It was an important day on the Island of Sodor, the railway inspector was coming to make sure the railway was running smoothly and that there were steps in place should an accident occur, which wasn't uncommon on a busy railway like the Fat Controller's.
Thomas pulled into Brendam Docks, he had just come from the washdown and his paint shone in the sun, he was excited for the inspection and maybe a little nervous too. He wanted everything to go smoothly, he tooted his whistle in greeting when he saw Gordon "Hello Gordon" he greeted.
The big blue engine smiled "Hello Thomas" he replied.
"How are you feeling about the inspection?" the blue tank engine asked.
"Not too bad I suppose, we have had inspections many times before, but it seems to never get easier" Gordon replied and chuckled slightly.
Thomas giggled a little "You can say that again" he replied "I mean I understand that the inspectors are just doing their jobs, but the fat controller really puts the pressure on us to get things right"
"The only reason he does that is because he is fretting about the inspection himself, the last thing he wants is for everything to go wrong, he just takes pride in our railway" Gordon explained "so we, young Thomas, will make sure that we do our best for the inspector"
The blue tank engine heartily agreed with him as the fat controller walked over "Good morning sir" he greeted.
"Hello Thomas, Gordon" Sir Topham hat greeted "as you may already know, today is an important day for our railway, the railway inspector will be here to make sure everything runs like clockwork and that we have a safe working environment"
"Of course sir" Thomas replied with a smile.
"Gordon will be taking the railway inspector and I around the Island, and Henry will be doing the express for the day" the fat controller said and climbed into Gordon's cab "come along Gordon"
Gordon smiled and looked to Thomas "I wish you luck Thomas" he said.
The blue tank engine smiled "Same with you" he replied.
The big blue engine smiled before he puffed out of the docks.
Thomas smiled before he thought a moment, he knew the docks were the busiest place on Sodor as both passengers and freight arrive everyday, so he wanted to prove that but didn't want to do it alone "I need more engines to help me" he thought to himself "now who can help me?" then he smiled, he knew his best friend Percy would help him and knew he was doing his mail run, so he raced out of the docks to find him.
At Maron Station, Percy had just dropped off some mail when he saw his best friend pull up beside him "Hello Thomas" he greeted.
"Hello Percy" Thomas replied with a smile "I'd like you to come and help me at the docks, it's the busiest place on Sodor and I want to prove that to the railway inspector"
The green tank engine looked unsure, yes Thomas was his best friend and would do anything to help him, but he had the mail to do "I wish I could Thomas, but I still need to deliver the mail" he replied.
"You can come back to it, besides if we show how busy we are at the docks, it will impress the railway inspector and make the fat controller proud" the blue tank engine said with a smie.
Percy always wanted to make the fat controller proud, so he smiled "Ok Thomas" he replied as he was uncoupled from his mail trucks.
The two tank engines blew their whistles before they puffed out of the station, just as Gordon was pulling in and had to stop from bumping into the mail trucks that had seemingly been just left there "What is Percy playing at?" he muttered.
Sir Topham hat and the railway inspector looked around, they had been expecting to see Percy doing the mail, but no one was there.
The big blue engine was a little worried, but he didn't show it outwardly.
The fat controller was a little worried too.
Meanwhile, Thomas and Percy decided to puff through the Quarry to get to the docks faster, as they did they saw Mavis busy with her work.
The blue tank engine had an idea "Hey Percy, maybe Mavis can help too" he said.
"Good idea Thomas" the green tank engine replied with a smile "let's ask her"
Mavis looked over when she heard two familiar whistles "Hello Thomas, hello Percy" she greeted "what brings you here?"
Thomas and Percy pulled up beside her "I'd like you to come to the docks, I want to prove that it's the busiest place on Sodor" the blue tank engine replied with a smile.
Mavis was unsure "You know I would Thomas, but I have work to do here, and I'm a quarry diesel" she replied "why not ask Salty? He would be perfect to help you"
"Salty is doing another job at Narramby Fishing Village, he won't be back till much later" the blue tank engine explained "plus if we do this, it will make the fat controller proud"
Mavis did want to make the fat controller proud, so she finally agreed "Alright" she replied with a smile "let's go" she followed Thomas and Percy out of the Quarry.
Gordon was pulling in and saw the three engines puffing away "Where are they going?" he muttered.
The fat controller and the railway inspector got out of the cab and looked around, they were expecting to see Mavis hard at work, but again there were lines of trucks seemingly abandoned.
Sir Topham hat cast a worried look to Gordon when the railway inspector wasn't looking.
The big blue engine was worried too, but he hid it well, he just hoped the docks would be busy.
At Brendam Docks, Percy, Thomas and Mavis were busy shunting coal trucks. The three of them were excited to make the fat controller proud, that excitement grew when they heard Gordon's whistle "This is it, time to make the fat controller proud" Thomas said with a smile.
Gordon pulled into the docks, he was relieved to see the three engines.
Percy blew his whistle excitedly and raced forward, he banged into his trucks and didn't realise that the big blue engine was on the same track.
The trucks raced towards Gordon who shut his eyes, the first truck crashed into him, sending coal dust everywhere…and on Sir Topham hat and the railway inspector.
Thomas gasped "Oh no! That wasn't supposed to happen" he said.
The fat controller was cross "Thomas, you have caused confusion and delay, the mail was left at Maron Station and no work was being done at the Quarry" he said sternly.
The blue tank engine looked down "Oh I'm sorry sir, I just wanted to prove that Brendam Docks was the busiest place on Sodor, and make you proud" he replied.
Sir Topham hat put his hands on his hips "While Brendam Docks is one of the busiest places on Sodor, it isn't the only busy place on Sodor" he replied "everywhere plays a major role in keeping the railway running smoothly, from delivering the mail to working at the Quarry to pulling the express"
Thomas was embarrassed, he hadn't thought of it that way "Yes sir" he said "I let my excitement get the better of me, but if you allow it Harvey can clean up the mess and I'll take Gordon to the Steamworks to be cleaned and repaired"
The fat controller looked to the railway inspector who smiled, so he nodded "Of course Thomas" he replied with a smile.
The blue tank engine smiled and looked to Gordon "I'm sorry about what happened to you Gordon" he apologised.
"It's alright Thomas, you are still learning" the big blue engine assured.
Thomas smiled.
When Harvey had cleaned up the mess, Percy and Mavis went back to do the jobs they had abandoned, and Thomas buffered up behind Gordon to push him to the Sodor Steamworks.
When they arrived at the Steamworks, Victor greeted them warmly "Hello my friends" he said "what happened here?"
"There was a bit of an accident at the docks, Gordon has some damage and needs repairing" Thomas explained "he needs to be cleaned as well"
"Ah not to worry, Gordon will be as good as new in no time" Victor assured.
"Thank you Victor" Gordon replied before he coughed, he had a blocked funnel from the coal dust and a little bit of damage to his buffers from the trucks going into him.
Soon Gordon was as good as new "That's much better" he said with a smile and looked to Thomas "this time Thomas, don't be too excited, just be you"
"I will" Thomas replied with a smile and the two puffed away from the Steamworks.
In no time at all, Thomas was at the docks working hard, shunting the remaining trucks into a line for another engine to take them.
The railway inspector smiled and wrote a few things down.
When the blue tank engine had finished, the fat controller looked proud "Well done Thomas" he said.
Thomas smiled "Thank you sir" he replied.
"I have made my decision" the railway inspector announced "after seeing Thomas working hard to put his mistakes right, and after seeing everything else, the fat controller's railway is...the best!"
The relief was clear on Sir Topham hat's face as he smiled "Thank you, I am proud of all of my engines" he said.
"As you should be, especially with your number one engine" the railway inspector replied with a smile.
Thomas blushed a little as he smiled, he now knew not to go to extremes just to impress the railway inspector, all he had to do was be a really useful engine.