(Lol, merry belated Christmas! Sorry this had to come so late but the problem is that I've scrapped my original idea for the story's premise from Thomas being belittled by the big engines but ends up proving himself, and changed to rather focus on Thomas and Mrs. Kyndley. But I've struggled and ran out of ideas for that too, since the concept of poverty was difficult and ended up being very confusing to tackle with much subtlety to it, and it sort of detracted from the holiday atmosphere. So I immediately thought of the Secret Santa concept instead, so now, Thomas braves a fierce snowstorm to bring Christmas to the villagers of Ulfstead instead. Sounds kinda series 3-ish, doesn't it? I believe I'm going to stop with the previews at this point, and just have the entire story up when I'm finished with it. I don't know. It just helps me build up a stronger premise than what is presented at first. I admit Mavis' Christmas Surprise was a disappointment, but my problem is that it didn't work in the way that I expected. I felt a lot better about this one though. Ah, well. Anyway, enjoy!)
The Little Engine Who Saved Christmas
Part IV: Thomas Saves Christmas
Moral: effort at Christmas/when the going gets tough, the tough get going
Short Synopsis: it's Christmas Eve, and Thomas leads the last day of the Christmas fair at Ulfstead, when he discovers that the Earl and The Fat Controller have plans for a "Secret Santa" with the villagers of Ulfstead. Thomas is sent to pick up the Presents Train from the Sodor Toy Factory, braving a fierce snowstorm in the process!
It was Christmas Eve. People were rushing to get home to their families, and the engines kept busy bringing them to their final destinations. This meant that engines from the mainland had to make several round trips back and forth to Sodor. Connor, Caitlan, Hiro and the Flying Scotsman were busy all afternoon long, as their journey started at Knapford.
Gordon was waiting in Platform One at Knapford Station for the express to leave, when he heard a familiar whistle behind him.
"Hello there..., little brother," the Flying Scotsman teased, as he pulled up alongside him.
"Oh," Gordon groaned, "how many times have I asked you NOT to call me that?!"
The Flying Scotsman chuckled.
"Settle down, Gordon. I meant no offense, you understand, and it is Christmas after all. Can't we both communicate like normal brothers should? Just for a change?"
"Maybe we would if famous engines like you would stop boasting about how great things are on the mainland! It could cause an engine serious boiler sludge just listening to it."
"Boiler sludge," the Flying Scotsman wondered. "Wasn't that your excuse for my surprise visit to the Island in the first place?"
"Hmph!" Gordon huffed. "I bet you the Wild Nor' Wester can get to the Works Station faster than your red coaches can reach the mainland. After all, that's what the express is built to accomplish."
"Now, look who's boasting, Gordon!" the Flying Scotsman chuckled, as both their guards' whistle blew. "See you later, little brother!" he called, as he quickly left the station. "And merry Christmas!"
"Mm," Gordon thought, "merry Christmas indeed!" And he raced in pursuit after his older brother.
Thomas had just finished picking up passengers on his Branch Line, which ended near the station by Ffarquhar. Now, he was heading to the estate up at Ulfstead Castle to lead Sir Topham Hatt and the children in on the last day of the Earl's Christmas fair. With antlers on both sides on his front and a rubber red ball stuck on his nose to dress him up as a reindeer, Thomas was in high spirits as he made his way up the hill towards the castle. Annie and Clarabel, however, felt rather rushed off their wheels.
"I say, you two. It's always the same before Christmas. Isn't it?"
"Quite right, Clarabel," agreed Annie, "my upholstery feels exceedingly full, and we've been back and forth from Ulfstead almost every day this week!"
Their good friend laughed and replied, "oh, come on, Annie and Clarabel. Where's your festive spirit? Christmas Day is only tomorrow, and everyone else on Sodor is gladly aware of it."
"So we've noticed," the coaches sighed, as they made their way towards the castle.
At long last, they reached the castle grounds. Millie was there, ready to go in for the fair as well.
"Bonjour, Thomas!" she whistled.
"Hello, Millie! Merry Christmas Eve!"
"Merry Christmas Eve to you too, Thomas. You look rather festive. All ready for the last day of the Earl's fair?"
"I sure am, Millie. I've been in the SteamWorks all morning being decorated as usual. Apparently, The Fat Controller has a plan to celebrate with The Earl, though he wouldn't tell me what it was to be exact. I think it might have something to do with the villagers."
"I think you'll find, Thomas, that the Earl can be full of surprises. When he really sets his mind to it, it's all rather exciting, really."
Thomas chuckled.
"I know a lot about the Earl and his surprises, Millie," Thomas responded, as they watched the drawbridge lower down.
"That's our cue," Millie gasped in surprise, before calling out, "we're on, fellas!"
"On our way, Millie!" Stephen called, as he charged slowly behind Millie.
"Wait for me!" Glynn called, as he quickly followed the cavalcade of Thomas, Annie, Clarabel, Stephen and Millie into the castle grounds.
The band started up, and the Earl stood up on the podium, as Thomas stopped at the platform. The passengers got out and looked all around in awe.
"Merry Christmas Eve, everyone!" the Earl announced. "And welcome to the last day of the Christmas fair. Please, do enjoy yourselves and refreshments will be served momentarily..." He gasped in surprise, as he saw a familiar figure walk out of Annie in a Santa Claus outfit. "Oh," he gasped, stepping down from the podium, "hello there, Sir Topham. Merry Christmas!"
"And a merry Christmas to you too, Sir Robert!" the controller replied, lifting his Santa hat off and back on greeting. "Now that we have everybody here, shall we tell the engines about our plan?"
The Earl chuckled loudly and replied, "precisely, Sir Topham. I was just about to call that to my attention."
"What were you about to call to your attention, Mr. Norramby, sir?" Thomas asked.
"Yeah. What's this all about, eh?" Stephen wondered.
"The 'Secret Santa'" the Earl explained.
"Secret...Santa? Thomas thought, rather confused, "but what is..."
"Oh, ho-ho, all in good time, Thomas," the Earl chuckled, "but I think it's best I explain the rest of it all when I assign jobs to you engines. Please, give me just a moment, will you?"
"Well, okay," Thomas responded, before watching the Earl walk off.
"All in good time, Thomas," Sir Topham Hatt, before following the Earl up the platform.
"I wonder," Thomas thought to the others, "what is a Secret Santa?"
"Search me, Thomas," Glynn responded, "my kind is too old these days to tell these holiday traditions apart."
"I'm far too ancient!" Stephen jokingly put in. "These days, old engines like me can't explain these sorts of things like the young ones can."
"Perhaps I can explain to you all what is Secret Santa is!" said Millie cheerfully. "'Secret Santa' was originally known to be a Christian ritual that derived from Western culture. To celebrate this tradition, people would randomly be assigned to exchange gifts around Christmastime, though the identity of the gift giver was never allowed to be revealed."
"Oh," replied Thomas, rather understanding of the concept.
"You mean...even the rulers of the past, like King Godred...exchanged gifts?!" Stephen wondered.
"No, Stephen!" Thomas chuckled. "The olden days may have had their traditions, but I don't think it's that complex!"
"No, indeed, Thomas," Millie chuckled in agreement. "The term 'Secret Santa' derives from the traditional gift-bringer, which in our time is..."
"Um...Father Christmas?" Thomas guessed cheekily.
"That's right, Thomas!" Millie chuckled.
"Who would've thought it?" Glynn wondered jokingly over at Stephen.
"The Rocket" himself chuckled and answered, "couldn't have thought it any better myself."
"In this case," Millie added with amusement, "we could say that this Christmas, de Fat Controller is our gift bringer."
The four of them all laughed until Sir Topham Hatt walked towards them.
"Ahem...quite, everyone, please," he said, putting his hand forward. "The Earl is going to assign you all special jobs for this afternoon."
"Um, thank you, Sir Topham," the Earl insisted, walking forward beside him. "I'll take it from here." He then turned towards the engines. "It's going to be a bit of a busy afternoon with all the jobs there is to for the Secret Santa event this evening, which is why I'm glad you've brought your coaches with you, Thomas."
"Oh...well, no problem, sir."
The Earl took a deep breath and looked at his three engines carefully, before thinking of a decision.
"Glynn, I would like you to work with Annie and Clarabel and pick up villagers around Ulfstead."
"With pleasure, sir!" the Coffepot engine replied gleefully.
"But...what about me, sir?" Thomas wondered.
"I'll get to you in a second, Thomas," the Earl suddenly interrupted. "Stephen, I'd like you to tour our guests around the Estate in groups whilst the fair goes on."
"Absolutely, sir!" Stephen whistled.
"And Millie. Now, the Refreshment Lady Miss Neptune has just prepared a lovely special tea of food and drink for us to enjoy whilst the event goes on, so I'd like you to head down to Lakeside and fetch it."
"Yes, sir!" Millie whistled with excitement.
"And as for you, Thomas," the Earl finished, "there's a reason I've asked Glynn to work with Annie and Clarabel. I've saved the longest journey for you to travel."
"For me, sir? What is it, sir?"
"Well, Sir Topham and I have thought about it quite carefully."
"And so we've come to the consensus, Thomas," Sir Topham Hatt added, "that you shall pick up the Presents Train from the Toy Factory. The villagers have placed in special orders there for what the children shall be exchanging as gifts."
"Yes, sir!" Thomas whistled happily, as he was uncoupled from Annie and Clarabel and rolled slowly forward.
Mille and Stephen pulled further up the line enough time for Glynn to switch tracks and back gently down on Annie and Clarabel.
"Well, now," he chuckled, "it feels good to be in service of you two once and for all. I guarantee it."
"Oh, what a splendid little Coffeepot," Annie remarked to Clarabel, as Glynn hauled them backward out of the castle.
"Indeed, Annie," Clarabel agreed. "He reminds me of Thomas already."
As they reversed out of the castle and turned the track towards the village, Thomas passed on the upper track and whistled loudly, "take good care of my coaches, Glynn!"
"I will, Thomas!" Glynn replied, as he set off down the village below, laughing with the coaches all the way.
As the Earl's engines up at Ulfstead kept themselves busy, Thomas set off on his important mission to the Sodor Toy Factory. He couldn't wait to see the children's happy faces when they saw the Presents Train.
"Huh! Silly soft stuff!" Thomas muttered, as he plowed his way through the snowdrifts. "Now that I'm used to my snowplow, snow is no longer any trouble for me."
Thomas felt the utmost confidence in the job he had been given, and was quite certain he'd make it back in time for the event to start. Soon, he arrived at the Toy Factory near Kirk Ronan. The presents were there waiting, as the workmen had just finished loading his cart.
"Hello, Thomas!" the traction engine greeted.
"Hello, Trevor!" Thomas whistled. "What are you doing here at the Toy Factory?"
"Many of these toys are being donated to children's hospitals and orphanages across Sodor, Thomas," Trevor explained. "Harold's taking them up to harbor, but Jem Cole and I are delivering them here around the branch lines. The Vicar's using them for his Christmas fund tomorrow afternoon. That way, the children of Wellsworth will all have something to open on Christmas Day."
"That's very kind of you and the Vicar, Trevor. These trucks are headed up to Ulfstead Castle in time for the Earl's Secret Santa event later this evening."
"Sounds like you have your own priorities on your hands, Thomas," Trevor responded, as Jem Cole climbed aboard his bunker. "Well, now that my cart is loaded, Jem and I had better leave you to it. Ready, Jem?"
"Ready when you are, old boy," Jem replied.
"Goodbye, Thomas!" Trevor whistled as he trundled slowly away from the Toy Factory. "Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christmas, Trevor!" Thomas replied, as he watched his friend trundle out of sight. Then he left the factory as soon the guard's whistle blew. "Now, it's back to the Estate," he reminded himself as he made his way steadily along.
Millie had just reached Neptune's Refreshments, where the men quickly loaded her trucks with different of foods and mulling spices to make hot drinks, all prepared by the Refreshment Lady herself.
"Merci, Miss Neptune! It must've been lots of work to prepare all this."
The Refreshment Lady chuckled and replied, "well, the Lakeside Special is closed today and tomorrow for Christmas, so I thought I'd come in this morning during my shift and get to work straight away. Sir Robert must be very busy with his Secret Santa event."
"You have no idea," Millie chuckled. "Especially since de Fat Controller is our gift-bringer."
"Is he now?" the Refreshment Lady gasped. "Well, I'm sure you'll all have a good time tonight with the villagers of Ulfstead. I must run now, Millie. I have a family to get home to as well, you know."
"Okay, Miss Neptune. Au revoir!" Millie whistled, as she pulled slowly out of Lakeside.
Meanwhile, Glynn made his way through the village nestled deep within the mountains of Ulfstead.
"All aboard!" he whistled, as he stopped at the station by the church. "I must say," he admitted to the coaches, as the church bell rang and the villagers climbed aboard, "the Earl sure picked a fine spot to build his Estate. Now, didn't he? Reminds me of working on the old branch line, before you two were even thought of."
"Working with you gives us those sorts of memories, Glynn," said Clarabel, as her guard's whistle blew.
"Yes," Annie agreed. "Even so, it's surprising hence the fact you were the original #1."
"Oh, I'm not too sure of that," Glynn chuckled. "Thomas and I are #1 engines in our own right. He has his place on with the rest of his fellow steam engines on the North Western, and on the branch line, while I have my place here up at the Estate with Stephen and Millie."
The coaches chuckled and sighed in awe, as they made their way back up towards the castle.
Thomas and Toby were waiting at a level crossing for Trevor and Elizabeth to cross. That way, they could all finish their journeys safely and on time, either rail or road.
"Hello again, Thomas!" Trevor chuckled, as he trundled slowly over the level crossing. "Hello, Toby!"
"Hello, Trevor!" Toby rang, as the traction engine made his way with his cart, and Elizabeth made her way over the opposite way. "Hello, Elizabeth!"
"Good day, chaps!" the sentinel lorry greeted. "With all you engines bringing passengers home for Christmas, I have several trips to make to the Coaling Plant if I'm to deliver coal to all the stations here on the North Western."
"I'm not pulling passengers, Elizabeth!" Thomas chuckled. "I have to deliver these presents to Ulfstead in time for the Earl's Secret Santa."
"Oh. Well, good luck with that, Thomas, and please, both of you be careful. As old as a vintage lorry like myself might be, I sense a storm coming in over the horizon."
"A storm?" Thomas thought, "but, Elizabeth..."
"Mind how you go, Thomas!" Elizabeth called out in warning, as she rolled out of sight.
"What was she talking about?" Thomas thought.
"I'm afraid Elizabeth might be right, Thomas," Toby thought, looking up at the sky. "The clouds do look rather grayish. Don't they?"
"I suppose so, Toby," Thomas agreed. "But I'm not sure if that means there isn't still jobs to finish. It's essential that these toys make it to Ulfstead on time, but even more important that you get your passengers home in time for Christmas."
"I guess you're making a point there, Thomas," Toby admitted.
"Couldn't have put it any better myself,"' Henrietta added. "The sooner these workmen get back to Knapford, the safer Toby and I will be by traveling home to Arlesdale End."
They waited as the level crossing opened up to give them right-of-way, then Thomas and Toby were on their way again. Even so, Thomas began to grow rather concerned, as he looked at the sky above him.
"Toby and Elizabeth were right," he wondered. "The sky does seem rather grayish in comparison to the clouds. I wonder if a storm really could be on the way."
"Not to worry, Thomas," his driver soothed, "we're making good time." Then from inside the cab, he asked, "has he a good fire then, fireman?"
"Never better," the fireman answered, "just enough to get us to Ulfstead."
"That's what I was afraid of," the driver thought, as he observed the ashes left from the empty coal stack beside Thomas' firebox.
Just as Thomas had suspected, a strange rumbling sound echoed from the sky above, and before long, the snow began to fall heavily and the wind picked up fast.
"Oh, dear," Thomas muttered, as he plowed the next drift of snow. "I can tell this is going to be a very strenuous journey."
"Easy now, Thomas!" his driver called. "We'll overcome this weather somehow!"
Thomas sure hoped so, as he pressed on through the snow.
At the castle, the clock reached about 6:00, and everything was nearly ready for the Secret Santa event to begin. Stephen had just finished giving tours of the Estate, and Glynn had just brought the villagers over in Annie and Clarabel.
"I must say," Sir Topham Hatt wondered. "Whatever could be holding Thomas up? It shouldn't take this long for him to get to the Toy Factory. Should it, Sir Robert?"
"We don't begin for quite some time, Sir Topham," the Earl replied. Then he had a thought. "But yes. This snowstorm we're about to have must be very serious, and sadly, Thomas is out there by himself. I've asked the villagers to take shelter for a reason, Sir Topham, so it's best we do the same."
"Um, pardon me, sir," Stephen insisted, rolling slowly forward. "But perhaps I could take the liberty of going out and searching for Thomas. Any if us could do it, sir."
"Absolutely not," the Earl demanded. "I'd like you three to stay here at the castle until Thomas returns. I can't risk either of you getting lost either."
"Sir Robert is right," Sir Topham Hatt added. "As much danger as Thomas might be in, we can't tell for certain, and it wouldn't be safe for you to go out in that blizzard either."
"That's just it then," the Earl thought. "Unless the snow stops before 7:00 this evening, I'm afraid we're going to have to cancel Secret Santa. I sure hope Thomas is okay though."
"Not to worry, Sir Robert," Sir Topham Hatt soothed, as he led him inside. "I assure you Thomas will be more than okay once gets here. And besides, we still have another hour before the festivities begin."
As Sir Topham Hatt lead the Earl inside the cafeteria to take refuge from the snowstorm, the snow began to fall heavier and the wind began to blow faster.
Thomas' journey was almost complete, as he reached the slope that ran up to Ulfstead.
"Must...keep...going!" he panted. "Those villagers are counting on me."
"Keep it up, Thomas," his driver urged. "Another clear mile, and we're surely make it there before dark."
Thomas breathed pantingly, as he pushed the snow hard against the tracks.
"Silly soft stuff! Uh...doesn't bother me!"
But it seemed that the blizzard that Thomas and his driver were battling against was finally allowing his determination to get the better of him,
"I mustn't stop..." he panted heavily, as he struggled through the next snowdrift, "...the children...are waiting..."
"Nearly there, Thomas!" his driver encouraged, as they saw the castle up ahead in sight.
"Just this very last hill!" Thomas said to himself, as he made his way up.
But then there was trouble, and Thomas' crew noticed it as well.
"The snow seems to be...falling fast through our cab!" the driver coughed.
"That's nothing!" the fireman insisted, pointing to Thomas' firebox. "Look!"
"I know!" the driver answered. "And we're losing steam!"
"My boiler feels funny!" Thomas complained. "I think my fire's going out!"
"We're almost there, Thomas!" the driver quickly responded.
"Help!" Thomas wailed. "I'm slowing down!"
"Oh, god! Brakes!" the fireman shouted.
"Oh, dear!" the driver groaned, as he quickly put the brakes on.
Thomas' driver quickly applied the brakes, and allowed the train to slide back down the bottom of the hill. Once they reached the bottom, Thomas' crew got out and inspected him all over.
The driver sighed with concern.
"It seems that your fire has gone out, Thomas," he explained. "You have plenty coal and water to last the rest of our journey, but with this weather, it no longer seems to be making enough heat."
"I'm sorry, sir," Thomas sighed with disappointment. "I tried to make it through this storm, but I've seemed to let everyone down; the Earl and the Fat Controller; the villagers; even the children, sir. They'll be very disappointed when they have nothing to exchange and open this evening."
"Not to worry, Thomas," his driver soothed. "We'll find a solution. But then again: we should've checked your fire was lit properly before we left the Factory. If we were any more aware of this storm, we would have had it stoked up and lit again beforehand."
"Um, excuse me, you two," the fireman suddenly interrupted, walking back from Thomas' bunker with a piece of coal in hand. "But I think I have a solution."
"Hmm..." the driver pondered, picking up the piece of coal in the fireman's hand and observing it.
A little while later, they began shoveling away, as they used coal from Thomas' bunker to stoke up Thomas' fire once more.
"Keep some lumps close at hand," the driver suggested, as the fireman built up Thomas' fire by placing lumps of coal around the edges. "They may come in handy shall we ever stop again."
"Nearly done, Thomas!" the fireman shouted, as he quickly shoveled coal into his firebox. He then turned toward the driver. "See if you get him started up once more. He might be able to make it."
"We'll be lucky if that happens," the driver replied, as he started up the engine once more.
"One...more...try! Uh!" Thomas grunted, as his wheels slowly started and he was able to plow his way through the snow once more.
At last, his fire made had just about enough heat to burn brightly, and Thomas was on his way again.
"I'm doing it! We're moving!" Thomas beamed happily, as he made his way up the hill once more.
The fireman dropped sand on the rails by the hand to maintain the engine's grip against the steep slope.
"Steady, Thomas," he urged, as he dropped "Well done! You've got this!"
"I think I can do it," Thomas panted, as he climbed the slope strenuously.
Caitlin was bringing some passengers home to the mainland when she passed Thomas whilst racing down the other side.
"You can do it, Thomas!" she whistled. "Go on!"
"I will do it, Caitlin!" Thomas confidently replied.
At last, they reached the top the hill, but they still had a bit of a way to go whilst heading towards the castle.
"I can do it! I can do it!" Thomas panted, as the drawbridge lowered and the gates opened to let him inside. "I've done it!" he exclaimed loudly. "I've done it!" And he whistled loudly as he made his way steadily towards the station platform."
"Thomas is here!" Millie whistled with excitement.
"He made it!" Stephen gasped.
"Oh, by golly, he did!" Glynn chuckled.
"I've done it," Thomas panted quietly, before stopping to let off steam and sighing in relief.
"Hooray!" Stephen, Millie and Glynn cheered and whistled all at once.
Thomas felt like whistling and cheering as well, but he was tired and pleased with himself that he could only smile. The Earl walked outside the castle with Sir Topham Hatt and the rest of the villagers to see the commotion.
"Thomas!" he beamed with excitement. "You made it! You brought the presents from the Toy Factory! And you're alright. Thank goodness!"
The children cheered and crowded around Thomas when they saw the presents.
"I fought that snowstorm all the way up here, sir!" Thomas replied, viewing the children gathering around and admiring the presents. "And it was worth it."
The Earl chuckled loudly.
"Oh, what a brave engine you are, Thomas!"
"And very useful too, Thomas," Sir Topham Hatt added.
"Thank you, sirs!" Thomas beamed. "Being brave and determined seems much better than feeling important about the job I'm doing."
"Quite right, Thomas," Sir Topham Hatt agreed.
"Well," the Earl thought, "now that we have everybody here, perhaps we should go ahead with the Secret Santa as according to plan."
"Oh, indeed, Sir Robert," Sir Topham Hatt chuckled. "I was just getting started." He quickly cleared his throws. "Ho-ho-ho!"
"Hooray!" the children and villagers shouted together, and the engines cheered and whistled as the festivities began.
That evening, the Secret Santa event was finally in motion, as Sir Topham Hatt continuously called the children up one-by-one to receive the first gift of Christmas. At long last, it was time for the last gift to be given out. Everyone waited as the little boy unwrapped the gift he had received.
"Wow!" the boy gasped, as he tore the gift wrapping off and observed his present closely. "A wooden toy tank engine model! And it's blue!"
"Well, Niclas," Sir Topham Hatt chuckled, as he sat by the young boy in his Santa suit. "Seems like someone's been an awful good boy this year."
"I guess so," Niclas, the boy, chuckled.
And everyone was stunned yet pleasantly surprised to see the model train was exactly in the shape of Thomas himself.
"Wow!" Thomas chuckled. "I never thought I could be that popular amongst the children."
"Oh, there he goes again, Clarabel," Annie sighed with amusement.
"Indeed, Annie," Clarabel chuckled. "But I must say, it feels like we're in the Christmas spirit now!"
"Well, I'm glad you've both learnt the meaning behind the true spirit of Christmas," Thomas told them kindly. "It's not just about the commercial value, but there's a true meaning of effort and spending the holidays with friends and family behind all it."
"You said it, Thomas!" Millie whistled in agreement.
"Couldn't have put it better myself!" Stephen added.
"Me neither!" Glynn chuckled.
Then Sir Topham Hatt gave out a jolly greeting. "Ho-ho-ho! Merry Christmas, everybody!"
"Merry Christmas, sir!" Thomas replied. "Merry Christmas, everyone!"
The Earl chuckled, and finally added, "merry Christmas to one and all!"
The rest of the evening ensued in a chorus of cheers and whistles, and Thomas was especially proud to have discovered the true meaning of Christmas once more and efforts.
"Yeah," he chuckled quietly.
"Ho-ho-ho!" a figure called out from the sky above in the shape of Santa's sleigh. "Merry Christmas!"
THE END
Well, that was a quick story to write. Having said that, it's the shortest story I've written in a while, at least since the summer ended. The idea for this one with the Secret Santa concept quickly popped into my head on Christmas Day, and I thought I'd get to work on straight away and be back on schedule with progressions for the fifth and final part of the set. The characters here felt fresh as I worked with them the whole way through; the beginning with Gordon and the Flying Scotsman kinda hints at a story for the next set about their brotherly dynamic. The Ulfstead crew were fun to write as use for supporting roles, and I'm glad to have explored interactions between Glynn and Annie and Clarabel. I believe I did well with the Earl/Fat Controller dynamic, but the most fun for me was elaborating on Thomas' determination to deliver the Presents Train, something I looked forward to doing since I first thought of this story way back. The reason for Caitlin's appearance, really, was not just fitting for encouragement of Thomas, but also because Connor was solely in "Picture Perfect". I hope you all enjoyed this late Christmas outing, and I'm confident that the fifth and final entry in the Winter set will be completed on schedule. What's next? Well, to end off The Little Engine Who Saved Christmas in Part V...
A Salty New Year - Salty's New Year's resolution story has Cranky going crazy and causing an accident. Cranky is blamed for it and has to clear up the mess. To make it up to him, Salty challenges Cranky to a New Year's resolution to see who can change over the course of the day. In the end, both Salty and Cranky realize that resolutions take time to resolve, and learn to be themselves for that matter.
And coming in 2017...
Derek's Day Out - The Fat Controller, having had it with Bill and Ben's constant bantering and realizing that Timothy and Marion can't always keep them in order, spares Derek the diesel engine to help out and work at the Clay Pits.
A Credit To The Road - Caroline enjoys taking rides through the Sudrian countryside, but her master Brett doesn't always have the time for her. However, when the Elsbridge cricket team leaves the flag and relief referee behind when playing against against Harwick United, Caroline races to the rescue
How to Handel Stress - Sir Handel is sent to work in Victor's place at the Steamworks while Victor is being repaired, but the stress of the job makes him rather irritable.