It was a quiet morning in East Anglia. Birds chirped, the wind rustled through the trees, and the sun was just beginning to climb over the horizon. As the sky began to change its tint from the pink of the early morning to the blue of the late, two men opened the doors of a small wooden shed at the end of a railway line, stepping inside before a bell rang from within. Suddenly, steam erupted from inside the sheds, and a little wooden tram engine slowly puffed out of the sheds, taking a look at the early morning sky. He took a deep breath before sighing happily at the scenery around him and looking up at the sky.

"Good morning!" He called loudly, causing the birds to fly away from the trees with a start as the tram engine puffed towards a siding, where two pieces of rolling stock had just been woken up.

"Easy, Toby! You don't want to wake the whole village up!" The luggage van scolded the tram engine as he backed down onto them. The carriage in front of her chuckled.

"Toby's simply as excited to start work as we are, Elsie, dear." Elsie snorted.

"It's still too early to be loud…" She grumbled as Henrietta was coupled up to Toby. The tram engine laughed.

"Henrietta's right, Elsie, you need to smile! It's a new day after all, and a new day means new passengers." Elsie rolled her eyes.

"New passengers for the buses to steal…" Henrietta cut her off to try and appease Toby's worried expression.

"None of that, now. Now come on, chop chop! We've passengers to pick up!" Henrietta smiled at Toby. The tram engine rang his bell, soon enough smiling again himself, and headed off along his line, his train in tow.

North of the Island, there lives a dear old train,

A little tram engine, Toby is his name.

He's quaint and old fashioned, but careful and wise.

His coach is Henrietta and she's seen better days.

Toby rolled along the line, picking up passengers at every station along his route. Toby passed by farms and fields, with his friends saying hello to him at every stop.

"Good morning, Toby! Henrietta! Elsie!" One of the farmers called from his tractor, as he was plowing a field. Toby happily rang his bell back.

"Good morning, Farmer Collins!" Henrietta and Elsie called. Along the country road alongside the line, the trio passed a familiar road sign.

"Oh, you know what that means! We're almost at the top station; there will be tons of passengers there!" Henrietta tittered happily. Elsie raised an eyebrow.

"If Graham doesn't get there first…" She muttered. Toby frowned.

"Well, then…I'll beat him! I'm faster than a newfangled bus any day!" The tram engine rang his bell and sped up. Henrietta glared sharply at Elsie.

"You know how insecure he gets about that!" She hissed. Elsie sighed.

"You think I'm not?" Henrietta frowned, but saw where the luggage van was coming from and they simply continued on their way.

Toby, oh Toby,

What will become of you?

The world's much nicer whenever we see you.

As Toby made his stops closer and closer to the top station, fewer and fewer people began to board his train. This clearly made the tram engine upset, and Henrietta tried to keep up a brave face for him, but it did no good.

Toby, dear Toby,

There's still lots that you can do

Oldies but Goldies, we still care about you.

Toby finally approached the top station, seeing a connecting train from the main line waiting in the platform. He smiled hopefully at first, but then frowned when he saw a familiar face in the car park, sneering.

Oldies but Goldies, we still care for you.

Toby rolled his eyes as he rolled to a stop in the platform, allowing his passengers to disembark. While some passengers boarded Henrietta to go back up the line again, a vast majority did not, instead approaching a green bus who smirked confidently from alongside the platform.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't me auld pal, Toby." The bus gloated. Toby rolled his eyes.

"Graham." He grunted. Henrietta glared at the bus, while Elsie snarled threateningly. Graham mockingly raised an eyebrow.

"Why de long face, Toby? Ah wait, sorry, me mistake, you're jist ganky! 'a! For rayle though, what's buggin' yer?" Before Toby could respond, Elsie jumped in.

"Why don't you leave us alone, you Irish brute? You've already taken all our passengers, what more do you want?" Graham's smile dropped as his eyes drifted to the platform.

"Not al' av dem…" He growled, watching the last two people board Toby's rather light train. His eyes snapped back to Toby, in a deadly glare.

"Yer canny 'owl oyt forever. Us buses an' lorries are gonna run dis place soon enoof, an' den yisser rails 'ill be ripped up loike they should've been years ago." Elsie jumped in again.

"If anything should have happened a long time ago, it's you having your tires removed and made into an ice cream stand!" Toby and Henrietta snorted with laughter as Graham's face turned red with anger. The bus glared at Elsie.

"Yer laugh nigh, but yer won't be splitting' yer sides whaen yer end up in a scrapyard…" Graham honked his horn and drove away, leaving the station quiet again. Elsie stopped glaring at Graham once he left, and sighed.

"He's right; we can't hold out forever. Soon enough, we won't have any passengers to take; we've so little as it is." Toby frowned, but Henrietta very quickly jumped in.

"As long as the people of the valley need us, Elsie, we will be useful." Elsie snorted. Toby smiled nervously.

"Besides, even if we have to move railways, the three of us stick together no matter what! I know I'll be happy no matter where I go, as long as it's with you two!" Henrietta smiled warmly at this, but Elsie remained pessimistic.

"Even in a scrapyard?" Toby faltered in his speech, and could only remain silent as he started on his way back up the valley, pulling a nervous Henrietta and an upset Elsie behind him.


Meanwhile, on the Island of Sodor, a tank engine was making his way up his branch line. But you already know who he is, don't you?

"Thomas, slow down!" Annie shouted as Thomas rocketed along the rails, dragging his coaches behind him.

"You're going to have an accident!" Clarabel added.

"Hey, Thomas!" Terence the Tractor called from his field. Thomas whistled as he sped by.

"Sorry, Annie and Clarabel, but you know why I have to get there quickly today!" Annie snorted.

"You'll be getting there anyway, Thomas. I agree it's good news, but Glynn's been waiting on that siding for a long time…"

"Twenty minutes more won't change the fact that the news is good, Thomas!" Clarabel added sympathetically. Thomas sighed and began to slow down, right as he reached the section where the rails ran alongside the road for a short distance. However, a familiar horn rang out that made Thomas smirk and his coaches groan.

"Thomas, stop thinking what you're thinking right now!" Annie pleaded, but Thomas didn't pay attention to her. Bertie the Bus sped alongside him before grinning.

"Morning, Thomas! Fancy a race?" Thomas was about to reply before Clarabel quickly jumped in.

"Thomas, if you race Bertie, we'll tell Glynn the good news by ourselves and you won't get to!"

"What? Oh, come on, don't be like that!" Thomas begged, but Annie simply pouted.

"No buts, Thomas! I'm not in the mood to be shaken about like a truck today, thank you very much!" Thomas sighed.

"Sorry, Bertie, but I can't today. I have important news that I have to tell Glynn!" Bertie frowned briefly, before smiling again.

"Alright then, suit yourself. I'm counting this as a victory though!" The bus honked his horn as he sped away down the lane. Thomas chuckled and continued along his way towards Ffarquhar station.


Thomas pulled into the platform smoothly, but was very quickly getting anxious.

"Uncouple me, please! I have to go see Glynn!" He begged a nearby shunter.

"Alright, Thomas, don't get too antsy now!" The shunter chuckled, and uncoupled Thomas from Annie. The tank engine quickly scampered towards a vegetation-covered siding adjacent to the platform, where an old, rusty, overgrown steam engine was fast asleep.

"Glynn…Glynn…Glynn!" Thomas hissed, and the old engine snorted awake.

"Eh? What is it, Thomas?" He yawned. Thomas grinned from buffer to buffer.

"I have good news!"

"Well, don't keep me waiting then! Are you getting a new coat of paint? Off working on the main line again? Maybe-"

"The Fat Controller is reopening the line to the quarry! I don't have enough time to run it myself, so I think the Fat Controller is going to have someone else do it…"

"And who would that be, Thomas?" Glynn raised an eyebrow.

"You! You ran the line to the quarry back in the day just fine, and you and I both know that you only need to have your pipes repaired and all the rust scraped off and you'll be back at work as good as new!" Glynn chuckled nervously as Thomas gushed with excitement.

"Well, Thomas, I appreciate the thought, but I think I'm far too weak to manage the quarry nowadays. I mean, look at me! I haven't run in years, I could barely move coaches when I last worked…I don't think Mr.-gah, sorry, Sir Topham Hatt has any use for me. I'm just not useful anymore." Glynn looked down at his buffers in sadness. Thomas smiled determinedly.

"Of course you're useful, Glynn! You taught me almost everything I know about running a branch line! Where to put the trucks, which sidings to use at the top station…you could run this line by yourself if you had to!"

"In theory, Thomas, but I'm just part of the scenery now." Thomas faltered at Glynn's continued sadness. Suddenly, a voice rang from the station platform.

"Thomas, come on!"

"We'll be late if you don't come along now!"

"Coming!" Thomas slowly began to reverse away from Glynn.

"You'll see, Glynn! You'll be back at work before you know it, and then you'll be really useful again!" Glynn smiled until Thomas was out of view, falling into a frown again. Thomas backed down onto his coaches, who eagerly awaited his arrival.

"Well?" Clarabel asked.

"What'd he say?" Thomas sighed.

"He's not happy…" Annie and Clarabel only looked to Thomas out of concern as the train left the station, leaving Glynn on his siding.


Thomas arrived at Elsbridge, still deep in thought, when he heard a familiar voice.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Thomas' gaze drifted to Edward, waiting in the other platform with a local train.

"Oh, hello, Edward. I was just down to see Glynn." The blue engine smiled, but was clearly rather uncomfortable.

"Ah, yes. How is he?"

"He's alright, but he didn't take the news the way I wanted him to…"

"News?" Edward raised an eyebrow.

"Well, the Fat Controller is reopening the line to the quarry, and I thought it would make the most sense for Glynn to run it, since I don't have the time and he only needs a bit of repair to be good as new! He seemed…sad when I told him and said that he just wasn't useful anymore no matter what." Thomas sighed.

"Well, Thomas, I don't think the Fat Controller is planning for anything of the sort…" Edward began, causing Thomas to frown.

"…However, that doesn't mean that he wouldn't. Maybe try talking to him about it?" Thomas thought for a moment, before smiling.

"Yes…of course! Thank you, Edward! I'll talk to him the next time I see him!" Edward chuckled.

"Well, you better do it soon then; he leaves for his well-deserved holiday soon." Suddenly, a deep whistle rang out, and a familiar grumbling entered the air as a goods train clanked past.

"A goods train! A goods train! Oh, the shame of it! The shame of it!" Gordon puffed past with a long slow goods train, much to Thomas and Edward's surprise and amusement.

"Good morning, Gordon!" Thomas called cheekily.

"What could be good about a morning where I'm forced to deal with dirty trucks!" He grunted in reply. Edward raised an eyebrow.

"Why are you pulling a goods train, Gordon?" The big engine snorted indignantly.

"It's Henry's; his fire won't light again…it's laziness if you ask me!" Edward frowned as Gordon's train began to crawl out of sight.

"You know he can't help it, Gordon!"

"Can he, though? I say it's pretty suspicious that whenever he has a big train to pull, he manages to feel sick every single time!" Thomas and Edward could only shoot each other a worried glance as Gordon's goods train disappeared from sight.


The Fat Controller was just leaving his office to visit Tidmouth Sheds on important business when the stationmaster ran up to his car.

"Sir, the telephone rang for you."

"Tell them it can wait; I have things I need to attend to."

"It's your wife, sir."

"…"


"Yes, hello, dear." The Fat Controller had returned to his office and was now on the phone with his wife.

"I just wanted to make sure that you had all the logistics for our holiday in order, Topham, dear. Now, tell me, what is our plan for the first day?" Lady Hatt held the phone between her head and shoulders as she packed away clothes in her suitcase.

"…Jane, honey, can't this wait? I have important business-"

"It's in two weeks! I just want to make sure we don't have a repeat of last time, where you simply took us to a bunch of wine and cheese tastings! This has to be fun for the grandchildren, Topham, so I will be holding you accountable!" The Fat Controller winced and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Jane, my dear, I promise that I have planned a spectacular holiday for us in East Anglia." Lady Hatt smiled wryly on the other end.

"I should hope you have…you know I'm only hard on you because I love you, Topham."

"I love you too. I have to go now, goodbye, honey."

"Goodbye." The Fat Controller hung up the phone, before smiling to himself, and leaving his office behind to head to Tidmouth Sheds.


Henry the Green Engine sat in the sheds, feeling miserable. No matter how his driver and fireman built his fire up, his small firebox prevented him from getting any steam, and he was firmly stuck. James grumbled furiously nearby as his crew built up his fire.

"Henry, I've started pulling this stopping train so much that the passengers recognize me more than you! Surely, you can't still feel ill!" Henry groaned as his crew attempted to light his fire again.

"I'm not doing it on purpose! Sometimes I just wake up with no strength at all-"
"Did you have any to begin with?" James snarked, causing Henry to turn red in the face.

"You and Gordon just don't understand! Nobody understands! I suffer dreadfully, and no one cares!"

"Great, back on this again…" James muttered.

"It's the truth!" Henry snapped.

"Henry, the only truth I can see is that you don't work hard enough!" The green engine remained speechless as James clanked away from the sheds, just as the Fat Controller pulled up in his car. He stepped out and walked towards the sheds.

"Alright, driver, what's the problem today?" He sighed as he walked towards the driver and fireman, who had climbed down from Henry's cab and were now standing alongside his running board.

"His fire won't light again, sir."

"Well, yes, I've heard that, but why?" His driver and fireman gave each other a nervous glance before the fireman finally spoke up.

"It's his firebox, sir. He can't build up a flame with this coal because he has a small firebox for an engine of his size." The Fat Controller raised an eyebrow and looked to Henry, who cringed.

"I'm sorry, sir." He sighed. The Fat Controller's expression softened as he walked towards Henry.

"I know it's nothing you're doing on purpose, Henry; you can't help it." Henry smiled sadly, but the Fat Controller continued.

"However, the board has not been particularly…pleased with your performance lately. We've given you new parts, and a new coat of paint-"

"Please, never paint me blue again, sir. While that livery is nice for some engines, my green suits me far better." Henry jumped in, before wincing at the Fat Controller's raised eyebrow and quieting down.

"I think, if your condition does not begin to improve, that we…" He hesitated, noticing the worried expression on the green engine's face and trying to find the most tactful way to word his statement.

"We may have to get another engine instead of you." Henry's eyes widened as he heard his driver whoop from the cab.

"Finally! We've got a fire!" He cheered. The Fat Controller looked back.

"Glad that solved itself!" He called. He then redirected his gaze to Henry.

"See you at the station, Henry. Goodbye, all!" He called to the crew, before entering his car again and driving away. As Henry finally managed to leave Tidmouth Sheds, he could only wallow in his own misery.

"I suffer dreadfully…and I wish I didn't have to." He muttered under his breath as he limped towards the big station.


Another project begins! I've been kind of hush-hush about the elements of this adaptation of Henry the Green Engine and Toby the Tram Engine, but I'm more than excited to finally introduce it to everyone! Now, let's discuss the differences in these stories from the original books:

Order of Events: Much like Troublesome Engines before it, the order of the books' events is different, as they will be taking place alongside each other instead of one after the other (as seen by the Fat Controller planning his holiday to East Anglia before visiting Henry about his firebox) to allow for a more coherent narrative. If you liked this in Troublesome Engines, you'll probably like it here.'

The Presence of New Characters: Unlike Troublesome Engines, Glynn, Judy, and Jerome will have a presence in this special, Glynn more so than the other two, as there are actual roles for them this time. However, these three aren't the only characters who make appearances here who didn't before: obscure RWS characters Elsie the Luggage Van and Graham the Green Bus (actually getting a name instead of just "The Green Bus"), who appear on Toby's old line to bolster the tram engine's backstory. They will get more development later.

Toby's livery pre-Sodor: Toby's livery prior to Sodor is pretty much his livery now minus his number with more faded wood and black sideplates with LNER lettering instead of grey ones without it. Not much of a change in appearance so I didn't really feel the need to note it.

Excited for this story to continue, and to see the Fat Controller's solution to Henry's problems in the next chapter: "Welsh Coal"!