Harold McGrady and the magic railroad

by Jason Southworth

Since the day he was born, Harold always felt that his life was horrible. Things begin to look up however, when he meets a small Scottish man on the beach. He is then led to a magical island with talking trains, where he meets his father for the first time. While there, Harold and his family are trying to solve a mystery about a missing steam engine.

2. Chapter 2

Far away from them, is the island that Mr C Junior was talking about. The island of Sodor does indeed have talking machines, with most of them being locomotives. They work on a railway called the North Western railway, under the orders of a man named Sir Topham Hatt. More commonly known, as The Fat Controller. One of the engine's names is Gordon. He's a big blue tender engine, and while he is a kind engine, he is know for being pompous. He was currently sitting at platform 1, at Knapford station. "Five, six, seven, eight" he counted out loud. A little blue tank engine puffed up, and buffered Gordon's coaches up to him. This engine, was Thomas. "I see that you are practicing you numbers, that's a good engine" said Thomas. "Are you insinuating I don't know how to count?" asked Gordon. "I'm counting how many seconds late you are you twit." "You're seriously concerned about me being eight seconds late with your coaches?" asked Thomas as he pulled up alongside Gordon. "Thomas, do you know what that sign says?" asked Gordon. Thomas began to read it. "North Western railway, really reliable and right on time." "Signed, head of the railway, Sir Topham Hatt." "Do you see the point i'm making?" asked Gordon. "You were not on time." "And what makes you so sure I wasn't delayed by something that was out of my control?" asked Thomas. "The sign also says, sorry for delays during repairs, we are making this, a better railway." "Now if you don't mind, I need to meet Mr Conductor." "He's looking after us, while The Fat Controller is on holiday in the states." "I'm fairly certain we can take care of ourselves" said Gordon. A large diesel then ran right through the station. "OUT OF MY WAY YOU FOOLS!" he shouted. "I HAVE UNFINISHED BUSINESS, AND I WANNA FINISH IT FAST!" "Oh no, not Diesel 10, I can't believe The Fat Controller gave him a second chance" said Gordon. "10 out of 10, for devious deeds, and brutal strength" said Thomas. "Not to mention, he thinks steam engines are outdated and useless." "On second thought, maybe having mister conductor here won't be such a bad idea" said Gordon.

The Mr Conductor the engines are referring to, is not the one we met on the beach. The one they are referring to, is his cousin, who lives in the walls of a train station in the town of Shining time. This station is a part of the Indian valley railroad, a railroad notorious for continuing to use steam engines for main use, long after the events of dieselisation. Despite having a lot of people, Shining Time is a peaceful town, where everyone seems to get along. Mr Conductor often helps out around the town, and he also likes to teach children life lessons.

Every now and then

There appears a sign

That points just round the bend

To a place you'll find

Covered in clover

The magic comes over you

Showing up right on time

This is your shining time

Climbing through stars to your own cloud nine!

Soft strokes of lightning

Paint the skies brightening

Up all your shining time

Shining time is relatively close to a massive hill, called Muffle Mountain. At the foot of the mountain in a little cottage, is a man named Burnett Stone. He's a nice man, but he never smiles. Ever since the death of his wife Tasha, like Harold, he had lost all hope in life.

A few hours away in the big city, was Burnett Stone's 11 year old Granddaughter Lily. Lily is a lot more optimistic than other people, and tends to pick up on minor details other people don't notice, like how lovely the reflections of light look on a rainy day. She was currently in her apartment where she lived with her mom and dad, packing her suitcase. She was currently on the phone with her dad. "So when do you think you'll be back?" she asked. "No I understand, someone needs to feed this family." "Okay, bye dad." She then looked at her mother. "Mom, don't get me wrong, I love Grandpa, but i'm not looking forward to seeing him." "Ever since Grandma Tasha died, he just hasn't been the same, and I don't like it when he's sad." "I know I have to because you're having a baby, but I would much rather stay home." "Well maybe, your visit will cheer him up" said her mother. "You have a present for him, right?" "Yeah, i'm currently making him a friendship bracelet" said Lily. "I know what would make him happier, seeing you happy" said her mother. "I really hope you're right" said Lily. She then picked up a stuffed toy bird. "Yes bluebird, of course i'll take you with me to Muffle mountain."

Authors note: A lot of people tend to be confused about the relationship between Mr Conductor and Junior. If they are cousins, why is Junior's full name Mr Conductor Junior? I would agree with this issue, if they had the same first name. It's clearly established that Conductor is their last name. So no, they are not father and son, they are blood cousins.

A lot of people also criticize Peter Fonda's portrayal as Burnett Stone, claiming that he's too damn depressed throughout the majority of the movie. I think his performance is actually perfect, some people that lose loved ones, tend to dwell on it for a long time.

What many people consider to be one of the biggest flaws of the movie, is how Thomas' name is in the title, despite him barely being in the movie. To that I say, just because the character's name is in the title, it does not automatically make them the protagonist. Another example of this being done in fiction, is Willy Wonka and the chocolate factory. I don't see anyone complaining about Willy Wonka not being the main character. I see the same thing with Mario not being the protagonist in Super Paper Mario.

Thank you for reading and please have a great day.