DEAR FRIENDS,

Do you remember the stories about Thomas and his friends when Hit Entertainment became the owners of their franchise? You may have found most of those stories to be rather different from what came before with many of them not aligning with what we already knew. Believe it or not, many of the stories from this time were changed by the show's writers to be more friendly and educational for children and would continue in this manner for quite some time.

Now, I am happy to share these stories as they truly happened, and I hope they make up for the troublesome years of confusion.

THE AUTHOR

It was winter; a thick blanket of snow lay over the Island of Sodor. All the engines were busy carrying passengers and goods from station to station. They like to be reliable and Really Useful, but sometimes, they need to warn others they are coming. So, steam engines blow their whistles and diesel engines sound their electric horns.

One day, Percy took some trucks to the Quarry. 'Arry and Bert were already there; they were helping Mavis.

Percy whistled 'hullo' to them, but 'Arry and Bert laughed. "Call that a whistle?" chortled Bert. "Just listen to this." And he honked his horn so loudly, it rattled Percy's frames.

"Diesels can do everything better than steamers," 'Arry and Bert sneered.

"My whistle's as good as your horns," puffed Percy crossly. "Just you wait and see."

As Percy went about his work, he practiced loud whistling. With every chance he got, he blew louder…and louder…and louder. At last, he was ready to surprise 'Arry and Bert.

Later, Percy went back to the Quarry. He rolled up behind 'Arry and Bert…took an extra big puff…and blew as loudly as he could. 'Arry and Bert were surprised. "I told you my whistle is as good as your silly old honky horns," laughed Percy.

On his next job, Percy saw Thomas shunting in the sidings. "Hullo, Thomas!" he called and whistled very loudly. Thomas jumped and bashed his trucks. "Oh!" cried Percy, "are you alright, Thomas?"

Thomas was cross. "What was that for?" he sniffed.

"I'm sorry," sighed Percy, "I wasn't thinking." He wanted to say more, but the signal changed, and he had to go. Percy felt bad about what had happened…but he didn't notice a strange rattling on his boiler.

Percy saw Bertie the Bus waiting at a crossing. He tried to whistle, but his small 'peep' turned into a loud 'hiss' followed by a very loud 'clank'.

"I say, Percy," exclaimed Bertie, "are you leaking steam?!"

When Percy and his trucks were clear of the crossing, his Driver examined him. "You've lost your whistle," he said at last. "No wonder after all that whistling you've been doing today." The Driver went back to find the whistle, but it was broken, and he couldn't reattach it. "Now, I will have to go for help," he said crossly. Percy had to stay where he was; he knew it was dangerous for engines to run without whistles.

That evening, the Fat Controller came to see Percy. "Whistles are for safety," he said sternly, "not for playing games. I hear Thomas' trucks were damaged when you made him jump. You must only use your whistle when the time is right."

"I'm sorry, Sir," said Percy sadly.

"Why were you whistling like that?" Thomas asked.

"I trying to show 'Arry and Bert that our whistles are just as good as their horns."

"I shall speak with them tomorrow," said the Fat Controller, "but I expect you to use your whistle properly from now on."

"Yes, Sir," replied Percy.

The next day, Percy was a much quieter engine indeed and he only used his whistle when he had to…but he didn't know he was heading for trouble.

Trever the Traction Engine was taking food to the farm animals; with snow on the ground, they couldn't find any grass to eat. Trevor was turning around when suddenly, he bumped into a pile of logs.

No one noticed one log fall and roll down the hill. Snow stuck to the log…it turned into a snowball…and the snowball got bigger…and bigger. Soon, it fell into a cutting and snow went everywhere, but the snowball had been so big and so heavy that it made the snow in the cutting unsafe.

Percy was enjoying himself. He whistled as he puffed into a tunnel…but as he came out the other side, he gasped and stopped. The snowball had caused an avalanche, and a big snowdrift was blocking the tracks.

Then, Percy heard Thomas. "Oh no!" he cried, "I must warn him!" He took another big puff and started whistling as loudly as he could. It was a special signal that meant 'danger'. "STOP! STOP! LOOK OUT!" Percy shouted.

Thomas heard Percy's whistle. "Percy said he was going to stop whistling like that," he huffed.

"He's not playing games this time!" cried his Driver. "That's a danger signal!" And he applied the brakes hard.

Then, Thomas heard Percy shouting. He slid round the bend…and stopped in front of the snowbank. "Cinders and Ashes!" he gasped, "thank you, Percy."

That evening, the Fat Controller came to the Sheds. "Well done, Percy," he boomed, "you blew your whistle at the right time and saved Thomas from an accident. You are a Really Useful Engine…and a safe one." Percy was so proud, his firebox tingled.

"And he didn't lose his whistle this time," joked the Fireman and everyone laughed.

Percy uses his whistle safely now and all his friends are glad to see him, because now, he knows exactly when to use his whistle, to warn others of danger…or just to say 'hullo'.