"It's not fair!" Gordon grumbled at the sheds that night to James. Percy raised an eyebrow as he backed into his berth.
"What isn't fair?" He asked. James glared.
"Stay out of this, Percy! This is tender engine business!" He snapped, but Gordon continued.
"Henry is being treated with favoritism! He gets his own 'special coal', and then starts…swanking about like he owns the line! Whistling loudly in stations…it's undignified!" He huffed angrily. James snorted.
"Yeah! If the coal's so special, why don't we get to use it? I dragged my tender to the Mainland at the crack of dawn, picked it up, and brought it back, and I don't even get as much as a single lump! It's unbeli-"
"It's not the coal, James." The red engine raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"It isn't?"
"It's the principle! If Henry gets 'special coal', whose to say that he won't get other privileges? Special trains, new parts…he certainly hasn't earned it with the way he's been working lately!" Percy grit his teeth.
"That's why he has the coal! He needs it, unlike you lot!"
"But that doesn't mean we don't still want it! We work twice as hard as Henry!" James snapped, eyeing the trucks piled high with Welsh coal on the other side of the yard. Before the argument could continue, a familiar whistle sounded out and the engines spotted Henry puffing towards the turntable with an enormous grin on his face.
"Good evening, everyone!" He called. Gordon shot a glare at Percy.
"We'll continue this discussion later." He grunted under his breath. Percy rolled his eyes as Henry puffed onto the turntable. The green engine seemed to be in an incredible mood.
"How was everyone's day? Mine was spectacular! The passengers didn't complain, my fire burned nicely, it was amazing!" Gordon was clearly prepping for some sarcastic retort, so Percy jumped in.
"That's so great, Henry! We're all so happy for you! Aren't we?" He shot a glare at Gordon and James that Henry couldn't see. Henry reversed into his berth and whistled loudly. Gordon groaned.
"Will you stop doing that?" He snapped. Henry was surprised.
"Sorry! I guess I forgot how loud it was!" Gordon snarled.
"You know what, that's it! I've had it with you strutting about like you're the fastest and the strongest and the best since you got your 'special coal'! You may be stronger now, but you still have a long history of mechanical faults and errors behind you!"
"You're not better than us just because you have fancy coal!" James added.
"Will you be quiet about the blasted coal!?" Gordon shouted. James subsided as the big engine continued.
"Rome wasn't built in a day, Henry; you have a long way to go before you can be really useful like us!" Henry's smile slowly fell into a frown. Quietly, he began to reverse into the sheds.
"Yes…I suppose so…" He muttered, seeming detached. Percy shot the two big engines a nasty scowl before quickly reversing after Henry.
"Don't listen to him, Henry! Your Welsh coal has already made you really useful!" Henry simply stared at his buffers.
"What happens when I run out?" He asked.
"The Fat Controller will order more!" Percy quickly replied. Henry sighed.
"And keep burning a hole in the budget…" Percy tried to find the words to reply, but Henry continued.
"Gordon's right. I have a long way to go before I can really be useful…"
"Henry, come on, you just got your coal! You can't still be in the dumps now-"
"Percy, I'd like to be left alone."
"I'm just trying to help!"
"Well, you're NOT!" Percy stood stunned as Henry raised his voice, trying to find a way to respond. Finally, he sighed, and puffed back to the front of the sheds, leaving Henry alone, but shooting a frustrated scowl his way. As he reached the front, he glared at Gordon.
"I hope you're happy." Gordon just huffed, and went to sleep himself. As his other three shed-mates fell asleep, James continued to eye the trucks filled with welsh coal on the other side of the yard.
"Just a lump…" He muttered, yawned, and fell asleep.
The Fat Controller opened the door of the country house, letting loose a sigh.
"Oh, this is lovely…" He chuckled to himself. His peace was short-lived, as two little terrors sprinted through the doors, dragging their grandmother by the hands.
"Come on, grandma! We need to unpack!" Bridget Hatt nagged.
"I want to play first, grandma!" Stephen Hatt begged, tugging on his grandmother's sleeve. Lady Hatt chuckled.
"Bridget's right, Stephen. We should unpack first; your rooms are upstairs…I trust you can find them on your own!" She winked at the children, who laughed as they sprinted up the stairs to the upper floor of the house. Lady Hatt noticed her husband studying the house, and walked towards him.
"I have to admit, Topham; you've really outdone yourself this time! How did you find this lovely house?" She asked. The Fat Controller chuckled, although he seemed to be somewhat sad.
"Well, now is normally the time that the Kyndleys would travel here, but seeing as Mrs. Kyndley is in no condition to travel, she saw fit to allow us the rental." He found himself troubled by his thoughts, looking out of the window. Lady Hatt sighed.
"I know you wish there was something the railway could do for her-"
"I wish there's something I could do for her, Jane. She used to be so lively, always traveling…" The Fat Controller was surprised by Lady Hatt wrapping her arms around his shoulders.
"We'll focus on Mrs. Kyndley later, dear. Now, we have a holiday ahead of us!" The Fat Controller smiled as he looked out of the window, spotting a steam tram and coach puff by.
"Yes, I suppose we do…"
Toby puffed into the platform at the top station, pulling only Henrietta behind him.
"Two weeks! When I see that Graham, I'm going to…going to…give him a piece of my mind!" Toby fumed, watching as a few passengers disembarked from Henrietta. The carriage sighed.
"Being upset about it won't help Elsie get repaired any faster, Toby." Toby simply looked down at his buffers in shame. However, a set of voices rang out that surprised him, and caused him to look up towards the platform.
"Come on, grandpa!" A little boy called. A little girl ran towards Toby and pointed at him.
"Look at this engine!" Toby raised an eyebrow as a stout gentleman walked up the platform towards him. The stout gentleman studied Toby before smiling.
"Ah yes! That's a tram engine!" Toby's eyes widened, impressed.
"Huh. Usually they assume I'm a shed!" He mused under his breath. The little girl tugged at her grandfather's sleeve.
"Yes, Bridget?"
"Is he electric?" Henrietta stifled laughter as Toby scowled, letting off steam.
"Are you, Toby?" She chuckled. The little boy glared at Bridget.
"Shush, Bridget! You've offended him!" He whispered. Bridget looked up at the stout gentleman.
"But trams are electric, aren't they?" The stout gentleman smiled at Toby.
"Most are, yes. But this is a steam tram; they're more unusual." The little boy eyed Toby with amazement.
"Wow! A steam tram!" Henrietta smiled at his enthusiasm.
"You can take a ride if you'd like!" She called. The stout gentleman grinned as a woman walked alongside him.
"We would love to. Come on, Stephen! Come on, Bridget!" The children excitedly dashed aboard Henrietta, and the woman followed them. The stout gentleman studied Toby for another moment before smiling and boarding Henrietta himself. The guard blew his whistle, and Toby started off, pulling Henrietta behind him.
"Look at that, Toby! We haven't had passengers this excited to ride us in years! Isn't that exciting?" Toby, however, didn't respond. He simply grumbled to himself as he left the station.
"Electric indeed…electric indeed!"
Toby trundled along his tramway, his mood still not improving. However, Henrietta, who was happily rolling along behind him, was having a splendid time. The children stared out her windows and watched the countryside fly by with amazement. The old coach smiled as she looked forwards to Toby.
"We haven't had passengers who've just enjoyed riding a train this much in years! It's like the old days, huh, Toby?" Toby grunted.
"They called me 'electric'." He muttered. Henrietta rolled her eyes.
"They didn't know any better, Toby! We have passengers, passengers who just want to ride us and not the buses! Can't you be happy about that?" Toby's scowl softened, but he remained silent as he pulled into the station. The children sprinted out of Henrietta and onto the platform.
"Thank you, Toby!" They chorused, and ran away. Their grandmother followed them as fast as she could.
"Stephen, Bridget, hold on! We need to get lunch first!" Toby watched curiously as the stout gentleman stepped onto the platform, studying the station curiously for a moment. He then turned to Toby and his crew, who were taking a quick break before having to move Toby to the water tower.
"Thank you for giving my family and I a splendid ride." Toby raised an eyebrow.
"Thank you for riding with us, sir. Most of the time people don't thank us; they just get off the train and get on their way." The stout gentleman chuckled.
"Well, that won't do at all, now will it? You have a lovely little line, might as well thank you for running it. What is your name?" Toby smiled.
"Toby, sir, and this is my coach, Henrietta." Henrietta smiled.
"Hello, sir." The stout gentleman smiled.
"A splendid coach indeed; pleasure to meet you, Henrietta." The old coach chuckled.
"A pleasure to meet you too, sir. We don't get passengers who love railways as much as you and your family do very often." Toby frowned from the front of the train.
"Well, nowadays, we don't get many passengers at all." He muttered. The stout gentleman was taken aback.
"Business is bad?" He asked the crew. The driver nodded.
"Buses and lorries have been taking all the work for the past few years, but it's been catching up with us recently."
"We're lucky if some of our trains get any passengers at all." The fireman added. The stout gentleman frowned.
"Well, we should be here for the next two weeks, and we will certainly be passengers you can expect to see."
"Topham! We're getting lunch!" His wife called from the station café. The stout gentleman chuckled.
"Well, I must be off. A pleasure to meet you all." He shook hands with the driver and fireman and then turned to head off for lunch. However, before he left, he turned back to Toby.
"By the way, Toby, sorry for the 'electric' remark. I assure you that Bridget meant nothing by it." Toby was taken aback.
"Err…yes, it's not a problem, sir." The stout gentleman smiled.
"Good day, gentlemen!" He called to the crew, and walked into the café. Toby and Henrietta simply sat silent, impressed, for a moment, before Henrietta spoke up.
"Well, he was nice!" She remarked to Toby. The tram engine smiled to himself.
"Yes…he certainly knows how to speak to engines…" Toby then rolled away towards the water tower, pulling Henrietta behind him.
For the next two weeks, the stout gentleman was true to his word. Every morning, Toby and Henrietta could look forward to seeing the stout gentleman and his family on the platform, ready to travel up their line. The children were especially thrilled with Toby and Henrietta, and they would often return later in the day to spend time with them as they went about their other work. Sometimes, they rode in empty trucks, and sometimes they took a ride in Henrietta. The stout gentleman, who Toby found out was named Sir Topham Hatt, was also usually close by, and he, Toby's crew, and Toby himself would often talk about the state of the railway.
"It's a matter of convenience." Sir Topham Hatt mused about the buses and lorries as Toby waited in the platform of the top station. Toby grunted in agreement. One day, Toby arrived at the top station to see the family waiting on the platform. Stephen and Bridget sprinted towards him as he braked into the platform.
"Hi, Toby!" Stephen called.
"Hi, Henrietta!" Bridget added. Henrietta smiled.
"Hello, you two." She replied warmly. Stephen jumped up with excitement.
"We were wondering if we could ride in your cab?" He blurted out. Toby's driver laughed.
"I don't see why not, if Toby's alright with it." He chuckled. Toby beamed.
"Of course I am!" He replied, and Stephen and Bridget excitedly ran into the cab.
Stephen and Bridget loved riding with the crew, and Toby loved having them on board. He was so happy that he didn't even notice Graham waiting at the crossing with a nasty sneer on his face.
"'ey, Toby! Makin' de funeral march yet?" He taunted, but was surprised when Toby simply trundled by, ignoring him. Graham frowned as Toby disappeared into the distance.
"'ey! 'ey! Yer canny jist ignore me! Pay attenshun ter me!" Toby didn't "pay attenshun", and simply continued on his way as Graham pouted.
"'e's ignorin' me! Unbelievable!" He snorted.
At last, the end of the day came, and Toby returned to the top station with Stephen and Bridget, where Sir Topham Hatt and his wife were waiting.
"Thank you so much!" Bridget quickly said to the crew as she ran back towards her grandparents.
"Thank you!" Stephen added, before following his sister. The driver chuckled.
"You're very welcome." Sir Topham Hatt chuckled.
"Well, Toby, Henrietta, we must be returning home now, but it was a pleasure to meet you. I hope that your line keeps running for as long as possible!" Toby beamed.
"It was a pleasure to meet you, and your family, sir! Please come back again soon!"
"Of course we will!" Stephen replied.
"We can't wait!" Bridget grinned. Sir Topham Hatt smiled.
"Come on, everyone! We have to catch our train on the main line!" As the family walked away, Toby smiled to himself.
"What a kind man…" He muttered to himself. Meanwhile, as the Fat Controller and his family climbed into the car and started driving away, the stout gentleman had a similar thought.
"An engine like that would be really useful on Sodor…" He thought to himself, before driving away. As he left, Bridget wrapped herself up in her coat.
"It's getting rather chilly, grandpa…" She shivered. The Fat Controller looked out of the window.
"That's what happens in December, Bridget…" He replied, observing the last few leaves fall from a roadside tree.
The Fat Controller has gone on his holiday, has met Toby, and now he is returning home. Despite Henry's assistance from the Welsh coal, he still isn't redeemed in the eyes of his co-workers, and is even pushing Percy, his main supportive force away, as winter arrives. "Toby & The Stout Gentleman" is such a pleasant episode, and I loved adapting it for the purposes of this story, and especially expanding the backstory to include both Graham and Mrs. Kyndley. How will the engines deal with the cold weather? How will Toby deal with Graham and the other buses closing in? In next chapter, we will deviate from the canon order of things a tad with an adaptation of a story that doesn't really fit into the overall plot structure of its original book, but should do nicely here. What story is this? Well, the chapter title should give it away. To answer all your un-answered questions and continue the story, read the fourth chapter: "I Want a Scarf"!