Thomas and Victoria is the 41st book of The Railway Series, written by Christopher Awdry. It was published on September 3rd, 2007, marking it the first Railway series book to be written in 11 years. Thomas finds an old carriage named Victoria and she is repaired in order to assist Toby and Henrietta.
- Overloaded: Bertie is ill and Henrietta has to carry the workmen to the quarry all by herself, but there is not enough room and some have to crowd on Henrietta's balcony. A policeman sees the event while cycling past, and the next day pays a visit to the quarry manager to inform him of a by-law forbidding passengers to be carried on coaches' balconies. Both the manager and the Fat Controller have no ideas, but a few days later Thomas' driver sees an old coach in a garden near Elsbridge. Thomas has an idea, and shares it with the Fat Controller...
- Avalanche: Edward is at the works when he sees a familiar-looking coach. After a conversation, the two discover they know each other from their days on the Furness Railway. Victoria, the coach, worked on a branch line running to Windermere with another coach, Helena, and an engine, Albert, who Victoria notes only ever had one accident. One snowy day after boasting about snow, Albert had stopped outside the mouth of a tunnel while collecting passengers at Haverthwaite. When he started, he gave off so much steam that he caused an avalanche so great he became buried in snow and, although he was rescued the next day, he never bragged about snow again.
- Eels on Wheels: As summer arrives Daisy often sees grass snakes near the line. When she tells the engines about them Percy is worried, but Daisy simply thinks him silly. Then, some days later Daisy has to take some boxes up to Ffarquhar for a restaurant. One is knocked onto the platform and the cargo - live eels - is spilt onto the rails; to Daisy's horror, some wriggle underneath her wheels. The eels are rescued, but Daisy has blown a fuse and Thomas has to take her passengers while Toby and Percy make jokes about wriggly things.
- Toby's Vintage Train: Victoria's restoration is completed and Edward takes her to Knapford, where she is coupled up to Annie and Clarabel. At Elsbridge, they are told Terence is in some trouble and go to see what the matter is. Terence, who had been building a barn, had to swerve for a boulder near the tunnel and his trailer fell down the cutting, balancing dangerously upon a tree. The trailer is secured and Thomas makes it to Ffarquhar, where Victoria is coupled to Toby and Henrietta, making a train now known as Toby's Vintage Train.
This book contains examples of:
- The Alleged Coach: Thomas' driver describes Victoria as having no wheels and a roof that leaks like a sieve, therefore unsuitable for restoration to railway use. But restored she is.
- Imagine Spot: Daisy imagines garden snakes and insects as being several times larger than they are in "Eels on Wheels".
- Later-Installment Weirdness: Henrietta suddenly gains a face in this novel, which can be quite jarring to those who are used to seeing her without one in the previous novels or the TV show prior. The TV show would later follow suit and give her a face as well starting with its 18th season.
- Old Friend: Edward and Victoria faintly remember each other from their days working on the Furness Railway on the mainland.
- Out of Focus: Despite being in the title, Thomas only speaks once.
- Still Wearing the Old Colors: Victoria is restored in Furness Railway blue and white.
- Whole Episode Flashback: Victoria's story in "Avalanche" takes place sometime between 1891 and 1924.
