what would The Railway come to?”
Henry. “Old Stuck-up came All the engines agreed that James was becoming much too puffed up in
unstuck, did he? I say BoCo, his smokebox.
what is it the Fat Controller “Making out he’s royalty or something,” grumbled Henry. “It’s disgusting.”
calls you?” | “I knew an engine called King James,” remarked Duck, “in the old days,
“Versatile,” chuckled BoCo, at Paddington. King James I he was, but he didn’t swank about like that.”
“but that isn’t what he called “Och, dinna be telling
Stuck-up. I couldn’t hear all James that,” pleaded Donald.
he said, but I didn’t think it sounded very polite!” “It’s even mair of a misery
he’ll be makkin’ oor lives.”
“Exactly,” agreed Henry,
“but who's going to trim his
wheels for him?”
The engines tried all sorts
= 30h) — 35 —
THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION
of ideas, but nothing worked.
James grew so conceited that
the others were glad when he
was away. Even the coaches
twittered anxiously to each
other if they thought he was
going to pull them.
One day James came to the
Shed, fuming with rage.
“Shunting!” he snorted. “Where are Donald and Douglas? They should
be here for jobs like that.”
But the Twins were helping on Edward’s branch line, so James had to do
the work himself.
James's train had long
trucks called well-wagons.
These have bogie-wheels at
each end, with a low section
between them. They are used
to carry cars, tractors and
other heavy machinery.
The shunting should have
been easy, but James was cross and bumped the trucks.
“Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!” they cried. Some of them slipped their brakes on to
spite James. The weather was damp and misty too, so the shunting took a
long time.
At last, James had only two trucks to fetch before his train was ready.
Because of the mist, the Signalman sometimes found it hard to see what
yh
ae ee AMES AND THE DikseL ENGINGS .— =o
was happening. James's Driver
told him that James would
whistle when they had
collected all the trucks and
were clear of the points. They
had almost finished when
suddenly James heard a sharp
“peep peep” from another
engine close by.
The Signalman heard it too, and thought it was James saying he was
ready. He pulled the lever, setting the points for the main line.
But James wasn't ready. The points changed when one of the trucks
was halfway over them; one bogie went the right way, but the other was
diverted towards the main line. Before James realised it, the truck was
travelling sideways between the two lines. A signal stood right in its path.
“Stop!” squealed the truck, but it was too late. The signal toppled to the
ground with a crash, just missing James.
“That's torn it!” said
James's Driver. “The Fat
Ne pear
Controller won't like that.”
He didn't. He spoke
severely about it, because the
signal was important and its
loss was inconvenient.
James knew the accident
was not his fault, but he was unusually quiet in the Shed that evening. The
others were relieved.
THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION a —
“I suppose it must be
difficult to know which Way to
go when you've got two cabs,”
whispered a voice, “but to 20
two ways at once with only one
cab — that really is something!”
James pretended he hadn't
heard.
ee
a ee AMES AND THE DigseEL ENGIN |=
Fire-Engine
“FLYING Scotsman and my
brothers were all green,”
explained Gordon one night
in the Shed. “It was all very
well in its way, but now I
prefer my blue. It makes me
different, you see, and that’s
very suitable for an important
engine like me.”
“The engines on oor auld line used to be blue,” remembered Donald,
“but nae sae dark as we are. Dougie and me never were though — we had to
be black, sae blue makes a nice change.”
“T like my green too,”
agreed Henry. “I'd hate to be
red like James. People would
think I was a fire engine.”
“At least people can see me
coming,” retorted James. “I
don’t disappear into the
background like some engines
wf 7
I could mention. If it weren’t for the noise, you’d need a yellow and black
front like Mavis.”
Henry’s protests were drowned in the laughter of the other engines, and
he went to sleep wondering how to pay James back.
Henry was still cross next morning.
- THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION STO eae ie
“What can be wrong?
What can be wrong?” asked
the coaches anxiously as
Henry pulled noisily away
from the Big Station.
“Do come along, do come
along,” Henry snorted
impatiently.
They had a fast run, but it didn't improve Henry's temper. He bumped
the coaches when they reached the end of the line, and again when he
backed onto them for the return journey. He simmered angrily while the
Fireman fastened the coupling.
No one noticed a rattle from beneath Henry’s footplate as he snorted
away, and soon the train was Ape, =
Pag Peewe
oO => ‘ Sh, ie .
running well. : ee
“Hurry, hurry, hurry,”
puffed Henry. Faster and eae LA
faster they went. At last —_ a 1%
Henry began to feel better. \ yes wy ;
Suddenly he heard a crack
from below his cab.
“Look out!” shouted the Driver. He applied the brakes while the Fireman
scrambled forward to the footplate. He was just in time. Both men watched
in horror as a widening gap opened between Henry and his tender.
Henry stopped as soon as he could. The automatic brake halted his tender
and the train some way behind.
“We must drop Henry’s fire,” said the Driver urgently. “It will be
a ie ee AMES AND THE DIESEL ENGINES ==
dangerous to let him boil dry
now that we can't get more
water from the tender.”
The Fireman agreed.
“Sorry, old boy,” he said to
Henry. “Just when we'd got it
going nicely, too. But if you
hadn’t banged about so much
you wouldn't have broken your tender coupling.”
While the Fireman dealt with the fire, the Driver went back to tell
the Signalman what had happened. When he returned, he found Henry
completely hidden in a huge cloud of black smoke, which billowed out
from underneath his cab.
The Fireman emerged, choking.
“Henry's fire set the sleepers alight,” he spluttered. “You stay here — I’m
going to telephone the fire brigade.”
The Driver eased Henry clear of the blaze, and then Edward came to take
his train. Henry felt most uncomfortable.
Workmen made Henry a temporary coupling. They rejoined him to his
tender, and then the Driver
and the Fireman lit a new fire
and drove him gently home.
Edward, who had of course
seen everything, told the
others. They were careful what
they talked about in the Shed
that night.
pe ee ee THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION S000 a ay
As for Henry, he was touchy
on the subject of fires for some
time afterwards. But James
was quick to notice that from
then on Henry stopped
making rude remarks about
the colour of fire engines.
ae ee AMES AND THE Dieset ENGINES SBI peer gps
Deep Freeze
WINTER had come, and for
many days now had held
everything in its icy grip. The
countryside was frozen hard,
trees were white with frost,
and icicles hung from bridges
and water-columns. Luckily,
however, there was little snow.
“Too cold for that, thank goodness,” shivered James’s Driver, as he and
the Fireman huddled on the sheltered side of the cab. James had an open
footplate, and every day his crew came to work muffled to the eyebrows in
scarves and jerseys.
Sometimes water-columns froze too, and then the engines could not get
the water they needed. But
this never happened at the
Works station, and one day,
when the frost seemed harder
than ever, James's Driver
stopped him by the water-
column there.
“We'll give you a good
topping-up while we can,” he said. “There’s no telling when we might get
some more.”
James shivered as the icy water cascaded into his tender, but he knew his
Driver was right.
THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE New COLLECTION S008 pee epee,
(M/s ANK E
They filled James’s tank to
the brim, because the Fireman
forgot to tell the Driver to
turn the tap off. Water
overflowed on to James’s
tender, making him start to
shiver again.
“Right,” said the Fireman,
jumping down to the footplate. “Let’s be off — I want to warm myself up
shovelling coal.”
“We can’t go yet,” laughed the Driver. “They haven't finished loading the
luggage van.”
Well, I wish they’d hurry,” grumbled the Fireman, blowing on his
hands. “I’m frozen from standing on that tender.”
All engines have a tap called an injector. It allows the Driver or the
Fireman to transfer water from the tender to the boiler, and is very
important. Without it the water-level in the boiler could become too low
to make steam properly.
They had not gone far before James felt thirsty.
“I need a drink, please,” he
said to his Driver.
The Driver switched on
the injector, but nothing
happened. The Fireman tried
his duplicate; stil] nothing,
“I've got such a pain,”
groaned James,
i eee JAMES AND THE DIESEL ENGINES 7 7 Samm
“Your injector’s failed,” said
his Driver. “Blockage in the
pipe, most likely. We'll have
to stop and deal with your fire
—can't go on without water.”
“Don't set the sleepers on
fire,” pleaded James. “Henry
would never let me forget it.”
The Fireman laughed.
“You'll be all right if we just damp you down,” he said. “There’s no need
to throw the fire out, as Henry did.”
They stopped near a signalbox and James’s Driver asked the Signalman to
telephone for help.
The Works sent a diesel, whom James had never met, to help him.
“Rescued by a diesel,” he snorted disgustedly. “It’s degrading. I won't go!”
But he soon changed his
Wwe
<{F
mind, because now that his
fire was down his boiler was
cooling, and he could feel the
icy wind.
The diesel was friendly.
James was quiet at first, but
by the time they reached the
Works the diesel had won him over and the two of them were chatting like
old friends.
At the Works, James’s Fireman climbed on to the tender. He tried to
open the filler-cap, buc he couldn’t do it.
reerey cere eRe THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION SOUR ‘prey ‘aay
“There's your answer,
James,” he said. “Your filler-
cap’s frozen solid. That's
Great Little Engines
FZ
because the water overflowed.
Ice is stopping air from
getting into the tank, so the
injector can’t work. You'll be
all right when the ice melts.”
He was, and that wasn’t all. Thanks to his new friend from the Works
>
even James now admits that diesels can be Useful Engines too.
HRISTOPHER AWDRY
with olustrat
CLIVE SPONG
FOREWORD
DEAR FRIENDS,
Sir Handel has been helping on the Talyllyn Railway, ac
Tywyn, in Wales.“You could write a book about it,” he
said when I went to see him. Sir Handel was conceited
before he went: whatever would happen, I thought, if he
had a book all to himself? But some of his advencures were
too good to waste, so I mixed them with stories about the
other engines. That ought co keep everyone happy.
THE AUTHOR
Sas AN a
THE NEW COLLECTION SSE em Gray,
THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE:
pracy toc
Patience is a Virtue
Tue Thin Controller held a
letter in his hand. Six little
“Do you remember your
twin, Talyllyn?” he asked
Skarloey. “He is ill, so his
controller is short of an
engine. Now, I can't spare
anyone until Duke is mended, but I want to suggest to him that one of
us might...”
“Oh, Sir, please, Sir!” cried the engines excitedly.
The Thin Controller held his ears.
“You can’t all go,” he laughed. “I thought . . . Sir Handel.”
“Oh, Sir,” said Sir Handel happily.
A few days later Duke was taken to the Works. Sir Handel’s excitement
grew and grew.
“I hope he comes back quickly,” he said to anyone who would listen.
“Don't be so impatient,” his
Driver laughed. “There’s a lot
to be done first. Your repairs
took a long time, remember, | = a ' il, a]
and Duke is quite a bit older we i. — ak =ROVAN'S
than you.” (a mw) CHANCE ee
The weeks passed, and still
Duke didn’t come back.
engines watched him anxiously,
rere neome GREAT LITTLE ENGINES PEF amen spn
Sir Handel became more
and more impatient. One day
he was waiting with some
carriages at the bottom station
when Gordon arrived.
“T’ve been invited to
Wales,” Sir Handel told him
in an important tone of voice,
“but I can’t be spared until Duke is mended.”
“Quite right,” said Gordon. “It’s a great responsibility being indispensable.”
“Gordon says I'm ...er... insensible,” Sir Handel boasted to the others.
They were amused, but not impressed.
Summer came, and crowds of visitors came to the railway. Sometimes
extra coaches were needed to carry all the people. One day, Sir Handel’s train
was fuller than ever. When he
reached the top station he was
quite exhausted.
An enormous crowd was
waiting on the platform for
the last train home.
“They must have come on
earlier trains and stayed to
picnic by the lake,” said the Fireman. “Never mind, we'll manage all right.
It’s all downhill from here on.”
But at the station near the waterfall, the platform was full too.
“We need a shoehorn to get them all in!” exclaimed the Guard,
scratching his head. “Still. we'll have to do it somehow. Some of the
Ele — a
pee ew bet THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION .
passengers can travel] With m
in Beatrice.”
The passengers had enjoyed
their day in the hills, and
didn’t mind Standing if jt
meant they could get home.
They knew it would be fo,
only a short while and Sir
Handel would try hard to get them to Henry on time..
The Guard always checked tickets at the station by the waterfall. Today
it was a long job, and before he had even half finished, Sir Handel was
growing impatient.
“An insensible engine like me shouldn't keep Henry waiting like this!”
he fumed to his Driver.
“Can't be helped,” replied the Driver. “Henry will just have to wait — he’s
kept us at it before now.”
At last the Guard was ready. He blew his whistle, waved his green flag
and turned towards Beatrice.
“At last we're off, do come along, at last we’re off, do come along,” Sir
Handel snorted impatiently.
Quickly the train began to
move.
The Guard tried to board | By PA]
RAN: kg
Beatrice, but her doorway was : il pllil:
blocked by passengers. By the
time they had moved to let
him in, the train was out of
Spee meray BNE GREAT LITTLE ENGINES RP pee ey
the station and the Guard was left on the platform, jumping up and down
in frustration as the train chuffed quickly away.
Beatrice tried to stop, but
there was no one to put her
brakes on. The Guard blew
his whistle and waved a red
flag, but the line curved, and
Sit Handel couldn’t see or
hear him. Luckily, one of the
passengers knew what to do.
He pressed a button, and a buzzer sounded in Sir Handel’s cab. His Driver
braked hard and Sir Handel ground to a hale.
“Now what?” the Driver asked the Fireman. “Go and find out — maybe
we've left someone behind.”
They had, of course. They soon discovered who it was.
Some passengers helped the
Guard to get aboard, and after
a fast run Sir Handel’s train
reached the terminus at the
same time as Henry. Sir Ns Ca
Handel stopped with a sigh
he 4
of relief. Q ee |
The Guard came along the
platform to see him.
“I’m sorry I was impatient, Mr. Guard,” said Sir Handel nervously. “I
didn’t want to be late bringing Henry’s passengers. Insensible engines
shouldn’t be late, should they?”
A
Ga ee THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION 8 eee ey Tt j : oT
| ogy premret TR GREAT LITTLE ENGINES PT open wom
“No,” agreed the Guard. “But sensible engines know that patience isa Peter Sam and the Prickly Problem
virtue. Remember that next time.”
“Tl try,” promised Sir Handel sadly.
: Duke returned at last, and
Sir Handel went away. The
other engines were kept so
busy that they didn’t have
time to miss him.
Hedgecutters had been
busy too, trimming trees and
bushes beside the railway so
that passengers could see the view.
Each evening Rusty took some trucks up the line and carried away as
many cuttings as he could. But he could manage only a few at a time, and
as fast as he moved the cuttings, more took their place.
It was Peter Sam’s turn to take the morning train. The coaches were full,
but the rails were dry and Peter Sam didn’t mind the extra load. He puffed
happily along until, just beyond the tunnel, he found that, in the night, a
| high wind had blown hedge-cuttings across the rails.
He stopped, and his Driver and Fireman got down.
“We'll never get through that
lot!” exclaimed the Fireman.
“Pooh!” scoffed Peter Sam.
Nothing to it — we'll simply =
, ”» 7] be —_
push them aside. Mm intt =
“They're only little branches.
“Have it your own way,
said his Driver. “If we stop to
een poy FOR THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION i
clear up properly we shall be
here for ages and some of the
passengers might miss their
train at the bottom station.”
Peter Sam puffed bravely
on. He went carefully at first,
and the branches slid aside
easily. Then came a stretch
where the cuttings were brambles. Peter Sam began to regret his boasting,
Not only were the thorns prickly, but they caught in each other, and the
branches stayed firmly put.
“Ouch!” exclaimed Peter Sam suddenly, and stopped. “I can’t move,”
he complained.
The Fireman got out to check.
“It's no good,” he said at last. “You've got brambles caught in your valve
gear, and steam can’t get into your cylinders. We shall have to cut you out.”
Peter Sam shuddered. He
shut his eyes and prepared for
the worst.
The Fireman pulled on
thick gloves. Then, while he
tried to clear what he could,
the Driver went to ask the
Guard if he had a knife.
Some of the passengers had knives too, and came to help. But even then
the job took longer than expected, and by the time Peter Sam was free of
brambles there was no hope of getting the passengers round the lake and
sneer: gone BOP Great LITTLE ENGINES ees ee
back before James’s train left.
Peter Sam's Driver
apologised to the passengers,
but they didn’t mind.
“We enjoyed the
adventure,” they laughed.
The Driver telephoned the
Thin Controller. On the way
home they passed Rusty, pulling a long train of trucks.
Rusty worked hard, and by the afternoon the line was clear for trains to
run normally.
Peter Sam’s front felt uncomfortable for several days. The others laughed,
and teased him.
“Take a snowplough next time,” they suggested, and they kept asking if
he had a sharp knife in his cab.
At last Skarloey told them
to stop.
“T really can’t think what
all the fuss is for,” remarked
Duncan innocently. “They
were only little branches, after
all — nothing to get prickly
about, surely.”
seam gang THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION SOON pa a
“Pop” Special
Dunrine the summer, a party
of Scouts set up tents ina
field beside the line. They
bustled about arranging
things, but were never too
busy to wave to the engines
as they passed.
“They've come for their
annual Camp,” explained Duncan’s Driver. “It’s a sort of holiday for them
Their L ; bee ee
eader has been to see Mr. Hugh, and he says that the boys can work
on the railway for us.”
Sounds a funny sort of holiday to me,” said Duncan doubtfully.
“Lots of people do it,” continued the Driver. ~The Talyllyn Railway
where Sir Handel has gone, has most of its work done like that. The
are going to help us. You know that place ne
ditches are bad and we have to be c
Scouts
ar the top station, where the
| areful when it’s wet? Well, the Scouts
are going to put that right for us.”
The engines were pleased,
because they didn’t like having
to slow down there in wet or
frosty weather.
It was anything but frosty
at present. Each day the sun
shone, and it became hotter
and hotter, too hot even for
precere rmaryr RAP GREAT LITTLE ENGINES SOON ppm, yee
holidaymakers to lie on the
beach. Every train was as full.
The Scouts were hot, too.
They rested thankfully as
the trains passed, but their
cheerful waves became wearier
as the week wore on.
On the final day of their
Camp, Duncan toiled uphill with the last train. He was looking forward to
a rest under the trees at the top station.
As Duncan neared the place where the Scouts were working, he whistled
to warn them he was coming.
Then he saw a figure crossing the line in front of the train. Duncan's
Driver put a hand on his brake.
“Steady on, Duncan,” he
warned. “It looks as if the
Scouts’ leader wants us to stop
for something.”
Duncan drew gently toa
halt, and the leader climbed
on to the step of his cab.
“Is anything wrong?” the Driver asked anxiously.
“Not yet,” replied the leader, “but I’m afraid there might be unless the
boys have a drink. Can you drop off some pop or something when you next
pass, please?”
“No problem,” replied the Driver. “I'll see the refreshment lady when we
reach the top station.”
_ 2 : = ; ! crew meee STE GREAT LITTLE ENGINES SEES pars sere
vosmye green EEG THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION S008 ape iy
: d again, and
But when they got there, So they cheered again,
anke uncan instead.
the Driver came back from thanked Duncz ;
“Tr’s nothing,” he said
the refreshment room with It's n g, é
ly. “You're helping us
a long face. modestly ping
“Not a bottle to be had,” — it’s only fair we should help
he moaned to Duncan. you Coo.
“Everyone's as thirsty as those
boys. So now what?”
Duncan didn’t know. He thought so hard that he began to feel thirsty
himself. Then, suddenly, an idea came to him. ‘Isn’t there a shop near the
station by the lake?” he said. “Perhaps the lady there . .
“Of course!” interrupted the Fireman excitedly. “We'll leave the coaches
here while Duncan takes something to the boys. We can just get back here
before the train is due to
leave, but we must hurry.”
While the Stationmaster
telephoned the shop-lady to
warn her they were coming,
Duncan set off.
The shop-lady met them
at the station.
“I haven’t much myself,” she said, “but the lads are welcome to what
there is.”
A little later the Scouts heard a whistle and Duncan puffed into sight.
He stopped beside them, and his Driver handed down the drinks.
The Scouts cheered him.
“Not me,” he told them. “It was Duncan’s idea.”
gage © THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION TAN pa ey)
Sir Handel Comes Home
Sir Handel was given a great
welcome when he returned. It
was too late for the workmen
to unload him that night, so
the engines asked if his truck
could be put where he could
tell them all about his | a
exciting adventures. a ——
“A real prince and princess came to See Us,
~ Sir Handel told them proudly,
“They rode in
a special train. Driver said they were given some books about
us written by someone called the Thin Clerg
understand that.”
yman, but I didn’t really
“Ido,” said Duke. “He and
the Fat Clergyman were the
ones who found me, and they
put me in a book, too.”
Peter Sam was impressed.
“Did you pull the prince's
train?” he asked Sir Handel.
“No,” replied Sir Handel. “I
ot soaked. I pulled a special
the coaches back very early in the
I'd never been out at that time of day before.”
Peter Sam told Sir Handel about his
Sir Handel laughed.
was a spare engine — it poured with rain and J g
wedding train, though. We had to bring
morning.
tangle with the brambles.
—— se GREAT LITTLE ENGINES PRR wre pron
“IT know what you mean,
he said. “I had an adventure a
bit like that just before I came
back. It was a wet day, and I
didn’t want to go out, but the
Driver said I must. Well, we
set off. Luckily the train
wasn't very full, so we got on
all right, even though it was raining. Then we stopped at a station...”
Sir Handel paused dramatically.
“Go on,” urged Peter Sam.
“Just beyond the station,”
continued Sir Handel, “there
was a steep bit and a curve.
Well, it was wet, so naturally
I was concentrating on
getting up the hill.”
“Of course,” agreed
Rheneas gravely.
| at me.
“As we came round the bend a tree suddenly seemed to jump out at
- ; al ran
I tried to stop, of course, but my wheels slipped on the wet rails, and I r
smack into the tree. It hurt, I can tell you.
“It must have done,” agreed Duke, and there were sympathetic murmurs
from the others. ’
zu “but
“The tree didn’t actually hic me in the eye,” explained Sir Handel,
the Driver and the Fireman made a great fuss about tt.
“Next morning they put a bandage on my forehead and a black patch
————Srt—t—tse
eramory orraey TRL THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION OG Sapa pay
over my eye. Everyone
laughed, and said I looked
like a pirate. Then I pulled
a special train at a thing they
called an AGM. They even
wrote a piece about me in
their magazine.”
Sir Handel sighed happily.
“Oh, it was great fun,” he said.
“Did you see my twin, Talyllyn?” asked Skarloey.
“He was in another part of the Shed,” replied Sir Handel. “The other
engines told me that he’s on
the mend and he’ll be back at
work soon. He’s lucky — he’s
got a lovely railway.”
Sir Handel closed his eyes,
remembering.
“All the same,” he added,
“it’s good to be home.”
Duke smiled in the darkness.
“I know what you mean,” he agreed.
1H, RATLWAY SERIES NO) Ww
More about Thomas
the Tank Engine
A CS
SS
me ee ea
ro
ERENDIE Dy
>
CHRISTOPHER AWDRY
with illustrations by
CLIVE SPONG
FOREWORD
DEAR FRIENDS,
Sometimes Thomas and Percy both think they are the
most important engine on the branch line. We know
better, of course, and so does the Fat Controller, which
is why he did not intervene when Thomas and Percy had
a quarrel. Like most quarrels, it wasn’t serious to start
with. Ic began when Percy ... But why not turn the
page and read about ic for yourself?
‘THE AUTHOR
———St—ts
vee ce RP THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION S00N pam game]
Thomas, Percy and the Coal
Tuomas the Tank Engine’s
blue paint sparkled in the
sunshine as he puffed happily
along his branch line with
Annie and Clarabel.
“Blue is the only proper
colour for an engine,” he
boasted to the other engines.
“Oh, I don’t know, I like my brown paint,” said Toby.
“I’ve always been green. I wouldn’t want to be any other colour either,”
added Percy.
“Blue is the only colour for a Really Useful Engine — everybody knows
that,” splutcered Thomas.
Percy said no more. He just grinned at Toby, and winked.
Each day Percy brings a
truck full of coal from the
Junction for the coal
merchants at Ffarquhar. The
next morning Thomas was
resting when Percy arrived.
“Be careful in this siding,
Percy,’ warned Thomas, as
Percy pushed the trucks along the line beside him. “These buffers aren't
very safe, they...”
He got no further. As one of the coal trucks passed Thomas, the catch on its
pee ee ee MORE ABOUT THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE =a
door burst open. With a rumble
and a crash, an avalanche of coal
poured out and piled up around
Thomas's wheels.
A thick cloud of coal dust
arose all round him.
“Atishooo!” spluttered
Thomas. “Help, I’m choking!
Get me out!”
Percy looked worried. Then, as the dust settled, he looked at Thomas and
began to laugh. Thomas's smart blue paint was black from his smokebox to
his bunker.
“Ha. ha, ha,” chuckled Percy. “You don’t look Really Useful now. You
should see yourself. You look Really Disgraceful.”
“Tam not disgraceful,” choked Thomas furiously. “You did that on
purpose, Percy. Now stop your stupid giggling and get me out.
Poor Thomas was filthy.
ae
edi
| Fin Fe ee
But it was some time
before Percy could help. The
coal-bunker stood behind the
buffers that Thomas had said
were unsafe. It was only when
the coal was shovelled into
the bunker that Thomas
could be moved.
“You're not fit to be seen,” grumbled the cleaners.
It took so long to clean Thomas that he wasnt re
ady in time for his next
come kee §=§9§ THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION SN a gaa meee §=MORE ABOUT THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE = aaa
train, and Toby had to ee Percy tried to stop he heard a cracking sound and to his horror found
As
chat he couldn t.
Annie and Clarabe] With
Henrietta. The cle The buffers didn’t stop
aners Were
tired and dirty when they had
ss
him either.
>
a
y
eff
ae ems
“Ooooer!” wailed Percy.
“Help!”
The buffers broke and Percy
finished.
AS
© bid
= —_—oC es ee eee ee oe
Thomas was grumpy in
SS
the Shed that night. Toby
ran into the coal-bunker with
- ESO” thought it a great joke, but
; Rial | a. a thud. Coal flew everywhere,
Percy was annoyed with Thomas for thinking that he had made his paint y
black and when the dust had settled
slack on purpose.
“Who'd have thought it?” Percy remarked. “Fancy, a Really Useful blue Percy had ‘disep pear tea eae
. ; : i as watched from the platform. As the crash died away, the signal-arm
engine like Thomas becoming a disgrace to the Fat Controller's Railway. Thome pie y; g
“You wait, Percy,” teplied Thomas erossly. “One day you'll lauea onthe dropped and Thomas moved off, laughing as he went. Percy was furious,
c > 5 ‘ . <
other side of vourmemokepon” and he spent the rest of the day wondering how to pay Thomas back.
“Pooh!” rejoined Percy. “I
wouldn't have missed all that
fun for anything.”
The feud worsened as time
went on. Thomas thought
Percy had coal-dusted him
deliberately, and Percy was
cross with Thomas for
thinking so.
Two days later Thomas was at the platform when Percy brought his
trucks from the Junction. Percy arranged them and ran into a siding fora
drink before Thomas’s train left.
4 > ata : z oye : S.
The water-column stood at the end of the siding with the faulty buffer
—— FA =
a — THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION Pel com pee
The Runaway
Percy was soon mended, but
one morning Thomas woke
feeling ill. The Fat Controller
sent him to the Big Station
to see if he could be mended
there, but it was no use.
“Edward must take you
to the Works,” the Fat
Controller told him.
“IT want you to go and help Percy and Toby while Thomas is ill,” he said
to Duck. “Donald and Douglas will do your work here until Thomas is well
enough to come back.”
Duck was delighted. He
knew Percy already, and it
wasn't long before he had
made friends with Toby,
Terence and Bertie. Percy,
who was still cross with
Thomas over the coal-dusting
incident, was glad to have
someone new to talk to.
Even Annie and Clarabel were impressed.
Such nice manners,” they told each other.
out with him.”
“It really is a pleasure to go
They soon made Duck welcome, and he laughed when they told him how
ES SE
ae Gee WR MORE ABOUT THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE ?— i aa
Thomas had once left their
Guard behind at the Junction.
When Thomas came back
Annie and Clarabel told him
how well Duck had managed.
Though Thomas was jealous
at first, he was so pleased to
be home that he soon forgot.
But he didn’t forget the affair with the coal. Percy was careful to keep
out of his way.
The Works had left Thomas's handbrake very stiff. It made his brakes
seem as if they were on, when, in fact, they weren’t, and Thomas’s Driver
and Fireman soon learnt to be extra careful.
But one day Thomas's
Fireman was ill, and a relief
KNAPFORD JUNCTION man took his place. At the
Junction, Thomas ran round
Annie and Clarabel. While
his Driver chatted to the
Stationmaster, the Fireman
fastened the coupling.
The Driver had told the relief Fireman about Thomas’s brake, but
unluckily he had forgotten. When he had finished with the coupling
he joined the Driver and Stationmaster on the platform.
Thomas simmered happily.
In the distance Henry appeared.
“Not long now,” thought Thomas.
gum meeiae. 39 THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION co MEE: MORE ABOUT THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE fi SIL
At that moment Thomas | Thomas saw Harold land and the Inspector run towards the platform, where
felt his wheels begin to move. he stood waiting.
He tried to stop, but he This time Thomas entered
couldn't without his Driver the station slowly enough for | )
and Fireman. He tried to ) the Inspector to act. Running rn i; @) 3 | aati
whistle a warning, but he beside the train, he judged his >
couldn't do that either. moment, jumped and
The Guard shouted from scrambled into Thomas’s cab.
the platform, but that did no good. The Guard, Driver and Fireman were Then he put the brake hard on.
all stranded, and the passengers were left on the platform staring. Thomas, With a sigh of relief,
Annie and Clarabel gathered speed out of the station. The empty coaches ) Thomas stopped.
shrieked as they rounded the curve, but Thomas, with plenty of steam, kept | The Inspector mopped his brow.
. aS o hte >
on going. Phew!” he remarked.
The Signalman at the Wearily, Thomas agreed with him.
Junction soon realised what
had happened, and sent a
message along the line. An
Inspector prepared to stop the
runaway at the station near
the airfield where Harold the
Helicopter stood ready in case of emergency.
But Thomas was still going much too fast. Quickly the Inspector
climbed aboard Harold and they took off.
“I must get there in time, I must,” he whirred anxiously.
Below, Thomas was tiring.
“I need to stop, I need to stop,” he panted wearily.
Annie and Clarabel held back as they went uphill. As they neared the station,
gusmee me = Tots THe TANK ENoine: THE NOW COLLECTION — 777 iy
Better Late than Never
viaduct on the main line. The
arches needed to be
strengthened, but the Far
Controller did not want to
close the Railway while the
work was done, and so repairs
took a long time. The engines
had to take great care when crossing the viaduct, and the delay often made
them late at the Junction. Thomas was cross.
“Time's time,” he grumbled. “Why should I keep my passengers waiting
while Henry and James dawdle about all day on viaducts?”
“Don't blame me,” snorted ——
Henry one day. “If we hurried
across the viaduct it might
collapse, and then you'd have
no passengers ac all. What
would you do then, eh?”
“Run my trains on time, for
one thing,” retorted Thomas,
and hurried away before Henry could answer.
Ac the top station Bertie was timed to arrive just after Thomas. His
passengers soon tound that instead of going straight from Bertie to their
train, they were having to wait until Thomas arrived.
Late again,” remarked Bertie one day, as Thomas panted wearily in, ten
WORKMEN were mending the
pe ee MORE ABOUT THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE Fl
minutes after time. “I thought
you could go fast, Thomas. It’s
time we had another race — |
reckon I could beat you now.”
Thomas went bluer than
ever, and let off steam loudly.
“Rubbish!” he hissed
fiercely. “I'd still beat you any
day. It’s those main line engines. They dither about on their viaduct and
then blame the Fat Controller's workmen. It’s just an excuse for laziness, if
you ask me.”
One day James was later
than ever at the Junction.
“I’m sorry, Thomas,” he
puffed, as he came breathlessly
to the platform. “I was held
up at the Big Station, and the
viaduct made it worse.
es “It’s lucky for you [ma
*? =, - - ‘ ‘ é = , cr
guaranteed connection,” snorted Thomas. He puffed importantly away, leaving
James at a loss for words.
“Peep, peep,” whistled Thomas at every station. “Get in quickly, please.
The passengers did their best, but Thomas soon found that he couldn't
save much time.
pa . ‘aw a flash of red on the
As they neared the tunnel, Thomas thought he saw a flash «
road beside the line.
“That looks like Bertie,” he said to himself, “but Bertie should have got
pau mew THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION OO ia aa, ~
peewee ee MORE ABOUT THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE = aa
to Ffarquhar ages ago.”
It was Bertie. Thomas
Drip-Tank
stopped nearby and asked
what the matter was.
“TF eH IE ing Percy was
I feel dreadful,” mourned One evening y
ee, EE i ere stone-trucks
Bertie. “All upset inside, and bringing empty
, arbour. He was
Driver says he can’t make me from the H c
his quarrel with
better. Thank goodness you're tired of his q
, as. ¢ anted to be
late. Can you take my passengers, please? They'll never get home otherwise.” Thomas, and wan
“Of course,” agreed Thomas. friends again. He had had a
Thankfully the passengers good day, and was feeling
climbed into Annie and extra pleased with himself.
Clarabel, and after promising He was so busy thinking how he would tell Thomas and Toby about his
; . “kk , : rood look-out. Too
Bertie that he would send for expert handling of the trucks that he forgot to keep a g
eee : anch hangi > aight in front of him.
help from the next station, late, he saw a broken branch hanging over the line straig
Thomas set off again. “Oooooer,” he groaned.
Already he was feeling much He tried to stop, but his brakes wouldn't hold him.
: -h!” he exclaimed a
more cheerful. Ouch ‘
ment later. The branch hit
All the passengers reached home safely, and when Bertie was better he Ee
| «s cemokebox. broke away and
came to thank Thomas. his s ’ y
Plu ae a.
ne | crashed to the ground.
I'm sorry I teased you about being late,” he said.
eer ae = 2 ee ee ee
LioNrmoacué
Percy was more startled than
ss Ganunawnmaeormat >
satis
“That's all right,” said Thomas. “I’m glad I could help. Perhaps being
ate isn’ hurt, but his front was still
late isn’t such a bad thing after all,” ;
sore when he reached the Shed.
“Tt’s your own fault,” said
| : ‘ : < — I’ve no
| Thomas, unsympathetically. “You should keep a better look-out — I've
patience with you.”
| “Pooh!” retorted Percy huffily. He forgot his good resolution and talked
to Toby for the rest of the evening.
— f 3
—SSO—t—‘“OSO
—————s THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION A open poy
Percy didn't speak to
Thomas the next day either.
“I say, Toby,” he said in the
Shed that evening, “what’s 4
drip, do you know?”
Toby pondered.
“It’s when rain comes
through a hole in your cab,
and Fireman hasn’t got time to mend it,” he decided at last.
“That’s silly,” objected Percy. “I heard a boy on the platform call his
friend one this afternoon. I’m sure he couldn't have come through a hole in
my cab,” he added earnestly.
Thomas was tired of being ignored.
“That's different,” he
interrupted loftily. “The boy
just thought his friend was
being a coward, or silly, or
a spoilsport.”
Percy thought about this.
“So if...” he suggested
reflectively, “... if you
stopped me from doing something nice, would you be a drip, Thomas?”
“You're the drip,” answered Thomas crossly. “Now go to sleep like a
sensible engine and stop talking nonsense.”
Percy was offended. Instead of going to sleep he became even more
determined to pay Thomas out.
Next day Henry's train was late at the Junction. When Thomas set out
AN 3
pa ee eR MORE ABOUT THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE #2 gi
along the valley he was trying
to make up for lost time.
Suddenly there was a loud
bang, and something hard hit
the bottom of his left-hand
watertank.
“Ouch!” exclaimed Thomas,
and stopped. As he did so he
felt water splashing cold against his wheels.
“One of your siderods has broken,” said his Driver. “It swung up and
punctured your tank — we'll have to get help.”
At Ffarquhar, Percy was shunting. The Stationmaster came up.
“Leave those trucks please, Percy,” he said. “Thomas has got a hole in his
watertank — there’s water dripping everywhere, and he can’t get home on
his own.”
Percy was still cross with
Thomas.
“IT won't go,” he said.
“Thomas called me a drip —
let him jolly well stay there
and drip himself.”
“But what about Annie and
Clarabel and the passengers?” |
reminded Percy’s Driver. “Do they deserve to stay out all night too?”
Percy was sorry at once.
“I forgot them,” he said. “We must rescue them in case they turn into
drips too.”
Ge. = THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION
He hurried away.
He found Thomas near the
river. Everyone was glad to see
him, and the passengers
thanked him for coming.
“I’m sorry I was rude,” said
Thomas, as Percy helped him
back to the Shed. “That tank
of mine turned me into a bigger drip than we expected, didn’t it? Can we
be friends again, please?”
Percy was delighted to agree.
S08 wa
THE RAILWAY SERIES NO. 31
Gordon the High-Speed Engine
CHRISTOPHER AWDRY
with illustrations by
CLIVE SPONG
FOREWORD
DEAR FRIENDS,
Over here on the Other Railway we are used to High-
Speed Trains, and know how useful they can be. But
when Gordon first heard of them he began boasting
about how fast he could go. He should have known
better, because he only landed himself in disgrace and
made the Fat Controller cross. These stories tell how hard
Gordon worked to redeem himself and make the Fat
Controller think again. ae
THE AUTHOR
. ae
Pree oa we . THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION AEA oem gem
High-Speed Gordon
Dona tp was excited.
“The diesels at yon
Wurrks,” he announced, “say
that on the Other Railway
there are things called High-
Speed Trains. They have a
diesel engine at each end, and
can go at 125 miles an hour.”
Gordon snorted.
An engine at each end,” he said scornfully. “There’s only one of me,
but I bet I can go as fast as those smelly boxes-on-wheels. Probably
faster,” he added.
The others said nothing. They had heard Gordon’s boasting before.
Gordon was still bragging the next morning.
“Speed’s nothing to me,” he said. “Why, one of my Doncaster cousins
went at 125 miles an hour. I’ll show these diesels a thing or two, just you
wait and see.”
He puffed grandly towards
the station.
Gordon normally pulled the “me al = ey Bs
— ‘ ‘ a {5 !
AN ty uh WE: LW ee ea
Express, though Henry, James \ Se Zi oy { Vy) WY)
Si als CS <i te PG fay
i
ae LB <
an S|
or Bear helped if Gordon was an) _
ill or away.
Many visitors came to see
the Fat Controller’s Railway.
pee ee CORDON THE HiGh-SreeD ENGINE =a
They often used the Express, so
it was usually full and heavy.
There had been frost during
the night, and now the w ather
was wet and sleety. Sleet settled
on the rails making an icy film
across their surface.
The carriages of the Express
stood under the cover of the station roof, but when Gordon was coupled to
them his cab and front end stood outside.
He grew colder and colder as he waited for the Guard to blow his whistle
and wave his green flag.
“Come on,” he shivered impatiently. “Let’s get started.
At last Gordon heard the whistle.
“Come on, come on, comeoncomeoncomeon!” he shouted, as he tried to
pull away quickly.
But his wheels slipped on the icy rails. The sudden movement made
water in his boiler surge forward, and Gordon's Driver could not shut off
steam. Gordon moved a yard and slithered to a standstill, held back by the
ee heavy train. His wheels spun
Se —-
furiously, but neither Gordon
nor his train budged an inch.
“Help, help!” wailed
Gordon despairingly, but
nobody could.
Gordon’s wheels spun until
his rods ached, but he could
ee (\
——— so THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION WPF sae, gen fae ee BR GORDON THE HIGH-SPEED ENGINE rt
do nothing to stop them. Gordon should know by now
His Driver tried every trick that he’s supposed to move his
he knew. An Inspector came train too.”
and tried some more, but jt Gordon snorted disgustedly,
was no good. The Fat and with a gasp the whisperer
Controller came to see what subsided into silence.
the fuss was about. He said
several things to Gordon, but
Gordon was making so much noise that he couldn't hear them. Sparks
showered from the rails, but Gordon’s wheels went on spinning.
It was a quarter of an hour before Gordon had used up all his steam.
Reduced pressure allowed the Driver to close the regulator, and with a deep
sigh of relief Gordon felt his wheels stop turning. The silence was amazing!
Donald came to take Gordon to the Shed, and Henry came to pull the
Express. When the train had
gone, workmen had to replace
the rails where Gordon had
ae
been standing, because his
spinning wheels had worn
deep grooves in them.
The Shed was empty.
Donald tactfully remembered
another job and left Gordon on his own. But that night Gordon heard a
whisper from close by.
“Did you hear,” it hissed, “how Gordon went for a spin today?”
There was a quiet chuckle. Gordon seethed in silence.
“High-Speed Engines are all very well,” the whisper went 0n, “but
At
Sy oY re:
a" peso BE THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION O08 ee meg, ae ee GORDON THE HIGH-SPrED ENGINE 7 Sama
Smokescreen on the platform. As Gordon
ae) Labbe i .
bee ae Ree
a ¢ Sater 2 Se Key 3
swooshed through, running dein “ Se.
(SoRDON Was feeling . . of ue ; ei: Ey. ree . hip ts ex ig i si, ih
, hard for the hill, smoke from
stuffed-up’. “It’s the coal, the newly made fire streamed
Te LR LLL LL SS
Gordon,” explained his from his funnel. He vanished
Fireman. “It’s clogging up into the distance and left a
your tubes something awful. black smokescreen settling
5 Al Pe wis a
aK, FF :
’ : - i
But we lI have CO make do over the Station. It covered a a >» ie
with it, as there’s nothing else. everything, wedding guests and all, in a coat of soot and smuts. Waves to
ae y : = .
Why not have a good Gordon became shaking fists, and the wedding party hurried angrily to the
sneeze, Gordon?” suggested Henry, thinking of the time when he had a rtm raneragte iis:
im. “That wi ar your tubes.” | rice Ces : ;
punished some boys for dropping stones on him. That will clear y At the end of the line an Inspector came to see Gordon. His message
“Certainly not,” replied Gordon with dignity. “The Fat Controller from the Fat Controller was short but not sweet.
wouldn’t approve. He didn't like your sneeze, I seem to remember. : | : Tee
Next day Gordon was nervous as he backed onto the Express. Xx a Teed ilk Tana
“At least I shan’t slip today,” he thought, “but I suppose they'll laugh at
“It’s not fair,” Gordon
complained to BoCo. “How
could I help all that smoke?
me again if I don’t keep time.”
It’s not my fault the coal is
He needn’t have worried. By the time he reached the Junction he was
so dirty.”
: ? , don’s Fireman & . :
running nicely, and as he approached Edward’s station Gor Never mind,” BoCo urged
began to make up the fire. him encouragingly. “Where
“Let’s get a good run at the would I be if I got upset every
hill while you’ve got enough time someone called me smelly? Anyhow, soot’s good for the garden, my
steam to do it,” he said. “I Driver says.’
don’t trust this low-grade coal. “But not for new clothes,” muttered Gordon.
At the station a party of Gordon was extra careful on the way home, but it seemed today wasn’t
wedding guests, all in their his lucky day.
best clothes, was standing "he Fat Controller had broken a journey to the Other Railway to apologise
aa aes a
= see
e
gag meee = THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION SA a a
to the people at Edward's
station. He had done his best,
and was waiting for another
train when Gordon came by.
As the Express thundered
through, a cloud of black flakes
flew from it and landed on the
Fat Controller's new top-hat.
When Gordon reached the Big Station there was another message
waiting for him.
“The Fat Controller says,” announced the Inspector, “that Gordon blew
ashes on his top-hat as he passed Edward's station.
Gordon was horrified.
“Wheeeeeesh!” he exclaimed
indignantly. “I did not. I was
being extra careful.”
“I’m sure the Fat Controller
can’t be right,” put in
Gordon's Fireman.
“T can’t help it,” said the
Inspector. “That's what he
says, so there it is. He will speak to Gordon when he gets home.
Gordon went sadly back to the Shed.
ae ee GORDON THE HIGH-SPEED ENGINE =
Fire Escape
“DRIVER says the Fat
Controller’s coming home
tomorrow,” said James a week
after Gordon’s bad day.
Gordon grunted. He wasn't
anxious to see the Fat Controller.
“T must do well today,” he
said to himself as he waited to
start the Express. “A good run today might help, if the Fat Controller hears
about it.”
Things did not begin well, though. Thanks to a last-minute passenger
they were late starting, which meant that Gordon missed his path at the
Junction, and was delayed there too.
But with a clear run after that, they flashed through Edward's station,
going splendidly. They were halfway up the hill when there was a clatter
beneath Gordon’s cab. Suddenly he felt a blast of cold air in his middle, as if
there were a gap between his boiler and cab.
“Ooooof!” he gasped.
“What's happened?”
The Fireman looked at his
fire: there was a gaping hole
in the middle, where the
firebars had collapsed and
a large part of the fire had
disappeared.
Nie: THE New COLLECTION en
ware weow bee THOMAS THE TAN ENGI
“You've lost part of your
fire, Gordon,” the Fireman
explained. “What a place to
do it!”
Already Gordon was feeling
weaker. Without a full fire his
steam pressure and speed fell
quickly.
But his Driver knew what to do.
“Rind the biggest piece of coal you can, and put it across the hole,”
he told the Fireman. “That will stop some of the cold air from getting in,
and we'll be able to hold steam better. But hurry, or the hill will beat us!”
The Fireman hurried. A
large lump of coal lay near the
front of the tender. Quickly
he moved it into place with
his shovel and a long steel bar.
Gordon felt better at once.
“Now build the fire gently
round the edges,” said the
Driver, and, as the Fireman did so, the Driver adjusted Gordon's controls to
make the best use of his steam.
“Right Gordon,” he said when the Fireman had finished. “It’s up tO you.
Gordon tried his hardest, but it was tough going.
“I must do it, I must do it,” he told himself as he pounded up the hill.
He had stuck here once before, and was determined not to fail again.
Poor Gordon was getting very breathless.
pee ee RR DON THE HGH -SrrnD ENGIN: 4.[2l=?=lz
“T will do it, | will do it,”
he panted, but he was careful
not to pant Coo loudly in case
he blew away what was left of
his fire. He shut his eyes and
struggled on.
At last Gordon felt that the
slope was easier to climb.
Cautiously he opened one eye: yes, he was nearly at the top.
“T’ve done it, I’ve done it,”
he gasped triumphantly.
The Fireman wiped his brow.
“That was splendid,
Gordon,” he said, “and now
you deserve a rest.”
A Signalman turned them
into a goods loop, and
telephoned the Works for a pilot engine to be prepared. While they waited,
the passengers got out and told Gordon what a Useful Engine he was.
BoCo was at the Works
to help, and the two engines
hnished the journey without
further trouble. At the end of
the line the Fat Controller was
waiting for them. To Gordon’s
surprise, he was smiling.
Thank you, BoCo,” he said,
ae ee
AE ee eer ——
ee ee A CIORDON THE High-Sprep ENOINE a Bice THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: Tt Wiw COMERTION ‘ eR,
Gordon Proves His Point “and thank you, Gordon, for a splendid effort. | am pleased with your work
ahem... other things leave much .. .”
today, though certain . .
t then a whistle blew, and the Fat Controller had to hurry to his
ain poor Gordon was left in suspense.
One day Gordon reached the |
But jus
Big Station on the Mainland
carriage. Once ag
to find the platform crowded.
“It’s a railtour,” explained
his Driver. “Going along the
coast line to Carlisle, I think.”
The Stationmaster came up.
“Can you help?” he asked.
“These railtour people are stuck because their train has failed. Could Gordon
take them in his train, please?”
Gordon's driver laughed.
“You'll have to hold him back, eh Gordon?” he said. “But you need the
Fat Controller's permission — and what about our return train?”
The Fat Controller agreed at once. Then the Stationmaster rang the Shed.
“W/hat can you substitute for Gordon’s Express?” he asked.
“There’s the High-Speed
Train that came yesterday,”
ey! » ae. ee nat. a * 7 4 y ; a. * Pike.
het , P , ‘
as + ' > i. > ae
Coe AS te Clie.
they suggested. “It’s only got
one power-car working, but it
wee §=6should keep the Fat
= = Ma bh nes ' rg i
ee | |
eo
Controller's timing.”
Philippa (she preferred Pip
for short) and Emma were
delighted to stand in for Gordon. Pip’s cooling system was faulty, which
made her hot and bothered, but Emma didn’t mind doing all the work.
pare (9 [0 ee
— THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEw COLLECTION SOF erm spammy,
They felt honoured to visit
the Fat Controller’s Railway,
James, following a little
later with a stopping train,
was surprised when the
Signalman at the station
beyond the Works came up.
“That High-Speed Diesel’s
failed,” he said. “Go gently until you reach it, push it to the next loop, and
then go round in front to pull it home.”
“Phew!” remarked James. “But what about the Express passengers? They
won't want to make our stops.”
“Too bad,” said the Signalman. “Better that way than your people
missing their stations.”
James found the failed train about two miles in front. He pushed it to
the next station, and then got ready to pull.
“I’m sorry I can’t help,”
apologised Emma, who was
in front, “but we are special
lightweight coaches.”
“That's lucky,” said
James, who was already
feeling puffed. But he
found it easier than he
expected: once the train was moving the coaches followed smoothly. As for
the passengers, if they wondered about the extra stops, they didn’t complain.
The Fat Controller met them.
sa 0) (ae
ee ee CORDON THE HiGit-Speep ENGINE — Sr
“I’m sorry we re late, Sir,”
said James.
“That's all right, James,”
said the Fat Controller. “I’m
pleased with you — you have
saved an Awkward Situation.
Now, please make Pip and
Emma welcome in the Shed
while I arrange their journey home.”
The other engines were quiet at first, but they soon found the diesels
friendly, and before long they were all laughing together. James was glad
Gordon was away — he might, he thought, so easily have said something to
upset them.
Gordon came home the next day. The Fat Controller forgave him for his
smokescreen, and said that he was sorry for thinking his spoiled top-hat had
been Gordon’s fault. It had, he explained, been a steward emptying an
ashtray from a carriage window.
“Now, Gordon,” he continued, “while you were in Carlisle we borrowed
a High-Speed Train. This has failed, and I want you to take her passengers
home.” He paused and smiled.
“Show them how we do
things, eh?”
“T certainly will,” promised
Gordon.
“Right,” said Gordon's
Driver as they backed towards
the train. “Today, Gordon my
eee oy) | Nae
—— Tso THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION SA aa aa
lad, you can have the run of
your life. PHE RAILWAY SERIES NO. 32
He did, too.
. Toby, Trucks and Trouble
Douglas was waiting to
pull Pip and Emma home . | z
when Gordon passed.
“Poop, poop, poop,”
whistled Gordon proudly, and
f>.2)
tf »). nN
with a swish and a roar he was gone. Pip and Emma watched enviously.
Douglas chuckled.
a
i
r
“Och,” he said to himself, “yon Gordon's aye a High-Speed Engine, but
it’s me who’s pulling the High-Speed Train.”
CHRISTOPHER AWDRY
with illustrations by
CLIVE SPONG
FOREWORD
DEAR FRIENDS,
Trucks are silly things. They rattle, bang and chatter
to each other so much that they can never hear what their
engine says. Even if they did, they probably wouldn't
take any notice. They pushed Mavis into a lorry, and that
made extra work for Toby and Percy while she was being
mended.
But on the other hand, perhaps they’re not all bad —
after all, they did teach Bulstrode a lesson. See what you
think.
7 ‘THE AUTHOR
a
—T THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION SOGR ‘prea aa
Mavis and the Lorry
Mavis is a diesel engine
belonging to the Ffarquhar
Quarry Company. She is in
charge of the stone trucks at
the Quarry, and when Toby is
busy or there are too many
trucks for him to manage by
himself, she is allowed to
bring a loaded train down to Ffarquhar. She enjoys this, because the journey
gives her a chance to stretch her wheels. Besides, she sometimes finds it dull
up at the Quarry with no one to talk to but trucks.
For most of the way the
line runs beside a road. Mavis
is always very careful, especially
at the place where Thomas
once had an argument with a
policeman. A road crosses the
line here, and though there
are warning signs, some of the “== ==s8
cars and lorries come round the corner much too fast. They make Mavis nervous.
“There'll be an accident one day,” Mavis’s Driver often says as they pass
the place, and she feels sure he is right.
One day Mavis was late: the trucks had been in all the wrong places, and
she had had to waste time sorting them out.
As she came down the line, she felt them surge against her.
PLINY hee
See ee Tony, TRUCKS AND TROUBLE = a
“Stop pushing,” she growled at the misbehaving trucks.
They neared the crossing and Mavis saw a lorry coming towards them.
“He'll stop when he sees us,”
she thought.
But she couldn't know the
lorry driver was new to the
Island: the last thing he
expected to see was a train.
Much too fast, the lorry
approached the corner. Too
late the driver realised it was sharper than he expected. He swerved, and at
that moment he saw Mavis halfway across the road. He braked hard and
swung the steering wheel, but he was too late. The lorry’s front bumper just
caught Mavis’s cowcatcher, and the lorry left the road and skidded into a
ditch. With a loud crash it fell onto its side.
Mavis, who had already stopped, watched in horror.
“Ouch!” she exclaimed. “That hurt!”
“T didn’t push him over,”
3 ARI FAMUIAR) 2 ULFsTEA’ «= SKE cried in alarm.
Her Driver laughed and
jumped down.
“No one’s blaming you,”
he said, “but I hope the lorry
driver is all right.”
The lorry’s right-hand door
was deep in the ditch, but now a figure could be seen struggling to climb
out at the other side. Mavis’s Driver went to help.
eee 01 eee
precy wring THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE
Aes
> NEw COLLECTION 0 Sia
“Is that a train?” the man
demanded.
Mavis's Driver laughed.
“It certainly is,” he said.
“You must be new on the
Island, not to have seen us
before.”
Mavis’s front was bent, but
she wasn’t badly hurt. Her owner sent her to be mended, and asked the Fat
Controller if he could borrow Toby while she was away.
“What about the trucks down here, Sir?” Toby asked anxiously.
The Fat Controller nodded.
“I’m afraid it will mean
more work for you, Percy,’
he said, “but Toby’s sideplates
make him the only engine
who can go up there. You
remember what happened
to Thomas, don’t you?”
And with that they had to be content.
hey ee NT TH PT Pre
aa
sree waa BRR TOBY, TRUCKS AND TROUBLE Te apooy yen
Toby’s Seaside Holiday
Tue Fat Controller first met
Toby and Henrietta a long
time ago, when he was on
holiday in East Anglia. Later,
when their line was closed,
the Fat Controller heard about
what had happened and
brought them to Sodor. ns
Before that Toby had worked at a harbour with several of his brothers.
The harbour had been busy, and the engines were kept bustling about, but
Toby never really had a chance to exercise his pistons properly until he had
his own line to run on.
One day, Toby was resting
alone in the Shed at Ffarquhar.
Earlier, Percy had been
talking about the harbour at
Knapford. Toby remembered
the old days, when he had
worked at a harbour too.
“I’m too old now to dash
about like I did then,” he thought. “Backwards and forwards all day long
between the harbour and the big station, with never any chance of a
holiday. But I did go to the seaside once,” he remembered. “For a while, at
any rate.”
His Driver and Fireman had been so excited when they came to work one day.
a
mew Me Tony, TRUCKS AND TROUBLE
yey waew THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION
S00 i pi
“We've been promised , “Lots of extra trains, and
trip to the seaside,” shew ena visitors. | expect you'll be able
“What do you mei to stand on the long carriage
asked Toby. siding.”
Chete’s a seaside village They soon reached the
near here,” explained the seaside station, where the
Driver, “where they have a Stationmaster came out to
Festival each year. Lots of
meet them. He was surprised
people come to it, and one of the organisers thinks it would be a good idea
to see Toby. He stared, frowned, and went away shaking his head.
to have a display of engines at the station as an extra attraction. And you,
Next day, Toby was excited. He woke up early and saw the sea sparkling
Toby, are to be one of them.”
in the distance. White birds
Toby went to the Shed at the Big Station. He was given new paint, a new
wheeled and swooped
bell, and his brasswork was -
overhead, making loud
polished until his Driver
mewing noises.
could see himself in it.
“T wonder what those birds
“You haven't looked so
smart for years,” he said. “I
could be?” thought Toby. “M
Driver's sure to know. I'll ask
nearly didn’t recognise you!”
him when he gets here.”
They set out for the
But his crew arrived looking glum.
Junction where the branch
“It’s all off, Toby,” his Driver told him. “They say there’s nowhere for you
line to the village began. As they arrived, a train came in from the branch. - Ys 32), y
. . t q to stand.
The engine was younger than Toby, but he was dirty, his rods clanked, an ; | | ae eal | |
| But what’s wrong with here?” wailed Toby. “I’m not in anybody’s way
steam leaked from everywhere. . eral | 1”
: where I am at the moment!
“The poor engine!” said Toby. “Can I help pull his next train Co the oe ei | | | | |
It’s just an excuse, I reckon,” said Toby’s Driver, lowering his voice.
seaside, please?” ,
fee 4 go "Thigades ebutled an ieee The real trouble is, you’re too smart, Toby — they’re afraid you'll show
1e Stationmaster agreed, so Toby w |
ned. their branch line up!
“Festival time is the best time of the year,” the other engine explai P
Just then a door banged. Toby jumped.
Mens (02 peo
ae ee
Ht : TANK ENGIN!
HOMAS THE TANK ENC
aoe aon S98. I
ad
gaara DIMI ~
But I think the Fat Controller w
business much better.
re
is
ie
Er
THE New COLLECTION S90 a aaa)
“Wake up, Toby,” smiled
his Driver. “Time to get back
to work.”
Toby sighed as he moved
from the Shed.
“Well, I did get to the
seaside,” he murmured, “even
if it wasn’t for long.
ould have managed all that Festival
yee tery RRL Toby, TRUCKS AND TROUBLE PGE! crwnaereey rayon,
Bulstrode
A few days later Percy
was shunting in the Yard
at Ffarquhar when the
Stationmaster came up.
“Leave those trucks please,
Percy,” he said. “There’s an
emergency down at the
Harbour — the Fat Controller
wants you to go and sort it out straight away.”
“But Toby can’t .. .” began Percy.
“Never mind that,” the Stationmaster said. “The Fat Controller needs you
double quick. Leave us to worry about the shunting.”
He hurried away to make the arrangements.
Bulstrode was a barge, used for carrying stone. He was a disagreeable
barge: nothing was ever right for him, and he grumbled unceasingly.
Trucks grumble too, but they weren't a patch on Bulstrode.
“Come on, come on,” shouted Bulstrode rudely one morning. “Why aren’t
you trucks where you should
be? How can I be loaded if you
dawdle about up there, eh?”
“There’s no engine, and we
can only go where we're put,”
retorted the trucks crossly.
“You're in the wrong place,
not us.”
THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE New COLLECTION = fa
aaa we
They argued for some time,
but it made no difference.
Bulstrode was in the wrong
place, and he was not due to
leave until the next day, but
he wasn’t going to let a little
thing like that stop him
complaining.
When Percy arrived, Bulstrode was sulking and the trucks were annoyed
with him.
“Our stone is for Bulstrode,” they said. “Please put us 1nto the siding so
that we can load him up and be tid of him as soon as possible.”
The line slopes down to the
Harbour. Percy pulled the
trucks a little way up the hill,
clear of the points. As he
stopped, one of the trucks:
brakes slipped on. When
Percy began to push, the
trucks started with a jerk, and
a coupling broke. Four loose trucks, heavy with stone, gathered speed.
“Help, help!” they wailed. :
A shunter bravely tried to stop them, but only broke his pole. The ee
rattled along the quay, straight towards Bulstrode, unsuspecting, at the end.
Bulstrode heard a rattle and a shout or two, but he could see nothing:
- cks
The first he knew of anything wrong was when four loaded stone tru
shot, one by one, off the end of the quay to bury themselves in his hold.
resowe prec ET TOBY, TRUCKS AND TROUBLE DPD pesess eoresa
“Ooooof!” he exclaimed, but anything else was lost in a gurgle as the
trucks burst a hole in his hull and water began to pour in.
Bulstrode experienced an
awful sinking feeling.
“Save me!” he spluttered.
“Tm drowning.”
But Bulstrode didn't
drown. As chance would have
it, the tide was out, so he did
not go right under the water.
The trucks were upset at losing some of their friends, but were very little
bothered about Bulstrode.
“Nothing but a nuisance, he was,” they said to each other, “always
barging in and moaning about not being loaded fast enough.”
They sniggered.
“This time he got his load faster then he bargained for — serves him right
if you ask us.”
Percy was kept busy for some time afterwards, clearing up the mess.
When the remains of the trucks had been lifted out of the water he
took them to the scrapyard
while workmen rescued what
stone they could.
As for Bulstrode, when
everything else had been
cleared, his remains were
towed to a nearby beach
where they could do no harm.
== Oger
THE NEW COLLECTION SA Sa a
THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE:
Now children play happily
among the wreckage: if
Bulstrode is still grumbling,
as I expect he 1s, the
children take no notice.
cecryt reesron GBR Topsy, TRUCKS AND TROUBLE AG my ee
Toby Takes the Road
WHILE Percy was away,
Terence had done all the
shunting in the Yard.
“Adaptable,” he boasted.
“That’s what my Owner says
I am — go anywhere, do
anything, that’s me. You take
my advice and scrap your
rails. Broaden your outlook, like me.”
“Pooh!” said Percy. “Me, plough a field! I prefer to stay on my rails,
thank you.”
“Steam engines really did plough, once upon a time,” Terence chuckled.
“And ran on roads.”
The engines remembered Trevor, and had to admit that Terence was right
about that.
Repairs to Mavis took longer than expected, and Toby became used to
trundling off to the Quarry each morning.
Lae , Because of Toby’s small
ON Ay watertank, his Driver and
Mee Fireman had arranged with
the Quarry Manager that they
should bring loaded trucks
Poa -
f>
e=:
= down to Ffarquhar at
lunchtime instead of later in
the day. This saved time too,
, THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THe New COLLECTION SSL comme geen : Posy, TRUCKS AND TROUBLE) = /-—i— ol
poe ese SER OMA: BL EMA ;
for Tok ld otherwise have needed an extra journey to fill his watertank, “Whoa there, Toby,” said his Driver at once, and put on the brakes as hard
Or LODY WOULC S . <
This way, he delivered the trucks and got water in one visit. as he dared. Shakily Toby stopped with all six wheels firmly on the roadway.
. ay,
-ame coldet, Wi ard frosts during 4 dear.” he sai Saree. Ee i yD iste mee
Time passed, and the weather became colder, with hard 6 Oh dear,” he said, looking at the grass verge in front of him. “Now what
= the night. They didn’t worry Hpiae doo”
Toby. His fire kept him nice His Fireman jumped down.
bali a> -
and warm, and he puffed
“No problem,” he said.
fo
ALAR Im
IIe G EIR
happily to and fro, arranging “With care we can have you
the trucks, taking them down
‘ss
back on the rails in no time.”
Li
F
EF &
Pa
ay
we
to the Yard and bringing back
ay a A
“I don’t see how,” said Toby
empty ones.
sadly.
’ ee Pee
s sil One night it was especially
Directed by the Fireman,
cold. The ground froze, and even Toby felt chilly.
the Driver carefully reversed
“Berrr!” he shivered as he left the Shed and set out along the line towards
Toby along the ruts his wheels had just made. At last, with a thud and a
the Quarry. jolt, Toby felt the rails safely beneath his wheels once more.
When the ground freezes it SS “ae He heaved a sigh of relief.
“Well done, Toby,” said his
Fireman. “I'll spread a few hot
swells. At the road crossing
where Mavis had had her
accident, the frost had swollen
ashes from your fire along
the earth in the ruts beside 3 , .
there so that it doesn’t happen
ai h that Toby’s
the rails so much tha y again. Then we can get safely
wheels were lifted off the
up to the Quarry, and no one
track. There was a crunching se b R ; u —
will be any the wiser.
noise, a rumbling, and Toby began to shudder. He was horrified. y
But they reckoned without © Baa SSP ns
“Oooer!” he exclaimed. “What's happening?” | : |
The lineiheke cueves away towards the Quarmyahue Joly, wichanoma no the Fat Controller. When Mavis was home after being mended he came to
1€ il > ?
. ; see the engines.
guide his wheels round, simply went straight on. & | | 7
Tob Te ee “What's this I hear, Toby?” he asked. “Trying to be a traction engine, |
oby was not going fast. |
were you?”
oa OG ae
a tt THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THe New COLLECTION 90 res mer
Toby blushed, but the Fat
Controller wasn’t cross. Toby
told him about Terence.
The Fat Controller laughed.
“If I were you,” he said, “I
should leave the roads to what
they were made for. You stay
on the rails — you'll find them
comfortable for a Tram Engine like you.
much more
Toby was quick to agree.
= LOG —
PHE RAILWAY SERIES NO. 33
Thomas and the Twins
CHRISTOPHER AWDRY
with illustrations by
CLIVE SPONG
FOREWORD
DEAR FRIENDS,
Bill and Ben keep asking if they can be in a book
again. Well, in Cornwall during 1988, I met Bill and
Ben’s twins and talked to the Driver of one of them at
Par. He set me thinking, and this is the resule: if our
china clay twins enjoy being in a book again, they should
thank him not me. I hope you will enjoy the stories too.
‘THE AUTHOR
‘ “wy a) > —T" ) .
gumeme 8 THOMASTHE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION ERG eae gree:
Scrambled Eggs
“Tue bridge across the river
needs repair,” the Fat
Controller told the engines.
“I shall have to make a weight
limit across it for a while.
Percy and Daisy will be all
right, and Toby too, but
Thomas is too heavy...
Thomas looked anxious.
“Would you like to go and help Edward?” suggested the Fat Controller.
“Can Annie and Clarabel come2” asked Thomas.
The Fat Controller shook his head.
“They'll be needed here, I'm afraid,” he said. “Daisy can’t carry all your
passengers on her own.”
Percy promised to look after Annie and Clarabel, but they were sorry to
see Thomas go.
To cheer Thomas up, Edward took him to see Bill and Ben, the twin
engines who lived at the china Qs ; e eee?
clay harbour.
“Oh dear, not another blue
engine,” said Bill cheekily. E ge
“Rirst Edward, then Donald ee fas ,
” = aig ~~ i => ‘3 7 :
and Douglas and now... , : | | te
“Don’t forget Gordon,”
interrupted Ben.
newest femme THOMAS AND THE TWINS SFE em weeny
He came here once, by mistake, so he said. I don’t think he enjoyed it
much,” he added innocently.
The twins both chuckled, remembering.
“No, but seriously Edward,” said Bill
, Why doesn’t the Fat Controller
paint engines a proper colour
— like us, for instance?”
Thomas let off steam
indignantly.
“Letime'tell you. ..” he
began.
“All right, you two,”
laughed Edward. “Go and
move those trucks, or there won’t be room for any more.”
Bill and Ben, unabashed, went off happily.
“You just don’t have to take them too seriously,” explained Edward.
Thomas smiled ruefully.
“T wish I knew how you deal with them,” he said.
Near the harbour the line
crossed a lane. The crossing
had no gates. The lane led to
a farm which supplied food
to the shops in the town.
One morning, the farmer
had difficulty starting his lorry.
He did it at last, but the lorry
jerked along in fits and starts. The farmer was worried about his load of
milk and butter and eggs.
’ ’ ; ° CON
| rel [ ANI [: “if il Ni - | hil Ni W ( ‘ )| | I I | ; Wi nese gta
ad ow We
’ he re ( himself as he
| lk’LI be churned to butcer soon, he mutte red to he
“That MIs
cared the level crossing:
neared t k wheels were just clear when
. rails. The bac
The lorry lurched across the rails. The b% ae
. . > , DY ° r QO ft >
} le a noise like a tired sheep and stopped. The bac e lorry
its engine made « 7
,2 out over the railway line.
was still juceit
The farmer struggled to
start it again, but it would
not go. He had just got down
to telephone for help when he
heard a train approaching.
Thomas wasn’t going fast.
When he saw the lorry he set
his brakes hard, but he
He hit the lorry with a loud crash.
1. Splintered wood flew
couldn't stop.
The force of the blow spun the lorry arounc
everywhere and eggs, butter and milk were catapulted over Thomas.
“Ugh!” he exclaimed, and stopped.
ng out from behind the
“Look at my poor old lorry,” said the farmer, com1
“What a way to make an omelette.
hedge where he had been sheltering.
The Driver made sure
Thomas wasn’t hurt, then
stood back and surveyed the
mess. He began to laugh.
“Tt’s not funny,” said
Thomas crossly. An egg yolk
trickled down his nose, and
burst on his buffer.
mon reer: be THOMAS AND THE TWINs a
“You're not standing where
I am,” said his Driver. “You
look just like a scrambled
egg, Thomas.”
“If a scrambled egg feels as
sticky and wet as I do, then
its very uncomfortable,” said
Thomas. “Please clean me.”
Both his Driver and his Fireman tried hard, but the heat of Thomas’s
boiler had cooked the eggs, and they were stuck.
“Sorry, Thomas,” said his Driver at last. “We can’t block the line any
longer. We shall have to go on.”
At the end of the line,
Thomas was taken to Bill and
Ben's yard to be cleaned. The
twins were there.
“What's this?” asked Ben.
“Must be a new engine.”
said Bill.
Ben inspected the arrival.
“No, Bill,” he said. “That’s not a new engine. It’s Thomas.”
“But it’s our colour, Ben, and Thomas doesn’t think our colour is proper
for an engine.”
They heard a grinding noise.
“Are your joints stiff, Bill?” asked Ben.
Buc it wasn’t Bill’s joints — ic was Thomas, gnashing his ceeth.
= =) ae
a a4 ON
THOMAS THI TANK ENGINE: THE New COLLECTIC
praser wrocey HO
What a Pictu re!
It took a long time to clean
Thomas properly, and the
Twins kept teasing him until
Edward told them to stop.
“A party of railway
enthusiasts is coming soon,
he said. “I shan’t bring them
unless you behave.
1 avs made a fuss of them and
Bill and Ben were excited. Enthusiasts always made a fuss of t
took their photographs.
“When?” they squeaked.
Edward smiled, and winked at Thomas.
“Next week,” he said, “but not if you don’t behave.”
Bill and Ben promised that they would.
“Tt is next week?” they asked Thomas each morning.
Thomas enjoyed keeping the twins in suspense: “Next week never comes,
he would answer mysteriously.
Bill and Ben werent
worried; they kept urging
their crews to polish them.
“What's the hurry?” the
men laughed. “Those
enthusiasts aren't going to eat
their breakfasts off you, you
know.”
roe een ee THOMAS AND THE TWINS
SUPE eres rome
“No, Bill whispered, “but they might if we were Thomas.”
The Twins thought this a huge joke. It was lucky that Edward and
Thomas weren't there to hear it.
At last the day came, and the Drivers and Firemen agreed to give the
engines an extra polish. They were sparkling when Thomas arrived with
the special train.
Many of the enthusiasts had
notebooks, and almost all had
cameras. Bill and Ben didn’t
know which way to look, but
they loved all the attention
they were getting.
Then the visitors queued up
for a ride in either Bill or
Ben's cab. Their cabs were low, and several visitors forgot to duck, but they
didn’t seem to mind.
The enthusiasts’ visit was almost over when a shunter came running up
with a message.
“A ship needs moving before the tide goes down,” he said. “One of you see
to it, please.” Ben went at
once, and most of the visitors
went too, to watch.
Only one man stayed. He
had a camera which took
‘instant pictures.
“Just one more,” he kept
saying. Even Bill tired of him.
=| Yl ko
Tt) THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE New COLLECTION Syl ene
The photographer screwed his camera to a tripod and pointed it at Bill.
“This is it,” he chortled. “What a picture.
Ben’s Fireman ran up.
lp,” he said. “The ship's going aground, a
it on his own.”
“Ben needs he nd he can't move
oe
et. “Right, Bill,” said his Driver.
<a See.
rv
bi “We can’t wait any longer.”
He turned a tap, and with a
hiss and a roar Bill vanished in
a cloud of steam. At that
moment, the photographer
pressed the button.
When the steam cleared, Bill was hurrying off to help his twin.
The photographer peeled the cover from his instant picture, looked at it
and threw it down in disgust.
Quickly the engines were coupled together.
“When I say heave, heave,” instructed Ben. “One, two, three, HEAVE!”
“Come on, come on,” puffed the engines. The cable tightened and
stretched.
At last, with a shudder,
the ship slid off the mud.
Towed by the engines, it
glided out into the deeper
water of the harbour.
Bill’s Driver found the
discarded photograph on the
ground by the rails.
THOMAS AND THE TWINS FE we eee
All it showed was a cloud of steam, with, very dimly, Bill’s funnel at the
top. He showed it to Bill.
“Wh > 12? . .
at a picture!” remarked Bill, to no one in particular.
NAY
—— THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION 17 ana aa
Trevor Helps Out
Trevor the Traction Engine
was feeling depressed. He
couldn’t breathe properly.
“Your boiler needs fixing,”
said his owner, the Vicar, “but
I can’t afford it at present.”
One morning the Vicarage
telephone rang. The Vicar
answered it, then hurried out to see Trevor.
“You may be a bit under the weather, but you can manage this,” he said.
“The farmer has a tree down and wants you to saw it up for him.”
When Trevor had steam, they went to the farm and set to work in a field
near the railway.
Thomas passed by with Edward’s coaches. He whistled cheerfully.
Edward liked trucks, and had been delighted to let Thomas have his
coaches for a while.
When Edward passed later that morning, he was pulling trucks with a
sort of tent over them. These
were specially for carrying
china clay — the men called
them ‘hoods’.
“Why ‘hoods’?” Thomas
had asked Bill and Ben.
“The hoods are those things
like tents,” explained Bill.
mew oe THOMAS ANID THE TWINS WF py ey
“They keep the clay dry,” added Ben. ‘Wet clay goes in tanks.”
But to Trevor they were simply trucks. He was enjoying himself — the
only thing he liked better than sawing logs was giving rides to children.
He chuntered happily as the pile of logs beside him grew.
Edward returned with some
empty trucks. As he passed
the place where Trevor was
working, the line seemed to
wobble under him.
“That feels like a loose rail,”
he thought. “We'd better tell
the maintenance people.”
At the Harbour Edward exchanged the empty trucks for full ones and set
off for the Junction again.
Trevor dozed. The wind
had dropped, and it was
comfortable in the autumn
sunshine. It seemed no time
at all before he heard Edward
coming back.
Trevor whistled a cheerful
greeting. He was watching
Edward, and so did not see one of the trucks, six from the end, sink, jump
and shudder, at just the spot where Edward had felt a weakness in the line
that morning.
Sparks flew, a truck wheel jammed and a coupling broke. The last six
trucks and the Guard’s van lurched, bumped and stopped.
——= 119], Oi
: : | } : kK } is : NEw Co ILLECT ION A ope meee, _—
| ) AS THE | ANK ENGINE: | HE
pemees pecans FR HC MAS
The Guard, safe in his van,
blew his whistle. Edward, far
in front, didn’t hear it, and
hurried on without realising
what had happened.
But Trevor was closer to the
Guard’s van than Edward. He
heard the whistle, and looked
back to see the trucks lying at strange angles.
“Peep pip pip peeeeeeep, peep pip pip peeeep!” he whistled in horror.
“Stop, Edward, stop!”
Edward heard that.
“‘Tr’s Trevor!” he cried anxiously. “What's wrong?”
“We'd better stop and see,” said his Driver.
The Fireman climbed on to the tender.
“Phew!” he exclaimed. “Look — it’s not Trevor, it’s us!”
The Guard went to protect the train, the Fireman went to the farmhouse
to telephone for help, and the breakdown gang soon cleared the line. That
evening the Fat Controller came to see Trevor.
“Thank you, Trevor, he
said. “I’ve heard about your
boiler, and because you saved
a nasty situation, you re to go
to my Works to be mended.
Would you like that?”
“Oh, Sir,” said Trevor.
“Thank you.”
t
r
F
woe teat BRR THOMAS AND THE TWINS SRG sreene eeen
Down the Drain
CHINA clay is not quarried,
as other minerals are — it is
washed out of the ground
with strong hoses. Then the
mixture of clay and water has
to settle and be dried before
Bill and Ben can take it away.
Part of the line which the
Twins use to reach the china clay workings runs near the sea. There is a
hollow in the land just here which often floods after heavy rain. Local
people called this hollow the ‘Drain’.
The autumn gales which had brought down the farmer’s tree for Trevor
to cut up were also causing rough seas and high tides. When rain came too,
the engine crews looked gloomy.
a ee iN “A really high tide now,”
i said Ben’s Driver, “could
make real trouble at the
‘Drain’.”
But though pools of water
lay on either side of the line,
they grew no larger. Bill and
Ben puffed happily to and fro,
replacing loaded ‘hoods’ with empty ones. They forgot about the ‘Drain’.
Then the rain began again, and the wind strengthened. As the engines
went to the claypits that morning their Drivers noticed that the water
THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION De
reore omer
in the ‘Drain’ was rising.
While Bill arranged the
empty trucks, Ben prepared to
leave with a train of full ones.
At the ‘Drain’ he found that
the water was level with the
top of the rails.
ie ¥. Lt lel
Ren i in Gs “Come on,” said Ben
bravely. “We must get through, if only to get help for Bill.”
“Go back, go back,” the wind seemed to shriek.
Ben took no notice. He was halfway over when the rising tide, whipped
into a huge wave by the wind, swept across the line.
“Oof!” spluttered Ben as water crashed against his side. “Help!”
With a hiss the water
reached his fire.
“Quick, Ben,” urged his
Driver, but it was too late.
With a despairing gasp Ben
stopped. He was stranded in
the middle of the ‘Drain’, with
seawater lapping his wheels.
The Fireman set off to find help.
“Keep on the sleepers,” advised the Driver. “We don’t want you swamped
as well.”
The water reached the Fireman’s waist, but he struggled on. At last, cold
and soaking, he reached the Yard. Thomas was there, wondering where his
trucks were.
wee ame pe THOMAS AND THE TWINS SAD eee weet
His Driver wasted no time.
“Ben must be rescued,” he
said. “We need a steel cable,
a pair of waders and some
determination.”
“Yes,” said Thomas
doubtfully. He understood
the cable, but he wasn’t sure
about determination and didn’t even know what waders were.
Thomas stopped at the water's edge. His Fireman put on the waders, and
set out, carrying the end of the cable.
Ben was delighted to see him. The Fireman fastened the cable-end to
Ben’s front coupling. Then he uncoupled the trucks, so that Bill, who had
come up behind, could pull them clear.
“Right,” he said as he joined Ben’s Driver in the cab. “Let’s go.”
Poor Ben had no steam left to whistle, so the Driver and Fireman waved
to show Thomas they were ready.
Carefully Thomas took the strain.
Slowly, with water cascading all round him, Ben came out of the ‘Drain’.
Once he was clear, Thomas
was properly coupled to him,
and helped him back to his
Shed.
“Thank you Thomas,” said
Ben gratefully, and his eyes
twinkled for the first time in
several hours.
my eoos
T_T THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: |
It was four days before the
water in the ‘Drain’ subsided.
When Bill reached home,
both twins agreed chat it
would be ungrateful of them
ever to tease Thomas again.
‘Ye New COLLECTION
[HE RAILWAY SERIES NO. 44
Jock the New Engine
CHRISTOPHER AWDRY
with illustrations by
CLIVE SPONG
FOREWORD
DEAR FRIENDS,
The Arlesdale Railway is a narrow-gauge line which
runs inland along a beautiful valley. Ic starts at the
terminus of Duck’s branch line, and Duck and Oliver
bring many visitors. So many, in fact, that Rex, Bert and
Mike found that they couldn’t carry them all on their
own. And that is why Jock was built. I like Jock — I hope
you will coo.
‘THE AUTHOR
, wn
had written a book about
G7 <) ™ chem, and coday it was going
co be published.
‘Am I in it?” asked Frank.
oo = wh = ke He was a diesel, and inclined
to be grumpy with the other engines.
The Small Controller shook his head.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “You weren't here when the Thin Clergyman wrote
it, I’m afraid, so he didn’t know about you.
Frank was cross. When his Driver came to start him the next day, he
refused to go.
“It’s not fair,” Frank grumbled. “Why can’t I be in a book like the others?
“Cheer up,” said his Driver. “It’s only a book!”
“It’s got pictures, hasn’t it,” muccered Frank. “I’m not in them either,
I suppose.”
“Come on, Frank,” said his
Driver, losing patience. “It’s
teamwork that counts on a
railway, not books.” He pressed
the starter button again.
“Don’t care,” growled Frank,
and started suddenly.
=m we THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NE} LECTI Wil re pene re pee BRL JOCK THE NEw ENGINI OPN em pena
F
We Need Another Engine He jerked forward. Before his Driver could stop him, Frank hit the wall
| at the back of the shed.
Rex, Bert and Mike, the Frank was unhurt, but
Small Railway Engines, were one of the shed supports was
excited. The Thin Clergyman cracked. He was sorry at once,
and even sorrier when he
realised that the Small
Controller had just come
into the shed. The Small
Controller was cross, and
ordered Frank out to work while he made sure that the shed was safe.
That afternoon, Rex left the bottom station with a heavy train. As they
climbed the first hill, his Driver watched the steam gauge anxiously.
“We've got a steam leak somewhere,” he said.
They stopped in a loop to
let Mike pass. That helped,
but Rex was exhausted when
they reached the Green. He
hardly noticed Frank,
working in the siding.
“T chink we can make it to
the top,” urged his Driver.
But they didn’t. They had to stop in the next loop, and the Driver
switched on his radio-telephone. Engines on the Small Railway are now
- fitted with radio-telephones. Their Drivers can talk to Control, who can then
2 x ma <e sure that the trains run safely.
aR ex’s steampipe is leaking badly,” reported the Driver to Control.
a 5 :
mo
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Sd) (7 4
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——s THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION 89 ye wey weet race Ie
JOCK THE New ENGINE SW ree
We're all right on our own, but the train 1s too much for us. Can you You put things right very
help, please?” ll,” they said. “W
lelp, please: well,” they said. “We were
“We'll get you out somehow,” said Control. “Dont go away. expecting a walk home.”
Very funny,” muttered Rex. The Small Controller was
“Chance would be a fine thing.” pleased too.
Overworked, that’s what we “Well done, Frank.” he
are,” Bert sympathised, as he said. “And the shed is not
passed with a down train. badly damaged either, so we'll
We need another engine. say no more about it.”
About ten mi
inutes later But he was thoughtful as he went back to his office.
Rex heard a cheerful toot from
Frank shouldn't have to do rescue acts,” he said to himself. “We do need
behind, and Frank rumbled through the loop.
“Wonderful things, these radios,” said Frank. “Control says you need
another engine.”
help, so I’m to take the train and let you go home alone. Teamwork, my
Driver calls it.”
Frank ran ahead and Rex
was uncoupled and backed
into the loop. Frank reversed
on to the train, and, when
everything was ready, set off
for the top station.
Rex hurried home, and his
Driver set to work to mend
the broken steampipe. The job took a long time.
“If only we had a spare engine,” grumbled the Driver. )
At the top station Frank’s Driver apologised to the passengefs tf ©™
late, but they didn’t mind. | Sa
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Py
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—— is THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE New COLLECTION SHE yraxn ermen
Sticking-Power
Tur holiday season was drawing to a close. It had been a busy year, and
Bert was feeling unwell.
Rex and Mike were unsympathetic.
“Poor old Bert,” they said
to each other. “What a shame
he’s out of puff. No stamina,
these youngsters. What you
need, Bert,” Mike went on,
“is determination and
TAs WWERUMAG SAE.
sticking-power.
\ VEST LET Lit
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J
“Sticking-power be blowed.
might have known I'd get no sympathy from you two,” grumbled Bert.
“I can’t get my breath properly, Bert complained to his fitter.
“You need new tubes,” the fitter said, “but we can't spare you at present.
Keep going, and we'll give you a new set during the winter.” He paused
and looked over his shoulder. “Keep it under your dome,” he said quietly,
“but I did hear rumours about a new engine. We need one, because if any
of you three failed we'd really
be in trouble.”
He gave Bert’s tubes a good
clean. This helped a little,
but Bert soon felt poorly again.
Bert did his best, and one
afternoon he reached the top
station feeling very pleased
grec ee JOCK THE NEW ENGINE SE tren oo
with himself. His train was
full, yet he had lost only a few
minutes on the journey.
His Driver put him onto
the turntable and he ran
eagerly round his coaches.
“That gives me time fora
good breather before we go
down again,” he said to himself.
He simmered happily as he waited for the Guard to blow his whistle and
wave his green flag.
There was a hill near the station. Bert knew that once he was over it he
could run home without losing time.
At last the Guard waved
his flag.
“Come on,” puffed Bert.
“Come on, come on,
come... Oh!” Suddenly there
was a jerk and everything
seemed easy. Bert’s Driver
looked back.
“Whoa,” he groaned. “Back we go! We've left our train behind.”
The Guard met them.
“The tender coupling’s broken,” he said. “We'll just have to stick around
until someone can bring up a spare.”
“Stick around!” grumbled Bert crossly. “I know what Rex and Mike will
say about sticking!”
wsteaa! (O)) Ua
game «2929 THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION SA) omen |
— oe Tone ow it “ by rei New Peacjint POF omy me
His Driver looked at him. ‘a
) Thank goodness we're not as busy as that every day.”
“Hey!” he exclaimed. Bert grinned.
“You've given me an idea.” “eg ae ee er ) i
g Sorry you're tired,” he said brightly. “I thought you older engines had
He disappeared into the Ent
Pp sticking-power. What you need
“ ing a smé
carrying a small box his adventure with the glue.
supposed to stick anything.” etntiied “Never mind —
aS 4 ‘ ‘ Sy) A 2 + ‘ > ' ' J 7 , . , y , ~ , + .
Even trains?” snorted Bert disbelievingly. His Driver ignored him and some of us have it and some
set to work. | of us don’t. Goodnight.” And
“Now I’ve heard everything,” muttered Bert. Then an idea came to him, he went happily to sleep
and he smiled.
“That'll stop their teasing,” he said to himself.
At last the job was done.
“There’s no hurry,” said Bert’s Driver. “We'll take it steadily and make
sure the passengers get home. The Guard has told them what has happened,
and they say they don’t mind being late.”
The hill near the station was the difficult part. Gently, carefully, Bert
eased the train over it. After that, though he took care, it was with growing
confidence that he trundled
the train home.
The passengers all gave him
three cheers.
When Rex and Mike came
into the shed that evening
they looked tired.
“Phew!” remarked Mike.
— 132— SS tL eee
SIGINE: T lew COLLECTION SPR pom eee
T © THE TANK ENGINE: THI NEW
ea THOMAS THI
Jock
“Do you know what |
think?” asked Bert one
evening, soon after the
next season began.
“News to me that you
could, Bert,” said Mike
cheekily.
“IT suppose it would be,”
retorted the blue engine, “never having done any thinking yourself.”
Rex chuckled, and he and Mike waited.
“Well, go on,” prompted Mike at last. “Aren't you going to impress us
with your thoughts after all?” He winked at Rex.
“Something,” Bert announced, “is going on in the workshop.
“Work?” suggested Rex innocently.
Bert took no notice.
“T think,” went on Bert,
“chat the men are building
something. I was waiting at
the platform yesterday and
the workshop door was open.
I couldn’t see much, but there
was something on the floor
inside. It looked like a boiler.”
“Is that all?” said Rex. He sounded disappointed.
“Probably a spare for one of us,” said Mike.
re ae BL JOCK THE NEW ENGINE Sid gen wars
I don’t think so,” argued Bert. “There were wheels as well. What I think . . .”
— he paused dramatically —“.. . is that they're building a new engine.”
“My fitter said he’d heard a rumour,” added Bert.
Three Small Engines looked hopefully at each other.
“About time, too,” said Rex.
“What's the new engine’s
name?” Mike asked his Driver
the next morning.
“How did you know about
the new engine?” the Driver
asked. “It’s supposed to be
a secret.
They told him.
“I don’t think the Small Controller has chosen a name yet,” he said, and
laughed. “When he does I'll let you know.”
But a few weeks later, when the new engine came out of the workshop
for tests, the Small Controller had still not decided on a name.
“How odd,” remarked Mike, looking with interest at the new engine’s
square windows and square-topped dome.
“And what a funny colour,”
put in Rex.
“No, it’s not,” said Bert.
Wlelike st,”
The new engine smiled.
“So do I,” he said. “My
Driver says it will be different
in the end — this is something
ee
——————te
gee «9 THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION = a
he calls an undercoat.”
Douglas and Duck came to
look too. Douglas had just
brought some empty ballast
trucks along the branch line:
he and Duck watched with
interest as the new engine was
put through his paces.
“He puts me in mind of ma days in Scotland,” Douglas remarked. “Some o’
the engines up in the Highlands were yon colour. Jocks, we used to call them.”
“Jocks?” asked the new engine, stopping nearby.
“Aye,” agreed Douglas. “No’ a bad name for yoursel’, eh, Jock?”
The Small Controller was delighted.
“Well done, Douglas,” he said, and turned to the new engine. “What do
you think?” he asked. “It means you’d have to keep your colour too, to give
the name some point. Would you mind?”
“Not a bit, Sir,” said the new engine. “I like the colour, and the name
would suit me fine.”
“Excellent,” said the Small
Controller. That’s settled then.
Thank you, Douglas —a
splendid idea.”
And Douglas puffed away,
well satisfied with his
morning’s work.
wy resret WOR Jock THE NEW ENGINE SPMD pon eeen
Teamwork
At the tests on Jock went
without a hitch, and when the
holiday months came, the new
engine had already proved his
value. He was stronger than
the others, and people even
came to the railway especially
to see him. Unfortunately this
went to his smokebox, and he became rather cocky.
One day Jock was alone at the bottom station. A container of sleepers
arrived, but the lorry could not get into the yard.
“Now what2” demanded the lorry driver, scratching his head.
“No problem,” said the Small Controller. “Just arrange the trailer astride
the rails, and leave it. Jock will do the rest.”
A cable was fastened
between Jock’s tender and the
trailer, and, puffing hard, Jock
pulled the trailer into the Yard.
“Road or rail, what do |
care,” Jock boasted in the shed
that night. The engines
looked at each other in dismay.
Next day, Mike was waiting at the platform to take a train up the line,
when he saw Jock backing down towards him,
“What's this?” he asked as Jock was coupled on. I can manage.
ae ee
= mew ee THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION PPE rey pee
“The Small Controller wants me to help,” said Jock importantly. “The
party on the train has asked to see me specially.”
“Oh has it?” said Mike. “Well, make sure you don’t leave me to push you
as well as pull the train.”
That gave Mike an idea. He
whispered to his Driver, who
grinned and nodded.
“We'll do it after the
Green,” he said.
So when they restarted from
the Green, he gradually cut
off steam...
Now the whole weight of the train, with Mike as well, pulled on Jock’s
coupling. Smoke and steam shot high in the air as he had to work extra
hard to keep moving.
Jock’s Driver glanced back.
When he saw Mike grinning
he realised what was going on.
“Feeling tired, Mike?”
asked Jock at the top station.
“You were enjoying
yourself,” Mike grinned. “I
didn’t want to spoil your fun.”
“Ah,” said Jock. “I wondered if perhaps I was going too fast for you...”
“Too fast!” spluttered Mike. “You wait!”
But Jock didn’t wait. He chuckled, and ran quickly away so that Mike
could have his turn on the ‘table’.
waow waew See Jock THE New ENGINE Cs
Mike was still cross when it
was time to leave, and started
at a great pace.
“Steady,” said his Driver.
“We're not racing anyone.”
“That’s what you think,”
muttered Mike.
They stopped at the Green.
Mike’s Driver tried to let water into the boiler, but the injector wouldn't work.
“Ouch,” squeaked Mike. “Give me a drink quickly, please — I think I’m
going to burst.”
4 2 : “Your injector has failed,”
ae q explained the Driver, turning
to his radio-telephone. “Now
Jock will have to pull us home.”
“What!” spluttered Mike,
but there was no other way.
Mike’s fire was put out, Jock
= moved to the front of the
train, and in the end little time was lost. Duck, warned by Control, was
waiting for any passengers who wanted to go to the Big Station.
Mike went to the shed to be mended and was feeling better by the time
the others arrived.
“I’m sorry I made you do all the work this morning,” Mike apologised
when Jock came in. “Thank you for bringing me home.”
“That’s all right,” said Jock. “I’m sorry too. It’s silly trying to get the
better of each other. If I hadn’t teased you perhaps your injector wouldn't
j OO —————— |
meee =| THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION $7. a amg
have failed. It taught me
a lesson. a rai it’
on. Ona railway its VHE RAILWAY SERIES NO. 45
teamwork that counts.” Th ad th
tomas and the
aes Great Railway Show
Engines agreed, and, looking = ies Te enees
The other three Small
rt
f -, oa
at them, Jock was glad that he =
was one of the team.
CHRISTOPHER AWDRY
with thustrations by
CLIVE SPONG
FOREWORD
DEAR FRIENDS,
Henry, Gordon and James have been grumpy lately.
They were jealous because Thomas had been asked to
visit the National Railway Museum in York. The Fat
Controller was afraid that they would go on strike, but
they didn't.
“If Thomas wants to be a museum-piece,” they said to
each other, “what’s that to do with us?”
Meanwhile Thomas was enjoying himself. I hope you
will enjoy reading about how he did so.
‘THE AUTHOR
om we eee eee
reser ewe AST THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION 5908 rey grass
WMeuseum-Piece
“I don’t believe it,” muttered
Gordon furiously. “What’s
Thomas got that an important
engine like me hasn’t, tell me
that? Gallivanting off to
museums — bah!”
“He ts old,” said James. “If
the Fat Controller says he can
be a museum-piece, why should we worry?”
“Its not fair, though,” grumbled Henry. For a chance like this he wouldn't
have minded being a museum-piece himself.
The jealous engines all
ignored Thomas when they
saw him at the Junction.
Thomas didn’t care — he was
too excited.
“Why me?” Thomas asked
Percy and Toby. “Fancy the
National Railway Museum
people at — where is it? — York, wanting me to go there. They've never even
seen me.”
“Yes, they have,” said Percy.
“On television,” added Toby. “The Fat Controller told us about it.”
He and Percy wanted to go with Thomas, but they knew that someone
had to stay and run the branch line while he was away.
pe ere THOMAS AND THE Great RAILWAY SHOW =a
“How much longer till we go?” Thomas asked his Driver every morning.
“One day less than when
you asked before,” laughed
his Driver. “Anyone would
think you wanted to be a
museum-piece.-
Thomas grinned.
“Gordon, Henry and James
are just jealous,” he chuckled.
“Who else is at this museum? Is Flying Scotsman there, or Duck’s friend,
City of Truro?”
“We shall have to wait and see,” said the Fireman. “I'll be very surprised
if there isn’t someone there you can remember from the old days.”
And that. of course, made Thomas more excited than ever.
At last the day came. A large crowd came to the Junction to see Thomas
off, and the Fat Controller was there too.
“Goodbye, Thomas,” he Zao
said. “Enjoy yourself and be a
a credit to Our Railway.”
Everyone gave three cheers,
and Thomas set off.
They ran across the Island
and over the bridge leading
to the Other Railway. It was a
slow journey, but at last they reached a place Thomas s Driver called
Carnforth, where they rested for the night in a big shed.
Next day, they went on. At Skipton Thomas stopped for a drink
—— THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION PA co wa
and to let a goods train overtake him. While they waited it began to rain.
In a signalbox a little way ahead the Signalman opened his level-crossing
gates for Thomas, and set his signals to ‘clear’.
Suddenly he heard a crack
and then a rattle from the
level-crossing. The lock on
a gate had broken, and the
wind was swinging the gate
across the rails. Steam
appeared above the trees
as Thomas drew near.
“Wow!” exclaimed the Signalman, and quickly resetting the signal to
danger, he ran to mend the gate.
Thomas had never felt happier. His fire was bright, and even the rain
didn’t depress him. They neared a signal. Its arm was up, showing that the
line ahead was clear.
Away we go, away we go,” puffed Thomas happily.
He was just passing the signal when he heard a clang, as the signal arm
fell to danger.
“Whoa, Thomas!” cried the
Driver, and put the brakes
hard on.
“What... ?” Thomas began.
But then he saw, just ahead,
a heavy level-crossing gate
swinging towards him across
the line. The Signalman tried
ae ee Ty ac AN
D THE GREAT R
AILWAY SHOW 1? aa imag
co stop it, but the gate was wet,
and it slipped out of his hand.
“Oooer,” groaned Thomas
as he skidded along the rails.
“Help — I must stop!”
But the rain had made the
rails slippery, and he couldn’t.
He slithered helplessly along,
and was still moving when he reached the level-crossing.
With a loud crack, the gate broke against his bufferbeam.
“Ouch,” said Thomas, and stopped.
The Signalman ran to his telephone, and then directed Thomas into a
siding, where an Inspector examined him. His bufferbeam was bent, and
one of his buffers was broken.
“You can’t go on like that,”
said the Inspector. “Not on
the railway, anyhow.”
“But I’m supposed to be in
York tomorrow,” wailed Thomas.
“I know that,” said the
Inspector. “Never mind —
leave it to me, and I'll see what can be done.”
And with that, Thomas had to be content.
—— THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION TT ora go
Not the Ticket
Tuomas had to stay in the
siding for the rest of the day.
His fire went out and he grew
colder and colder. The rain
fell more heavily, and what
had begun as a splendid day
began to turn into a disaster.
“IT wish I was in my nice
warm shed,” he said to himself miserably.
At last the Inspector returned.
“Cheer up, Thomas,” he said. “You'll be at the museum tomorrow, and
they have promised to mend your front end in their workshop.”
“Thank you, Sir,” said Thomas, “but if I can’t run on rails, how can I
get there?”
“It’s all fixed,” replied the Inspector. “A lorry is coming for you tomorrow.”
Thomas was horrified.
“Al...1... lorry?” he stammered.
“That's right,” said the
Inspector. “It'll be here at
eight o'clock sharp.”
Thomas slept badly that
night. He kept wondering
what Gordon, Henry and
James would say if they knew
he had finished his journey
———t*t
We ee THOMAS AND THE Great Raiway Stow ED rma ey
on a lorry. He almost thought
he could hear them laughing.
Next morning, the Driver
and Firemen came early. A
diesel shunter came to push
Thomas out of his siding and
along towards the road, where
they found the lorry waiting.
A steel cable was fastened to his coupling, the lorry-driver started a winch,
and in no time at all, it seemed, Thomas was perched on the lorry.
“How undignified,” he thought, but he found as they went along that he
had a marvellous view of the countryside and time to enjoy it, too.
But Thomas soon began to feel bored. At last, houses began to appear on
either side of the road.
“Perhaps this is York,” thought Thomas hopefully.
It was, but the Driver was unsure of his way. He parked the lorry and
went to find a telephone.
A man wearing a flat-
topped cap with a yellow band
around it came up to Thomas.
“Hullo,” said Thomas.
“Humph!” said the man.
He wrote something in his
notebook and went round
to the front of the lorry.
When the lorry-driver came back Thomas heard him say something, then
slam the cab-door crossly.
—t— so THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION SRG sper wom i
Soon they reached a large
building with rails running
into it. Thomas was unloaded,
and the lorry drove away.
he had arrived.
When his Driver and
Fireman came, Thomas told
them about the man with the flat cap. They laughed loudly. 3
Thomas?” spluttered the Driver when he could speak. 4
“How do you do it,
. - ’ ~~ = ~ me ”’
“That will make the Fat Controller's day — Thomas booked for parking!
Thomas looked about him: q
ae eee THOMAS AND THE GREAT RAILWAY SHOW 2
Trouble on the Line
Tue museum people were as
good as their word. Thomas
went at once into the
workshop, where his
bufferbeam was soon
straightened and a new buffer
bolted on.
In the workshop was a green
engine like Flying Scotsman, but smaller. He was called Green Arrow.
“My brothers and I were built to run fast goods trains,” he said, “but we
did it so well that they let us pull expresses too, in the end. Now I’m the
only one of my sort left.”
Green Arrow was so friendly that when Thomas was mended he was sorry
to leave him. But back at the Great Railway Show he was thrilled to see,
instead, one of Stepney’s brothers, Boxhill, an engine he remembered from
the old days.
Thomas was moved to a special position.
“There’s no doubt about
it,’ said his Driver. “You're
a star attraction.”
“Is that being a credit to
the Fat Controller?” asked
Thomas. He was anxious to
make up for the parking ticket.
One morning Thomas's
|e
P * As y/
gee ee «2 THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION <7 ii?
Driver arrived in great
excitement.
“We're to give rides on the
demonstration line,” he said.
Thomas was delighted.
The three demonstration
lines were different sizes. One
was narrower than Thomas's
and the third was used by a very wide engine called Iron Duke.
“This is ‘Broad Gauge’,” he explained. “The Great Western Railway used
it until about a hundred years ago.”
Thomas wondered if Duck knew about ‘Broad Gauge’.
“It would be nice to tell him something about the Great Western,”
he thought.
The engines had to take
great care because of the many
visitors. Thomas was anxious
—some people were not as
careful as they should have been.
Thomas had never seen
such crowds. “We must watch
out,” he told his Driver. “What
would happen if a child got on to the line?”
“Don't you worry, Thomas,” replied the Driver. “There are plenty of good
strong barriers, and we'll take care.”
But Thomas did worry.
He was afraid that in an emergency he might not be able to stop soon enough.
eee cee
~ TN i
ait 2
>
pa few RP HOMAS AND THE GREAT RAILWAY SHOW
Next morning, Thomas felt better. The sun was shining and he was
looking forward to talking to Iron Duke again.
He chuntered happily backwards and forwards along the demonstration
line all day. Then, nearly at closing time, it happened.
Thomas saw something fly 7
through the air and land on aa
the rails in front of him. His
Driver saw it too — he put the
brakes hard on.
“Peep pip peep peeeeep,
whistled Thomas in alarm. “]
must stop, I must!”
Thomas shuddered to a halt, and a great cloud of steam wheeshed noisily
from his cylinder cocks. But he couldn't stop before he hit the bundle. It
burst. Sandwiches and crisps flew in all directions, while pop from a broken
bottle fizzed over Thomas’s wheels.
In the crowd a child, frightened by the steam, cried loudly.
“I want to go home, Mummy, vow!” screamed the child.
“You noisy great engine,” shouted his mother, waving her fist at Thomas.
“I'm going to see the Manager.”
“Oh dear,” thought Thomas.
“That's not the way to be a
credit to the Fat Controller.”
“You did very well,” his
Driver comforted. “What a
3 ~é aed ty vey
‘a rs ¥
relief it was only a lunch pack
j
i
; >
A)
i yy -
' . ee
—#] Nae en and not a child on the line.”
Pa - ' ’ "ap °
, =FS 17 Bike
— ) : i! i \
We cene/
rey easy BTS. THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE
The Fireman was inspecting
Thomas.
“Hey, look at this!” he called.
The Driver went to see.
“You damaged your brakes
when you stopped suddenly,”
he told Thomas. “No more
work until they're fixed, I’m
afraid. Never mind — if the people here today have learned that engines
can't stop at once, that’s a good thing.”
Thomas hoped they had.
> New COLLECTION
i
ae eee RT HOMAS AND THE GREAT RAILWay SHOW SPE apa, gram
Thomas and the Railtour
THe engines were excited.
There were to be some special
railtours to the seaside, and no
one knew which engine would
be chosen to pull them.
“It ought to be me,”
observed Mallard. “After all,
that seaside place helped to
pay for my repairs.”
The others thought someone else should have a chance.
Thomas knew he would not be chosen, but he enjoyed listening to the
others arguing. He was pleased, in the end, when it was decided to give the
trips to Green Arrow.
When Green Arrow
returned from the first tour
he said he had never seen so
many people. Soon there was
talk of putting on extra trains,
but this was not possible.
“All we can do is add extra
coaches,” they said. “But then,
Green Arrow can’t pull a train that heavy all on his own.”
“Of course I can,” he scoffed. “My brothers and I did, during the War.”
“Can I help?” asked Thomas.
The Man in Charge stared.
———— THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE New COLLECTION 90 rae rer
“T don’t see why not,” he said.
In the morning Thomas's
Fireman arrived early.
Thomas’s fire was lit, and AY, |! ccacenannon] Oy a
while the warmth crept — |
through his boiler, the
Fireman made sure all his T=
moving parts were well oiled.
Behind, Green Arrow was being prepared too, and when they were both
ready, they set off to find their coaches.
The Station platform was jammed with an admiring crowd, which didn't
seem to get any smaller even after a trainload of people were in their seats.
Thomas was coupled in front. He was pleased: he liked to see where he
was going.
Sa At the seaside station
Thomas was turned round
so that he could go in front
again. After a rest, the
engines set off once more.
A ruined abbey stood at a
place where the line curved
Pia
ae
le > -—me—rnati Peo Rs te — §636 beside a river. A crowd had
Ss
gathered to wave and cheer, but Thomas wasn’t watching them. Looking
ahead, he had seen something strange.
“Peep peep, stop, stop!” he whistled in alarm.
The train was heavy and hard to stop, but they managed it just in time.
Now everyone was able to see that, in front of Thomas, the rail near the
| THOMAS AND THE GREAT RAILWAY SHOW £2 7
river was lower than the one
on the other side.
“The water has undermined
the embankment,” said the
Inspector. “I'll go to the
signalbox and sort things out.”
Buses came for the
passengers, but it was late
before the men decided it would be safe to use the other track. Together,
the engines pushed the coaches back to a crossover.
On his own, Thomas slowly crept past the landslip. Then, very carefully,
Green Arrow pulled the empty coaches by, and together they brought the
train back to York.
A few days later, a party
of important-looking people
came into the museum. One
was the Man in Charge, and
behind him was... the Fat
Controller.
“Oh dear,” thought
Thomas. “They've come to
take me away for frightening that child.”
But the Fat Controller was smiling. The Man in Charge held up his hand
for silence.
“Thomas,” said the Man in Charge, “Your Controller told us you are a
Really Useful Engine. He is right. For saving a nasty accident the other day,
we have decided you should become an honourary member of the National
=A)
Ww
New COLLECTION SE wa ges
AS THE TANK ENGINE: THE
wma THOM
Railway Collection. This
special plate will remind you
of your visit to us. Ladies and
gentlemen, three cheers for
Thomas the Tank Engine.”
The noise nearly raised
the roof.
“Well done, Thomas,”
ould be a credit to Our Railway.
“I knew you W
smiled the Fat Controller.
THE RAILWAY SERIES NO. ¥
Thomas Comes Home
CHRISTOPHER AWDRY
with ills stravions Oy
CLIVE SPONG
FOREWORD
DEAR FRIENDS,
Daisy was most upset when she heard that people were
saying there were no female engines on the Fat
Controller's Railway.
“You must do something about it,” she told me
indignantly. “There’s me and Mavis, and I was in charge
while Thomas was away at that Great Railway Show,
wasn't [?”
Well, she wasn’t really, but would you dare tell her?
These stories are about what happened before Thomas
came home.
THE AUTHOR
gue Oe © THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION SPP scare tao,
Snow Problem
WHILE Thomas was away
at York, Percy looked after
Annie and Clarabel and took
A
a
eo
&
a
pea
a
most of Thomas’s trains. Daisy
ran the fast one, which
connected with Gordon’s
_ express at the Junction. This
oe
2 made her feel very important.
“Tt shows how the Fat Controller depends on me,” she told the others.
Toby was in charge of the goods trains, and ran down to the Harbour.
He enjoyed that. His stone trains were dealt with by Mavis, the diesel
belonging to the Quarry Company.
One day, snow on the Other
My) KNAPFORD JUNCTION
UTE cteatsbsesus saseeesossi
SP eRRPRADEDLO SSE
So it APL eee e he
THE at Seal RHEE rite —
Railway had delayed the train
from London, so Gordon's
express was late too. While
Daisy was waiting for him
at the Junction, the blizzard
spread across Sodor. Huge
white flakes whirled all round,
and her Driver was worried.
Daisy wasnt.
“What fun,” she said to herself. “The other engines don’t like snow, but
I think it’s pretty. And I’ve got the rails to guide me, so it won't give me
any trouble.”
reves emer Dept THOMAS COMES HOME LO 4 j
Her Driver was less confident.
“Daisy hasn't got the weight
that a steam engine has,” her
Driver told the Guard. “She
can’t push her way through,
and we all know how Thomas
got stuck, don't we?”
“He’s told us often enough,”
laughed the Guard.
At last Gordon arrived, complaining about engines who were frightened
of a bit of snow.
“It’s no problem,” boasted Daisy. “A few flimsy flakes can’t stop me.”
“Quite right,” approved Gordon, “Well done. But I’m late — I haven't
time to gossip.”
He puffed importantly away.
Daisy started confidently, but as they turned towards the valley the sky
darkened and then was completely blotted out by whirling snowflakes.
“Ugh!” exclaimed Daisy, as the wind blew them into her face. “I don’t
like this.”
“Neither do I,” said her
Driver. “I can’t see where
we re going.
They stopped at the next
signalbox and Daisy's Driver
went to talk to the
Signalman. He came back
looking glum.
a ee a ee er ae TRO Sie er a te
——— ne THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION S00 a
“There are deep drifts
ahead, I’m afraid,” he told
the passengers. “We can't
get through!”
“The Signalman says Daisy
must take you back to the last
station, he went on. “We'l| get
you home from there somehow.”
“If we're lucky,” the passengers said to themselves.
They weren't. Before they had gone far Daisy began to feel ill. She
coughed, hiccuped, and stopped.
“Help!” she wheezed. “I can’t breathe properly.”
“The snow has blocked your air-intake, I expect,” said her Driver. He
cleared it, but it was soon clogged again. Daisy could go no further: she felt
like bursting into tears.
The Driver got down again,
and trudged back to the
signalbox to telephone for help.
Daisy felt more miserable
every minute. Even her
Driver, when he came back,
couldn't cheer her up.
“They've promised to rescue
us,” he said, “but goodness knows how they'll do it.”
They waited and waited, but no help came. The snow drifted higher, and
was soon piled all round Daisy.
Suddenly she heard a whirring noise from behind.
=a OU a
a
\ = oes >
: ~~ PSO 5
Ft THOMAS Comes Home et — 1
“Oh no!” she thought.
“Not another blizzard!”
Daisy was right. It wasn’t
another blizzard — it was
Harold the helicopter. He
dropped hot drinks for the
passengers, and when they
were feeling better he lifted SESS
them, one by one, into himself with what Daisy could only describe as a
sort of chair thing. The passengers went to the airfield, where they were
looked after until they could reach home.
Harold couldn't help Daisy. It was a cold, miserable week before Toby
rescued her. She doesn’t think snow is so pretty now.
ee THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION SBN ree: cco
Washout
Near the end of Thomas's
branch line there is a smal]
station, and, close by, the
railway crosses a stream on
a short bridge. As the snow
melted, the water in the
stream rose higher and higher
rushing and swirling in its
hurry to reach the river at the bottom of the valley.
Each time he passed the place, Percy watched the water anxiously.
“Don’t worry,” said his Driver. “It’s got to come a lot higher before it can
stop us.
Percy shivered. He could
remember the time when he
had been stuck in a flood — he
had got very cold and very wet.
Next morning, Toby came
up from the Harbour.
“No problem with the
stream,” he said cheerfully.
“The water is much lower today.”
“That’s good,” said Percy. He set off happily with Annie and Clarabel,
and when they stopped at the small station Percy looked carefully at the
stream. His Driver went to look too. Toby was right — the water-level was
much lower.
ee
——t 7 THOMAS Comes Home ts
“AIl’s well here, Percy,” said his Driver. “Come on — we ve got a timetable
to keep.”
They hurried to the
Junction, where Henry was
waiting for them.
“When is Thomas coming
back?” asked Henry. “If he
does,” he added. “I shouldn't
be surprised if he decides to
Stay as a Museum-piece — he’s
old enough.”
He putted away, chortling at his own wit.
Annie and Clarabel were most upset. Percy had to spend so much time
comforting them that he was late leaving with his next train.
Percy had his tank refilled with water at the station by the river, and this
made him later still.
“Never mind,” said his
Driver. “We don’t need to
stop at the station near the
stream this trip, so there’s
nothing more to delay us.”
They reached the stream
quickly. But as Percy ran on
to the bridge, he felt it sink
slightly under his wheels. There was an ominous creak — the bridge swayed.
“Don't stop, Percy!” shouted his Driver in alarm. “Keep moving!”
Percy didn’t mean to stop, and that was lucky. Clarabel was the rear coach
ea a
is De
THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION RE we ee
and as she crossed the bridge
it wobbled again. When her
back wheels left it there was a
sudden loud crash. The bridge
vanished. One second it was
there, the next it wasn’t.
It was safe to stop now.
Percy's Driver put on the
brakes and the Fireman ran back to look. All he could see of the bridge
was lying in the middle of the brown, rushing stream.
Annie, Clarabel and Percy were badly shaken. The Guard telephoned a
warning, and then they all went quickly home. The Fat Controller closed
the line while the bridge was mended.
At first Toby and Percy
enjoyed their rest, but they
soon grew bored. When the
bridge was repaired, Daisy
had recovered from her snowy
ordeal too, and things returned
to normal.
But for some time afterwards
hich he had
; “ross : in W
Percy was extra careful whenever he crossed the stream 1n
almost had a bath.
Xa 7 me : ~)Fy
: raed we PY,
eee sean Ea THOMAS CoMEs HOME SEE pens, omens
Toby’s Megatrain
Tosy was delighted to take
Percy s stone trucks down to
the Harbour. He thought it a
wonderful treat. Percy could
not understand why.
“It’s only a harbour,” he said.
“Nothing special.”
“T like it,” said Toby. “Ir
reminds me of the old days. I worked at a harbour on the Other Railway.
I told you — remember?”
Because Toby had only a small watertank, he always had to refill it at the
station by the river.
“What if we run out of water halfway?” Toby wondered anxiously.
“We shan’t,” said his Driver confidently.
“But what if the water-
column breaks down?” asked
Toby. “Thomas warned me
about the water from that river.”
His Driver laughed.
“Don't worry, Toby,” he said.
“We shan’t take you fishing.”
The Harbour was busy and
Toby worked hard. Not only did the stone trucks have to be taken down,
but when they had been unloaded they had to be sent back, often full of
things brought in by the ships.
=i 5 =
an
reece eccees ER THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION S008 a oe
One day the stone trucks
from the Quarry didn’t come.
Toby waited in the Yard.
“It’s not like Mavis to be
late,” he said to himself. “J hope
she hasn’t had another accident
with a lorry that forgot to
look where it was going.”
At last the Stationmaster came over.
“Mavis wasn’t well this morning,” he said. “She’s better now, and she’s on
her way.”
And indeed it was not long before, with a cheerful toot, Mavis rumbled
into the yard. Toby wasted no time in setting off himself.
At the Harbour, Toby found
so many trucks waiting to go
back that there was hardly room
for what he had brought.
“Phew!” whistled the
Driver. “Forty-eight trucks,
and not all empty, either —
some megatrain. Two journeys
really, but we haven't time today. We could leave some and make two trips
comorrow ... ¢
“Can't we take them all now?” asked Toby.
The Guard scratched his head, and Toby’s crew looked doubtful.
“We shall be all right,” urged Toby, and so they agreed.
But Toby had forgotten his small watertank. He had also forgotten that
RMR OMe ED THOMAS Comes Home 08 oma a
the journey was all uphill. He
had to work hard, and used so
much steam that by the time
they reached the station by
the river he had very little
water left.
His Fireman put in the
waterpipe and turned the tap.
Nothing happened.
“Oh dear,” groaned Toby. “Now what?”
“You could make it alone,” said his Driver, “but not pulling this load.”
Then he winked at the Fireman.
“Well,” the Driver went on, laughing, “I do know somewhere . . .’
“Is it far?” asked Toby.
“Not really,” he said, and went to see the Signalman, who told him where
to leave the trucks. Toby pushed them carefully into a siding. Then he was
uncoupled, and they set off up the line.
“Where are we going to get water?” he asked.
“You'll see,” smiled the Driver, and stopped Toby right in the middle of
the river-bridge.
“Now,” said the Driver,
“Where’s my bucket?”
“Ugh!” protested Toby.
“You promised!”
His Driver and Fireman
laughed heartily.
“We're only pulling your
en
ea. wD,
tT : THE -ENoINE: THE NEW COLLECTION <=
YMAS THE TANK ENGIN
re THE
wheels, Toby,” they said at
last. “We'll go to the top
station for water, then come
back for the trucks.”
When Toby told Percy
what had happened, Percy
wanted to help, but his Driver
reminded him that he had a
train of his own to run in a few minutes.
“T’l] follow you down and have those trucks
“Don’t worry,” said Toby.
back up here in a jiffy.
And he did, too.
sean newinete SRP THOMAS COMES Home Fume ~<
Thomas Comes Home
WORKMEN were mending the
road near the level-crossing.
They sectioned off part of it
with red and white cones, and
a steamroller chuffered
importantly. His name was
George — he was a most
unpleasant steamroller.
“Railways are no good,” he grumbled. “Turn ’em into roads.”
“Nonsense,” said Daisy one day. “No one could reach the villages in the
valley without our railway.”
“I'd build a road along your old tracks,” said George. “Nothing to it —
my mates have done it all over the place.”
Daisy told Percy and Toby
what George had said. Toby
was worried, because he knew
George was right.
“The Fat Controller
wouldn't allow it,” he said.
But he wasn’t convinced.
Daisy was reassured, but
she was careful to do nothing to upset George, just in case.
Then something happened which made them forget all their worries.
Daisy was at the platform, when the Stationmaster came to talk to her
Driver. He had a letter in his hand.
a
a
a
J fy
gamete 9 THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION 7 ama ag
“Thomas is coming back next week,” he said.
The engines were delighted, and so, of course, were Annie and Clarabel.
“The Fat Controller is holding a welcome-home celebration at the
Junction,” Daisy told George.
“Lot of nonsense!” he
snorted. “Makes no difference
— your railway will be a road
before long, you'll see!”
At last everything was
ready. The engines and
coaches were to go to the
Junction, and Daisy was to
come last with a special train carrying the Stationmasters, Mr and Mrs
Kyndley, and other important people.
Daisy set off happily from the top station. She stopped at the station near
the level-crossing for her last passengers. There was no sign of George, but
some red and white cones lay
nearby. Two of them were
even inside the crossing gates.
The Guard blew his whistle.
“Uuuuhooo” tooted Daisy.
“Away we go,’ and she rattled
towards the level-crossing. brent
-f— J
As she did so, a gust of wind
blew a cone towards her. It disappeared beneath Daisy’s wheels.
“Ouch!” she squealed, and stopped.
The Guard removed the cone, which was now looking very battered.
sey ee Fan THOMAS Comes Home pee,
“Grrrrrr, groaned Daisy,
trying to move. “Help, I’m
stuck!”
The Driver got down to look.
“That cone has damaged
your brakes,” he told her.
“They've jammed hard on.”
“Oh, no,” wailed Daisy.
“The passengers won't get to Thomas’s welcome in time. Why can’t that
stupid George clear his rubbish up properly? I bet he did it on purpose.”
“Can't be helped, Daisy,” said her Driver. “We'll do what we can.”
A fitter came, and the men worked hard while Daisy stood and fretted.
“We're going to miss Thomas, I know we are,” she fumed.
But at last the job was done, and Daisy set off with a roar. As they neared
the Junction, Daisy could see a big crowd on the platform. She heard a cheer.
“Oh dear,” she groaned. “We're too late!”
fer “No we're not,” said her
Driver. “Thomas isn't here yet
— it’s us they re cheering!”
Just then, the signal arm
dropped, and a familiar
whistle sounded in the
distance. Thomas came into
the station — he looked tired,
but he was smiling broadly. He carried the plaque which the National
Railway Museum had given him.
“Welcome home, Thomas,” said the Fat Controller. “We are all proud of
THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION OTS
you, and delighted to see you
safely back — especially Annie THE RAILWAY SERIES NO. 47
and Clarabel.”
Everyone laughed. The Fat
Henry and the Express
Controller held up his hand.
“Three cheers,” he called,
“for Thomas, our famous tank
engine — hip, hip...”
CHRISTOPHER AWDRY
with illustrations by
CLIVE SPONG
f}OREWORD
DEAR FRIENDS,
When I went to see Henry recently he was moaning
about not having had a book to himself for ages.
“Yes,” I agreed. “There's the story about patching up
your smokebox . . .”
“And the time my wheel broke,” he interrupted.
“What about when you came out of the Works before
you'd been properly painted?” I said.
: “You wouldn't... !” he said.
a PT Te ys rer ey Co gE pe a Ta a ee AEe Let tel n= LA, —
be \ \
ef .
P. rs
{ \ \ tee
\. i
> . \\
= L\ 3
z \ .
> .\
But I would, and I have. It might teach Henry not to
try to tell me what to do.
‘THE AUTHOR
= |i ——
ET
= | 2D ss
aoe paow hee. THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION 6 gpa ype en HENRY AND THE Express SOA Sea a
Out of Puff “Aye, I mind it well,”
agreed Donald. “I took the
‘Tre Express is a long, heavy goods train on, ye recall. But
train. Gordon usually pulls Dougie is right — puff goes
it, but only as far as the before a fail.”
Other Railway. Another The Scottish twins were
engine takes the coaches wasting their own puff, of
from there to London. course, because Henry took
It is an important train too, no notice whatsoever.
and must always run, whatever A little later, the railway had to begin using a new sort of coal. It was
| happens. If Gordon is ill, or busy somewhere else, James or Henry have the dusty, and burned with clouds of thick black smoke. The Fat Controller
chance to pull it. was cross, and the engines didn’t like it either.
They try their best, and do it well. Too well, maybe, because sometimes the “Filthy rubbish,” they grumbled.
importance of the occasion goes to their smokeboxes and makes them boastful. The new coal made more
. c
One day Henry was feeling ash, too. Before long, all the
pleased with himself. He had engines began to have pains
run the Express to time, and in their smokeboxes. Hot ash
the Fat Controller had collected there, and gave
congratulated him. them the most awful
I don’t know what the Fat indigestion.
Controller would do without One evening, Henry felt
me,” he said importantly in dreadful when he got back to the Shed. His Fireman had to clean an
the Shed that evening. enormous pile of ash from his smokebox before he felt better.
“Hae a care,” warned Douglas. “Too much puff aboot yoursel’ and ye'll But the next day, Henry could not make steam properly. He struggled
mebbe ie oot of puff one day. to Edward’s station, but could go no further.
Pooh!” scoffed Henry. “I pulled two trains and a failed diesel once, and Dotelasiwas there. “lcdn't breathe,” Henry wheezed.
the Fat Controller said I was an Enterprising Engine.” “Oot o’ puff, are ye?” asked Douglas. “Dinna say we didna warn ye.”
mar Wie See 1/5 —
——" a“
| cag meee §=§9=§ THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION SiO Sa naa oa oe. HEN ANG —>S
| — HE EXPRESS SOE Sma ad
Henry couldn’t answer, His story had got there
Douglas took his train for him before him, of course. Donald
The Fireman cleared away and Douglas didn’t say
more ashes, but when he tried anything, but now and then
to close Henry’s smokebox door made sort of breathless,
it did not make the airtight puffing noises. Henry thought |
fit that it should have done. they must have a very odd |
“Those hot ashes have bent sense of humour. |
your smokebox door,” he said. “Air is coming in so that you can’t breathe
properly through your fire. But I know how we could cure that.”
He filled a bucket with
water. Then he fetched all the
old newspapers he could find
from the station bookstall.
| The driver helped him tear
them into strips, which they
soaked in the water.
“What are you doing?”
asked Henry anxiously.
“Making something called papier maché,” explained the Driver. When
this paper is soggy enough, we shall paste it 1n your airleak, so that you can
breathe better. It won’t last for ever, but it will get us home.
“Oh,” said Henry unhappily.
His Driver was right. When the job was done, Henry felt much better,
and even the Driver and Fireman were surprised how well he steamed.
a) ’ “= . - »? > , -ed.
We'll have to get the Fat Controller to make it permanent, they jok
Henry went very carefully and reached the Shed without mishap.
—r
<= 3S : eee
5 Waar) Cane nt
ory oery We THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION WA ee ey
Overhaul
” Wat you need, Henry,” the
Fat Controller told him,
“is an overhaul.”
“Yes, Sir,” agreed Henry.
“Does that mean I've got to go
away to Crewe again, Sir?”
The Fat Controller laughed.
“Not this time,” he said.
“You won't believe this, Henry, but nowadays the people at Crewe couldn't
do the work you need.”
Henry stared, and the Fat Controller laughed at his surprised expression.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “We
can do everything at my
Works — all I have to do ts get
you there. If James takes the
Express tomorrow, we can
couple you in front. Do what
you can to help, and you can
go to the Works in style.”
Henry told James that night.
Express by
“Help me?” James snorted. “I don't need help! I can pull the
oo Tae ef-
" , a : < > ain 1s afl OV
myself, thank you. Over-haul indeed! Two engines on one trail
haul, if you ask me.”
sre was
: 21 ao ae CORU NERS
But the Fat Controller had already made the arrangement,
nothing James could do about it.
rae aoe WE HENRY AND THE Express SYGB epee ema
Next morning James backed on to the coaches in the Big Station. Henry
followed and was coupled in front.
James was not in the best
of tempers, but when the Fat
Controller came to see them
off, James tried not to show
how cross he was.
“Good luck, Henry,” said
the Fat Controller. “The
people at the Works know
what to do, so you won’t be there too long. James and Bear will take turns
with the Express when Gordon is busy.”
The Express only stops once before it reaches the Other Railway, and that
is at the Works station. Because of his leaky smokebox Henry could not help
very much, but he saved his
hardest effort for Gordon’s
Hill. The two engines raced
up it faster than they had ever
done. When they reached the
top, James was feeling better.
“That was fun,” he said.
“We might even be early at
the Works station — we shall need extra time to uncouple you, anyway.”
James spoke too soon. They had just crossed the viaduct when Henry felt
something wrong with one of his wheels.
“Something’s wobbling,” he told his Driver. Just then, they both heard a
cracking noise.
if
Cr Tn,
8 Sa
—o ny THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION
“Ouch!” exclaimed Henry.
“Whatever it is, I think it’s broken!”
They were passing a station,
Something hit the platform, and
a brick flew past Henry’s cab. It
bounced off James’s boiler and
disappeared.
“Ow!” exclaimed James. “Henry
might need mending, but he needn’t throw his broken bits at me!”
Just then, James and his Driver heard Henry whistling to warn them
that he wanted to stop. More bits and pieces flashed by, some hitting the
carriages.
Using the brakes skillfully, the Drivers stopped the train. Then, while
the Guard made sure that the train was protected behind, James's Driver
went to see if any passengers had been hurt by the flying debris. No one
had, but one of the carriage windows was broken.
Henry’s crew inspected his
wheel. The trouble was not
hard to find.
“Your wheel has a steel rim
called a tyre,’ Henrys Fireman
told him. “It has broken and
come off — it’s a miracle it
didn’t do more damage.”
James pushed Henry into a siding, and went back to the train.
“An overhaul, is it?” grinned James as he passed. “It sounds as if you
need retiring, you poor old thing.’
He guffawed loudly at his
own wit and puffed away.
Henry smiled to himself.
“T don’t know about
retiring, he chuckled. “J
certainly feel tired.”
HENRY AND THE Express
= fst ——
— Tt) THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION . ot
Sliding Scales
Because Henry was at the
Works, the other engines
had to help with ‘The Flying
Kipper too. This is a special
train of vans filled with boxes
of fish, which goes to markets
in London and other places on
the Mainland.
James did not like “The Flying Kipper .
“All those smelly vans,” he complained one morning. “You cant get the
smell off your tender for weeks.”
“I’m very fond of a good
kipper,” remarked his Driver.
“You're welcome to it,”
retorted James.
“A right old misery today,
aren't you?” said his Fireman.
“You got out of the Shed by
the wrong door this morning,
and no mistake. Now get a move on, or the Fat Controller will give you
something to moan about.”
Harbour.
orked
Groaning horribly on the curves, James went slowly down to the
The vans for the train were already in the shed, while men in aprons W
busily, loading them with boxes of fish.
“Pooh!” said James, wrinkling his nose.
In "ee ST SRT a rel
rere arcane: Fa HENRY AND THE EXPRESS et —
James was coupled to the
vans. He had not been waiting
long when a forklift truck,
laden with fishboxes, rounded
the corner and came towards
him. Another, hurrying away
for a new load, came too fast
in the opposite direction.
The loaded one swerved to avoid the other one and its heavy load shifted.
Six full boxes slipped from the top of the pile and burst open on the rails in
front of James.
James closed his eyes in horror.
“Ugh!” he shuddered.
Broken fish and boxes lay everywhere. For once James was right — the
smell was not nice.
Luckily, there was plenty
of time for the men to clear
up the mess before James had
to leave.
“A good job the boxes
didn’t fall on you, James,”
said his Driver, winking at
the Fireman.
James shuddered again. The idea was too awful to think about.
At last all was ready, and the Guard showed his green lamp.
“Thank goodness,” said James to himself.
There was a speed limit at the Harbour, so James could not start quickly.
= —s s THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION eed | a
ese wore HENRY AND THE Express
st
The train seemed heavier than usual tonight too, so when he reached the |
4 > e >
spot where the fish boxes had burst, he was moving at no more than Hens y Sees Red
walking pace.
| Henry found life boring at
| The rails seemed clean, but che Works. The men worked
sia and scales from the spilt hard to make him better, but
fish were still there, Coating it seemed ages before he was
them with a slippery film. ready. At last, when he had
As soon as James reached passed the tests to make sure
the place, his driving wheels, he was mended properly, men
with nothing to grip, began
| came to repaint him.
to spin helplessly.
But Henry saw that instead of nice green paint, they had something very
James did his best, but the heavy vans dragged him to a standstill. He different in their paint pots.
fand he could move neither forward nor back. “That's not right,” protested Henry. “The Fat Controller wants me to be
“Fish!” exclaimed James in disgust. green with red stripes, not red all over like. . . like tomato sauce.”
Men brought hoses and The painters laughed.
washed the rails: James grew ZA. — | | pou oor Ma pancsome, Henry,” they said, “but don’t worry, this
venveweuand eee Cartas. =z tA Pac. _ f U | paint 1s a special sort of undercoat. You shall have proper green with red
wa: | / , =e
Th h d the e\~! Se b>. L 2m Ie stripes before we've finished.”
en they put sand on | es eae
1 ae ae Undercoat!” muttered Henry in disgust. “Whatever would the other
rails in front of each driving
engines say if they saw me
wheel, and James was at last y
ble to move his train looking like this?”
able to mov
3 : The men laughed, and
He was very late, but at
carried on painting.
least he was off the fish quay. To say he was glad would be putting it mildly. d on painting
His Driver came early next
morning to wake him up.
“Come on, Henry,” he said.
“There's an emergency on
ie.
— ise THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION SOON aa
at the Big Station, and the Fat Controller says you re to help.”
“But I can’t go like this!” exclaimed Henry. “They'll all laugh at me.”
“No choice,” said his
Driver. “The diesel pulling
the Express has failed and the
Fat Controller needs you to
take over. It’s either us or a
long walk for the passengers —
and you know the Fat
b
Controller wouldn’t like that.’
The Fireman raised steam as quickly as he could, and Henry, blushing
with embarrassment, set off for the Big Station. The Fat Controller was
pleased to see him.
“T feel so silly, looking like this,” complained Henry.
The Fat Controller laughed.
“You do look unusual,
Henry,” he agreed, “but you
have helped me out of a very
awkward situation, so don't
worry about it.”
But Henry did worry. Soon
— too soon for Henry — it was
time to start.
The Express was heavy, and Henry quickly felt the drag of the coaches.
“We'll need help on Gordon’s Hill today,” remarked his Driver.
But they were in trouble earlier than that!
As they approached Edward’s station, the brakes went wrong on the last
oe paw HENRY AND THE EXPRESS wea iT ,
coach of the train, and they
had to stop and uncouple it.
To make matters worse,
Donald, who should have been
there to help, had been called
away. Henry had to push the
coach into a siding himself.
And, without Donald, there
was no one to help him on the hill.
“Never mind,” comforted the Driver. “You can do it — you’re an
Enterprising Engine, remember.”
Henry snorted. He didn’t feel very enterprising just then.
The men at the Works had mended Henry well. His Driver gave him as
good a start as he could: it was hard going, but now Henry felt fired with
determination.
“Let them laugh at my red paint,” he snorted. “I'll show them.”
Slowly he struggled upwards.
“I can do it, I can do it, I
can do it,” he panted as he
went. “Oh dear, will the top
never come?”
Then, suddenly, there it was.
“T’ve done it, I’ve done it,
I’ve done it,” he puffed proudly.
After that it was much
easier, and they reached the Other Railway quickly. The Fat Controller,
who had been on the train, came to congratulate Henry.
gamete 39 THOMASTHE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION <7 [aay
vs
TT MIaALA IV /)
UU ay
“Z&
| a
ve
“I’m very proud of you —
“ir
perhaps all my engines should
anna | mem = be painted red. But you have
Ta ||
gp . sa
. > J. =
certainly earned your proper
green with red stripes.”
Which, of course, is just
what Henry got. And when
he at last returned to the Shed, there was a warm welcome for Henry the
Green Engine.
OO ——
“Well done, Henry,” he said.
ee
ee
a
Se _ _
"Sy
il ALLL
CHRISTOPHER AWDRYS
CLiv} SPONG
FOREWORD
DEAR FRIENDS,
Wilberc works in Gloucestershire. on the Dean Forest
Railway. He kept asking if he could meet Thomas, and at
last the Fat Controller managed to arrange ic. The visit
was noc without its mishaps, but I know chat Wilbert
enjoyed himself. We hope that you will enjoy the stories
of his adventures on the Island of Sodor as much as he
| and che other engines did.
THE AUTHOR
OO
mime. a . THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION 08 a 1 — ee WU SERSEHENORES PRGINE An oe
Percy’s Porridge Percy was excited when he heard the news.
“Another saddletank, Sir,” he said. “Is he like me, Sir?”
Downatp and Douglas were The Fat Controller laughed. PET m7 7
rushed off their wheels. The “He's bigger and stronger Z
i 1 Fat Controller visited them. than you, Percy,” he said. Vi ANY, ay, |
~ “I know you don’t mind “Besides, you can manage
hard work,” he said, “but you your trucks. I want him to
can’t be everywhere at once. help Duck, so I’m afraid you
You need some help on the may not even meet him.”
branch lines.” During the week before
The Scottish twins were grateful. Wilbert came, it was cold and wet. The engines thought it would never
“T have a plan,” the Fat Controller told them. stop raining. None of them wanted to go out, but passengers and trucks
He went to see a friend who lived in Gloucestershire and explained the were waiting.
problem. The friend took him to meet Wilbert, a smart blue saddletank “Just the sort of weather when you need porridge for breakfast,” laughed
engine with six wheels. Percy’s Driver.
“Your owner says you can come and help me for a while,” the Fat “What's porridge?” asked Percy.
Controller told Wilbert. “Would you like that?” “Ie’s . . . well, it’s hard to
Wilbert was delighted.
“Yes, please, Sir,” he said
describe,” said the Fireman.
“You boil oatmeal and
eagerly. water
His line in the Forest of . which makes a sort
Dean was short, and he was of sticky soup,” finished the
delighted for the chance to Driver. “Then you add milk
exercise his wheels.
a
~e ee
q 7 me
i Lea
j
and sugar — delicious!”
“ f A . = . - -"
If you are as good as | t the station by the river, sacks were stacked on the platform. The men
‘ . ”» ~ ~ dé Whe ¢ z ~ =
think you will be,” the Fat Controller went on, “I know where I can get » had filled them had worked fast and had not tied the sacks properly.
. . ° ” A . > Oy a e .
another engine like you, and then you will be able to go back home. ‘ the porter lifted the last stack, the signal arm dropped with a clang.
rate i () —— SLO
_—_—_—i Pe eo eee eee |
ye nen BE THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION to
Better hurry, here’s Percy,”
Percy cheered up at o
the porter said, and he swung y E ae
“I wanted to meet you,” h
e
>
said, “but I didn’t think it
would be this way. Porridge
the heavy sack on to the pile
knocking the top one over.
Several sacks toppled onto the call cieRetaE beets
ets : is all right for breakfast, m
railway line and split open. Diiversaver GUL ical é
jas it makes a
The oatmeal inside the nee
mess of an engine who isn’t
sacks burst out, covering sal ean
expecting it.
everything. The pouring rain quickly turned it into a sort of sticky soup. . .
At that moment, Percy appeared. He wasn’t going fast, but he couldn't
stop himself from ploughing into the ‘porridge’ which now covered the rails.
“Ugh!” he exclaimed, and stopped.
Porridge dripped from Percy’s wheels, rods and frames. He felt awful —
wet, sticky and cold.
His Driver and Fireman got down to inspect the mess.
“Oh dear,” remarked the
Driver. “Well Percy, you've
found out about porridge the
hard way, haven't you? The
thing is, you're supposed to
eat it, not paddle in it.”
Percy didn’t think that was
funny at all.
The Fat Controller wasn’t amused either. He telephoned to the Junction,
ranch
where they were just in time to stop Wilbert on his way to Duck's b
f ’ . . i che
line. He came along Thomas's line instead, and soon reached the Shed at
top station.
_—— THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION SOF eee nye
Cab over Wheels
“YOU'RE lucky to have a long
line,” Wilbert told Thomas
and Toby. “Mine is only one
and a half miles long, with
a station at Norchard and
another at Lydney. The scenery
is superb, though, and my
Driver says it’s better up the
valley. Our volunteers are going to open that bit, too. They work hard, but
it takes a long time.”
One of Wilbert’s first jobs was at the lead mine.
“Don’t pass the DANGER sign,” Thomas said. “I fell down a mine once.
Wilbert smiled.
“T’ve worked in a colliery,
he said, “so I know about
DANGER signs. But,” he
added, “there was an engine once
who thought he knew better . . .”
“What happened?” asked
Toby and Thomas.
Wilbert paused. E wy
“This engine didn’t have a name,” he began, “just a number, eee
he worked in a steelworks. One of the jobs that Sixteen and his friends hé
: . BLO: -kee a place they
to do was to take the waste from the works in special trucks to a p%é
called the tip.”
wa ee WERT THE Forest ENGINE iT
“Well,” went on Wilbert,
“Sixteen got tired of always
stopping in the same place.
He tried to go further, but his
Driver always prevented him.
The other engines tried to
stop him too.
‘If the notice says DANGER
you shouldn't pass it,’ they said.
Sixteen paid no attention.
‘Don't be stupid,’ his Driver said. ‘We mustn't pass the notice, or goodness
knows where we shall end up.’
But Sixteen wanted to know.
Pooh" he scoffed. ‘I can take care of myself.
“One wet day Sixteen’s
chance came. The rails were
slippery, and when his Driver
tried to stop, he couldn’t. You
see, Sixteen had asked the
trucks, which were in front
of him, to carry on past the
warning sign. They did, and
their momentum pulled Sixteen with them.
You silly engine,’ scolded his Driver.
“Wasn't my fault,’ muctered Sixteen sulkily. ‘It was those trucks.’
‘You've always wanted to pass that board,’ said the Driver crossly. ‘I believe
you asked them to drag us on purpose.’
sama meee! GE THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION SA a a
A foreman ran towards them.
‘What are you doing there?’ he shouted. ‘It’s not safe!’
‘The trucks dragged us,’ explained the Driver.
‘Well, come to the office
with me, and you, Fireman.
get your engine back on firm
ground before it’s too late,’
ordered the Foreman.
But it was already too late.
As the foreman turned away,
the earth beneath Sixteen’s
wheels sank, and the rails sagged. A small rush of stone clattered away to
the bottom of the bank.
Sixteen’s Fireman knew that if he tried to move the engine now he would
only make things worse.
‘Oooer!’ groaned Sixteen.
Beneath his weight, the
rails sagged even more.
Suddenly, they fell away
completely. As the Fireman
leapt for safety, Sixteen
overbalanced. The coupling
between him and the trucks
broke, and he rolled cab over
wheels down the bank. He reached the bottom with a crash.
Sixteen lay on his side, looking surprised, and leaking steam 1n all directions
‘Help!’ he gasped weakly.”
ae ee WW/ILBERT THE Forest ENGINE |
Thomas and Toby were silent.
“What happened to Sixteen
after that?” ventured Toby.
“Oh, he was rescued,”
Wilbert said, “but he wasn’t
repaired, and he was sent to
the back of the Shed in
disgrace.”
“Is he still there?” asked Thomas.
“He got better than he deserved,” smiled Wilbert. “Some preservation
people came and bought him, and now he lives in the Midlands. But I
think he’s lucky to have been given a second chance.”
Thomas and Toby could only agree.
J
ao
oe | \ . ; / ° - y)
fee ieee THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION SF pm apm
Foaming at the Funnel
: THERE is a dairy beside
Thomas’s branch line, at the
station where the lines divide
to go either to the Harbour or
the Junction. Every afternoon
special tanker wagons are
pushed into the dairy siding.
They are filled with milk, and
Percy takes them to the Junction on his first train every morning.
Thomas explained this to Wilbert.
“There's a hosepipe thing which puts the milk into the tankers,” he said.
“They'll be ready by the time you get there for the first train.”
“Sounds easy enough,” said Wilbert.
Thomas told him a great many other details too. Wilbert listened
carefully, trying hard to remember them all.
Next day he enjoyed
himself. He was a much more
powerful engine than Percy,
so he found that he could cope
easily with Percy's trains.
The trucks behaved well
too, which was a help.
“He's strong, he is, they
muttered to each other. “Don’t upset him — you never know what he might
do to get his own back.”
went rome EE WILBERT THE FOREST ENGINE
One day Wilbert took
loaded stone trucks to the
Harbour. On his way back
with empty ones, he stopped
at the station by the dairy and
pushed the empty trucks into
a siding. He left them, and
set out towards the Junction,
pulling just a few vans.
“Right,” he thought happily. “I leave these vans at the Junction and
bring the empty tankers back. Then, when those are put in the dairy siding
I take the stone trucks on to the top station.”
They met James at the Junction. James knew who Wilbert was, of course.
and asked how he was getting on.
Wilbert chattered excitedly
about the jobs he had been
given to do that day.
“Sounds as if you're having
fun,” James said, “but it’s best
to take things slowly at first,”
and he puffed away.
Wilbert continued his
journey and reached the dairy station easily, buc his Fireman was worried
about water.
“We should have filled up at the Junction,” he said, “but you were busy
chatting to James. Never mind, we'll get water here.”
The tankers were at the end of the train, so all Wilbert had to do was
THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE New COLLECTION GE epee gee,
to push them into the dairy
siding. Then he drew forward
and stopped by the hosepipe.
“Just in time,” said the
Fireman, and he put the hose
into Wilbert’s tank.
As he turned the tap the
Driver spoke to him. The
Fireman went to reply, but when he returned he found that Wilbert had
c
stopped at the wrong hosepipe. His tank was full, but not with water —
with milk! | ah
“You'll be foaming at the funnel if any of this gets in the boiler!” gaspe
the Driver.
Quickly they put out
we
SY
‘SS
ww WEA
Wilbert’s fire, and the
Fireman telephoned for help.
Thomas came as soon as he
could, and pulled Wilbert
back to the top station.
Wilbert’s tank was emptied
and was given a thorough
clean, so that next morning he was quite all right again.
“You and Percy make a fine pair,” laughed Thomas. “He had the porridge
and you had the milk.”
Wilbert THE Forest ENGINE Sigg — maw
Wired-up
As soon as Percy came home,
the Fat Controller came to
see Wilbert.
‘en
eI
tS
be
to
uy
a
“You ve done well,” the Fat
Controller told him, “apart
from drinking all that milk.”
Wilbert looked abashed.
“I'm sorry, Sir,” he said, “I...”
“It's all right, Wilbert,” smiled the Fat Controller. “A mistake any engine
could make. But now Percy is back you can go to help on Duck’s branch line.”
Wilbert puffed away. Percy and the others were sorry to see him go.
Duck and Oliver made Wilbert very welcome. Duck let him travel in
front of his next train so that he could see what the line was like.
Wilbert enjoyed this, but
found running beside the sea
very different from his
sheltered valley in
Gloucestershire.
Next day he began regular
work. During the afternoon
he took some ballast wagons
to the loading dock beside the Small Railway. Rex, Bert, Mike and Jock
were delighted to show off their station to a new engine.
Like the other trucks, those on Duck’s line decided that they had better
behave too. Donald and Douglas had kept them all in order, but Wilbert
a
NE: THE NEW COLLECTION 0 wee wee
proce eee THOMAS THI TANK ENGI
a ee WL ERT THE ForEST ENGINE egg = —
made sure they didn't forget
what the twins had taught loops. These he twisted into a
chem. rope, making a small loop at
One day Wilbert was at the the end, which he fastened to
ballast loader. As he tried to Wilbert’s coupling-hook. A
pull some full trucks away shunter uncoupled the front
there was a loud crack and he truck from the rest, and at last
shot suddenly backwards. everything was ready.
“Right, Wilbert,” said his
,e Fireman got down to look. gece )
The § r a yet : Driver. “Gently now.”
on has pulled away, he said. “Now what?
“The coupling-gear on the wag
Oc < He at , |
pened the regulator very carefully, easing Wilbert slowly backwards
Beside them, watching with interest, was Bert. oe
The wire tightened, stretched — and held.
“T pulled a train that was glued together once, when one of my couplings
broke,” he said. Slowly the truck followed
Wilbert out of the siding,
“We need more than glue here,” said Wilbert’s Driver. Then he noticed a
ae i : : andere :
coil of signal-wire lying beside the line. could then push it
ss into anoth
“Could we do anything with that? he asked. : er, out of the way.
Then he went back to his
“You'd never move the train
ballast train.
with wire,” objected the |
This time there was no
Fireman.
trouble, and he reached the
“But what about just one | BiewStation late but safely
oc ¢
truck?” suggested Wilbert. B ee? |
&8 y the end of his stay, the Fat Controller knew that an engine like Wilbert
“T bet I could pull one truck Was exactly what he needed
| lam delighted, Wilbert,” said the Fat Controller. “Please take our best
Wish r
€s to your friends in the Forest of Dean. We hope your line there will
with wire.”
“Brilliant.” said the
Stationmaster, who had come to see what was wrong. “I'll go and tell the be as successful as your work here.”
Signalman what you’re doing — let me know when you re ready. Thomas, Percy, Toby and Daisy came to the Junction to see Wilbert off.
>
i . 3 = a retlian
[he Fireman wound the wire round the truck’s bufferbeam, leaving long nd whistled cheerfully as he passed.
ee
aes
ae ee a
THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION
| cD Jt
ME mes pase
“Peep, peep, called
Wilbert. “I’ve had a
wonderful time, but I’m
looking forward to getting
home. Goodbye, and thank
you.” And with a whistle,
he rounded the curve and
disappeared into the tunnel.
OO ——————
THE RAILWAY SERIES NO. 49
Thomas and the
Fat Controllers Engines
SER rrr,
‘ til ln ISS
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b ‘ Ua By,
er ‘A ili ft all his
CHRISTOPHER AWDRY
with illustrations by
CLIVE SPONG
FOREWORD
DEAR FRIENDS,
1 went to see the Fat Controller the other day. I told
him that in 1995 it would be fifty years since the first
stories about his Railway were published.
“Good gracious me!” he said. “We must do something
to celebrate that.”
And he set to work. Not everything went quite right.
For instance, Thomas .. . but I won't spoil the stories —
happy reading.
‘THE AUTHOR
wry en OK THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION SST were eecy,
Birdstrike
cc : P Py «‘ ’ r bs
I know what a Jubilee is,” announced Henry. “It’s an engine called
Bahamas — I met him at Crewe.”
“Isn’t it a sort of party?” asked
Percy. “Thomas and [| took
some Scouts to one once...”
“That was a jamboree,” put
in Thomas with a chuckle.
“Was it?” said Percy. “Sorry.”
Gordon smiled.
“Actually, it’s a train, he
said knowingly. “Flying Scotsman told me. The Silver Jubilee used to run
from London in the old days.”
“But we're not London,” objected Henry.
“And if it’s a train, why do we need it?” James continued.
“We don’t,” interrupted a well-known voice. “Our Jubilee is a Golden
one, because in 1995 it is fifty years since stories about us began to be in
books. I thought it would be a good idea to celebrate.”
“It zs a party!” squeaked
Percy, excitedly.
The Fat Controller laughed.
“Sort of, Percy,” he agreed.
“T haven't settled the details
yet, but you will all know
about it in plenty of time.”
The engines were excited.
pe ee THOMAS AND THE FAT CONTROLLER’S ENGINES 96d mm ron
“Will there be a special
rrain?” Gordon asked the Fat
Controller. “Can I pull it,
please, Sit?”
“Sorry, Gordon,” said the
Fat Controller. “There will
be a special train, but I can’t
spare you, I’m afraid. Anyway,
haven't you forgotten how you had coal and water problems on the
Other Railway?”
Gordon had.
“You remember Pip and Emma, though, don’t you Gordon?” the Fat
Controller went on. “I have asked them to be my special train for the guests
from London.”
Gordon puffed away. Near
Henry's tunnel, the main line
passed through woodlands,
and the high branches of the
trees were full of birds’ nests.
Often, great flocks of birds
circled above the railway, and
sometimes Gordon had
noticed them feeding in the fields nearby.
Today, the birds were much closer to the railway than usual.
Poop, poop,” whistled Gordon, as he approached a farm crossing.
Startled, the birds rose together in a thick, black cloud. They swooped
a . > - - °
Cross the line in front of the train.
werner een AGA THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION S08 ei ‘i
One bird, larger than the
others, had been perched on
a gatepost beside the line. Jr
flew so close to Gordon that
a
its wings almost brushed his
nose. As it did so there was a
bump, and Gordon felt his
brakes come on.
“Why are we stopping?” Gordon asked his Driver.
“Perhaps someone has pulled the emergency brake,” said the Driver.
“Don’t worry, the Guard will come and tell us in a minute.”
But the Guard had no idea what was wrong.
“There must be a leak in the brake pipe,” said the Fireman.
He inspected the pipe from
one end of the train to the
other, but he could find
nothing wrong.
“T can’t understand it,” said
the Driver, scratching his
head. “There's no leak
anywhere, yet the brakes are
hard on.”
“It was just when those birds flew across,” said Gordon. “One nearly hit
me, and there was a bump...”
“Just a minute,” interrupted the Fireman. He looked quickly at Gordons
front brakepipe.
“There you are!” he said triumphantly.
a la THOMAS AND THE FAT CONTROLLER’S ENGINES ogi Boom om
The Fireman laughed.
“That bird knocked the seal
out of your brakepipe,” he
explained. “Look!”
“Well I’m blessed!” said
the Driver. “I’ve never heard
of a birdstrike on a steam
engine before.”
A crow did it on the Great Western in 1915,” chuckled the Fireman
“I read about it only last week.”
Gordon was soon on his way again. The other engines laughed.
“Poor old Gordon,” they chuckled to each other. “Fancy being stopped by
a bird — that’s nothing to crow about, is it?”
ll Sa
ee.
ines wun TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION SOE opm epuy —_— a & :
———a el THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW . WM THOMAS AND THE FAT CONTROLLER’S
ENGINES 17 aa aa
Edward and the Cabbages Edward set off again. He
was beginning to gain speed
» ine ’ :
Epwarp’s branch line runs when he began to feel funny.
from the station at the bottom
of Gordon’s Hill. It goes
along the coast to a port
“My front’s all wobbly,” he
complained. Scarcely had he
said it than the Fireman saw
where the twin tank engines, something bumping along the
Bill and Ben, work. line beside them.
| Edward and BoCo run this ere
Jiminy Christmas, look at that!” he exclaimed.
: rf
y ila
the Scottish twins, help them when things are busy.
| line, and Donald and Douglas, a |
Quickly, the Driver crossed the cab, and both watched in horror as a
round metal object rolled along beside them like a hoop. After a while it
They all work happily together. Their trains don't need to run fast, but hit a stone and bounced away into a field.
ea Kis ’ ic vs > waiting it { h bi y
it is not often that they keep the big engines waiting. Usually ic 1s the big Very carefully the Driver applied the brakes, and Edward came safely toa
engines who are late. halt. He was glad, because his front now felt very loose.
One morning, James was delayed at the Big Station and Edward had to The Dasenandieifenon
wait for him. When at last he could start, he wanted to hurry to make up al tanec Gan diceeneeee
for lost time. look at his wheels. There was
“Steady, Edward,” cautioned his Driver. “T know we're late, but an no doubewhar thercraubloas
accident will make us even later.” — one of them wasn't there!
Edward slowed, but as he “One of your bogie wheels
approached the next station has broken off,” said the
his wheels jolted badly at Driver. “Thank goodness we
some points. When Edward were on straight track and not going too fast. There could have been a
stopped at the platform the nasty accident.”
Fireman checked him all over, Later, the Fat Controller's telephone rang. He listened in astonishment.
but everything seemed to be “What's that you say? An engine’s wheel in your cabbages? I quite agree.
in order. It must have been a great surprise. One of Edward’s, you think? Is he all right?
—" : ow ave THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION WET gree ery
Thank you, I'll see to it at
once.”
The Fat Controller put the
telephone down and mopped
his face with a red and white
spotted handkerchief.
“Bless my soul!” he said
to himself. “It’s a good thing
Edward didn’t end up in the cabbages himself.”
Next day, BoCo helped Edward to the Works. Edward’s wheel, broken off
where the axle joined it but otherwise undamaged, travelled in his tender.
The Fat Controller came to
see him.
“You had a lucky escape,
Edward,” he said, “but there's
no harm done. I just hope we
. ; <-?=
= a 7
se - -— “” =
=>
] >
can get you mended before the
owe
W
Golden Jubilee celebrations.
ee
Oh, and by the way, the farmer
says that if your Driver wants cabbages in future, there are much safer ways
of cutting them.”
Wad ee TOMAS AND THE FAT CONTROLLER’S ENGINES i
Rabbits
~ Rassits,” said the Driver.
“What do you mean, rabbits?”
asked Thomas. His Driver
laughed and pointed ahead.
Beside the line near the
airfield station was a post with
a white disc on top. It had a
red circle round it and a black
number 10 painted on it.
“Rabbits have been building burrows under the line,” the Driver explained.
“They ve made the ground unsafe, so the Fat Controller has had to bring in
a speed limit here until the embankment can be strengthened.”
“But it’s the steepest part of the line,” protested Thomas. “How shall |
get up the hill when Annie and Clarabel are full on market day if I can’t
increase my speed at the bottom?”
“You ll manage,” said his Fireman, “but Percy’s trains are often heavier
than ours — he won't like it much.”
Percy didn’t. One day he
stuck halfway up. Daisy had to
wait at the station at the top
while Percy’s train was divided
and brought up in two sections.
“The sooner the Fat
Controller does something
about those rabbits, the better,”
a FO REI De
us es >
eee seme SEB THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION |
all the engines agreed.
Then they heard that work
was to start. While repairs
were being done, Thomas was
to run to the station at the
top of the hill. Bertie would
then carry the passengers to
he ae —
[ireu
would take them to the Junction.
The day before the line closed, Thomas was taking Annie and Clarabel
the airfield station, and Daisy
down the hill when he felt the rails quiver under his wheels.
“Help!” exclaimed Thomas.
Suddenly, the left-hand rail tilted. There was a crunch, and his wheels
settled on the ballast.
Luckily, Thomas stopped
moving before Annie and
Clarabel came off the rails too.
The Guard went back to the
station to telephone for help.
Percy was shunting when
the call came through.
“You can’t take those trucks
to the Harbour now that the line is blocked,” said the Stationmastet.
“Please take some workmen, bring Annie and Clarabel home, and then
help Thomas.”
Thomas was glad when Percy arrived. While Percy took the passengers
back to the station, the workmen unloaded their gear and prepared the site. |
= PA |
fed ee TOMAS AND Thy FAT CONTROLLER’S ENG .
‘S ENGINES S37 fa Ga
“The ground’s unsafe for a
crane, even if we had one,”
they said, “and we can’t just
pull you out, because that will
only damage more of the line.
We shall lift you on jacks,
Thomas, so that we can slide
rails underneath your wheels.
Then Percy can pull you back on to the firm rajls.”
"We hope,” they added.
“How long will that take?” asked Thomas.
The Foreman shrugged.
“Who knows?” he said. “Two hours. maybe three.”
Slowly, with a jack at each corner of his frame, they lifted Thomas until
they could slide lengths of rail, laid on their side, under his wheels Then
very gently, he was lowered on to the rails. A strong cable was fixed to his
coupling, and the other end
was fastened to Percy.
The Fat Controller had
come to watch.
“Are you ready? Heave!” he
called to Percy.
Carefully, Percy took up the
strain. The cable tightened.
Percy pulled again. The cable stretched — and held.
Very slowly, Thomas moved backwards, his wheels running in the
y : . - = ; : :
Sfooves in the sides of the rails. Then, wich a jolc, first one pair of wheels
Ol
ae a
Sf SCE
men ee BE THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION BBY! ten ome fae ee THOMAS AND THE FAT CONTROLLERS ENGINES £27 jaa
then another and at last the
Golden Jubilee
third, came safely back on to
the firm part of the railway. Back in the autumn, a spider
The men unhitched the had found a warm corner
cable, and Percy was coupled underneath the signalbox at
properly to Thomas. the Junction. She had woven
“Thank you, Percy,” said
a web, pointed at one end and
Thomas gratefully, and Percy
shaped like a funnel, and for
pulled him home.
a while she lived very well on
what she had caught in it.
Now it was spring, and the spider had moved on. She knew nothing
| about the preparations for the Golden Jubilee.
“It's going to be a disaster,” remarked Henry, gloomily. “Important
people, a special train, and nothing for them to see.”
“Och, ye auld misery!” said Donald. “Look on the bright side — there’s
a week tae go yet.”
‘I'm sure it will be all right,” put in Daisy. She had been shy about
living in the big shed at first,
but was getting used to it now.
“Of course it will,” agreed
Duck. “Have you ever known
the Fat Controller's plans to
go wrong?”
“No,” admitted James.
“T’ve never known that.”
The other engines agreed — except Henry.
“There's always a first time,” he muttered darkly.
—216— a
MaRS
guage ee. 39 THOMASTHE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION =a
“Does that mean... ?” he asked excitedly.
“Wait and see,” smiled the Fat Controller.
THe Le
TT
- if
But by the time Jubilee
Day arrived, Edward’s wheel
and Thomas’s branch line
were both mended. The Fat
Controller told Edward he was
to run ahead of the special
train to make sure that the
line was clear.
Crowds began to gather at the Big Station. There was to be a red carpet,
speeches and a special luncheon for the visitors.
“Last time we had a red carpet the Queen came,” remarked Gordon.
As the special train drew to a halt, Emma grinned happily at Edward.
“Got your four lamps arranged?” she asked. “Off you go then — we'll
follow in a few minutes.”
At the Junction a breeze
blew into the room beneath
the signalbox. It wafted the
old spider's web between two
electrical contacts. At once,
everything in the signalbox
stopped working. Signals
went to danger, points could
not be moved.
“Now what?” exclaimed the Signalman. “There’s a Royal Train due
in five minutes.”
pes 2 MG)
-_/—=s
marys reves THOMAS AND THE FAT CONTROLLER'S ENGINES a
Edward stopped outside
the signalbox. Thomas,
Percy, Toby and Mavis were
already waiting.
“The electrics are dead,”
the Signalman told Edward's
Driver. “We shall have to flag
you all through, but it will
take time. You must go first, then the Royal.”
Carefully, men with flags sent the trains on their way. Edward went first
with a letter for the Fat Controller, telling him what had happened. Pip
and Emma went next. Finally, Thomas and the branch line engines were
allowed through.
At the Big Station the crowd was now enormous. The Fat Controller
looked impatiently at his watch.
Gordon, Henry and James had got the best places at the platform.
"We shall see everything from here,” said James happily.
“If there’s anything to see,” grumbled Henry.
Just then they heard a whistle.
“That’s Edward,” said
Gordon. “He’s had a wasted
journey, poor engine.”
But we know Gordon was
wrong, don't we?
Pip and Emma soon drew
in, and on to the red carpet
stepped a Royal Personage.
gee ee = THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION 990 ome ey
“I apologise for the delay,
Sir,” said the Fat Controller,
PITE RAILWAY SERIES NO Hi)
and he explained what had
gone wrong. Then he New Little Engine
introduced the Royal Visitor
to each of the engines.
<_<
— A
Za “I heard about you all after
“a
"i ‘
> i
| awe =a | the Queen came here many
years ago,” he told them. “I am delighted to meet you for myself.”
The engines whistled loud and long. The Royal Personage grinned, and
covered his ears.
“The Queen was right,” he told the Fat Controller. “Your Railway and
your engines are a credit to you.”
CHRISTOPHER AWDRY
with idlustrations by
CLIVE SPONG
FOREWORD
DEAR FRIENDS,
Peter Sam has been working on the Talyllyn Railway
in Wales. The Thin Controller's Railway became so busy
that he had to bring Peter Sam home to help. Sir Handel
was jealous, but Peter Sam told us about the time he was
ill while he was in Wales. It seemed too good a story to
waste, so I decided to share it with you. I hope Peter Sam
isn’t COO upset...
‘THE AUTHOR
Se — THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION (RE green apse
Speedkiller
“T hate dawdling like this,”
growled Rusty. “I get hot and
uncomfortable. ”
“Sorry, old chap,” replied
his Driver. “We cant go any
faster, or the weedkiller won't
spread properly.”
Rusty knew this, but he
still itched to go quicker.
His ‘train’ that morning was a flat truck with a large tank on it. A pipe
hung across the line behind the truck’s buffers, and when the man in charge
turned a tap, liquid sprayed onto the track through holes in the pipe.
The weedkilling train was used only once a year, but that was once too
often for Rusty. He had hoped that Fred, the other diesel, would pull the
train today, but Fred was ill.
“So he says,” muttered Rusty darkly to himself.
It was a holiday weekend. The Thin Controller had expected plenty of
visitors, but he was surprised
at the number who came. It was
Rheneas’s turn to take the first
train, and he happily pulled the
empty coaches to the station.
So many people were on the
platform that Rheneas could
hardly see it.
oan nee ite New Litre ENGINE
“Phew!” he puffed. “How
are all this lot going to get
on the train?”
“Will you go back for
another carriage, please?”
asked the Thin Controller.
“I'm arranging an extra train
later in the day.”
The time spent fetching the carriage made Rheneas late. He hated being
late, but he knew that today it wasn’t his fault.
“Hurry, hurry, hurry,” he panted, trying to make up for lost time.
They did well until they reached the middle station, where they had to
stop. Rusty and his weedkilling train were waiting in the loop for them.
“Nipped all those weeds in the bud, have you?” called Rheneas as the
engines passed each other.
Beyond the middle station
the line rises steeply for a
short way so that it can cross
a stream. The engines like to
be able to get a run at this
hill, especially when they
have a heavy train.
™ ty 3
es? f
= me Today Rheneas had to pass,
very carefully, some hedgecutters working at the foot of the hill. This meant
that he couldn’t get a proper run at it.
He struggled hard, but soon his wheels began to slip. Half-way up he
slithered to a halt.
TT THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE New COLLECTION
Sir Handel’s Plan
“W/o does that Peter Sam
think he is?” grumbled Sir
Handel. “He goes gallivanting
off to Wales, and when our
new engine isn’t ready he’s
brought back. We can manage
without him.”
“We're short-engined until
the new one is ready,” said Skarloey. “It’s sensible to have him back.”
“Huh!” snorted Sir Handel rudely. “If he’s too puffed up in his smokebox
I know what I shall do.”
When the Thin Controller told Peter Sam to rest after his journey, Sir
Handel was not pleased.
“Why come home just to laze about all day?” Sir Handel grunted.
He bumped his coaches crossly. Near the shed he thought he saw Peter
Sam grinning at him.
“Right!” he muttered. “That’s it!”
His wheels hit a rough rail- ==»
joint. There was a crack and a
clatter, and his Driver stopped
him quickly.
“That’s your day done,” he
said. “Your firebars have
collapsed, and your fire has
fallen out.”
Sir Handel chuckled to
himself. His plan was
working well.
Rusty was the only engine
available quickly. He took
Sir Handel’s train, and the
Thin Controller came to see
Peter Sam.
NeW LITTLE ENGINE ona waa
Sorry to spoil your rest,” he said, “but I’m afraid you ll have to take Sir
Handel’s next train.”
Some of Sir Handel’s fire was rescued and put into Peter Sam’s firebox.
As soon as Peter Sam could move, he pushed Sir Handel into the shed.
sir Handel didn’t help at all — he just smirked to himself in the darkness.
“That'll teach em,” he thought.
Days passed, but no one came to mend Sir Handel. Visitors thronged to
see Peter Sam now that he was back, and everyone else was very busy.
“Oh dear,” thought Sir Handel, sadly. “I didn’t bargain for this.”
He grew cold, and his paint became dull. The cleaners were much too
busy making sure the working engines looked smart to worry about Sir
Handel. He heard the men
working on the new engine,
but they didn’t come in to see
him. They had no time either.
One day Sir Handel heard
cheering from the workshop.
“They must have finished
the new engine,” he muttered
eae ie = THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION SPE ee or
miserably. “I wish I could see
him.”
Just then the door at the
back of the shed opened, and
Sir Handel heard footsteps.
It was the Thin Controller.
“Hullo,” he said. “Why are
you looking so fed up?”
“I’m sorry, Sir,” said Sir Handel.
“Whatever for?” asked the Thin Controller.
“I broke my firebars on purpose, Sir. I wanted to pay Peter Sam back.”
The Thin Controller paused.
“T see,” he said.
He quickly rethought what he had been going to say.
“Well, Sir Handel,” he said sternly, “thank you for owning up. If you
promise to behave yourself, you shall be mended.”
“Oh yes, Sir. I will, Sir.”
“Very well,” said the Thin
Controller gravely.
Later that day Sir Handel
was given a new set of
firebars. No one ever told him
that the special sort which he
always used had only been
delivered that morning.
r= oe Gat New LITTLE ENGINE Bal eo oom
Dirty Water
“Tuey clean engines very
well on the Talyllyn Railway,”
remarked Peter Sam to Kathy
and Lizzie. Lizzie was polishing
his whistle, and Kathy was
cleaning the round windows
in front of his cab.
Kathy jumped down.
“If that means you think we don’t do it so well here,” she said indignantly,
“I'm going home this minute.”
Peter Sam smiled. The girls’ parents worked on the Talyllyn Railway, and
now they were on holiday on the Island of Sodor and had come to see him.
“I was thinking of when I was ill,” Peter Sam said. “I took some cleaning
then, remember?”
“Tell us again,” cried the girls. Quickly Kathy sat on one buffer while
Lizzie balanced herself on the other.
Peter Sam took a deep breath.
“They have funny water on
the Talyllyn,” he began.
“What's that got to do with
it?” demanded Kathy.
“Sssh,” reproved her sister.
“He won't tell us if you keep
interrupting.»
Slawasnitene«
—= 1s —
ote et
omar) sommes RYE NeW LITTLE ENGINE SEPT Heme pores
THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION FR wasn yeaa xi :
“This awful water splashed
all over me,” he went on. “It
Peter Sam yawned loudly. |
was lucky there weren’t any
“Have you two finished?” ae
visitors nearby. Ugh! And
he asked. |
- ee there I was, covered in
“Sorry, Peter Sam,
, horrible white sludge!”
apologised Kathy. “I'll be §
} et Peter Sa acai
quiet, I promise. er Sam shuddered again,
Peter Sam paused. and closed his eyes.
“Driver tried to start me again, but the same thing happened. Luckily
“As I was saying, he went
on, “they have funny water on the Talyllyn. The men have to put something Skarloey’s twin, Talyllyn, was at the station and he took my train. All |
special into the water tank at the Shed to make the water taste nice.” wanted to do was gO back to the Shed for a rest. But I wasn’t allowed to.”
Peter Sam smiled to himself. “Why?” asked Lizzie.
“I was feeling quite well,” he remembered, “until I had my drink. But
| was feeling quite well,” he remembered, “t } Peter Sam paused.
BOP os
that day the water tasted awful! I told the Driver how horrible it was, but es oO
ents ae (ae “
~ aul —
“They said that the visitors
he didn’t seem worried.
had come to see me and
I took my coaches to the station, and the Fireman let water into my
would be disappointed if I
boiler. Then I really began to have boiler-ache. |
MN fenleeicles 1 eau: wasnt there. So I was put on
‘Do the best you can, said my Driver. ‘We'll have a look at you at the to the spare line, and everyone
end of the trip.’ was told I was ill.”
Buc I never goc that far. “But you soon got well
again, didn’t you?” said Kathy.
“Oh yes,” replied Peter Sam. “I was cleaned inside and out, and that was
The green flag waved and the
Driver opened the regulator. |
went a few inches, and, then,
much better. They said someone had used too much of whatever it was they
‘Whoosh’, a column of filthy ee
put in the water tank. They do it differently now.
white water sprayed out of
“That's right,” put in Lizzie. “Dad told me — you have to take a pill.
my funnel.”
“Not a pill,” objected her sister.
“Te’s white scuff that the Fireman puts into our tanks,” said Peter Sam.
Peter Sam shuddered.
j
| == dl
apm mom IR THOMAS THI
“Much better. It took ages to
clean off the muck that came
out of my funnel.”
“And that,” he added
sternly, “is all 1 meant when
[ said that they clean engines
well on the Talyllyn.”
“Yes, Peter Sam,” giggled
the girls. “Of course it is.”
TANK ENGINE: THI
NEw COLL!
SS pom oe
remy rrmerey Lee NeW LITTLE ENGINE SON ape epee
I Name this Engine...
Tue men had been working on
the new engine for a long time.
“What's his name?” the
other engines kept asking.
“We don’t know, it’s a
secret, was always the reply.
“Everyone just calls him
Number Seven.”
At last Peter Sam could contain himself no longer. He asked the Thin
Controller.
The Thin Controller smiled.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” he teased. “I do...”
“What is it?” came a chorus of voices.
“.. but I’m not telling. You'll have to wait until the naming party.”
RIES
Ivo Hugh, the Railway's
Chief Engineer, was going to
do the naming. Even he didn’t
know the engine’s name.
“But Mr. Hugh, you
must know what it is,”
protested Skarloey.
“I’m afraid not,” laughed
Mr. Hugh. “The name won't be painted until the last minute.”
“It must be a place or a person,” said Sir Handel. “To match us,” he added.
“I think it’s a place,” decided Rheneas, “but why is it a secret?
peow mew WSR. THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION Me neecsr een
The engines didn’t know, but they thought Rheneas’s idea was the best.
On the great day a special train was to pick up the Thin Controller, his
guests and Mr. Hugh and bring them to the bottom station for the
ceremony. Skarloey, as the oldest engine, was going to pull it.
The day was sunny. Kathy and Lizzie came early to the Shed. First they
cleaned Skarloey and then
they polished Peter Sam.
Skarloey whistled cheerfully
as he went up the line, and
by then all the other engines
looked just as smart as he did.
Skarloey passed the big
house where the Thin
Controller lived, and went as far as the middle station. There he ran round
the train and pulled it back downhill. He stopped at the big house, and
when the Thin Controller and his guests were on the train he stopped again
near the cottage where Mr. Hugh lived.
Skarloey had just restarted, when, with a squealing noise, something
dashed past his front wheels. He stopped quickly.
“What on earth?”
demanded the Fireman,
jumping from the cab.
In the long grass beside the
line lay a large mother pig,
and frisking around her were
seven pink piglets. Clearly
Skarloey could go no further
oe
heey eae ee NeW LItTLe ENGINE SO ome gens
until they were safely caught.
But they didn’t want to
be caught.
“Oh dear,” fretted Skarloey.
“We're going to be late for
the party, I know we are.”
The Thin Controller, Mr.
Hugh and even some of the
guests joined the chase until all the animals had been captured and put
carefully back into the field.
At the bottom station a large crowd had gathered. All the engines except
Skarloey were there.
Number Seven, with his name covered, simmered quietly.
The minutes ticked by. The Manager looked at his watch.
“Something must be
wrong, Rheneas whispered
to Duke. “Skarloey should
be here by now.”
“Perhaps the Thin
Controller wasn’t ready,”
suggested Duncan, but was
firmly hushed by the others.
At last they heard a whistle in the distance. A little later Skarloey puffed
thankfully into the station.
“I’m sorry we're late,” Mr. Hugh said, “but we've been chasing pigs.”
And he told them about it.
“However.” he went on, “I’m here to name an engine. I don't know what it’s
>
——a THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION SA ipsanees wemong
called yet, so I shall have to read it to you. I therefore name this engine. . .”
He pulled away the curtain. THE RAILWAY SERIES NO. 4
“... bless my soul! — no,
Thomas and Victoria
not that, it’s Ivo Hugh!”
He turned to the Thin
Controller.
“IT am honoured, Sir. Thank
you,” he said.
And all the little engines
whistled loudly in acclamation.
CHRISTOPHER AWDRY
with illustrations by
CLIVE SPONG
FOREWORD
DEAR FRIENDS,
Here are four new adventures from Thomas’s branch
line. In them you will meet up again with several old
friends, including, of course, Thomas himself. Oh, and
there is a new friend for you called Victoria — we all hope
you will like her as much as we do.
THE AUTHOR
Ome
of »
vA i,
Whoa Fg RELY Ds Sas ——
ae ee THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION 2-77 Smal emey corey. RRR. THOMAS AND VICTORIA AT pe coors,
Overloaded The train stopped quickly, and some of the workmen were pushed against
the railing of Henrietta’s front balcony. It bent, but luckily, it didn’t break.
Tosy was worried. So many A policeman, passing on a bicycle, stopped and made a note on his pad.
workmen were needed at the “Oh dear,” Henrietta said to herself. “That means trouble, I think.”
Quarry that Henrietta wasn’t She was right.
able to carry them all. Bertie The next day, an Inspector
did his best to help, but he visited the Quarry Manager.
couldn't get closer than the
Quarry gate.
“We need another coach
to take the men all the way inside,” Toby complained.
“There is a by-law, Sir,”
he said, “which says that
passengers should not be
carried on the end balconies
One morning Bertie didn’t feel well, and Henrietta was all on her own.
of railway carriages.”
More and more workmen climbed into her. “I’m sorry, Inspector,” the Manager said. “It doesn’t usually happen, but
“Help!” Henrietta exclaimed. “I shan’t be able to move.” the bus couldn’t run today.”
“We can't either,” grumbled the workmen. “We're too squashed together!” “Please make sure it doesn’t happen again,” said the Inspector sternly.
Henrietta had a balcony at each end, and soon even these were packed. The Quarry Manager telephoned the Fat Controller to see if he could
She was fuller than ever before. Toby had a hard job starting. help. The Fat Controller wasn’t hopeful, and the Quarry Manager went
“Come on, come on, come on, come on!” Toby fussed impatiently, his home to tea, shaking his head sadly.
A few days later, Thomas stopped at the station by the river. As they -
waited, he heard a buzzing
wheels slipping on the damp rails.
People in the street stared
as the train struggled past. noise from behind a thick hedge
Toby rang his bell cheerfully, that grew near the platform.
but Henrietta wasn’t so happy. Suddenly, there was a
Suddenly, a car came out of rustling, and a loud crash.
a side street in front of them. A man’s head appeared above
Toby’s Driver put on the the hedge. He had a saw in
brakes at once. his hands.
00s | — 239—
— a pon THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION SE pe pm
“Tr’s nice to see the railway once more,” he said cheerfully. “It’s been like
a jungle in here.”
Later, Thomas stopped there again.
“Hallo,” said a shaky voice.
Thomas was puzzled, but his
Driver had heard it too. He
looked over the hedge and saw
a very old, very broken-down
railway coach.
“W/hat’s your name?” asked
the Driver.
“Victoria,” replied the coach shyly. “Are you Thomas's Driver?”
But before he could answer, the Guard’s whistle blew, and they had to go.
At the top station, Toby told Thomas about the workmen.
“I really need another coach,” he said sadly.
“But we've just found one!” said Thomas excitedly. “She’s in an orchard
near the river, and she is old and lonely .. .
“She’s got no wheels and her roof leaks like a sieve,” interrupted
Thomas’s Driver. “Don’t even think about it.”
But Thomas did think
about it, and asked the Fat
Controller. The Fat Controller
listened, made some
arrangements, and then
telephoned the Quarry Manager.
“Good morning, Toby and
Henrietta, the Manager
A)
-o Me
wey,
THOMAS AND VICTORIA wea TT
greeted them the next day.
“It’s going to be all right,” he
went on. “The Fat Controller
says don’t worry about another
coach, because he has
something up his sleeve.”
ee
—t—t 7 THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION 6 wae ees
Avalanche
Tue Fat Controller had left BoCo in charge of the branch line while
Edward went to the works to be mended. Edward needed to be fit before
the summer visitors came.
After a week he was
growing bored. But then a
newcomer arrived. She was
a wooden coach, and Edward
thought there was something
familiar about her. That
evening, he heard a quiet,
timid voice.
“Excuse me,” it said. “You're Edward, aren't you?”
“That’s right,” he smiled. “Haven't I seen you somewhere before?”
“Perhaps,” replied the coach. “There were lots of us built for the Furness
Railway. That’s your old line, so Thomas’s Driver says.”
“That's right,” smiled Edward. “What’s your name?”
“Victoria,” said the coach. “When I was too old to work, I was made into
a summerhouse in an orchard.
Now a kind gentleman with
a top hat says that I can be
mended and work on the
railway again.”
“That would be the Fat
Controller,” said Edward. “Did
he say where you would work?”
oc arenes BE THOMAS AND VICTORIA SPGE grea Spee
“There'd be plenty for you
to do on my line,” said
Edward hopefully.
Victoria hesitated.
“Eethink the. = fen...
Fat Controller knew,” she
said, “but he didn’t say.”
“Where did you work in
the old days?” asked Edward.
“My friend Helena and I worked on a branch line to a station called
Lakeside,” Victoria said. “There was a big lake with steamers on it —
Windermere it was called. Albert was our engine. He was old, but very
she broke off, chuckling.
“Except once,” Victoria
gentlemanly and polite...”
—_ ees
re ge nN oe | explained. “It was winter and
. = ‘ TANS i 4
APE OMAR es
ack ay Di, ) Ny wy
ap it My
7 Nuit
i . ;
+ A AA beginning to freeze over, and
ot
auaik
very cold. Even the lake was
that didn’t often happen.”
“I don’t suppose you had
many passengers off the
steamer then,” put in Edward.
“You'd be surprised!” Victoria said. “For some it was the easiest way of
getting from the town on the other side of the lake. Anyhow, on this
winter's day the snow wasn’t too bad at the Junction, so we were all right
when we set out.”
“As we got near the hills the snow got thicker. We reached a place called
Haverthwaite, where there were two tunnels, one at each end of the station.”
—— ee THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION cee nes.
“Albert didn’t care about
a bit of snow. ‘Silly soft stuff,
he called it.”
“Thomas used to say that
too,” smiled Edward.
“The steamer was late that
day — ice in the water, they
said — and that made us late
too. Albert was hurrying, because when people got off the steamer they had
to catch other trains at our Junction.”
Victoria paused. She chuckled to herself before she went on. “Albert had
been boasting about how good he was with the snow. Well, we soon got
back to Haverthwaite, and Albert stopped with his buffers right at the
mouth of the tunnel.
“The Guard’s whistle sounded. Albert didn't waste any time.
“He set off with a tremendous blast of steam, but the steam blew an
enormous lump of snow off the tunnel mouth. It poured down and landed
with a WHUMP on his cab.
“Albert’s Driver quickly
put on the brakes. The train
stopped, and then a lot more
snow came down on Helena
and me. She was almost
completely buried, and half
of me was too.
“Albert couldn’t move an inch. He wanted to, but he didn’t dare, in case
he brought more snow down! The passengers weren't hurt, but it was the
AA
fore ese PPP THOMAS AND VICTORIA S908 pay ey
next morning before the men
dug us out. I’ve never been
so cold! Albert never boasted
about snow again, though.”
“I wonder why,” chuckled
Edward.
a)
pee eee THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION ppm cpmenen
Eels on Wheels
Tue work needed to make
Victoria as good as new took
a long time. Summer came,
with a long, hot, dry spell.
There was no rain at all for
many weeks.
The sun shone from a clear
blue sky and the engines grew
hotter and hotter.
Sometimes, Daisy noticed creatures coiled up beside the railway, enjoying
the sunshine. Usually they took no notice as she passed, but now and then
they would slither away to hide beneath the dry grass.
“How do they move?” wondered Daisy. “They've got no legs!”
“Neither have you,” laughed the Driver, “but you manage all right.
They’re grass snakes, and they move by wriggling their bodies very fast
from side to side.”
“How clever,” thought Daisy, and she told Thomas and Percy about it.
Percy shuddered.
“T don’t like the sound of
TT
Y gi
Se
that,” he said. “I hope they
don't come near me.”
“They won't,” his Driver
reassured him, smiling.
“They're harmless, and much
more frightened of you than
a Z Bo Dy’,
oor eee ee THOMAS AND VICTORIA PH many wren
you are of them, I promise.”
“I’m not scared, Percy,”
said Daisy scornfully. “Surely
you're not frightened of a few
harmless, wriggly things?”
Percy wasn’t comforted.
“Ugh!” he said. “Just the
thought of those snakes makes
me shiver.”
Daisy thought he was being very silly.
One afternoon, she brought some boxes up from the Junction. The men
handled them carefully.
“It’s a special delivery,” explained Daisy’s Driver.
“What’s so special about it?” asked Daisy.
“It’s live eels,” her Driver said. “Sort of water snakes. They’re for a special
menu at the restaurant in the high street.”
Very carefully the porters stacked the boxes on the platform.
Daisy moved back so that
the milk van could be coupled
on to her. The pile of boxes
was now just in front of her,
while porters began to load
empty milk churns into her
Van.
Suddenly, a small boy ran
past. He accidentally caught the top box of the pile with his coat sleeve.
It hit the platform and burst open on to the rails in front of Daisy.
—— a 7 THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION Ce eee
Out cascaded a knot of
slithery black eels, which at
once tried to wriggle away in
all directions. Some of them
went underneath Daisy.
“EEEEEEE!” she squealed.
Help!”
A porter ran to see what
was the matter. He found Daisy pulling a face of such disgust that he had
to laugh.
“Get me out of here,” wailed Daisy.
“Stop making such a fuss,” ordered her Driver. “They're only eels. They're
not going to hurt you. You've blown a fuse anyway, so you'll have to wait
to be mended.”
In no time, all the eels had been rescued and put into another box, none
the worse for their adventure. A porter came to take them well out of
harm's way.
Daisy couldn't bear to watch. A fitter came and tried to mend her, but
she was in such a state of nerves that it was no use. Thomas had to pick up
her passengers and take them
back to the Junction.
That night in the Shed,
Percy and Toby made up lots
of what they called ‘wriggly
jokes’, which Daisy thought
were very silly and not funny
at all.
—— 94a
MC SR - RDS PD .
dt FLEA: pay e
sommes EER THOMAS AND VICTORIA UG ree er
“Never mind,” said Toby. “Near my old railway there’s a place called Ely —
think of that!”
Daisy shuddered. It was the last thing she wanted to think about.
deme ren (ese THOMAS THE TANK Enon: THe NEw COLLECTION FF emmy ym
Toby’s Vintage Train
pr. Ay last, Victoria was ready,
The Fat Controller came to
sce her,
“Edward will take you to
Thomas's Junction,” he said.
“Then go with Thomas to
meet Toby and Henrietta,
who you will work with.”
Victoria's wheels hummed happily on the rails.
“It’s wonderful to be running again,” she thought.
Edward introduced her to BoCo at his own station, and they soon reached
Thomas's Junction. Thomas and the Fat Controller were waiting for them.
Thomas's Driver was amazed at the change in Victoria.
“I hope you feel better,” the Fat Controller told her. “You certainly look
better than you did when we
first saw you.”
“I feel wonderful, thank
you Sir,” smiled Victoria.
Victoria was coupled
behind Annie and Clarabel,
and they set off up the valley.
Ac the station by the river,
an Inspector met them.
“Terence is in trouble,” he said. “I'll ride in your cab, Thomas, but go
carefully until we know what has happened.”
ee THOMAS AND VICTORIA SOOT oma spe
A little way along the line, Terence’s owner was building a barn. The lane
to the barn ran along the top of a cutting just outside the tunnel.
That afternoon, Terence had
been pulling a trailer loaded
with stones for the barn, when
a boulder had fallen into the
lane from the verge. Terence
swerved towards the edge of
the cutting to avoid the
boulder, and, of course, the
trailer followed. Suddenly, the trailer’s wheels hit a muddy patch and
slipped sideways, towards the railway.
The weight of the stone dragged the trailer further over the edge. Terence
tried to hang on, but the trailer broke away and bumped down the steep
hill towards the railway.
Luckily, there was a large bush on the cutting side. The trailer ran into
it and stopped, balancing dangerously. The heavy stone tumbled down the
slope, and landed beside the
railway with a crash.
“Thomas's train is due!”
gasped Terence.
His owner ran to telephone
a warning to the station.
His call was just in time!
With che Inspector in his cab,
Thomas moved cautiously along the line. By the time they reached the
place of the accident, the farmer had managed to fasten the trailer so that
Sue
= ——p
peroey ream Bee THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION RH meas gore
it would not move. The Inspector made sure that the building stones had
not damaged the railway.
“All right,” he told
Thomas's Driver as he
climbed back into the cab.
“Proceed at caution, please,
and drop me at the next
signalbox so that I can report
what's happened.”
Thomas and the Inspector
reached the top station safely, and found Toby and Henrietta waiting for them.
Victoria and Henrietta liked each other at once, and soon became the best
of friends.
“There cannot be many railways,” announced the Fat Controller, “who
can run a complete train of stock as old as Toby, Henrietta and Victoria.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you three cheers for Toby’s Vintage Train. |
am very proud of all three of you, and I know you will be a credit to me.”
Now Victoria is as happy as can be. She helps Henrietta to take workmen
to and from the Quarry, and at other times you will see her with Thomas,
Annie and Clarabel, running
happily along the valley.
She knows she is very lucky.
“This is much better than
being a summerhouse in an
orchard,” she sometimes
thinks to herself. “It’s great to
be Useful again.”
Serr) Oa
no THOMAS AND VICTORIA OE meen omen
[ think we can be sure,
can't we, that Victoria will be
Useful for many years to come.
ew paw bee. THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: THE NEW COLLECTION RGF nprscey cme
Finding Sodor
he Island of Sodor is more than just a
flight of fancy. It’s a fully realised
addition to the British Isles, complete with
detailed geography, history, customs and
The Reverend Wilbert Awdry and friends, depicted with maps
local character. of Sodor in the Reverend’s story, Duke the Lost Engine (1970).
To quote the Reverend Wilbert Awdry, original creator of the Railway Series: “The stories...
are all based on something which has really happened to some engine somewhere, some time.
In the books, that ‘something’ happens to an imaginary engine on an imaginary railway. It
follows therefore that they must have a similar factual/fictional place of operation.”
That said, ‘factual/fictional’ Sodor did not settle into position between the UK Mainland and
the Isle of Man until several books of the Railway Series were already written. The idea came
when the Reverend Awdry travelled to Man for a preaching engagement, and discovered that,
for reasons dating back to the Middle Ages, the local prelate is known as the Bishop of Sodor
and Man. The way was clear for the Reverend Awdry to restore the missing half of the diocese,
including a cathedral in the ancient capital of Suddery, at which the bishop was ‘most gratified’.
The firse detailed map of Sodor, published in 1958.
Ste 9): Sos
Lo aN "eID
wee oy TERE FINDING SopOR PE wer ee
As well as a firm footing on the bed of the
Irish Sea, Sodor has a detailed history and
economic infrastructure. Having repelled
various invaders, including the Romans and
the Normans, the island became attached to
the Duchy of Lancaster in the 15th Century,
but the inhabitants remain sturdily
independent in outlook — an attitude typified
by Sir Topham Hatt III's determination to
maintain a steam railway in spite of
aii ee on
A relief map of Sodor, made by P. R. Wickham.
rary
‘modernisation’ on the Mainland. A bridge to
[rae
Cumbria was not constructed until 1915. and
SI a
Aw
then the work was done very much under the
supervision of Sir Topham Hatt I rather than
that of engineers from the Mainland.
Ste”. Giese @~ as fe 5 Ser 4s,
One good Sudrian way of limiting unwanted
interference from the Mainland is the polite
but firm assertion, “Nagh beurla” — Sudric for
“I have no English.” In reality, of course, most
of Sodor’s people are at least bilingual, and
their native tongue, a potent mix of Gaelic t
and Manx with input from Scandinavian
An early map, drawn by the Reverend Awdry, showing the ’
-elandic. i if inevitably, Tena
languages and Icelandic, 1S sadly, if ine y rouce of Thomas's race with Bertie the Bus from Thomas the
in decline. Tank Engine Again (1949)
Fortunately the Sudrians’ economic self-sufficiency is supported by the natural resources of
their homeland. On an island, fishing is naturally an important economy activity, hence
Henry's pride in pulling the Flying Kipper overnight express. The hilly landscape also yields
clay and various ores. While mining on the Mainland has long since gone into decline, the
high quality of Sudrian raw materials keeps them in high demand.
rong regional identity, and the steam railways for which it is famous,
21st. Christopher Awdry has taken the detailed framework
Sodor carries on its st
from the 20th Century into the 3
created by his father, and enriched it with many more adventures, while seeking to be as true
as possible co the original vision.
os, \ — Rallarmodsdiey
=. te Deny Hewin
A we me ke
Taking up where his father left off in the 1970s, Christopher
Awdry has written 15 books set in the wonderful world of
Thomas the Tank Engine. This collection gathers all those stories
— Volumes 27 to 41 of the Railway Series — together in print for
the first time.
Readers can travel down the tracks again with familiar friends
like Thomas and Gordon, and meet new characters like
Bulstrode the grumpy barge.
The steam age is alive and well on the Island of Sodor!
LNOWSD4
THE RAILWAY SERIES NO. 42
Thomas and his Friends
| KK i A
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CHRISTOPHER AWDRY
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Titles in the series
The Three Railway Engines
Thomas the Tank Engine
James the Red Engine
Tank Engine Thomas Again
Troublesome Engines
Henry the Green Engine
Toby the Tram Engine
Gordon the Big Engine
Edward the Blue Engine
Four Little Engines
- Percy the Small Engine
. The Eight Famous Engines
- Duck and the Diesel Engine
. The Little Old Engine
The Twin Engines
Branch Line Engines
Gallant Old Engine
Stepney the “Bluebell” Engine
Mountain Engines
Very Old Engines
Main Line Engines
J
Ww INQ
ON BS ORO ROT
LA uty.
ON
. Small Railway Engines
. Enterprising Engines
Oliver the Western Engine
. Duke the Lost Engine
. Tramway Engines
7. Really Useful Engines
. James and the Diese! Engines
Great Little Engines
. More About Thomas the Tank Engine
Gordon the High-Speed Engine
. Toby, Trucks and Trouble
. Thomas and the Twins
. Jock the New Engine
. Thomas and the Great Railway Show
. Thomas Comes Home
. Henry and the Express
. Wilbert the Forest Engine
. Thomas and the Fat Controller's Engines
New Little Engine
. Thomas and Victoria
. Thomas and his Friends
The Railway Series No. 42
THOMAS AND HIS FRIENDS
by
CHRISTOPHER AWDRY
with illustrations by
CLIVE SPONG
EGMONT
EGMONT
Wwe 4rin1g srortes fv “fe
This edition first published in 2011
by Egmont UK Limited
239 Kensington High Street, London W8 6SA
All rights reserved
homas the Tank Engine & Friends™ @#Udz- ;;
c
—— ase
CREATED BY BRIFT ALLCROFT
Based on the Railway Series by the Reverend W Awadry
2011 Guilane (Thomas) LLC A HIT Entertainment company
ank Engine & Friends and Thomas & Friends are trademarks of Gullane (Th
lomas the Tank Engine & Friends and Design is Reg US Pat & Tm. Off
HiT entertainment
ISBN 978 1 4052 5523 3
ee
Printed and bound in Singapore
In memory of Rev. W. Awdry (1911-1997), without whom none of
Thomas’ adventures would have been told.
FOREWORD
DEAR FRIENDS,
The Awdry family is delighted to be able to mark the
centenary of the Thin Clergyman’s birth with the publication
of this book. The Fat Controller wanted to celebrate the
occasion too, and quietly made his own plans. What were they?
Turn the pages to find out ...
‘THE AUTHOR
Thomas and the Swan
Tuomas and Gordon were at the Big Station, where Gordon had
just
backed down to take the Express.
“Hello, Gordon,” said a voice. “Remember us?”
Gordon was late and not in the mood for guessing games, but
he thought he recognised the voice. “Pip—?” he ventured carefully.
“Or is it Emma?”
‘It's me!” Philippa laughed. “Well done. Emma is at the back
today.”
“Why are you here?” asked Thomas.
The question was answered at once as the Fat Controller arrived.
“Philippa and Emma,” the Fat Controller began importantly,
“could be very helpful to my Railway.”
“Yes, Sir,’ agreed Gordon, though he wasn’t sure why.
“Too much time,” the Fat Controller went on, “is wasted by
changing the Engine of the Express at the Other Railway. Our
timetable is too slow.”
Suddenly Gordon realised what the Fat Controller meant.
“And if Pip and Emma were the Express instead of me pulling it
there wouldn’t be a changeover.”
“Exactly,” agreed the Fat Controller. “Well done, Gordon.”
ett NES
AUIS ree
enter e ei ta, ~~ ;
Ml ve
We
i!
ue
linn
Peagr
After that, the Fat Controller often saw Pip and Emma at the
ii
tl
Big Station.
s% ‘a “ey
Ka
“You're doing well,” he would say, kindly. “I am very pleased —
my plan is working.”
One day Thomas was at the Junction when, with a cheerful “Good
morning , Pip and Emma hurried by.
Moments later, with a rattle and a roar, they were gone.
They're a great success,” remarked Thomas’ Driver, “and Gordon
loves it — he says he can now do two trips a day instead of one.”
A little later, Thomas set off along the branch line, with Annie
and Clarabel following cheerfully behind.
Today there was an Inspector on Thomas’ footplate so the small
space was quite crowded. The Inspector was assessing Thomas’
Fireman for possible promotion.
They stopped at the station by the river for Thomas to take on
water. While they waited, Thomas saw something white on the rails
in front.
“What's that?” he asked.
“Just an old newspaper, I expect,” said his Driver. “Come on.”
Just then, Thomas saw a white neck uncurl and a yellow ;
beak appear.
“Stop!” he called. “It’s not a newspaper!”
Quickly the Driver braked, and the Inspector got down. He went
to look and then returned to the cab.
“It’s a swan,” the Inspector told Thomas’ Driver. “It must have
flown into the parapet of the bridge by mistake. Can you come and
help, please?”
Thomas watched anxiously as the two men lifted the bird. It tried
to flap its wings, but only one moved.
Te ee
Very carefully, the Inspector and the Driver carried the injured
swan past Thomas. They placed it gently in a corner of the cab and the
Inspector covered it with his coat.
“Off we go, Thomas,” said his Driver. “Be as gentle as you can.”
The Fireman had told the Signalman at the river station what had
happened so they had a clear run to the top station.
When they got there, the Inspector took the swan in his car
to a nearby vet.
The vet reset the broken wing and kept the bird in his «
: 5 SUL ger
garden until it was strong enough to fly. Then he went with Thon.
c Oma
to the river to let the swan go free.
Word of Thomas’ rescue spread fast and soon al]
the engines had
heard about it. Pip and Emma congratulated him when they saw him
at the Big Station, and so did the Fat Controller. Gordon, too, was
very proud.
“Just think,” said Pip, “if it had been us as the Express, we wouldn't
have been able to stop!”
“And now we can add injured birds to our list of passengers!” said
Thomas, proudly.
Buffer Bashing
Winter was passing but there were still one or two late frosts
which made everything look Sugar-coated and sparkling in the
spring sunshine.
As the months had passed, Pip and Emma had become quite used
to being the Express and making their daily journey between the Big
Station and London.
Each morning, Donald and Douglas took it in turns to bring
a ballast train from the smal] railway and James then pulled the trucks
to a place where the line was being mended.
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One morning, Donald w
Siding to let James take his place
But a hard frost had made the
his wheels locked
“Fat Controller”
#S uncoupled and fan ahead Into a shor
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the trucks.
rails icy. When Donald tr;
and they slid on the’ ice: Befare he
, he hit the buffers at the end of the Siding.
The buffers stopped him — that was what they were there for _
they were badly damaged.
at the front of
ed to Stop
could Say
but
Donald was lucky. He wasn’t hurt at all, just embarrassed.
The other engines teased him.
You should go in for skating championships!”
they said.
Even Donald laughed. though
he was worried about what the
Fat Controller might say. But the Fat
Controller only warned him
to be more careful — he knew jt hadn’t really been Donald’s fault
The next day, men were sent to mend the buffers.
At last, James’ repair work on the line was ending.
~Tomorrow’s train, Douglas, will be the last for the time being,
the Fat Controller told him.
The next day, as Douglas drew his loaded trucks to a halt ip their
siding, James was waiting. “Here you are, James,’
~ Douglas said
cheerfully. “What are you going to do, now this job is finishing?”
“Pull some passenger trains, | hope,” replied James. “I’m getting
tired of doing the same thing all the time.”
“Never mind,” said Douglas. “Today’s the last one.”
His Fireman uncoupled the trucks and climbed back into the cab.
Then Douglas puffed slowly into the short Siding.
At the end of the siding, the men who had been mending the
buffers were standing to one side. They had pots of paint beside them.
and had just finished painting the buffer-bar bright red.
“That looks very smart,’ thought Douglas. “Much better than it
did before — the Fat Controller's probably glad that Donald smashed
it up.”
He moved into the siding. His Driver put on the brakes.
Nothing happened!
The Driver tried again. Still nothing.
“Horrors!” exclaimed Douglas. “I can’t stop!”
The workmen watched in dismay. Douglas rolled steadily along
the line and smashed to splinters the buffers they had just spent three
days mending.
“Ouch!” exclaimed Douglas, opening his eyes cautiously,
“That hurt!”
The new buffers had stopped him. But unfortunately, Douglas had
been moving faster than Donald. He was ina terrible mess — his front was
badly bent and he was smeared with the bright red paint, which hadnt
had time to dry.
“You silly great engine,” scolded the Foreman, waving his
paintbrush, angrily. It still had red paint in it — and some of the paint
flew out and stuck on Douglas’ nose.
“Three days’ work,” the Foreman said, crossly, “and in three
seconds, you come and smash it all to pieces!”
Douglas’ front wheels were off the rails, so James had to come and
rescue him.
Later, the Fat Controller spoke sternly to Douglas about engines _
not taking care in sidings.
And the red paint was left on Douglas’ nose, as a reminder.
Gordon’s Fire Service
Pir and Emma were delighted to be able to run fast times to London
Gordon would have had to stop for water, but they didn’t need to.
Gordon couldn't understand why the Controllers had taken all the
waterpipes away. He was even a bit suspicious about it.
Proper engines can’t work without water,” he kept saying. “It’s
sabotage, that’s what!”
“Diesel and electric trains don’t need water, Pip and Emma tried
to explain. “We don’t have to make steam like you do.”
But Gordon wasn’t convinced.
“Does the Other Railway have electric trains too?” asked Henry.
“Like the ones that go past our Mountain Railway?”
“Some are like that,” said Emma. “Some trains are pulled by
electric engines.”
That silenced Henry, for a while.
Gordon’s last train each day stopped at all the stations. He liked
this because he didn’t have to hurry and get hot and bothered. One
evening, however, delays on the Other Railway made Gordon late. At
last he drew into the station where the electric line began.
As Gordon stopped, an electric train slid silently off the branch ;
line and stopped at another platform. It caught Gordon’s attention as
it made no noise — and no steam.
Beyond the station, a busy road crossed under the railway. Gordon”
: a
was about to leave when he heard a shout in front of him. A man-
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appeared, scrambling up the bank near the bridge. A wisp of smoke
rose behind him. The man ran towards the station, waving his arms :
“Help!” he yelled. “Fire!”
A Porter ran to telephone for the Fire Brigade. Gordon’s Fireman
asked permission from the Signalman, and carefully worked the train
forward. They stopped near the bridge. Smoke billowed from a bale
of straw that lay on the roadside verge. A tractor and trailer stood
nearby.
“Got the straw off before the rest went up,” gasped the tractor
driver. “Now we must wait for the Fire Brigade!”
Tongues of flame curled round the edges of the straw-bale and the
smoke grew thicker.
“Can't we do something?” urged Gordon, giving a poop of alarm.
“We certainly can,” said his Fireman. He grabbed the hosepipe he
used to wash the footplate with water from the tender. Then he turned
the tap, and when the water was running, he pointed the hosepipe at
the burning straw.
It wasn't a very strong jet of water, but it was enough. Slowly, the
flames died down and the tractor driver stamped out the remaining
embers. At that moment, the Fire Brigade arrived.
“Sorry, the tractor driver explained. “I’m afraid you've had
a wasted journey. Gordon has put the fire out with water from his
tender.”
The Fire Chief laughed. “Well done, Gordon —
you were standing by.”
a good job
Gordon was very proud, and prouder still when the Fire Chief
recommended him for the Queen’s Fire Service Medal. The Far
Controller arranged a special presentation at the Big Station.
“Electric trains may be able to run fast, with no noise,” said
Gordon, “but we steam engines have our uses, too!”
Centenary
On: day in early summer the Fat Controller called a meeting
of the engines.
“You have all heard,” he announced, “of the Thin Clergyman.”
“Isn't he the one who wrote stories about us?” ventured Thomas.
“Well done, Thomas,” agreed the Fat Controller. “Sadly he has
now died, but this year it is one hundred years since he was born.”
He paused.
“To mark this auspicious occasion —” he went on.
“What's suspicious?” squeaked Percy, and then hoped the
Fat Controller hadn’t heard him.
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27 | NOME NNO
But he had.
““Auspicious’, Percy — it means important,’ explained the Fat
Controller. “To mark this ... er ... important occasion I have arranged
for a bust of the Thin Clergyman to be unveiled here in a few weeks.
Your duties will be adjusted so that you can all attend. There will be
a very special visitor there to unveil the bust.”
Some time later, the Fat Controller spoke to James.
“I have an important job for you,” he said. “The crate with the
Thin Clergyman’s statue has arrived at the Orher Railway. I want you
to fetch it, please.”
James puffed off proudly. He felt even prouder when he began the
journey back to the Big Station with the crate safely on a truck.
But just as James had passed through Henry’s tunnel, there was
a rumble ... and an enormous crash. James’ Driver looked back in
alarm. Part of the tunnel had collapsed behind them. The Railway to
the outside world was completely cut off!
James stopped at the next signal-box and his Driver told the
Signalman what had happened.
Later, the Fat Controller sent Donald, Douglas and Henry to help
repair the tunnel, but until it was mended, no trains could reach the
Other Railway from the Island of Sodor.
“And no engines can get onto the Island either,” pointed out
Gordon. “Pip and Emma are stuck on the other side of the tunnel, and
they are supposed to bring the important visitors.”
On Thomas’ branch line the engines were worried, too.
“We've all got jobs to do on the day,” said Thomas, “but what if
no one can get here?”
“Don’t worry,” soothed his Driver. “Bertie and his friends
are meeting all the trains on the Other Railway and bringing the
passengers over.
Thomas, listening nearby, laughed. “The Thin Clergyman isn’t
broken,” he chuckled. “A bust is a sort of statue, just the head and
shoulders of the person.”
Percy cheered up at once.
“Oh!” he said. “That’s all right then.”
“I just hope that everybody can get to see it,” put in Toby.
A few days later, the Fat Controller announced that the tunnel had
been mended. The Inspectors worked through the night on their
safety checks, and the first train allowed through was Pip and Emma.
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At the Big Station, the bust of the Thin Clergyman, beneath a silk
cover, was ready. The engines waited anxiously.
At last, Pip and Emma arrived and the first person off the train
was — a Prince. The Fat Controller greeted him, and after a short
speech, the Prince pulled a cord. The silk cover fell to the ground,
revealing a perfect likeness of the Thin Clergyman!
“My parents,” said the Prince, “read stories about your Railway
to me as a child. There will never be anything like it anywhere.”
THE END
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7 sf
Thomas and his Friends
CHRISTOPHER AWDRY
The Fat Controller welcomes back Pip and Emma to help
on his Railway. Thomas is delighted; Gordon is worried that
his time as the Express is over. But every engine has its day!
Thomas makes an important rescue, Gordon proves himself
a hero, and all the engines celebrate a Very Important Event.
ret . ER eet ee ee
ip
ISBN 978-1-4052-5523-3 |
Subsets and Splits