A/N Anything here that's different from the show's from James A Williams TRS reading video of this story.
Hello, it's me, Thomas again. I've got a few stories to tell, just like my friend James just did. This one's about how I left my conductor behind.
I was very proud of my branch line. I thought it was the most important part of the railway. My two coaches Annie and Clarabell agreed with me. Annie could only take passengers, but Clarabell can take passengers, baggage and the conductor. They were both old and needed new paint, but I loved them very much. I still love my branch line and my coaches today. As we run backwards and forwards along the line, we sing songs to each other, even yet. When I start from the station, I sing "Oh, come along, we're rather late. Oh, come along, we're rather late."
And my coaches sing," We're coming along. We're coming along."
They don't mind what I say to them because they know I'm trying to please Sir Topham Hatt, and know that if I'm cross, I'm not cross with them. One day, we had to wait for Henry's train which made me very cross. I don't like delays.
I said, "How can I run my line properly if Henry is always late? He doesn't realize how much Sir Topham Hatt depends on me." I whistled impatiently. I wanted to leave, but had to wait for Henry's passengers. At last, Henry came.
I said to him crossly, "Where have you been, lazybones?"
Henry said, "Oh dear, my system is out of order. No one understands my case. You don't know what I suffer."
"Rubbish!" I said in reply, due to how angry I was. "You're too fat. You need exercise."
The conductor blew his whistle and I started so quickly I left him behind. But I didn't realize at first until my coaches told me at a signal. Later, I learned the conductor waved his red flag to stop me, but I was already on my way, steaming out of the station. This meant I was unable to see it and Driver didn't look either.
"Come along, come along," I puffed, but Clarabell didn't want to come.
"I've lost my nice conductor. I've lost my nice conductor," she sobbed.
Annie tried to tell me what had happened. "We haven't a conductor, we haven't a conductor!", she said.
But I was hurrying and wouldn't listen. Annie and Clarabell tried to put on their brakes, but they couldn't without the conductor. I found out how they tried to tell me after the fact and how it was for them.
"Where's our conductor? Where's our conductor?" they cried, but I didn't stop till we came to a signal.
"Bother that signal," I said. "What's the matter?"
"I don't know," said Driver. "The conductor will tell us in a minute."
We waited and waited, but the conductor didn't come. I was not happy about that and was soon to know why he didn't show.
"Peep peep peep, where's the conductor?", I whistled.
"We've left him behind," sobbed Annie and Clarabell together. We looked, and there he was running as fast as he could with his flags in one hand and his whistle in the other. He was very hot, so he had a drink, and told us that I had left him behind. I felt terrible for upsetting my coaches and everything.
"I'm very sorry," I said. I wanted the conductor to know I felt bad over what I'd done. Apologizing's part of my culture.
"We all make mistakes," replied the conductor. "Look, the signal's down. We can go. Let's make up for lost time." We all felt better, no more sobbing coaches or me not being happy because the conductor wasn't there to help. He told me what happened and said he tripped over a lady's umbrella.
Annie and Clarabell were so pleased to have their conductor again, that they sang "As fast as you like, as fast as you like!" to me all the way. We reached the end of the line quicker than ever before. I was glad, because my branch line seemed like serious business to me.
A/N In this, Thomas knows what all happened because he was told at the end of the trip by the coaches.