Edward was telling Salty, Porter and Rebecca about the time when Thomas came to his Branch Line when a bridge needed repairs. The following day, Thomas hit a lorry when it stalled on a farm crossing and got covered in milk, butter and broken eggs.

"Poor Thomas," murmured Rebecca. "I hope the rest of his visit went much better."

"You could say that," replied Edward, "but it wasn't without its problems." And the old engine continued.

It took a long time to clean Thomas, and Bill and Ben kept on teasing him until Edward told them to stop. "A group of visitors is arriving soon," he said, "but a shan't bring them unless you behave."

The Twins were excited. Visitors always made a fuss over them and took their photographs. "When?" they squeaked.

Edward winked at Thomas. "Next week," he said, "but not if you don't behave." Bill and Ben promised that they would.

Thomas enjoyed keeping the twins in suspense, and they kept urging their Drivers to polish them. "What's the hurry?" they laughed. "The visitors aren't going to eat their breakfasts off you, you know."

"No," Bill whispered, "but they might if we were Thomas." The Twins thought this a huge joke; it was lucky that Edward and Thomas weren't there to hear it.

At last, the day came, and the Drivers and Firemen agreed to give Bill and Ben an extra polish. Meanwhile, at the Vicarage Orchard, Trever the Traction Engine was unwell and feeling depressed.

"Your boiler needs mending," said the Vicar, "but I can't afford it just now." Just then, the telephone rang. The Vicar answered it and came back to Trevor. "You may be a bit under the weather, but you can manage this. A farmer has a tree down and wants you to saw it up for him."

Trevor smiled. The only thing he liked better than sawing logs was giving children rides. When he had steam, he went to the farm and set to work in a field by the railway. Thomas passed with some coaches and whistled cheerfully, then Edward went by with trucks filled with china clay.

Bill and Ben were sparkling when Thomas arrived with the special train. Many of the visitors had notebooks and almost all of them had cameras. The Twins didn't know which way to look, but they loved it.

When Edward passed Trevor again with some empty trucks, the line seemed to wobble under him. "That feels like a loose rail," he thought. "We better tell the workmen."

At Brendam, Edward left the empty trucks and set off back to Suddery Junction with full ones again. Trevor dosed comfortably in the sun. It seemed no time at all before he heard Edward coming back.

Then there was trouble.

One truck sank, jumped and shuttered right where Edward had felt the loose rail. Sparks flew, a wheel jammed and the coupling broke. The last trucks and the Guard's van lurched, bumped and stopped.

The Guard wasn't hurt and blew his whistle, but Edward didn't hear it. Luckily, Trever was closer, and looked back. "Peeep pip peeeep!" he whistled. "Stop, Edward, stop!"

Edward heard that. "It's Trever," he cried. "What's wrong?"

The Driver applied the brakes as the Fireman looked back. "It's not Trevor; it's us!" he cried.

The Fireman went to the farmhouse to telephone for help and the workmen soon cleared the line.

The visitors' visit was almost over when a Shunter came running up. "A ship needs moving before the tide goes down," he said. "Can one of you see to it, please?" Ben left at once and most of the visitors went too to watch.

Only one man stayed. He had a camera that took instant pictures, but soon, even Bill tired of him. "This is it," the man chortled at last. "Just one more. What a picture!"

Just then, Ben's Fireman ran up. "Ben needs help," he said. "The ship's getting stuck, and he can't move it on his own."

"Right, Bill," said his Driver, "we can't wait any longer."

With a hiss and a roar, Bill suddenly vanished in a cloud of steam. At that moment, the photographer's camera flashed and when the steam cleared, Bill was hurrying off. The photographer looked at his instant picture and threw it down in disgust.

Quickly, Bill and Ben were coupled together. "Come on, come on," puffed the engines. The cable tightened and stretched, but at last, the ship slid off the mud with a shudder and glided into deeper water as it was towed by the two engines.

When the Twins got back to the Clay Pits, Bill's Driver found the discarded photograph. All it showed was a cloud of steam with Bill's funnel at the top. He showed it to Bill.

"What a picture!" remarked Bill to no one in particular.

That evening, the Fat Controller came to see Trever. "Thank you, Trevor," he said. "You prevented a nasty situation. I've heard about your boiler, and you are to go to my Works to be mended."

"Oh, Sir," said Trevor. "Thank you."

When the visitors left, Bill and Ben told Edward about their day. "It seems we all had some excitement today," he replied and told them about Trevor.

"It seems all three of you prevented some serious confusion," said the Fat Controller and everyone agreed.