(Scene starts with evening in the harbor. A big ship stands near the dock and shipments of fish are unloaded on the key)
Tidmouth Harbor is very busy around wintertime, especially when big ships arrive to drop off important goods. This way, the engines can take them around the Island to their destinations and beyond. One evening, Sir Topham Hatt got a call from the mainland controller.
(Scene cuts to Sir Topham Hatt's office. The telephone rings and he picks it up)
Topham: Hello? (chattering over the phone) Oh…okay. Hmm, I see. (thinking hard)
(Scene zooms in on Sir Topham Hatt before cutting to the Knapford Station platform where he talks to Henry's crew)
The mainland were expecting an occasional delivery of fish from that moment on, and Sir Topham Hatt needed an engine to deliver it. He spoke to Henry's crew and made negotiations.
(Scene cuts to Tidmouth Sheds as Henry chuffs into his berth)
That same evening, when Henry returned to the sheds, his driver spoke to him.
Driver: We need to be out early tomorrow, Henry.
Henry: Why so, sir?
Driver: We need a special train of fish from Tidmouth Harbor to the mainland. Don't tell Gordon, but Sir Topham Hatt says that if you do your job well, he might let you pull the express.
Henry: Hurrah! That will be lovely! (whistling loudly)
(Gordon and James groan)
James: (groaning) Keep it down, Henry!
Gordon: (yawning) Some engines are trying to sleep.
(Henry sighs happily and chuffs father into his berth as his crew shut the door on him. He then yawns and shuts his eyes)
And so Henry went happily to sleep, dreaming of a hard morning's work ahead of him.
(Scene cuts to early morning at Tidmouth Harbor. Henry chuffs in by the quayside)
The next morning, Henry arrived at the harbor by 5 AM. The shipments of fish had already arrived and were loaded into vans. Henry had never seen these sorts of vans before.
Henry: Um, excuse me, driver. These vans look very peculiar. Are they new or something?
Driver: (chuckles) Heavens, no, Henry. They just haven't been used for a long time, that's all.
Henry: (confused) Why?
Driver: (thinking) Well, you see, Henry, they were used back in the old days by the "Coffee Pot" engines to take shipments from port over the mainland. Now that we have new shipments of fish to deliver, they're back in use again and the men call it "The Flying Kipper."
Henry: (surprised) The Flying Kipper? What a nice name for a train. (jokingly) Maybe Thomas might like it, judging his experience with fish. (chuckles)
(The men chuckle and so do Henry's crew as they hop inside his cab)
It wasn't long before the men had finished loading up the vans with fish. The last door banged, the guard's whistle blew and Henry was ready to go.
Henry: (whistling) Hurrah, we're off! The Flying Kipper is ready to go!
(A rendition of Night Train, performed by Sam Blewitt, starts in D major as Henry leaves Tidmouth Harbor and chuffs on through the countryside)
See how the dark sky glows,
See the light from the night train,
The fire glow from the night train.
On down the line he blows...
(Henry's whistle blows)
On down the line he blows.
(Henry makes his first station delivery and then continues on through the countryside)
All through till dawn he goes.
Hear the sound of the night train,
The chugga-chug-chugg of the night train.
Hear how his whistle blows...
(Henry's whistle blows)
Hear how his whistle blows.
(After his second delivery, Henry pulls the cars slowly once more out of the station)
Henry: (groans) I hope I have enough coal left in me, sir.
Fireman: Don't worry, Henry. We'll have your fire stoked up in no time.
(Song changes into A#/Bb major)
Pulling, heaving, big engine breathing.
Pistons pushing side by side.
(Back in D major. Henry's crew at work inside his cab)
Driver checking, gauging, peering,
Fireman stoking by his side.
(Henry's fire burns nicely. Song changes into B major)
On down the line they go.
Fast track for the freight train,
Clear away for the fish train.
Non-stop till dawn they go...
(Henry's whistle blows)
Non-stop till daylight glows.
(Back in D major. Henry passes under a bridge)
See how the morning glows.
Clear ahead for the night train,
Green light for the night train.
On down the track he blows...
(Henry's whistle blows)
On down the track he blows.
(Song changes into A#/Bb major. Lights from house windows all around light up. Children cheer as they run out and wave at Henry as he whistles back at them)
Dawn is breaking, sleepy town waking.
Children waving, watch him go.
(Back in D major. At a level crossing, Percy with the milk train and James with a freight train stop as Henry passes by and they whistle at each other. Bertie stops at the intersection and honks as Henry chuffs by)
Freight trains, milk trains,
Local trains waiting,
Stand aside to let him go.
(Back in B major. Henry makes his next station delivery before leaving the platform. He then continues on through the countryside)
There in the morning glow
The sunlight on the night train,
Silhouettes the night train.
On down the line he blows...
(Henry's whistle blows)
There in the morning glow…
On down the line he goes…
On down the line he blows…
(Henry's whistles blows)
(The song ends as Henry approaches a signal. A rendition of Henry's theme, by Robert Hartshorne, plays)
As daylight broke over the tracks, Henry and his crew approached a down signal at green.
Henry: (whistles) Distant signal up, sir.
Henry's Driver: All clear, Henry. Away we go.
But what Henry and his crew couldn't know was that the points on the main line were frozen, so the signal should was set at DANGER! and should have been up…instead of down.
(Edward whistles and stops by the signal)
Edward arrived with some workmen, who had brought tools to repair the signal. They got to work straight away, but Edward was deeply concerned.
Edward: (to his driver) Should have Henry have passed by now with the Flying Kipper, sir?
Edward's Driver: Hmm, good point, Edward. While the workmen are fixing the signal, I must go and find out the nearest signal and sort out this confusion. (walks off, leaving Edward with a concerned expression on his face)
Edward's driver spoke to the signalman, who had nothing but regret.
Signalman: I didn't realize until too late that Henry was approaching. I'm sorry. We must telephone Sir Topham Hatt at once.
(Edward's driver nods in agreement)
Meanwhile, James was waiting impatiently in a siding with a goods train to let the Flying Kipper pass. The driver and fireman were having cocoa in the brake van, while the guard kept on watch.
James: (groans) Oh, dear. Of all engines, why was it me who had to wait for Henry to pass with his good trains? The sooner he comes through, the sooner I can get this job over with and pull passengers again.
In the caboose, the guard checked his watch.
Guard: Alright, you two. The Kipper is due any time now.
James' Fireman: (sighing, relaxed) Who cares? This is good cocoa. Thanks for inviting us in here, guard.
(The guard sighs. The driver rises up and sets his cup down)
James' Driver: (firmly) Come on, fireman. Back to our engine.
James' Fireman: Oi! I'm not finished yet.
(The guard looks at him sternly. The fireman sighs and rises up, setting his cup down. Next scene cuts to Henry racing along the line, his theme changing in a minor key)
Henry thought that all was going well…but disaster lay ahead.
James: Watch out, Henry!
(Henry gasps. His driver applies the brakes, but it doesn't stop him in time)
CRASH!
The brake van SMASHED to smithereens! The three men flew into the air and landed right back into the snow.
(James gives a look of horror at the accident)
Henry's driver and fireman had also jumped clear before the crash, but Henry lay dazed and surprised.
(Next scene cuts to James returning with Jerome and Judy)
After returning his goods train to the station, James brought the two cranes Jerome and Judy to the scene of destruction and they both worked to clear the mess and haul Henry back on the rails. Sir Topham Hatt had come along as well. He spoke to Henry's crew, and then turned to the big green engine.
Henry: (uneasily) I'm so sorry, sir. The signal was down and…
Topham: (putting his hand forward, kindly) Cheer up, Henry. There's nothing to explain. It wasn't your fault. Ice and snow caused the accident and brought the signal down. That's why I alerted James' crew to wait with his train in the siding until you came along.
James: (sadly) Unfortunately, we couldn't warn you in time, Henry.
Henry: (smiling) It was all an accident. Not your fault, James.
Topham: (chuckling) No, not at all. I'm sending you to Crewe, Henry.
Henry: (puzzled) Where, sir?
Topham: Crewe. A fine place for sick engines. They'll give a new shape and a larger firebox.
Henry: But, sir…
Topham: Don't stress just yet, Henry. I promise you'll feel a different engine and you won't need special coal anymore. Won't that be nice?
Henry: (sighs, doubtfully) Yes, sir.
But Henry felt nervous deep down.
(Scene cuts to Crewe with the workmen repairing Henry)
Over the next few weeks, Henry was at Crewe and the workmen worked hard to fix him up into a new shape. In no time at all, he was as good as new.
(Next scene cuts to spring. Henry chuffs back along the track once more)
By the snow melted and winter had turned to spring, Henry was back on Sodor once again. A whole crowd watched to see him go by in his new shape. He looked so splendid that they gave him three cheers.
(Henry passes by a station as the crowd cheers on him and the engines whistle loudly as he chuffs by)
Henry felt good to be home, and Sir Topham Hatt even agreed to let him pull the express.
(Sir Topham Hatt gaves a nod of agreement and beams a smile. Henry leaves the station with the express)
Henry does the job so well, that unfortunately, proud Gordon was jealous.
(Scene cuts to Tidmouth Sheds with Thomas, James, Gordon, Henry and Percy lined up, transitioning into the next chapter)