Dear Friends,
here is news from Thomas' Branch Line. It is clearly no ordinary line, and life on it is far from dull.
Thomas asks me to say that if you are ever in the Region, you must be sure to visit him and travel on his line. "They will have never seen anything like it," he says proudly.
I know I haven't!
The Author
here is news from Thomas' Branch Line. It is clearly no ordinary line, and life on it is far from dull.
Thomas asks me to say that if you are ever in the Region, you must be sure to visit him and travel on his line. "They will have never seen anything like it," he says proudly.
I know I haven't!
The Author
— Foreword
Tank Engine Thomas Again is the fourth book of The Railway Series published in 1949. It contains these four stories involving Thomas' adventures on his branch line:
- Thomas and the Guard: Henry is late at the junction and Thomas is being impatient. As the guard goes to his van he trips on an umbrella and, by the time he's gotten up, Thomas is long gone. Annie and Clarabel try to convince Thomas to stop, but he pays no attention until they reach a signal. The guard doesn't come to tell them what the matter is, but they soon find out why — he's not on the train! Luckily, he runs up a few minutes later and climbs aboard.
- Thomas Goes Fishing: Thomas often sees people fishing in the river and wants to go fishing too. He gets his chance when he discovers the water tower at Elsbridge is out of order, and Thomas' crew fill him up with river-water. However, Thomas experiences pains, and an Inspector soon discovers some fish in Thomas' tank. They fish them out and have a supper of fish and chips, and the Fat Controller tells Thomas to never fish again. Thomas heartily agrees.
- Thomas, Terence, and the Snow: Thomas meets Terence the tractor and makes fun of his caterpillar tracks. When winter comes, Thomas treats his snowplough awfully and it has to be repaired. They can't fix it in time for his first train, and Thomas, over-confident, recklessly charges at a snowdrift outside the tunnel and sticks there. He can't get out, so a bus takes his passengers home and Terence pulls him, Annie and Clarabel out. Thomas apologizes and returns home.
- Thomas and Bertie: Bertie, the bus from the previous story, teases Thomas about being slow, so they decide to have a race. Thomas gains the lead at a level crossing, but Bertie then gets in front after Thomas has to stop to collect passengers and only stops to rub it in. Thomas gains the lead again after Bertie stops for a traffic light, and although Bertie creeps in front, Thomas, with a burst of speed, rushes into Hackenbeck in style. Bertie congratulates him when he comes in, and the two become friends.
The book contains examples of:
- Acquired Situational Narcissism: Thomas being given his branch line started this.
- Added Alliterative Appeal: "Snow is silly soft stuff! It won't stop me!"
- Big Damn Hero: Terence rescuing Annie, Clarabel, and especially Thomas from the snow, thus gaining Thomas' respect.
- The Big Race: Thomas and Bertie.
- Break the Haughty: Happens to Thomas after he gets stuck in the snow.
- Famed In-Story: Advertisements for the books and news headlines about the engines are seen in the illustrations.
- Fantastic Racism: Thomas towards Terence, at first.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Thomas felt bad for not wanting his snowplough after being stuck in the snow, and even cried about it.
- No Sympathy: Thomas expresses this towards Henry who feels ill, which was the reason for his lateness.
- Racing the Train: "Thomas and Bertie" is more along the lines of a train vs vehicle.
- The Rival: Bertie to Thomas.
- Tears of Remorse: Thomas cries after realizing how foolish he was for going without a snowplough.
- Time Skip: "Thomas and the Guard" takes place in 1925, "Thomas Goes Fishing" takes place in 1931, "Thomas, Terence and the Snow" takes place in the winter of 1947-48, and "Thomas and Bertie" takes place in 1948.
- Very Loosely Based on a True Story:
- "Thomas and the Guard" is based on a real event which occurred at Eastbourne, South East England, UK.
- "Thomas Goes Fishing" is based on a real event which occurred on the GSWR (Glasgow and South Western Railway), when the driver kept fish in the engine's watertank: "To keep the water clean."
- Averted in the case of "Thomas and Bertie", which is based on a game Reverend Awdry made up to entertain his children on a rainy camping trip.
- Wanting Is Better Than Having: What Thomas learns about going fishing.
