A/N This is The Fat Controller's Engines/Thomas and the Special Letter based.

Hey, it's me, Thomas and I shall tell about when I went to the Mainland with my friends.

One evening, I brought my last train to the junction. Percy was glad to see me. I soon found out why.

"Are you on your way to the big station, Thomas?"

"Yes, I am. Why?"

"Because I'm going there, too."

"I think something's up."

Toby looked up at the sky.

"Where?"

"Not up there, down here." And I laughed over that.

'How can something be up when it's down?"

I was too excited to explain.

"Bust my buffers! Look over there!"

Mavis, BoCo, Bill, Ben, Donald, Oliver and Douglas paraded past with engines from the Other Railway there as well.

"Good evening, you 3. Aren't we all a fine sight?" Douglas saw us Ffarquhar engines.

"Very splendid indeed." That was Toby.

"Sorry, we can't stop. Sir Topham Hatt wants all together us at the station.". Douglas said where they were headed.

"What is this about?" I wondered what was happening.

"Sir Topham Hatt has a plan. Come on."

So, we followed the other engines to the big station at the end of the line. We all whistled.

"Silence! I have an important letter from a little girl who's 5 years old. Dear Thomas and all the engines, Please can I meet you? My friends say they would like to meet you, too. You can come to my house for tea, but my mummy says there aren't any railway tracks to our house. Can you come to the station instead? Thank you very much."

I knew The Thin Clergyman wrote books about us, so I guess the people on the Mainland knew about us. Like the little girl and her friends might have had bedtime stories from his books.

"It seems that there are many boys and girls who would like to meet you. Therefore, we are all going to the Big City faraway."

"Hooray! Hooray!"

"Silence! Other engines are working here while you are away, so please show them what to do."

As Annie and Clarabel were going to the big city, we practiced with some other coaches, my replacement and me. I grew more and more excited. Much too excited for my own good. It almost made me miss the trip, but somehow I was ready in time.

"I'm glad I'm a splendid engine. Sir Topham Hatt thinks I'm Really Useful. I had a race with Bertie once. I whooshed through the tunnel and stopped an inch from the buffers."

Then, I made my mistake.

"Just like this!" But I didn't stop this time, bursting through the buffers, I went down a slope and smashed into a wall, damaging my front.

No one was hurt, but my front was badly bent.

They telephoned Sir Topham Hatt.

"I'll send up the workmen. But if they can't mend Thomas in time, we'll have to go to the Big City without him."

I cried at the Works, with a kind workman wiping away my tears with a cloth. The thought of missing the trip disappointed me dreadfully and I regretted what I did.

I was poor Thomas! 8:00 the next morning, my fellow engines waited at the junction. Toby and Percy were each on a car and Duck had pushed them into place behind Edward. Gordon, James and Henry were waiting to lead off. They whistled impatiently. Sir Topham Hatt looked at his watch.

"I'll wait one more minute for Thomas. Then, we have to go."

"Oh, (pant) thank goodness you're still here. (pant)". I came, panting, to meet them. I was pleased at being mended in time, quite happier than the previous day.

"I hope we're not late. It isn't quite eight." That was my coaches.

The conductor blew his whistle and waved his flag.

"Look out, Big City, here we come!" That was us, on the way to the Mainland, to meet all the people there like that little girl and her friends who knew about us and wanted to meet us.

And the cavalcade puffed away. Later at the Big City, all us engines lined up in a splendid shed. The children were delighted to meet their friends.

"I'm glad the little girl wrote to us. Isn't it wonderful the happiness a letter can bring?". It was rather nice to meet the friends, but as glad as I was to meet them, it was quite boring in the shed where they climbed in us. We had nothing to do but sit there like when we're shut in our sheds here on Sodor, except with company.

A/N I tried to mish-mash book and show a bit.