Another original Thomas story, this time it's a first hand account of what happened to James and the red hot-air balloon, written by a tourist visiting Sodor. Enjoy and comment.
I remember exactly what happened to the red hot-air balloon on that faithful day. It was a sunny, cloudless day to be exact, and I was visiting Sodor on my lone holiday of the year.
When I boarded the coaches of the Express train, I noticed that something was different. There were fewer people on-board. For a few minutes, I thought it was a actual holiday, but when I saw the sign that said "HOT AIR BALLOON RIDES" I knew something was up.
I signaled for the driver to stop the train and got off. That's when I saw James, the proud red engine who loved taking passengers, looking very cross. So I went over to him.
"What's the matter?" I asked him.
"That silly red hot-air balloon has taken my passengers!" responded James angrily.
"Well is there anything I can do to help?"
"You can convince the passengers to take me instead of the balloon! "
And that's exactly what I did. Soon, all the passengers were on-board James's coaches. The hot-air balloon had no more riders the rest of the day.
Two weeks later, before I headed back home, I went by the field where the hot-air balloon was.
And to my surprise, everyone was riding it.