Thomas, Percy And The Rabbits
Based on Rabbits by Christopher Awdry
Adapted by Helen Farrall
One autumn morning, Thomas the Tank Engine was happily chugging along his Branch Line with Annie and Clarabel.
"Good morning, birds!" he whistled aloud to a flock that flew alongside the line.
He looked down at the ground beside the track.
"Good morning, squirrels!"
His sighed peacefully as he looked all about him.
"Lovely day, isn't it, Annie and Clarabel?"
"Quite so, Thomas!"
"Couldn't have put it any better myself!"
Thomas chuffed further along, getting a good run at the next stretch of track when he saw a deer up ahead.
"Look over there!" he called.
He whistled loudly in greeting.
"Good morning…,"
"Rabbits!" his driver shouted
"Rabbits?" he thought confusedly.
He chuckled.
"What do you mean rabbits? I'm pretty sure that was a deer I just said good morning to!"
His driver laughed and pointed ahead.
Beside the line before Dryaw was a post; it had a white disc on top with a red circle around it and a number 10 in the middle!
"Stationmaster said something about a decision that Sir Topham Hatt was making! He needs to report back to Knapford for an important meeting as soon as our journey is complete!"
Thomas stopped at the platform at Dryaw to let off his passengers.
"What could this meeting be about?" he wondered.
Bertie chuckled beside him.
"Looks to me from that sign like we might have to race under the new speed limit! Surely I can beat you this time!"
Thomas glared as he watched him set off, then thought aloud to himself.
"Rabbits?"
At Knapford, Thomas met Percy and Toby at the platform. The workmen were getting ready to board Henrietta.
"Hello, you two! I see you were called here as well! Do either of you know what this meeting is about?"
"Shhh, shhh!" hissed Henrietta soothingly. Here comes The Fat Controller now!"
He came out of his office, feeling exasperated as he walked before the trio.
"Morning, you three!" he greeted. "Sorry I had you all here on such short notice, but I did give your drivers the memo!"
The three engines looked at him hard and confusedly, as he stopped in his tracks, before speaking emphatically.
"Rabbits have been burrowing under the line at Dryaw! It's made the ground unsafe, so I've had to bring in a speed limit sign to ensure safety until the embankment can be straightened and fully stable again! Ahem!"
He coughed, pausing impressively.
"And of course till something is done about those rabbits!"
"Rabbits?" Percy exclaimed.
"Rabbits!" Thomas grunted in response, rather reassuringly.
At that moment, Henrietta's guard blew his whistle.
"Come along, Toby!" she encouraged. "We must get going and get these gentleman off to work!"
"Oh, dear!" Toby groaned. "I hope something is done about those rabbits soon!"
"I'm sorry," Sir Topham Hatt told the two best friends, "but there's simply no other way! Mind as you go now!"
And he turned back towards his office.
Thomas and Percy were not very happy about the change at all!
"But Dryaw is the steepest part of my line!" Thomas protested.
"I know!" Percy agreed. "And plus, my goods trains are usually heavier so how can I run my trains on time?!"
"It's not just that!" Thomas added. "Market Day!"
Percy gasped.
"Market day?"
"Yes, Percy! How shall I get up the hill when Annie and Clarabel are full on market day?! I won't even be able to increase my speed at the bottom!"
Just then, the guard's whistle blew.
"Don't fret about it, Thomas!" Annie advised.
"The Fat Controller is only looking out for your safety!" Clarabel suggested.
"Mmmm…" Thomas thought, doubtfully.
Percy sighed sadly as he went back about his work as well.
Soon enough, Market Day arrived; the engines had to encounter the steep embankment on their route; Thomas' driver had to slow him down in advance upon seeing the sign up ahead.
"Slow and easy does it, Thomas!" he cautioned.
"Bother those rabbits!" he fumed, as he sturdily climbed the embankment. "And that silly old sign too!"
"Wheeeee!" Bertie wailed, toiling up the hill by the road.
Thomas looked the other way, ignoring him as he struggled further up the embankment. He panted heavily as he reached the top and over, before making his way to the platform at Dryaw.
"Phew!" he sighed at last.
His cheeks were rosy red. Bertie chuckled from nearby.
"What's up now, Thomas? Your cheeks are as red as my paintwork!"
Thomas groaned.
"It's that change along this stretch of my line!" he admitted. "Sir Topham Hatt has put up that speed limit back down before the embankment just because of rabbits that are burrowing under the track!"
Bertie smirked smugly.
"Ooooh! Rabbits!"
"And now Percy, Toby and I have to travel at 10 miles per hour every time we reach that steep incline! I don't know why Sir Topham Hatt can't just do something about those rabbits instantly!"
Bertie chuckled.
"It's a good thing rabbits don't try to burrow under the roads, otherwise there would be potholes everywhere!" he joked.
"Huh?"
Thomas raised an eyebrow, dumbfounded at Bertie's remark.
"Tell you what?" the bus went on. "Try switching to roads! Rabbits don't try to build their homes under there, and I might put us on equal footing with our races as well, if you get my meaning!"
He winked, rather wittily, before soaring off.
"See you later, slow coach!"
"Pah!" Thomas scoffed.
He waited till his guards whistle blew, before setting off himself.
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
Later when Percy came along the route with his goods train, he had to slow down as well for the embankment.
"Rabbits!" he murmured huffily to himself. "How bad can it be?"
He started at the steep slope towards Dryaw and climbed his way up.
"Ugh! Ugh!" he grunted, wincing as he climbed. "Must…try…harder!"
But the slower Percy went, the heavier his train became! it wasn't long before he came to a stop altogether.
"I'm stuck!" he groaned.
"Hold on, Percy!" his driver suggested. "I'll just check with the guard!"
He hopped out of the cab and walked down the embankment, meeting up with the guard halfway. Percy watched as he walked back up and stopped before him.
"Guard says he's going to uncouple the train at the halfway point! That way the train will be divided into two, and it will be easier for you to make the trip, but it will take double the time!"
"And make us late!" Percy groaned.
"I'm afraid so!" his driver sighed with dismay.
They waited as the guard divided the train in half before continuing forward at the same speed.
"Well, it's lighter now!" he thought to himself.
He advanced further towards the platform at Dryaw, where Toby was waiting on the other side.
"Percy!" he gasped. "Where's your brake van?!"
"It's at the bottom of the hill with the other half of the train!" he insisted. "I stuck halfway up so the train had to divide!"
"Oh, my!" Toby groaned.
Percy whistled as he was uncoupled from the train, then rolled forward before reversing a set of points. He was switched back to the far right track after passing the platform, then backed down the embankment.
"Back round again!" he sighed.
He was hitched up to the other half of the train, before hearing a familiar whistle from behind. He gasped. Thomas glared as he stopped right before Percy's break van.
"Sorry, Thomas! My train got stuck at the bottom of this hill and had to divide!"
"You couldn't help it, Percy!" Thomas sighed, as they climbed the slope once more. "But the sooner The Fat Controller does something about those rabbits, the better!"
"Agreed!"
The days passed and Thomas and Percy continued to give their friends an earful about the change!
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
Gordon chuckled aloud at Knapford Station.
"Rabbits! Burrowing under the line! That's very funny, Thomas!"
"But you don't understand, Gordon! Percy and I have been late with our trains more often than not, and the Fat Controller still hasn't done anything about it!"
Gordon grinned.
"It's a good thing rabbits don't burrow under the main line! They wouldn't stand a chance against the express!"
With that, he whistled as soon and left as his guard's whistle blew, leaving Thomas to sigh with dismay.
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
"Rabbits?" Daisy exclaimed, at Arlesburgh West. "Oh dear, Percy. Poor you!"
"Yes!" Percy replied. "And the Fat Controller set a 10 mph speed limit for that stretch of the line, which means I'm not able to run my trains to time!"
"How awful!" Daisy groaned. " I don't think we get rabbits brewing under my branch line by Harwick! What's all this ballast for then?"
"The quarry track, supposedly! Nothing to do with those rabbits!"
He set off as soon as his last truck was filled up with ballast, getting a good run at the track about him!
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
Because the trains ran less to time, Bulgy often had to take Annie's passengers from Dryaw to ensure that they got to their destinations on time.
"Out with the railways!" the double-decker bus called out one day, as he exited the station with seats full of passengers.
Thomas glared as he watched him leave, then looked over at Bertie, who beamed at him.
"How about a race now, Thomas?" he cheekily suggested. "You know, since you don't have to worry about asking your passengers about now like peas in a pod!"
Thomas whistles and look the other way, as he left the station with his coaches, leaving Bertie to raise an eyebrow was surprise.
Harold also had to cover Percy's mail run from Dryaw onwards, something that Percy wasn't very pleased about either!
One evening, Percy slowed down at the steep embankment before Dryaw and immediately made a run at it when…
"Oof!" he groaned.
He felt a little jolt at his cab as he made his way up the slope. His crew took no notice, as his driver leaned his head out the window to keep the engine's speed and his fireman had just gone to round up some more coal for his firebox.
Percy ride to the platform by Dryaw where Harold was eagerly waiting!
"All in good time, chap!" he remarked. "Other than that last stretch of line at the slope, that is!"
He chuckled eagerly, Percy just looked the other way with a sullen expression. He watched as Harold's net was filled up with mail bags.
"See you later, Percy!" he called, as he took to the air.
Percy sighed as he watched him disappear, then started off again when…
"Ouch!" he winced.
Percy felt a little jolt at his cab as he did earlier at the embankmen, but took no notice as he pressed further on.
"Must…make it to the SteamWorks…ugh! My firebox needs cleaning out before I can return home to the shed!"
However, all along the way, Percy continued to feel a little jump at his firebox.
He hiccuped and bounced, as he stopped at a signal, allowing Henry to pass.
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
Continuing along his route, Percy hiccuped and bounced up and down again, right as Rebecca approached from up the line.
"Feeling okay, Percy?" she wondered.
"I, uhhhh, I think so!" he responded, as he passed her.
He took a deep breath, advancing forward when…
"Ow!"
He hiccuped and bounced again, which gave his driver the signal to finally let off steam.
"Alright, Percy," he decided at last, backing him into a siding. "Let's see what's really wrong with your firebox, eh?"
Percy sighed as his brake then touched the buffers, And his fireman took a flashlight out and knelt down, sliding his firebox door open
"Hmm…" he thought, I see in the driver look thoroughly through.
All of a sudden, they gasped and nearly fell back with a surprise.
"Jiminy Christmas!" the driver exclaimed.
Back at the sheds, the engines were all concerned about where Percy was.
"He said he was going to be back after delivering the mail as far as Dryaw!" Thomas recalled. "But it doesn't take that long!"
"He must be having his firebox cleaned out, Thomas!" Nia suggested.
"I hope he's alright!" Rebecca put in. "I did see him struggling earlier this evening!"
At that moment, they all heard a familiar whistle and watched as Percy backed down into his berth, letting off steam and sighing exhaustedly.
"What happened, Percy?" Nia wondered.
"Rabbits have been burrowing inside my firebox!" Percy grumbled.
"Rabbits?!" Thomas exclaimed, trying hard not to laugh.
Gordon and James shared a chuckle as they glanced over at one another, while Emily frowned with sympathy. Thomas couldn't help himself chuckling as well.
"It's high time the Fat Controller did something about those rabbits!" he admitted. "I must say, though, at least it gives off a good laugh in the end!"
"Rabbits!" Gordon mused.
He continued to laugh along with Thomas and James, as Percy looked the other way and ignored them, backing down into his berth as far back as his buffers could touch the bar.
Next morning, Thomas wasn't in as much as of a cheery mood.
"Silly stick-in-the-muds!" he fumed.
He angrily let off steam as he arrived at Knapford Junction, while Percy and Toby watched him with surprise.
"What's wrong, Thomas?" Percy asked.
"Driver says that The Fat Controller is arranging for repairs on my line today!"
"Ooh," Toby thought, raising an eyebrow. "So why are you so upset then, Thomas?"
"Something's finally being done about those rabbits!" Percy suggested.
"That's not it, guys!" Thomas groaned. "I'm to meet Bertie at the bottom of the hill before Dryaw! Apparently, he'll take my passengers from there!"
He sighed, thinking hard.
"Why doesn't The Fat Controller just stop my line from running while the track is being repaired?! Surely it would save a few extra miles for me if Bertie took my passengers from Knapford!"
At that moment, an idea flew into his funnel.
"Extra mile…" he thought.
Percy was confused.
"How will Bertie be able to get to you, Thomas, if he's up the hill at the station?"
Thomas expressed a cheeky grin.
"I'll just overrun the stretch of track!" he informed them. "That way, Bertie won't have to come after all and tease me about the rabbits!"
"What?" Toby gasped.
Percy gasped with surprise.
"Driver doesn't know my plan yet! It's plain and simple!"
"I'm not sure that's such a good idea, Thomas!" Toby warned.
"Toby's right, Thomas!" Percy added. "Perhaps wait a while longer till the line is repaired?"
"Puh!" Thomas remarked confidently. "I'm not afraid! I'm sure I can do it!"
"You might risk hurting your passengers!" Toby suggested.
Thomas chuckled.
"I'll be careful! Don't you worry! I've got it all under control!"
He whistled and set off to fetch his coaches, as Percy and Toby glanced at each other with concern.
Thomas collected Annie and Clarabel and filled them in on his plan.
"However will you get close enough to Bertie, Thomas?" Clarabel wondered.
Thomas smiled confidently as he stopped at the platform to let his passengers aboard.
"Close enough to get them to him at the top station!" he replied.
He waited till the guard's whistle blew before setting off.
"I hope you know what you're doing, Thomas!" Annie advised.
Thomas chuckled as he pulled them sturdily along.
Thomas went about his usual route, looking around to observe the lovely scenery of his line.
His sighed and took a deep breath, humming quietly as the coaches listened with confusion.
"I really think you should reconsider this, Thomas!" Annie advised.
"I, for one, would rather be mindful of the passengers!"
Thomas just laughed.
"It shouldn't be so bad! Besides, it will say Bertie plenty of time too!"
He coughed, rather impressively.
"If you think about it, that is!"
"Oh, we're thinking!" Annie assured him.
"Thinking you should slow down as soon as we reach that sign!" Clarabel added.
Thomas laughed once again.
"You two worry too much! There's absolutely nothing to be worried about! Look! We're approaching the embankment now!"
"Please, Thomas!"
"We're not kidding!"
Thomas chuckled.
"Neither am I!" he smirked.
He gradually got a good run at his wheels and waited for his driver to apply the brakes, right as he approached the sign.
"Now for my plan!" he whistled aloud.
He took his driver by surprise as he passed the red sign for the rabbits.
"Thomas!" he called. "What's going on?"
"Thomas!" the coaches wailed.
"Thomas!" Bertie honked, approaching from down the embankmen. "Stop!"
"I'm doing it!" Thomas cheered, beaming.
"Watch out!" Bertie warned.
"Huh?"
He gasped, suddenly caught off-guard as he looked below him.
"Oh, no!"
At that moment, Thomas' wheels came tilting off the rails.
"Woahhhhh!" he wailed, as the coaches wailed after him.
"Thomas!" Bertie gasped.
"Ouch!" Thomas groaned, wincing as he came to a sudden stop.
Luckily the coaches weren't hurt, but Thomas lay dazed and surprised on the field by the field by the embankment.
"Thomas!" Bertie called, stopping alongside. "Are you alright?"
Thomas sighed.
The passengers exited Annie and got onboard Bertie at once, but they weren't very happy.
"Don't worry, Thomas!" Bertie honked. "I'll get help as soon as I reach Dryaw!"
And he tore off, as Thomas looked down with dismay.
Bertie got the passengers to Dryaw in time for Toby to take them to the Junction. He also informed the stationmaster of Thomas' accident and immediately, he phoned ahead to Knapford for help.
Percy was shunting at Knapford when the call had come through!
"Come along, Percy!" his driver shouted. "We can't bring these trucks to harbor now with the line being blocked! The Fat Controller needs us to rescue Thomas!"
Percy sighed as he left his trucks.
"Toby and I did to try warn him!"
"Now listen," his driver went on. " we need to bring take workmen there in your cab and bring them back aboard Annie and Clarabel!"
He coughed.
"That is, of course, whilst we rescue Thomas!"
Percy stopped at the platform by nap first, waiting as the workmen all climbed Aboard his cab, with Sir Topham Hatt in tow.
Percy brought the workmen to the site of the embankment and, what time is in the coaches were all very excited to see him.
Thomas gasped.
"Percy!" he exclaimed.
"Our hero!" the coaches cried out.
"I'll have you back on the rails in no time, Thomas!"
Thomas watched as Sir Topham Hatt hopped off of Percy's cab and walked before him, raising a stern eyebrow.
"Sir!"
He chuckled nervously.
"You are a very naughty engine, Thomas! Bertie explained everything to the stationmaster and I heard all about it! We must now have to do more repairs with this truck being fixed in addition to the repairs already arranged! You have made the problem a lot bigger than it needs to be, Thomas!"
"Sorry, sir," Thomas sighed, ashamedly.
He proceeded to walk about the field by the embankment, in deep thought.
"Now, let me see…mmm…we can't lift you out with a crane!"
"Agreed, sir! The ground would be unsafe even if we had one!"
"Now, now, let me think, gentlemen! Please!"
He paused for another moment, in slight wonder.
"We can't just pull him out either! That would only damage more of the line! Let's see…"
A workman gasped.
"I know! We can lift them on jacks, and slide the rails underneath his wheels!"
"That way, Percy can lift them back onto the rails!" another insisted.
The foreman chuckled.
"Excellent idea, gents!"
Sir Topham Hatt nearly fell back in surprise, before regaining composure.
"Oh, erm, yes… if I should agree so myself!"
Thomas raised an eyebrow, doubtfully.
"How long will that take?"
The foreman shrugged.
"Who knows? Two hours, maybe three?"
Thomas groaned, as the men got to work at readying the jacks into place.
The workmen carefully placed the jacks at both corners of the length of tilted rails, placing them underneath Thomas' wheels.
Thomas watched with concern as the work was being done.
Then, with strong cable fastened, Percy pulled harder and harder at Thomas' coupling. Then…
Percy gasped, looking over at what he saw under the track.
"Rabbits!"
"I know!" Thomas exclaimed in agreement, watching the critters run out from underneath their burrow.
"What are they doing?"
Thomas chuckled slightly.
"I have no idea! Probably looking for a new place to burrow under! Hopefully it won't be a set of tracks!"
Percy laughed.
Soon enough, all three sets of Thomas' wheels were placed back onto the rails and the men unhitched the cable, before Percy was coupled properly to Thomas.
"Well done, Percy! Well done, gentlemen!" Sir Topham Hatt exclaimed. "Stellar performance!"
He paused, impressively.
"Now, what I have decided is that the The line shall be closed until the stretch of track is repaired! I shall settle for other arrangements while this decision is put into effect!"
He turned towards Thomas, who gulped.
"As for you, Thomas, I cannot stress enough the seriousness of the extra confusion and delay that you have caused! You shall confine to maintenance duty until your line is fixed!"
"Yes, sir," Thomas murmured.
Percy whistled as he got going with Thomas and the coaches.
"Come along, Thomas! Let's get you home!"
Thomas eyed his best friend sorrowfully.
"I'm sorry, Percy!" he began. "Thank you for saving me!"
"That's alright, Thomas! I'm just glad you're alright!"
Thomas went slightly red in the face.
"And, ermmm, I'm sorry for teasing you about the rabbits in your firebox!"
Percy chuckled.
"No worries! Few days from now and we'll be laughing all about those rabbits!"
"Rabbits…" Thomas reminisced.
"Rabbits!"
Thomas chuckled slightly.
"That's right, Percy!"
"Thomas, look!"
Thomas gasped.
The two best friends looked over to see a group of rabbits running beside the line!
"What do you suppose they're doing?" Percy wondered.
"I don't know!" Thomas replied. "Probably looking for new places to burrow under!"
"Awwww! Look how cute they all are!"
The rabbit group stopped and looked over at the two engines.
"Look, Thomas! They're looking right at us!"
Thomas laughed, and they watched as the rabbits continued along their trail.
Over the next few days, Thomas performed maintenance duty along his Branch Line while it was being repaired. He would bring workmen all around the line to make sure the track was in fine working order! Bertie and Bulgy looked after his passengers as well as their own.
"Tough luck! One in the headlamp for the rails!" Bulgy remarked, as he passed him at the stretch before Dryaw.
Thomas smiled and looked the other way, ignoring him. At that moment, he heard another familiar horn and groaned.
"Bertie…" he thought to himself.
He watched as the bus tore into sight and stopped before him.
"Hi, Thomas!" he greeted. "I'm sorry if I got you into trouble about the accident!"
"That's all right, Bertie! I should have known better! At least I've learnt my lesson by doing maintenance for a week while my line is being repaired!"
Bertie chuckled.
"Yes…well, I guess some of that's on my part for teasing you about the rabbits! It was a serious matter after all and carrying extra passengers along the road should make me think about that matter.
Thomas smiled over at his friend, who beamed back at him.
At last, the line was repaired and reopened; Thomas was very excited as he arrived at Knapford to fetch Annie and Clarabel!
He whistled loudly to Percy and Toby.
"The line's open again, you two!"
"Phew!" Percy sighed. "It's nice to be back at it again!"
"Henrietta and I would sure enjoy it!" Toby agreed.
"I must say, though," Percy admitted. "The Fat Controller did keep us pretty busy while the line was closed!"
Thomas chuckled.
"Me too!" he added wittily.
He paused for a moment, then sighed.
"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you two about that stretch of line! I think that if I had more patience with the line being repaired, I wouldn't have made the problem bigger than it already was!"
"That's alright, Thomas!" Toby soothed.
"It's just a good thing the line's repaired now and things are back in order!" Percy chimed in.
"The Fat Controller says that he's installed an electric fence around the tracks to prevent the rabbits safely from burrowing under the line!" Toby informed the pair.
Thomas laughed.
"Well, that should keep them at bay!" he guessed.
"At least we'll get to see them more in plain sight now!" Percy added.
Thomas whistled as he made his way towards the carriage shed.
"Yes…" he agreed, as he backed down towards his coaches.
Annie gasped as she opened a sleepy eye.
"Wake up, Clarabel! Thomas is back!"
"Thomas? Hooray! You're back, Thomas!"
Thomas smiled as he was hitched up to his coaches.
"It's good to be back, you two!" he admitted, as he pulled them along. "And ready to return right to schedule!"
"Now, be careful, Thomas!" Annie warned, as they arrived at the platform.
"You don't want to get into any more trouble than you did while the line was being repaired!" Clarabel added.
Thomas chuckled.
"Don't worry," he assured them, "a few days of maintenance surely taught me a good lesson! I'm just glad that the line is repaired and the rabbits have found new places to live!"
"Oh," Annie marveled, rather impressively, as Thomas got them going on their route.
Clarabel chuckled.
"I, for one, am rather pleased about that!"
"Me too!" Thomas replied. "And besides, it will be nice to see them around more often right beside our line!"
"Look, Thomas!" Percy whistled.
Thomas, caught off-guard, watched as a bunch of rabbits formed into a group and ran beside the line.
"Annie! Clarabel! Rabbits!" he called.
The coaches cooed and marveled impressively as the rabbits stopped visibly to look at them at the field beside the signal at Knapford Junction. Thomas whistled happily to them as he set about on his route.
"Have a nice day, rabbits!" he greeted.
Percy sighed, as he backed up to his goods train and was hitched up.
"It's like they were always there!" he thought, as he took off on his journey.
First RWS adaptation of the Set, I thought I'd get the other story from the 1995 book out of the way (Edward's story being in Set 3) because I have plans for the other two anniversary-themed ones later on down the line. Anyways, it was nice putting Thomas and Percy in the spotlight together and taking expansions upon the original Rabbits! story; the conflict of rabbits burrowing under the line become more of the focus and Thomas' accident was consequential instead coincidental. This is a common thread in Christopher Awdry's stories and I enjoy building it more around the engines having it coming to them with their situations. Plus, Thomas was punished for his actions and Bertie took some ownership too for teasing Thomas about the rabbits, and Bulgy's little side role helps to stir things up a bit to a point where Thomas just ignores him in the end. On the other hand, Percy's role helps to make the rabbits concept more prominent as he actually gets the short end of the stick. Of course, this helps to boost Thomas' ego/overconfidence when he laughs about the matter but no longer does when it becomes a lot worse with the line being repaired. In the end, electric fencing around the line is a safe way to go about it and resolve the issue with the rabbits and prevent them from getting hurt. I hope you all enjoyed this adaptation focusing on the Branch Line crew. Christmas is coming, so I got some winter-themed stuff coming your way. Stay tuned, and as always, be sure to look out for...
Blistering Cold! - as winter arrives, Macy and Merle The Blister Engines don't have much work to do it after the mine closes. However, when Bert's new tubes need to be delivered, it is up to the pair to strive through the cold weather to deliver it to him!
Secret Santa - a Secret Santa is arranged at the RoadWorks for all the vehicles, and George and Cleo are paired up, something the steam roller is not too keen about! He decides to give her a surprise what she thinks will bring about grief, with unexpected results…
Get The Loot! - Diesel 10 instructs Splatter and Dodge with obtaining a load of fireworks for a New Year's Eve celebration at the DieselWorks; however, things don't go as planned when they struggle to find the fireworks and end up sending them to the Town Hall where they're meant to be delivered!
Old Habits Die Easy - Old Spiteful the Brake Van is brought back when there is a shortage of brake vans on Duck's Branch Line. However, he and Douglas are immediately at odds with one another and even more trouble ensues when Douglas is fed up and decides to leave without a brake van…
Swashbuckling Skiff - Skiff enjoys watching other sailboats race by in the water and wishes that he could take part in the regatta just like them, which is unexpectedly granted when high winds pick up!