Driving Home For Christmas
Written by Helen Farrall
It was Christmas Eve; snow fell deep and hard and people were in a rush to catch the next train home for Christmas! Engines waited as they boarded and disembarked their coaches. They themselves were also looking forward to a nice long rest…
PEEP-PEEP!
"See you back at the sheds, guys!" Rebecca called out, as she left Knapford with her coaches.
"Bye, Rebecca!" Thomas called.
"Take care!" Nia added.
The two waited in peace as their passengers boarded the train when…
PEEP-PEEP!
"Phew! At last!" James sighed, letting out a heavy breath of relief as he stopped at the platform.
Thomas and Nia looked over at him with surprise.
"Oh, dear, James," Nia wondered. "Are you alright?"
"Could be better…" James admitted.
"Why?" Thomas wondered with confusion.
"My coaches are overloaded!" James grumbled. "It's always the same around this time of year, isn't it?"
Annie and Clarabel shot him a look of sympathy and agreement, as Thomas laughed.
"Where's your festive spirit, James? Christmas is usually one of the busiest times of the year! On a day such as this, we have more passengers than we've ever had all year round. VIPs, holidaymakers, even folks rushing to get home for the holidays!"
"Thomas is right, James," Nia added. "And besides, soon enough we'll be in our nice, cozy sheds at Tidmouth."
"That's right!" Thomas chuckled. "And warm and dry too! And just remember that tomorrow, there will be no trains running all day. I only have one more stop to go to Ffarquhar and back, then I can return Annie and Clarabel to the yard."
"I have a few more a few more stops to make with these trucks as well!" Nia put in. "What about you, James?"
"I'll be lucky if this is my last train out!" James responded. "Needless to say for your two. It's best we keep up, though. The sooner we finish, the better!"
The three engines whistled and exited the station, one after the other.
Sir Topham Hatt was in his office, handling some last minute reports before he could turn in for the day.
He sighed with relief as he fiddled wondrously with his toy train set.
"That's wonderful news, stationmaster! Glad to hear that Gordon and Henry managed to deliver their passengers to and from Vicarstown then!"
He listened to the chatter on the other side of the phone go on.
"Yes, I'm aware that Rebecca's due over at Vicarstown as well. She just departed from Knapford and should be there right on schedule!"
He was slightly taken aback by the further chatter on the other phone, before nodding.
"Yes, yes. Merry Christmas to you too, stationmaster! Goodbye!"
He hung up and sighed with relief.
"Now," he thought to himself, rising up from the table and heading toward the coat hanger. "Must get going. It's best I head home before the homeward rush."
He was about to pick up his coat when the telephone rang, startling him.
"Oh, botheration," he groaned.
He headed back towards the table and picked up the phone.
"Hello?" he called, rather startled by who it was after listening to the chatter on the other line.
"Oh, hi, mother," he greeted. "Yes, I'm still at the station, though I…"
"Good!" Dowager Hatt boomed on the other line. "Well, it's my great pleasure to inform you that Jane has indeed started putting the turkey on, and I've also been able to spare a case of our finest brandy!"
"Oh," Sir Topham Hatt chuckled. "That is great news. I was just finishing up some phone calls before preparing to leave the office. I shall be home shortly…"
"Wait!" the Dowager boomed, loud enough to get her son's attention. "Not so fast there, Topham!"
Sir Topham Hatt groaned and listened on.
"Weather reports indicate that a snowstorm is to be expected.
"Oh, no…" Sir Topham Hatt groaned.
"I highly suggest you wait in your office till the storm blows over!"
"But mother," Sir Topham Hatt hesitated. "I'll get caught in the homeward rush! Surely I'll be home before it becomes anything serious…"
"Absolutely not!" the Dowager demanded. "It is the safest option at this point to wait till the storm blows over. I shall be taking no chances, and we wouldn't want catching a cold or spending Christmas in a hospital now, would we?"
"No, mother," Sir Topham Hatt murmured.
"Good!" the Dowager beamed. "Stay where you are! It shouldn't be long before the storm blows over. Jane, the children and I will be waiting."
"B-b-but…"
"Goodbye, Topham!"
She hung up, leaving Sir Topham Hatt to groan aloud as he paced about his office.
"This is rather strange!" he wondered to himself. "There was nothing predicted about a snowstorm earlier on today! Besides, if I get stuck in traffic, I might be late for Christmas Eve dinner!"
He groaned and sighed sadly, thinking hard as he paced about the room…
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
Sir Topham Hatt awaited anxiously in his office for the storm to pass and fixedly from out the window time to time to see if any snow had fallen, but it didn't…
At long last, he took a deep breath and looked at his watch.
"Half past four," he thought. "Mother called me over half an hour ago. Surely this blizzard can't be anything more than just a weather prediction."
He went immediately towards the coat hanger to put on his coat, and as he did, he rushed immediately out the door and locked it behind him.
"Oh, dear," he sighed, as he rushed out of the station and towards the parking lot. "With only so much time to spare, I'd be lucky if I got home without any delay at all!"
He reached out for the door handle to his car, only to find that he couldn't get it open.
"Oh, bother," he groaned, and tugged at it a few more times, pulling hard.
"The cold weather does this…more often than not," he winced.
He tugged at the door handle several more times as he spoke. At long last, the door suddenly flew open, but as it did, it hit him right in the stomach and caused him to slip and fall on his back.
"Woah!" he wailed, as his hat flew high into the air.
He opened his eyes and watched his hat fly down and land right beside him, top first.
THUD!
Snow flew up and back down, all over Sir Topham Hatt's face and his suit. He groaned as he got up and picked up his hat before wiping the snow off his hat.
"And this was my best hat too," he murmured, as he wiped the snow off the top of it.
Afterwards, he hopped into the car and sighed with relief as he sat back in his seat. He placed his keys in the ignition and got the car started.
"Easy, Topham," he thought to himself, as the car started up. "They're all just at home, sitting around a nice warm fire and having a nice cup of…woah!"
He wailed suddenly at the sound of his windshield wiper making a dreadful noise, as it stopped halfway across the windshield to his car.
"Oh, no," he groaned, sighing with dismay. "How will I ever…"
He stopped suddenly as he saw a scraper in the seat beside him.
"Hmm…" he wondered.
Quickly, he rushed out of his car and panted heavily as he pressed the scraper hard against the windshield. He was just off halfway across the windshield when…
CRACK!
Sir Topham Hatt gasped back in surprise as he saw the condition of his scraper. Since he had rushed his attempt to scrape all the ice off, he had broken it in half!
"Oh, botheration!" he groaned, as he looked at the broken scraper.
"Oh, sir!" the stationmaster called, walking towards him.
"Oh, hello, stationmaster," Sir Topham Hatt sighed.
"I see you've broken your windshield scraper, sir," the stationmaster observed, before quickly pulling out his own. "Here, take mine!"
Sir Topham Hatt nearly fell back in surprise and thought hard.
"Oh," he wondered. "Well, that's very kind of you, stationmaster. But I simply just can't…"
"No, no, really," the stationmaster insisted. "It's brand new and still in mint condition. I only got it yesterday of course."
"No, thank you, stationmaster. Wouldn't want to break yours as well. Anyways, I'm terribly behind and I have no more time to waste if I'm to get home to my family in time for dinner!
And I'm sure enough ice has been scraped off for my windshield wiper to work on it's own."
"But…but…"
But before he could say anything else, Sir Topham Hatt hopped into his car and rolled his window down.
"Everything is well under control!" he assured him. "Bye, stationmaster. Happy holidays!"
He quickly drove off, much to the stationmaster's surprise.
"Hmm…" he thought to himself.
Along his journey home, Sir Topham Hatt's windshield wiper gradually began to function again…
"Come on, come on," he pleaded, watching it go back and forth from the halfway point across where the ice was.
…until at long last, it was able to sweep off the rest of the ice from the other side of the windshield.
"Woah!" Sir Topham Hatt gasped, falling back in surprise as the wiper finally managed to cut its way through to the other side of the windshield.
"Ah," he sighed with relief.
He sat back in his seat, relaxed, and progressed steadily along as the snow gently began to fall.
"Finally," he remarked happily to himself. "There's nothing like a white Christmas!"
He drove steadily as he watched the snow land on his roof, smiling happily.
I'm driving home for Christmas
Oh, I can't wait to see those faces
Sir Topham Hatt thought positively to himself about all four members floating in bubbles around in his mind, all of them deep in his thoughts.
I'm driving home for Christmas, yeah
Well I'm moving down that line
Sir Topham looked at the lovely snowy scenery all around him as the treetops and grounds were blanketed with snow, and others vehicles pressed further on past.
And it's been so long
But I will be there
I sing this song
To pass the time away
He watched with a family of four drive by in their van with a Christmas tree on top, and smiled as he watched the snow continuously fall from above.
Driving in my car
Driving home for Christmas
He looked anxiously at his watch as he drove further on, sighing with a bit of gradual worry.
Back at the mansion, Dowager Hatt and the grandchildren passed the time by watching the snow fall from the living room.
"Begging your pardon, grandmother," Stephen wondered, "but do you know when grandfather will be back?"
"He has been absent quite a while since you called him," Bridget pointed out.
"My dear children," she soothed, putting her arms with both of them. "Surely your grandfather is alright, and safe from the storm yet to come."
Lady Hatt came in, dressed in her apron.
"Stuffing's finished," she announced. "Checked the time on the turkey too. It should be ready in quite a while. Do you think Topham will be on his way home by now?"
"I've already spoken with my son," the Dowager assured the whole family. "And I'm pretty sure he's still waiting in his office at Knapford for the storm to blow over."
There was an awkward silence as Lady Hatt and the children expressed funny looks.
"But then again," the Dowager sighed. "I've been wrong before."
She picked the living room telephone and dialed ahead to the office to check on her son. He expressed a very serious look as a series of rings eventually went to voicemail. The Dowager nearly fell in surprise and gently placed the phone down.
"Oh, dear," she wondered.
"He must have headed home already," Lady Hatt suggested.
"I did warn him to wait for the storm to pass!"
"But you don't suppose…You don't think he'd…"
"Yes, Jane, dear," the Dowager suggested. "I'm afraid he has! It is quite in his nature to defy things his mother says, you know. When will he ever learn?"
She paced anxiously about the living room as she spoke, the children watching her with surprise, as Lady Hatt thought to herself.
"I only hope he's almost home by now," she admitted.
"Indeed," the Dowager agreed, stopping for a moment and thinking hard.
"Alright!" she decided at last. "If he doesn't arrive home within the next half hour, I'll call for help."
The children expressed worried looks with one another, as Lady Hatt headed back towards the kitchen. Meanwhile, the wind started to pick up from outside, as Dowager Hatt watched with concern.
The storm began to pick up and blow all over the Island! Sir Topham Hatt began to notice this as he looked up at the sky above him.
"Oh, bother," he wondered. "Mother was right about that storm. It's best I keep moving though. Can't afford to be late at this rate."
He pressed steadily on the gas pedal and surged the car further on.
However, it wasn't long before the gusts of wind blew snow towards Sir Topham Hatt and began hovering it over his windshield. He couldn't see the road any further at this point!
"Oh, my," he gasped. "I can't see a thing in this weather! How will I ever get home at this rate?!"
His thoughts were suddenly interrupted when…
HONK-HONK!
Sir Topham Hatt gasped in surprise at the sound of the horn honking. He looked ahead and saw a red light flashing towards him.
"Woah!" he gasped.
He swerved away just in time and found himself skidding all over the road. He wailed loudly and managed to avoid collisions with two approaching cars from both directions, one of them screeching to a halt as it turned the other direction. Sir Topham Hatt suddenly swerved his car away to the other side and down the hill.
"Uh oh," he gasped.
He didn't dare look at what was coming next, for as he did, he immediately shut his eyes.
"NOOOOOO!" he wailed.
He applied his brakes hard, but it was too late as the car landed front wheels first into a nearby ditch.
SPLASH!
The Fat Controller lay back for a few seconds, trying hard to think about the events that had recently transpired. He slowly stepped out of his car, wind and snow blowing heavily into his face, and turned around to look at what happened, before groaning with dismay.
"Oh, bother," he groaned, expressing a facepalm. "Now look at the condition of my car! However will I get it out and be home at this rate?"
At that moment, he heard a familiar sound from over the other side of the hill. He climbed the top and sighed with relief as he saw who it was.
"Terence!" he shouted, and waved his hands high.
"It's Sir Topham Hatt," Terence wondered to himself, as he approached his direction and saw him waving his hand. "He must need help!"
Terence advanced further towards Sir Topham Hatt's direction and stopped right before him.
"Hello, sir!" he greeted, before suddenly noticing the condition of his car from nearby. "Deary me, sir. Are you alright?"
"Not exactly," Sir Topham Hatt admitted. "I've had quite some trouble getting home thus far; first, my windshield wiper broke, then the storm blew over just as I was making my way back from the office. As it happens, the roads were so icy that I skidded all over and landed myself in this ditch!"
"Is there…any way I can be of assistance, sir?" Terence wondered.
"Only if you can find a way to get my car out of that ditch," Sir Topham Hatt assured him.
"Very well, sir!" Terence beamed. "May I suggest we pull it out then?"
"Pull?" Sir Topham Hatt gasped, thinking for a moment with surprise.
"Well, I'm not sure about that, Terrence," he replied doubtfully. "My doctor has forbidden me to pull."
Terence chuckled.
"I don't believe I said anything specifically about you doing the pulling, sir!" he laughed.
This left Sir Topham Hatt in wild thought, as he eyed Terence curiously.
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
Soon enough, Terence's operator hitched him up to the car and hopped back aboard.
Terence tugged hard at Sir Topham Hatt's car, determined to get it out of the ditch.
"Must…keep…trying!" Terence groaned, tugging hard at the car behind him.
"You can do it, Terence!" his operator shouted out.
Terence tugged and pulled, and pulled and tugged until finally, he managed to drag the car free from the ditch.
"Well done, Terence! Thank you very much!" Sir Topham Hatt beamed.
He sighed with relief as he looked at the condition of his car. It was all muddy from the sides now in addition to the front.
"No worries, sir!" Terence replied. "I think you'll find that with my caterpillar wheels, I can do about anything! I can even get this car back up the hill!"
"That'd be just splendid," Sir Topham Hatt admitted. "Could you?"
"Yes, sir!" Terence obliged. "I'll have it back up the road for you in no time!"
"Thank you, Terence!" Sir Topham Hatt said gratefully.
He slowly followed Terence up the hill, as the tractor slowly yet carefully dragged his car to the very top and onto the road.
"Here you are, sir," Terence said at last. "Will you be okay? I can give you a lift if your car is in need of repairs, you know."
"That won't be necessary, Terence," Sir Topham Hatt assured him, as he hopped into his car. "I'm about halfway home at this point, so I should be fine."
"Okay, sir," Terence wondered.
But he felt slightly concerned deep down.
"Merry Christmas!" Sir Topham Hatt called out, as he took off.
The snowstorm began to clear up, but as he pressed further on, Sir Topham Hatt found himself going slower than usual due to the mud in his tires.
Driving home for Christmas
It's gonna take some time
But I'll get there
"Oh, great," he groaned with dismay. "Like my journey home can get any worse at this point…"
He found that it did, as he found himself at the tail end of a line of traffic. He groaned with dismay and lay his head down over his arms as he drove further on.
Top to toe in tailbacks
Oh, I got red lights all around
The sound of car horns honking through the traffic line didn't really make Sir Topham Hatt's mood any better, as he looked around anxiously, expressing a look of hope that soon it would die down.
But soon there'll be a freeway, yeah
Get my feet on holy ground
It wasn't long before the traffic began to pick up a bit, allowing Sir Topham Hatt to express a sigh of relief, as he gradually sped up, the thought of his family deep in his thoughts.
So I sing for you
Though you can't hear me
When I get through
And feel you near me
Sir Topham Hatt maintained a determined look on his face as he drove steadily on through the progressing traffic.
Driving in my car
I'm driving home for Christmas
The snow continually fell as Sir Topham Hatt continued forward, allowing to catch a glimpse of a few falling snowflakes.
Driving home for Christmas
He thought peacefully to himself about the fun things he would do with his family when he got home, which allowed to maintain focus while driving on through the traffic.
With a thousand memories
He looked over the many cars passing in the opposite direction, before looking back forward towards the traffic ahead of him.
I take look at the driver next to me
He sighed with peace and content as he drove further on, smiling to himself with relief.
He's just the same
Just the same
Back at the mansion, Dowager Hatt held both her arms around the children as they watched the snow fall from outside. Lady Hatt was trying to telephone ahead to Knapford, but received no response. She sighed and placed the phone down.
"They must be closed for the evening," she assumed.
"But…do you suppose grandfather is okay?" Bridget wondered.
"Not to worry, children. Your grandfather has his resources. I'm certain he's taken the same way from work he usually takes."
"But the storm's gone and passed for quite long enough now," the Dowager suggested. "Surely he would have been home by now if he waited for it to pass."
"W-whatever do you mean, grandmother?" Stephen wondered.
"I mean he's either lost or else, he foolishly ventured out in that storm by himself! I shall take Winston out to find him!"
"Oh, please, Dowager," Lady Hatt insisted. "Wouldn't it be safer if we just called the police to arrange a search party? Surely they can escort us in finding him and all…"
"No chance!" the Dowager boomed, as she slipped on her coat and headed for the door. "I know exactly what I'm doing. Take care of the children, Jane, and if I'm not back within the hour, you may well indeed arrange for that search party!"
She stormed out the door, much to the surprise of the children, as Lady Hatt anxiously phoned ahead to the police station.
Back out on the road, the traffic began to die down and progress quicker, which made sir Topham Hatt's journey much easier…
"Finally," he sighed with relief. "Homeward rush has come and gone. I should be home any time now."
All the same, the mud in his front tires still caused him to go slower than the usual rate, and the windshield wipers were still sweeping the mud off of his front.
"Or at least at a reasonable time," he wondered to himself, progressing steadily forward.
Up ahead, Sir Topham Hatt could see a fork in the road that looked quite familiar to him.
"Ah," he thought. "My old shortcut back from work. Haven't used this way all winter. Might as well give it a try if I'm going to be home any sooner."
He turned off of the exit and through a narrow pathway beside the line. All of a sudden, his front wheels started to go faster, allowing to progress much quicker than before.
"This should do the trick," he thought to himself. "This pathway has always seemed to lead right to the mansion. Not long now. Just think…sitting round a nice, cozy fire, all snug and warm while Jane puts the turkey on. There's nothing like a traditional Hatt Christmaasss…woah!"
He wailed suddenly as he jerked up and down in his seat in reaction to the car hitting a sudden bump in the road and coming to a stop.
"Oh, now what?" he moaned.
He got out of his car to see what had happened, and was quite surprised to find that one of his wheels stuck in a pothole!
"Oh, botheration!" he groaned with dismay. "Surely I can't push it out. Doctor's forbidden me to do so. I dare not changing my tire either as it'd dirty my suit and that would never do. However will I make it home now?"
HONK-HONK!
All of a sudden, he heard a familiar horn from over the line and was surprised to see who his rescuer was!
"Winston?!" he wondered, rather perplexed and confused.
"Hello, sir!" the inspection car beamed.
"Well, I must say, I couldn't be more glad to see you but…"
"Ahem!"
Sir Topham Hatt was cut off by a familiar cough, then looked up to see his mother raising an eyebrow.
"Oh," he gasped, a little red in the face. "Erm…hello, mother."
Winston looked over with surprise at the condition of his car.
"Oh, dear, sir. What happened?" he wondered.
"It's a rather long story, Winston," Sir Topham Hatt admitted. "Long story short though, I left the office in a rush before the storm blew over, I broke my windshield scraper, skidded over the road after avoiding a near collision and ran into a ditch, got stuck in traffic and now my wheel's been punctured. Not that the snowstorm had anything to do with it."
The Dowager listened carefully as her son spoke, then nodded.
"Hmm…" she wondered. "Perhaps you should have listened to your mother then!"
Sir Topham Hatt sighed.
"Yes. I'm sorry, mother. I really should have listened to your advice. It got me into a lot of trouble along the way, and now I don't know what to do about my car."
He groaned with dismay before sitting down and putting his face down over his arms. The Dowager hopped off Winston's arm and sat down beside him.
"Not to worry, Topham," she assured him. "We'll have Butch the tow truck take to be repaired first thing in the morning. But first, we must get going. We'll be back home for dinner in no time if we make it quick."
Sir Topham Hatt sighed with agreement, before allowing his mother to help him up on his feet and aboard Winston's cab.
HONK-HONK!
"Off we go, sir!" Winston called out.
He wailed loudly as he was suddenly surged along then looked up at the pair aboard his cab.
"Whoops, sorry, Winston," Sir Topham Hatt chuckled nervously.
"Not to worry, sir. Early days," Winston reminded him.
"Perhaps I should take the wheel," the Dowager demanded.
Sir Topham Hatt sighed and reluctantly allowed his mother to set him aside in the backseat, before she moved and took the driving wheel.
"Thank you for rescuing me, mother. Perhaps I was in such a hurry to get home to my family that I put myself through all the trouble of attempting to miss the homeward rush and running into the blizzard after all."
Dowager Hatt beamed.
"I'm glad you've learnt your lesson, Topham," she said kindly. "But now, it's best we put it all behind us so we can go home and enjoy our Christmas Eve dinner."
Sir Topham Hatt chuckled.
"Oh, yes, indeed, mother. That'd be just lovely."
Soon enough, they arrived back at the mansion all in good time, and returned Winston to his shed nearby.
Sir Topham Hatt watched as Winston yawned and shut his eyes, cozy in the berth of his shed.
"Merry Christmas, Winston!" he said quietly, before gently shutting the door to his shed.
Sir Topham Hatt proceeded to follow his mother inside the house, where the children were more than pleased to see him.
"Grandfather!" they both called out.
They ran immediately up to him and jumped into his arms, causing him to chuckle and hug them back.
"Are you alright, grandfather?" Stephen asked.
"Well, sure, I am," he replied. "Or at least now I am, thanks to your dear great-grandmother."
Lady Hatt chuckled and hugged him too before giving him a kiss on the cheek.
"Merry Christmas, Topham!" she greeted warmly. "But I say, wherever have you been all evening?"
"My dear Jane," Sir Topham Hatt beamed. "I'll explain later, but first, I must wash up for dinner."
He proceeded to leave his hat on the hanger and throw his jacket aside the stair handle before walking slowly up the stairs, all four of his family members watching with surprise.
"Don't be too long, dear!" Lady Hatt kindly called after him. "Turkey's almost done!"
Soon enough, the Fat Controller was all dressed up for dinner and the whole family was seated around the dining room table.
Sir Topham Hatt tapped his wine glass before standing up.
"I declare to make a toast," he told his family sitting before. "I just want to say how grateful I am to be around my dear loved ones during this special time of the year. Come wind or snowfall, nothing could make me happier."
"Cheers!" Lady Hatt and the Dowager said together.
They all rose up and clashed glasses before sitting down, and Sir Topham Hatt proceeded to carve the turkey at the head of the table, as the snow began to fall from outside.
And so the Hatt family managed to sit down and enjoy their splendid Christmas Eve dinner, and Sir Topham Hatt couldn't have been happier for anything more!
Sorry this one was pretty late. Due to the ongoing COVID pandemic, school got off late for me this year and I didn't dig too deep into this one until after exams were over. Nevertheless, it was fun to write a human-focused story centered on the Hatt family and Sir Topham's struggles with getting home for Christmas. I tried to emphasize on the comedy side of him here, as misfortune happens when he least expects it to. He also learns the lesson of listening to his mother's warning about the snowstorm and pays the price for it as he does indeed get stuck in the homeward rush. The rest of the Hatt family also played their part well, and Terrence and Winston were fun to include supporting roles for this set, as was the Driving Home For Christmas by Chris Rea montage. Merry belated Christmas, and I hope this happened to be a little something to get into the festive spirit. Feel free to leave thoughts, and as always, stay tuned for…
Murdoch And The Kipper - when it is Murdoch's turn to take the Kipper, Henry's tall tales leave him unconvinced that he'll have an accident as well, but finds that sometimes things can happen when you least expect them to.
And coming this Spring...Thomas & Friends in Ready! Set! Rescue!
Amber Rushes In - a new ambulance van named Amber arrives as part of the Search and Rescue Team to transport injured people to the hospital in emergencies. However, Amber is so eager to rush into an emergency that she often forgets where she is needed.
Gator's Discovery - while delivering some rock salt along Duck's Branch Line, Gator comes across Bulstrode the Barge washed up by the shore and enlists Percy's help to make him good as new.
No Bother For Butch - Butch spends all day tending to other engines and vehicles in a state of emergency, that he doesn't think to take notice of the problem with his own engine, dismissing others' warnings. Instead, he puts his friends entirely before himself, which eventually leads to his own emergency!
Amber's Castle Conundrum - a pair of rock climbers are injured at Callan Castle, so the Rescue team are called into action, though Amber takes a wrong turn and ends up at Ulfstead instead!
Trevor And Flynn - Trevor often tries to find a way to help Flynn with fighting fires when he passes by despite Flynn clearly thinking the old traction engine has little use in a situation like that; however, when Belle derails on the way to a fire, Flynn may end up needing Trevor's help after all when he starts to run out of water.
Captain's Call To Action - Captain discovers a muddy stretch of stream and reports it to the Search and Rescue Team, prompting the workmen to take precautions and keep the area off limits. However, when Bulstrode attempts a shortcut back to Norramby and gets stuck, Captain jumps into action and saves him.