Another Thomas rewrite, this time it's "Thomas Breaks the Rules" from Season 1, with added lines by tate310. Enjoy and comment.
There's a line to a quarry at the end of Thomas's branch. It goes for quite a distance along the main road.
Thomas was always very careful to whistle here in case anyone was coming.
Early one morning, a policeman was sitting close to the line. Thomas liked policeman. He had been great friends with the old officer who had just retired.
"PEEP PEEP!" whistled Thomas. "Good morning!"
Thomas was hoping that this policeman would be friendly, but was sorry to see that he was not friendly at all. Instead, he was very cross.
"Disgraceful!" he said loudly. "I didn't sleep at all last night! In fact, it was so quiet, and now engines come whistling loudly, waking me up!"
"I'm sorry sir." said Thomas. "I was only saying good morning."
The policeman pointed to Thomas.
"Where's your cow-catcher?!" he asked.
"But I don't catch cows!"
"Don't be funny!" snapped the policeman. Then, he looked at Thomas's wheels.
"No side-plates either!" he muttered as he wrote in his notebook. "Engines going on public roads must have their wheels covered and a cow-catcher in front, to protect people and animals from being run-over. You have none of these, so you are dangerous!"
"Rubbish!" said Thomas's driver. "We've been along this road many times and never had an accident.
"That makes it worse!" answered the policeman, as he wrote REGULAR LAW BREAKER in his book.
Thomas puffed sadly away.
Sir Topham Hatt was having breakfast. He was eating toast and marmalade. His wife was poring in some coffee when the butler came in.
"Excuse me sir." he said. "You are wanted on the telephone."
"Bother that telephone!" said Sir Topham Hatt.
The policeman had telephoned Sir Topham Hatt to tell him about Thomas.
"I must go now my dear. Thomas is in trouble with the police and I must go at once!"
At the station, Thomas's driver told Sir Topham Hatt what had happened.
"Dangerous to the public? We'll see about that?"
Sir Topham Hatt spoke to the policeman, but no matter how much he argued with him, they couldn't set things straight.
"The law is the law!" said the policeman, "and we can't change it at all!"
Sir Topham Hatt felt exhausted.
"I'm sorry driver." he said. "It's no use arguing with the police. We must make those cow-catchers for Thomas at once."
"But everyone will say I look like a tram!" said Thomas.
Sir Topham Hatt suddenly remembered.
"Well done Thomas! Why didn't I think of it before? We need a tram engine on Sodor! When I was on holiday, I met a nice tram named Toby, who takes freight cars to the farms, but the trucks are taking over much of his work. He has cow-catchers and side-plates! I'll write to his owner and see if he wants to work on Sodor!"
A few days later, the owner agreed to bring Toby to Sodor.
"Hello! I see you've brought your coach with you! This must be Henrietta!"
"You don't mind if I keep her sir?" asked Toby. "My old stationmaster wanted to turn her into a hen house, and that would never do!
"Indeed!" said Sir Topham Hatt. "We don't want her being turned into a hen house!"
Toby made the silly cars behave even better than Thomas! At first, Thomas was jealous, but when Toby scared the policeman out of town by ringing his bell, they've been great friends ever since!"