Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to chapter three of Sodor Bladers! We're finally at Thomas' introduction, and in this chapter you'll see that things are starting to pick up in the story category! I think I have a very interesting narrative I am going with for this story, and I hope everyone will join me on this endeavor. Not much to say this time, other than I take mostly from The Adventure Begins film, and that creative liberties will start to be taken a lot more. Have fun reading!

- StrawbearyBoba

Sodor Bladers

S1 E2 – Thomas the Blue Blader (Part 1)

The Adventure Begins -

Open on a tunnel, where Gordon is pulling the express happily.

Gordon laughs: "Ahahah! EXPRESS COMING THROUGH!"

Narrator: "Gordon the big worker raced down his line, absolutely elated to be pulling the express. He passed twists and turns with ease, and never once lifted the train off the tracks, not like he'd be strong enough to do THAT, though!"

Gordon notices he is coming across his hill yet again, and starts to speed up. Soon, he's going as fast as he can to try and make it up the hill.

Narrator: "But no matter how fast Gordon is, he always has trouble pulling the express up the big hill on the line. It's very steep, and messes with the weight distribution of the train."

Gordon strained: "Come on… come on…!"

Gordon tries to get up the hill, but he finds himself slowing down quicker and quicker until he comes to a full stop halfway up.

Gordon: "No, nonononono, not again!"

Butters, who is peering out of a window on her coach: "Are you doing this on purpose, Gordon? This is the umpteenth time! You've gotten stuck on this hill so much I'm sure everyone including you has lost count!"

Gordon: "It's not my fault! This hill is too steep! I… can… start again!"

Narrator: "But Gordon couldn't. He was still recovering from his injury so he couldn't try and pull the train too much and too hard. The coaches were heavy, and Gordon could feel himself slipping. He had to slam down his brakes on his rollerblades, and let out a defeated:"

Gordon: "Oh… I give up!"

Butters sighs: "One would think you're getting into these delays because you like getting Edward to push you up the hill!"

Gordon: "WHAT!? I don't NEEED Edward to push me up this hill nor do I WANT it! I can make it up just fine by myself!"

Butters: "Then try again."

Gordon: "No."

Butters: "Gordon."

Gordon: "No way! This train is too heavy! I could hurt my posture!"

Butters groans: "We'll have to call the workers again and get Edward to push you up…"

Butters goes to call the workers, pan to the workers doing their thing when they get a phone call, Worker 1 picks up the phone, and when he hears what happened he sighs and shakes his head. He turns to Worker 2, and they both know what's about to happen next. They go over to the Tidmouth Living Quarters, where the workers are now staying instead of Vicarstown, and find Edward.

Edward is quietly reading a book when the workers come into the bedroom.

Edward: "Good morning, you two! Wait, let me guess. Gordon's stuck on his hill again?"

Worker 1 facepalms: "Yeah. Yeah…"

Edward hums at this and gets up to follow the workers outside. He goes to Gordon's hill and the workers go back to their duties.

Edward muses: "One has to wonder why Sir Topham Hatt doesn't just get rid of the hill entirely…"

Narrator: "When Edward gets to Gordon's hill, Gordon speaks to him crossly."

Edward: "Hello, Gordon! I'm here to push you up the hill again!"

Gordon: "Pah! You took long enough! Are you TRYING to prolong my backpain? An old man like you can't push THESE coaches! They're too heavy for you!"

Edward grumbles: "Every single time…"

Edward begins to push the back of the express coaches, they begin to slowly creak up the hill, he's gritting his teeth and putting a lot of force into his push.

Edward: "Come ON, Gordon! You have to try harder!"

Gordon groans: "Ugh, okay!"

Narrator: Gordon undoes his brakes, and together he and Edward make their way up the hill, pushing and pulling really hard to get the coaches up the hill. Butters calls out from the coaches:

Butters: "We're nearly there! Come on, Gordon you've done this plenty of times before you can do it again!"

Gordon: "Not if… I give out… again!"

Edward: "You may give in, Gordon…"

The coaches and Gordon are getting closer and closer to the top of the hill, Gordon can even see the drop where he has to go back down.

Edward: "…But I won't!"

When they are finally at the top, Edward gives the coaches one final push, and Gordon is sent down the hill, already regaining all of the momentum he had lost. He cheered and laughed on the way down.

Gordon: "Ahaha! I've done it! I've made it up my hill once again!

Narrator: "Edward, who always ends up exhausted after pushing the train up the steep hill, saw Gordon speed down his line, boastful and prideful as ever, once again… not even bothering to say thank you, and calling him a weak old man!"

Edward frowned and panted: "You would think… after all this time… he would be a little more grateful! Hmph!"

Fade to Edward making his way to Knapford

Narrator: "Edward was about to take a much needed break, until he heard a voice he had never heard before!"

?: "Um, excuse me? Do you happen to know where Knapford is?"

James: "Knapford? But this IS Knapford? Who are you, where are you from?"

?: "Brighton, on the mainland! I did a lot of shunting work there, but I've heard so much about this railway that I just had to work here!"

James: "Railway..? WORK here!?"

?: "Yeah! It's rumored that this place is so efficient, and the workers are so hardworking that-"

Narrator: "Edward and James stare at the newcomer speechless with their eyes widened. The newcomer slightly weathered overalls, short chubby legs, and short chubby arms! He notices that Edward and James aren't saying anything, so he speaks up himself."

?: "What's the matter? Do I have something on my face?"

Edward: "No, it's just… You're not tall!"

?: "Wh- Yes I am!"

James laughs: "No you're not."

?: "Well, I was tall enough to do my work on the mainland, hmph!"

The newcomer begins to walk away, face turned in a frown, Edward frantically tries to fix the situation.

Edward: "Wait! I was just saying that you're not as tall as I am!"

?: "I may not be as tall as you, but I'm very hardworking- woah!"

Narrator: "Just then, Gordon got back from pulling the express."

Gordon: "And who is this?"

Edward: "This is… hm… what's you're name?"

?: "I'm Thomas!"

Gordon: "Yes, well. How did you get here, Thomas?"

Thomas: "I was hired by some workers who said I would be a great addition to the railway!"

Gordon guffawed: "PAH HAHA! You!? I think there's been some mistake! You see, this place only hires workers that are really useful! You're much too small for that!"

Thomas: "Hey, I'm 162 centimeters (5'4)! I'm tall!"

James: "You're bordering on average, if you're not already!"

Gordon: "Aren't you, 165 centimeters (5'5), little James? You're still in training too, you know."

James: "T-THAT DOESN'T MATTER! I can still work just as well as you!"

Gordon: "Right, right. With or without your wooden blade bottoms?"

James: "S-Shut up! My rollerblades are vintage! They're just as good as yours! As anyone's!"

Gordon laughs: "Ohohoh! Until they catch fire, that is!"

Edward rolls his eyes and James sulks

James mumbled: "My wooden blades will NOT set on fire…"

Gordon: "Well, little Thomas. You'd best try your hardest to do anything of worth here. And maybe one of these days you'll be seeing me, pulling the grand express!"

Thomas looked upset.

Edward sighed: "I'm sorry about Gordon, Thomas. I'm afraid… he's always like that. I'm Edward, by the way. And this is James!"

Edward tries to put his hand on James shoulder, but James shoos it away

James: Ew. No. You're all old and were just pushing the express! You're all sweaty."

Edward rolls his eyes: "As you can see, Thomas. This place has plenty of… *ahem* character."

Thomas nods but is confused at James' comment

Gordon walks away, and Sir Topham Hatt and his helpers walks towards Thomas and the group after Gordon pointed him out and scoffed

STH: "Ah, Thomas! I see you've met three of my workers already! Welcome to Sodor!"

Thomas: "Oh, thank you! I'm amazed at this railway, sir! But the thing is, I can't work just yet, you see, they're still getting my tank engine from the-"

The helpers motion for Thomas to be quiet immediately, Edward and James gasp, and STH glares severely at Thomas.

Thomas: "-cargo ship… Is there… something wrong?"

Edward: "We don't work with engines Thomas. That's why I'm all sweaty… I was pushing the express!"

Thomas: "Wait- You were LITERALLY pushing the express?"

STH sternly: "Yes, Thomas. He was, and if there's a problem with that, you'd be happy to know you can leave anytime you like! Engines… bother."

Thomas frantically: "I didn't mean to offend, sir, I promise! I just didn't know!"

STH: "Hm. That's alright, Thomas. Just don't do it again! Now, listen carefully, I shall give all of you instructions for the rest of the day."

Edward, James, and Thomas paid attention to what STH had to say next.

STH: "Now, Edward will show you what to do Thomas. James, I need you to continue to practicing with trucks, and Edward?"

Edward: "Yes, sir?"

STH: "Make sure Thomas gets himself in the proper shape to be a valuable asset to our Bladeway."

Thomas: "Bladeway..?"

Edward: "Yes! You see, Thomas, we use rollerblades!"

Thomas groans: "What job did I just get hired for..?"

Edward, James, and STH laugh

STH: "Now Thomas, this is a very busy bladeway, and I'm a very busy man. Make yourself really useful, right away!"

Thomas: "Yes, sir! You can count on me, sir!"

STH leaves with his helpers, and the three workers set off to do their jobs

[Really Useful Engine (Blader) Sequence/Montage]

*He's a really useful blader, you know*

*All the other bladers, they'll tell you so*

Edward has laid out many types of weights and mats so Thomas can start weight training and getting stronger

*He huffs and puffs and whistles*
*Rushing to and fro*

Thomas is running laps around the Bladeway, having been coupled up to trucks, pulling them around and practicing blowing his whistle himself. The truckers are observing anxiously while Edward watches intently.

*He's the really useful blader we adore!*

Edward gives Thomas a thumbs up, until he's not looking where he's going and crashes, spilling all the trucks around, making the truckers panic incredibly and Edward rushing over to help Thomas.

*He's the one*

*He's the one*

*He's the really useful blader that we adore*

Thomas is pulling trucks back and accidently runs into another set of them, causing a slight spill. He's gotten dizzy from the impact.

*He's the one*

*He's the one you know*

*Thomas the Blue Blader*

Thomas is finally on rollerblades, he's practicing pulling trucks and coaches up to a station so other workers can use them, but he gets into James' way and bumps into him.

Gordon rolled his eyes: "Oh, well that's very useful! Another newbie to get in the way!"

James glances at Gordon, raises his eyebrow and frowns

Edward: "Please, Gordon. He's still learning, I'm teaching him the best I can."

Gordon: "Get OUT of the way, Thomas. I'm going by!"

Edward sighs and Thomas almost runs into Henry and his long line of trucks by trying to get away from Gordon

Edward: "Thomas look out!"

Thomas: "Woah!"

Henry looks at Thomas and glances around worriedly. Thomas sighs, Gordon scoffs, and Edward shakes his head.

Thomas panting with his eyes wide: "That guy, he's strong…"

James laughs

*He's a really useful blader you know*
*Maybe little, but he's never slow!*

*Step back in amazement, just you watch him go*

*He's the really useful blader we adore!*

Thomas is practicing rollerblading without any, spinning and doing tricks. Edward smiles fondly, and Thomas smiles, back, but he trips and falls over. He and Edward just laugh this one off, though.

*He's the one*
*He's the one*

*He's the really useful blader that we adore*

Thomas is in front of a station, seeing people in awe over him and waving, he smiles back, but then hears James yell at him and he gets out of the way.

*He's the one*
*He's the one*
*He's the really useful blader that we adore*
*He's the one*
*He's the one you know*
*Thomas the Blue Blader*

Everyone is at the yard, relaxing after a long day. Gordon is taking a nap on a picnic table by the side. Thomas speaks to Edward.

Thomas chuckles: "Hey, watch this."

Edward looks at Thomas, mouth agape when he realizes what Thomas is about to do. Thomas goes to the back of Gordon on his rollerblades, and clears his throat.

*Thomas the Blue Blader*

Thomas blows his whistle so loudly that he wakes Gordon up and startles him

Thomas: "Wake up, lazybones! Why don't you work hard like me?"

Gordon groans with a large scowl on his face, Edward is in shock, but when Thomas laughs, he starts to laugh too, and goes to follow him off to the Living Quarters.

[End Sequence]

Fade into the night sky, panning to the Tidmouth Living Quarters. Thomas has chosen a top bunk that's two beds away from Gordon's bunk, and one away from Edward's. Edward is also getting ready for bed, already out of his work clothes, and having already washed up

Thomas: "Sodor is amazing, Edward. And this rail- I mean, Bladeway is even better than the rumors say."

Edward: "I'm glad you're enjoying your time here, Thomas. Even if it's been difficult to get used to. What do the rumors say about Sodor anyway?"

Thomas: "Well, they spoke of strong workers with an even stronger will, and they talked about how despite all odds that they're given, they stick it out to the end! They never once mentioned you guys not using machinery though… All of the papers I had to look at were old, they had pictures of this place and it was bustling with engines! Unless those were fake somehow…"

Edward mused: "Mm? It's not fake."

Thomas: "Really? So there really are engines we can drive on Sodor? Where are they? Can I drive in one? Just once?"

Edward: "W-well…hmm. Not exactly… Did none of the visitors from the mainland ever speak of us?"

Thomas: "Well, now that I think about it, they did. But we would never believe them. Is there something I should know?"

Edward raises an eyebrow

Edward: "No, I guess not.."

Thomas: "You should really tell Sir Topham Hatt to make more publications! I'm sure this Bladeway would be greatly benefited from it."

Edward: "I'll see what I can do. Oh, by the way, you're not feeling too sore, are you Thomas?"

Thomas: "What? No, I did all the stretches and cool downs like you said."

Edward: "Good, we don't need you getting stiff while we practice shunting trucks tomorrow."

Thomas: "I'll soon get the hang of shunting, Edward. But I can't wait until I can get the chance to pull my own train! Without an engine! I want to see the world of rails from a brand new perspective, see what it really means to Sodor."

James and Gordon scoff, Edward looks at Thomas sternly but speaks kindly

Edward: "Practice makes perfect, Thomas. It'd be best if you stayed patient and got your head out of your fantasies."

Gordon rolls his eyes: "Did anyone check if we locked the door or not?"

James: "Uhhh"

Thomas: "I did when I entered, why?"

Gordon: "Oh dear…"

Suddenly, they all hear loud, frantic banging on the Living Quarters door along with muffled yells.

Henry: "Come on, come on! Why is the door locked- LET ME IN!"

Edward gasped: "It's Henry!"

A flash of light illuminates the windows, and soon after, a loud boom sounds out around them, they can hear the pitter-patter of the rain outside.

James facepalmed: "Of course! It's going to rain tonight! And hard, no wonder he's so frantic to get inside."

James gets up to go unlock the door, and when he does Henry bolts to the bathroom to change out of his now wet clothes into some dry pajamas.

Henry: "Oh, thank heavens… I'm out of that mess!"

Henry starts to cough a little, which worries the workers, but he climbs into his top bunk eager to get to sleep and he stops coughing after a few moments.

James: "Are you feeling okay, Henry?"

Henry, crossly: "Fine."

Thomas looks up at Henry: "Oh, you're Henry! You're the one I almost ran into today! I'm Thomas!"

Henry, through gritted teeth and deadpan: "Right."

Thomas hums in confusion, Edward speaks up

Edward: "He's usually kinder than this… the rain makes him nervous, and when he's nervous, he has a tendency to act out…"

Gordon: "Act out!? It's more than acting out!"

James: "It's like a temper tantrum! Like when he went and shut himself inside a-"

Henry: "Shut up, wooden wheels! That was one time!"

James: "W-WOODEN WHEELS!? Why you-"

Edward: "Everyone, please! I'll explain it to you, Thomas. You see, once Henry was so afraid of the rain while he was pulling a passenger train, that he went inside a tunnel and refused to leave!"

Thomas: "Ohhhh."

Henry covered his face with his pillow in embarrassment

Edward: His coacher argued with him, and the passengers did too, even Sir Topham Hatt came by and told him off! But he wouldn't budge, so Sir Topham Hatt put him on an indefinite leave, and told him he was never allowed to work on the Bladeway again."

Thomas: "Never again!? But he's so strong!"

Edward: "Well, he's here now isn't he? It took months, but soon after James was hired, Gordon got into an accident while pulling the express and Henry had to-"

Gordon: "ALRIGHT! That's enough stories! Some of us need to get some sleep!"

Thomas/Edward: "Oh.."

Edward rolls his eyes while Thomas laughs

Edward whispers and winks: "I'll tell you the rest of the details in the morning."

Thomas laughs, fade out to the outside of the fitters office where Thomas is outside.

Narrator: "The next morning, the Fat Controller told Thomas to go by the fitters office, so he could get an outfit of his choosing he would wear on the Bladeway in the colors he liked to see. The fitters measured his arms, legs, shoulders, and torso, to make sure everything was correct. They then asked him what type of clothes he wanted."

Thomas: "Oh, may I have something similar to what I've already been wearing? My teal overalls? And may I have a long sleeved shirt instead of a short sleeved shirt?"

Fitter: "Indeed you can, Thomas. Now just wait a little while and your clothes will be ready for you to wear all over the Bladeway."

Thomas nodded and waited patiently, sitting on a chair outside the Fitters Room door. Eventually, Thomas' clothes arrived, and his eyes shone with glee as he rushed to put them on.

Narrator: "After Thomas put his outfit on, he'd rushed over to the shunting yard where Edward was working to show off his new look."

Thomas: "Edward, Edward! Check it out! My outfit's blue with red stripes just like yours!"

Edward chuckles and points out the large yellow number 1 embroidered into Thomas' overalls

Edward: "You're also number one!"

Thomas: "Ooh, does that mean I'm the best?"

Gordon and James overhear the two and walk up to them.

Gordon: "Ha! Our last number one drove a coffeepot!"

Thomas: "A coffepot!?"

Edward: "He doesn't mean literally! A coffeepot is an older kind of engine, they have boilers that stick out to the air."

James and Gordon snicker, but Edward glances at them and they be quiet

Edward: "The workers who used to use them left after Sir Topham Hatt disallowed any use of steam locomotives, or any locomotives for that matter. They couldn't handle not having their engines anymore, so they left with them and never came back."

Thomas gasped

Edward: "Although, one of the workers still comes by. Glynn, I think his name was. His coffeepot broke down the day Sir Topham Hatt decommissioned all locomotives, so it was left on its siding to be covered in weeds and roots, Glynn still returns to reminiscence. But he doesn't really want to work here anymore."

James: "They just left it!?"

Thomas: "That's so sad… did you guys have engines you had to leave behind? Why did Sir Topham Hatt ban all locomotives from the Bladeway? What happened?"

Edward and Gordon stood, Edward looked a bit sad and Gordon looked annoyed

Gordon: "You should focus less on what happened in the past, and focus more on what's happening in the present little Thomas! Which means… BRING ME MY COACHES! I need to pull the express!"

Thomas: "Geez… okay I'll do it!"

Edward smiled: "See you later, Thomas. I have a train to pull!"

Thomas: "See you later, Edward. Lucky…"

Thomas and Edward go do their jobs, Thomas in the yard and Edward on his branch line. Thomas goes up to two brown coaches and couples himself onto them to pull them forward. With a lurch, the coaches move backwards, and Thomas hears what sounds like a yelp.

Thomas glances around confused: "What was that?"

Thomas' eyes fall to the coach's windows, where two girls are looking out from each of their coaches.

?: "I say, where are you taking us?"

Thomas: "To Gordon, the express needs to run…"

?/?: "But these aren't the express coaches!"

Thomas: "They're not?"

?: "No! I'm Annie, and she is Clarabel!"

Clarabel: "Indeed. And the express coaches are on the other siding!"

Thomas: "What? Oh, I'm so sorry, little ladies! You see, I'm new here I didn't know! My name's Thomas. It's nice to meet you!"

Thomas rolls over to the other siding and couples up to Gordon's express coaches, where he greets Butters and two other coachers.

Annie: "Ohohohoh! What a sweet little boy!"

Clarabel: "Yes! Much sweeter than James, and less vain too!"

Annie: "I have a good feeling about this one, Clarabel, just you wait and see!"

Narrator: "After Thomas brings over Gordon's coaches, he goes back to the yard to continue his work. But it's not easy. He knocks over wood, and gets water all over other employees! When he's finished, James arrives soon after."

James: "HERE'S JAMES!"

When James arrives, the coach's and James' wheels screech, and Thomas covers his right ear in annoyance. The screeching caused a jolt, which also annoyed Annie and Clarabel.

Annie scoffs: "James! Careful with bumping the coaches!"

James rolls his eyes

Thomas sniffs the air: "…James? Do you smell something, something that smells burnt?"

James: "Uh- no? Not at all! You're imagining things, Thomas! Ahahaha!"

James hummed away as he left the coaches on the siding, and Thomas went to venture around the yard once again. During the evening, he comes across Henry who is sitting under a gazebo drinking some water.

Thomas: "Hello, Henry!"

Henry smiles: "Oh, hello Thomas! It's nice to finally meet properly."

Thomas: "Yes, it is! Oh- but Henry. Is it true? Did you really not leave a tunnel because of some rain?"

Henry's expression wilted into a shy one as he looked away from Thomas in embarrassment. He sighed.

Henry: "Yes, Thomas. I did…"

Thomas: "But… rain is just drops of water that come from the ground and go into the sky! You're drinking water right now, you bathe in water, so what makes the rain so different?"

Henry: " Thomas... I don't know why I dislike the rain so much, I just do! And I don't like being ridiculed for it either…"

Thomas: "I'm not trying to tease you, Henry! I'm just saying! How can you be really useful if you're always worried all the time?"

Henry winks: "Oh, Thomas! I'm very useful! And I don't worry all the time! I hardly worry at all when it's sunny."

With that, Henry gets up to go to Tidmouth Living Quarters, and Thomas follows suite.

Narrator: "The next morning, Thomas was having a hard time waking up. What Edward had said about the Bladeway had kept him up at night, and so did the thoughts of him being able to pull his own train. He rubbed at his eyes and let out plenty of yawns, Henry tried to shake him awake, but when that didn't work he used his whistle, which startles Thomas enough for him to be aware of his surroundings."

Henry: "You have to get up, Thomas! If you don't leave now, Gordon might get cross you brought him his coaches so late! And nobody wants to hear what he's going to say about that…"

Thomas: "O-oh dear Henry you're right! Thanks for waking me up!"

When Thomas gets to Gordon's Station, Gordon is tapping his foot very impatiently. Gordon turns to look at Thomas, who is slowly bringing his coaches.

Thomas: "I'm so sorry I'm late, Mrs. Butters…"

Butters: "It's fine, Thomas! But I don't think Gordon will be too happy with you…"

Gordon: "Would you hurry up!? I have to go soon!"

Thomas: "Hurry up yourself!"

Gordon: "Hmm. I think I will!"

Narrator: "Butters and Gordon's other coachers look at him suspiciously. They knew he was still cross about Thomas waking him up from his nap the other day, and they also knew Gordon has been waiting to pay Thomas out. Gordon started so fast, that Thomas had no time to uncouple from his coaches! His legs moved on their own so he could keep his balance, but he was moving so fast he didn't think he could take it!"

Butters: "Gordon! Thomas is still connected to the train!"

Gordon laughed: "Ahahah! Hurry, hurry, hurry little Thomas! And try to keep up!"

Thomas: "Stop it, Gordon! Someone get me OFF this thiiiiiiiiiiing!"

Gordon laughed even more while Thomas was out of breath. Edward came down the other line, and Thomas to call out to him for help.

Thomas: "Edwaaaaaard! Help meeeeeeeeeeee!"

Edward: "Thomas!?"

Edward's brakes screeched as he looked around for a nearby phone. He was going to find a worker to bring Thomas back.

Gordon: "Ahaha! EXPRESS COMING THROUGH!"

Thomas: "Gahh!"

Gordon and Thomas finally arrived at Vicarstown station to let the passengers get on. The clock at the station ticked 8:17am, Gordon was there exactly on time.

Gordon smugly: "Oh, yes! See, little Thomas? This is what hard work REALLY looks like! Hahaha!"

Narrator: The two workers that Edward called helped uncouple Thomas, and they allowed him to stay at the station for a nice drink of water and a chance for Thomas to catch his breath. His muscles ached, and his head was fuzzy. The coachers apologized for Gordon's behavior, and wished Thomas a good rest of the day. When Edward was able to help Thomas back to Tidmouth, they made sure to stretch extra well that afternoon.

There we go! Did you enjoy it? Stay tuned for next time when we cover Thomas' Train, Thomas and the Trucks, and Thomas and the Breakdown Train! Also, I've been meaning on animating this story in 2D, but I need a lotta things and probably won't get to it until the entirety of Series 1 is over. So look out for that side project on top of this one on my youtube channel (link on my profile)!

I hope you enjoy the mystery I will soon be setting up. Until next time, thanks for reading!

- StrawbearyBoba