Special thanks to Thomas the Tank Engine Wikia for the images
36. Thomas Comes Home.
Written by: Christopher Awdry.
Illustrated by: Clive Spong.
Published: 15 June 1992.
Illustrated by: Clive Spong.
Published: 15 June 1992.
Now that we've seen Thomas at the National Railway Museum, let's see what's happened on Sodor while he was there.
Foreword:
Dear Friends,
Daisy was most upset when she heard that people were saying there were no female engines on the Fat Controller's Railway.
"You must do something about it" she told me indignantly. "There's me and Mavis, and I was in charge while Thomas was away at that Great Railway Show, wasn't I?"
Well she wasn't really, but would you dare tell her? These stories are about what happened before Thomas came home.
The Author
Snow Problem.
A snowfall on the Other Railway delays the diesel connecting with the Express, making Gordon late at Knapford. While Daisy waits for him, the blizzard blows over Sodor, covering everything in a blanket of white snow. Daisy is unconcerned and sets off, but the snowdrifts are too much for Daisy and she has to go back. Unluckily, the snow blocks her air-intake and Harold has to take her passengers to Dryaw, but he cannot do anything for Daisy. She is left stranded for a week until the snow melts enough to allow her to be rescued, and by that point Daisy has a very different opinion about snow.
The one thing I find strange about this story is the illustrations. Why aren't Daisy the Diesel Railcar and Gordon the Big Engine wearing snowploughs? 'eck even Seasons 8-16 knew to put snowploughs on engines whenever there was heavy snow. It was heroic of Harold to help Daisy's passengers, but the snowplough flaw lets this story down.
My rating: 7.5/10.
Washout!
After the snow melts, the water level in a stream near Hackenbeck rises to dangerous levels, and Percy is worried. Toby brings news that the water level is dropping, to Percy's relief. Later, Henry jokes Thomas may actually be kept at the National Railway Museum, and Annie and Clarabel are so upset Percy is late after soothing them; matters are not helped when he has to take on water at Elsbridge. Percy is later crossing the bridge when he hears an ominous creaking, and no sooner has he crossed it than it is swept away. The line is closed while the bridge is mended, and although things are back to normal after its rebuilding, Percy has always been careful while crossing it.
I'm going to say that I would've preferred it if this story was adapted instead of Toby and the Flood being made an episode. That episode just showed Toby stopping on a breaking bridge, causing it to break away with him, but here, Percy proves himself to be caring for Annie and Clarabel, and it shows how devoted to Thomas they are. And Percy sure was brave to cross the bridge over a flooding stream.
My rating: 10/10.
Toby's Megatrain.
Toby does the shunting at Knapford Harbour while Percy takes Annie and Clarabel. There are many trucks, and Toby is worried he may run out of water at some stage. One morning Mavis is unwell and is late to deliver her trucks, and so Toby eventually racks up a load of forty-eight trucks. Toby, forgetting his small tank and the uphill journey, decides to pull all forty-eight trucks at once, and at Elsbridge he discovers the watertower is empty. Toby's driver says they will have to go fishing like Thomas, but he is only joking and Toby goes to Ffarquhar to take on water, then runs back to take the trucks.
Interesting that Toby the Tram Engine has given it his all to pull 48 trucks, but I think it would've been wiser if, in Double Header, the works had given him a larger water tank so he could hold more water. And also, is it just me or does Toby the Tram Engine have 2 faces? But I did like the Thomas Goes Fishing reference here.
My rating: 8.5/10.
Thomas Comes Home.
George is doing repairs on a road near the railway, and threatens Daisy to flatten her rails. The engines aren't sure whether to call his bluff, but all thoughts of George are expelled when they hear Thomas is returning in a week. On the great day, Daisy sets off with a special train, but at the crossing a traffic cone is blown under her wheels by the wind, jamming her brakes. A fitter works swiftly to repair the damage, and Daisy arrives just in time to see Thomas puff proudly in.
A nice way to end the story by bringing Thomas home. But there's one problem with this story. Was George ever found out for leaving the traffic cone on the track? But even so, it made sense to describe George again after 30 years since his first appearance.
My rating: 9/10.
Stray observations:
Toby's Megatrain is based on a real event that happened on the Wisbech and Upwell Tramway when an LNER J70 tram pulled 48 trucks of 400 tons of fruit and filled up with water at Wisbech. Toby's Strawberry Special was adapted before this.
Daisy complaining about the lack of female engines in the foreword references the soccermums complaining about how few female engines there were at the time and how the franchise is criticised for sexism.
Final thoughts:
This was overall a nice book, showing what happened while Thomas was gone, but the strange thing about this title is that Thomas doesn't come home until the final story, but I digress.
My rating: 8.5/10.
RWS Scorecard:
1. The 3 Railway Engines: 9/10.
2. Thomas the Tank Engine: 9.5/10.
3. James the Red Engine: 8/10.
4. Tank Engine Thomas Again: 9.9/10.
5. Troublesome Engines: 9.1/10.
6. Henry the Green Engine: 9.2/10.
7. Toby the Tram Engine: 9.2/10.
8. Gordon the Big Engine: 9.2/10.
9. Edward the Blue Engine: 9.3/10.
10. 4 Little Engines: 9.5/10.
11. Percy the Small Engine: 9.7/10.
12. The 8 Famous Engines: 9.5/10.
13. Duck and the Diesel Engine: 9.2/10.
14. The Little Old Engine: 9.6/10.
15. The Twin Engines: 9.3/10.
16. Branch Line Engines: 9.6/10.
17. Gallant Old Engine: 9.5/10.
18. Stepney the Bluebell Engine: 9/10.
19. Mountain Engines: 9.3/10.
20. Very Old Engines: 9.1/10.
21. Main Line Engines: 9.3/10.
22. Small Railway Engines: 9.8/10.
23. Enterprising Engines: 9.9/10.
24. Oliver the Western Engine: 9.3/10.
25. Duke the Lost Engine: 9.8/10.
26. Tramway Engines: 9.8/10.
27. Really Useful Engines: 9.2/10.
28. James and the Diesel Engines: 7.8/10.
29. Great Little Engines: 8.9/10.
30. More About Thomas the Tank Engine: 8.8/10.
31. Gordon the High-Speed Engine: 9.1/10.
32. Toby, Trucks and Trouble: 9.1/10.
33. Thomas and the Twins: 9.4/10.
34. Jock the New Engine: 8.3/10.
35. Thomas and the Great Railway Show: 8.5/10.
36. Thomas Comes Home: 8.5/10.
40. New Little Engine: 5.7/10.
RWS rating so far: 9/10.
No comments:
Post a Comment