Disclaimer: I own neither Thomas nor the Famous Five.

CHAPTER ONE

All together again

'How much longer is this journey going to take?' said Dick, glancing at his watch for the fifth time in as many minutes. 'It seems to me that we've been placed on a train that takes us miles from anywhere and then stops off for a week.'

'Don't be silly,' said Julian, his older brother, giving him a friendly punch. 'It's just bad luck, that's all. I bet we'll be on our way in the hour.'

'Well, I just can't wait to see Anne and George again!' said Dick, gazing out of the window at the rolling fields and blue sky. 'It's sickening to think that they might be having a simply marvellous time, while we're stuck on a train in the middle of nowhere! I'm just so glad to think that we will soon be seeing them again!'

'And Timmy of course,' said Julian. 'We absolutely cannot forget him!'

As he spoke, there was a jerk and the train got underway once again. The two boys were on their way to the little seaside village of Kirrin where their cousin Georgina, or George as she insisted on being called, lived. They would be meeting up with her, her dog Timmy and Anne, their little sister, for their Easter holidays. Georgina's father was a scientist, and a brilliant one at that. He must have been growing quite famous because he had once appeared in a London newspaper as one of the most quietly-living scientists in the country.

A quarter of an hour later, Kirrin Station came into sight. Julian and Dick leapt up, yanked their luggage down from the rack and leaned out of the window for a first glimpse of the girls. Yes, there they were, waving and yelling to them! As the train drew to a halt, Julian fumbled with the door handle and he and Dick tumbled out onto the platform.

'Oh, Julian! It's marvellous to see you and Dick again!' cried Anne, hugging both her brothers, whilst Timmy leapt up and tried to lick all three faces, wild with delight. George thumped both boys on the back, thrilled that she had male company at last. George hated being a girl and tried her hardest to be a boy. Her short dark curly hair and freckled face helped greatly, as did her refusal to answer to her real name.

'Mother's helping Joanna prepare dinner, so we came down alone,' said George when Julian asked where their aunt was. 'Come on, let's get home. She's going to be thrilled to see you two again!'

The five of them left the station for the concourse where George's pony and trap was waiting. They all scrambled on board and George grabbed the reins. As they rattled down the country lane towards Kirrin Cottage, the Five thought about how good it was for them all to be together once more.

'How's Father?' Dick asked Anne.

'He's still feeling bad,' said Anne glumly. 'Mother says he should be completely better by the end of the month, but he's still not fit to have us home for the hols.'

'I suppose it was only to be expected,' said Julian. 'Mother caught scarlet fever a few years ago, and Father was put into quarantine for it. Now it's the other way round, with Father the one who has the disease. It's just too bad that it should happen now, in the last week of term.'

As they rode along the winding country lane, the children could catch glimpses of Kirrin Island between the trees and hills. There it was, large as life, with its gloriously ruined castle standing proudly on its crest. Oh, how splendid it looked in the springtime! What glorious adventures it might hold in store for them! And oh, how the children wished they could return there someday!

All too soon, Kirrin Cottage appeared ahead. The passengers scrambled out of the trap and Julian hauled down the cases. Then they trooped in single file up the garden path, George in the lead and Timmy capering happily around their legs. As they neared the front door, they could hear voices coming from inside the house. They all stopped and listened. Yes, it sounded like George's father and Joanna the cook. The voices were coming through the open window of the study.

'I cannot work in peace like this anymore, Joanna! And I'm not sure I can handle the children in the house at the same time! I'm sorry, but there it is! This new project has reached its final stage and, if it's to be done by the end of the month, I must have absolute peace and quiet. But that cannot be possible if I have four children and a dog getting under my feet all summer!'

'But, sir, you did send for them specially. I remember most distinctly you writing the letter to Masters Dick and Julian and mailing it to their school.'

'Be that as it may, Joanna, that was before I realised the status of my work. If those children wish to spend their holidays elsewhere, so be it.'

The children would have given anything to hear more, but it was then that their Aunt Fanny emerged from a side door with a worried expression.

'Hello, children,' she said, hugging her two nephews, but sounding deeply concerned. 'I'm afraid we may have to intrude on them. Julian, would you mind getting the door? I'm not sure I can take an earful of your uncle's anger.'

All the children understood what she meant. George's father, being a scientist, was famous for his ill temper, which he very rarely took out on people other than his family.

Julian tugged the door open and all the children braced themselves. Timmy kept close to George. Fortunately, Uncle Quentin seemed to have forgotten the reason for his anger, for he and Joanna emerged from the study, all smiles.

'Well, what have we here?' said George's father genially. 'My word, this is a turn up for the books! Where, may I ask, is Timmy?'

Right on cue, Timmy bounded into the hallway, nearly knocking George's father over in his glee. He had no idea why George's father should have such a sudden change of character, but had decided to make the most of it while it lasted. Uncle Quentin shook hands with Julian and Dick, and then proceeded to kiss George and Anne.

'I suppose you all heard me rant at Joanna about half a minute ago,' continued Uncle Quentin. 'Well, the fact is that I have reached a most important phase in a new project whose deadline is only a week or so away. So I'm very sorry to say that I might have to send you all away again. Such a pity really, particularly as you two boys have only just arrived.'

The children all let out groans of despair and disappointment.

'Oh, Uncle Quentin! We wanted to row out to Kirrin Island!'

'It was such a long journey, and it bored us so!'

'Do, do let us stay for a bit, even if it's just for one night!'

'Timmy and I have friends to meet with, and we'll be so upset if we don't!'

Uncle Quentin held up a hand. 'I can understand that you're all upset,' he said. 'So I've decided to send you somewhere you've never been before.'

'Somewhere special, he says,' said Joanna sardonically.

The children exchanged glances. They'd been to so many places together and they'd all had such great fun that they couldn't even begin to think of anywhere they hadn't been outside of Britain. Julian said as much to his uncle, who chuckled.

'I understand, Julian,' he said. 'But this place is extra special, and has a most exciting society there. I'm sure you'll all love it.'

'What's it called?' asked Anne.

'It is called Sodor,' said her uncle. 'At least, that's the name it calls itself. It has an ancient and honourable history, and it lies between the Isle of Man and the coast of northwest England. It also has something that makes it quite different from anywhere else in the world, but it's a secret for now.'

The children badly wanted to ask why this place should be different to anywhere they'd been before, but Uncle Quentin had said it was a secret, so they didn't. Instead, Joanna led the way into the dining room where tea was laid: bread and butter, a great big cake, and plenty of buns and scones.

'I wonder what this Sodor will be like,' said George as they tucked in. 'It sounds so – different! It's certainly something I've never heard of before.'

'It rings a bell,' said Dick slowly. 'We might've heard of it at some point. I remember Dad telling me when I was about eight that he read an article about it in the paper, and that it was 'a place of natural beauty'. But he didn't say anything more.'

'Smith major mentioned it a few months ago,' said Julian, frowning as he tried to remember. 'He said his cousin went there and came back saying it was the best trip of his life. But he didn't say who or what he saw or what he did. He just said that he'd recommend it to anyone going on holiday. And I remember reading the name in some books I got as a Christmas present. The books were part of a set called The Railway Series and it involved the adventures that a band of railway engines can get up to.'

'I've never heard of it either,' said Anne. 'But you're right, George. It does sound like a change. I do hope we don't have another of those dreadful adventures.'

When tea was over, Aunt Fanny insisted that the children go straight to bed. 'Look at you!' she said. 'You're all yawning like chasms. Besides, Uncle Quentin says you must stay the night, partly to make up for the disappointment and partly because no trains will be running at this hour. Now up you go. I'll see you all in the morning.'

All the children went upstairs, washed, changed into their pyjamas and rolled thankfully into bed. Timmy, who'd been accepting titbits as usual, slunk upstairs and peeped into the girls' room. Yes, there was his little mistress, fast asleep, her bed and legs calling out to be slept on. He slipped into the room, leapt lightly onto the bed and settled down, nestling into the crook of her legs. George smiled in her sleep. She knew that, whatever Sodor may hold, so long as she had Timmy, she and her cousins would have nothing to fear!