Thomas & Friends Season 12 Reimagined

James Works It Out

A blizzard had hit The Island of Sodor. Billy had been involved in an accident because of the icy rails so James now had to do his job of taking coal to Great Waterton. His trucks were being difficult.

Stanley, who was also shunting in the yard, puffed, "A trick I learned for keeping them in order is to only shunt two at a time."

James did what Stanley said.

"And remember to show them who's boss," added Stanley, "you've got to keep them under control."

James heeded this advice. When his train was almost ready, the yard manager approached.

"Great Waterton needs a very large amount of coal delivered," said the yard manager, "so you'll need to take Hector with you."

As Hector was being shunted into place, he said, "This weather is looking very bad. Maybe we should ask the yard manager if he knows what tracks are clear."

James didn't like being told what to do by a truck so he told Hector, "I can find my way just fine. Know your place!"

Once his snowplough had been fitted and he was coupled to his train, James steamed out of the yard. The wind moaned and snowflakes fell in his face.

"What we'll do," puffed James, "is take a shortcut. There are plenty of old tracks leading into Great Waterton and I know the quickest ones!"

"I don't think that's a good idea," said Hector.

"Why not?" fumed James.

Hector was taken aback by James' attitude. He was losing patience.

"Don't talk to me like that!" he said, "If we take a shortcut, we'll likely run into a snowdrift that nobody has cleared yet! It makes perfect sense to me!"

James bumped Hector and told him to pipe down but Hector was having none of it. He bumped James back.

"If you don't do as I say, there'll be trouble," the big truck boomed, "And if you're late, you will get the blame and you will be punished!"

"I'm not scared of you," James said dismissively.

Hearing this, Hector was now worried he'd made a mistake. He decided to keep quiet.

However, James didn't realise his mistake. The trucks were angry with him for bumping them.

"I have an idea," whispered one to the others, "let's bump him back at the right moment."

The other trucks giggled and chattered amongst themselves.

"Quiet back there!" boomed Hector.

The other trucks fell silent. James appreciated the silence but he didn't appreciate Hector trying to scare everyone. He wasn't going to say 'thank you' for that.

As he carried on along the line, James made every effort not to acknowledge the big truck at all. Hector eventually felt a little better and started to talk again, asking casual questions and sharing his ideas in the gentlest way he could. Nonetheless, James thought the big truck was bossy and that he was telling him he was silly. He refused to give any responses.

Soon, James was hauling his train up a steep hill. The rails were slippery and bumpy. It was difficult, uncomfortable work.

When he finally reached the top, the trucks saw their chance.

"On! On!" they chanted, pushing James down the other side of the hill.

James and Hector looked down towards the bottom of the hill and were horrified to see a massive snowdrift on the track! James' driver applied the brakes but it was no use. James' wheels slid down the icy track too quickly and the trucks were pushing too hard. James braced himself for impact.

Snow was blasted in all directions as the train crashed straight through it. As the ground became less sloped, James finally began to slow down. With a little help from Hector, he came to a complete stop.

"Wow," huffed James.

"Wow," echoed Hector.

James' driver and fireman looked back. Miraculously, all the trucks were still on the rails and all of them had gotten through the snowdrift.

"In a weird way," said James' fireman, "the trucks have actually helped us. We wouldn't have gotten through that snowdrift going any slower."

James was surprised. 'Helpful' was the last thing he expected a truck to be.

As he set off once more, he thought about how Hector had been telling him what to do. Maybe the big truck had only been trying to help him get through the bad weather safely?

'Maybe trucks aren't all bad,' he thought. He then thought about how Hector had tried to scare him into doing what he wanted. That, he couldn't forgive.

James made a decision. If he apologised for what he did wrong, at least he could say he had done the right thing. He spoke to Hector.

"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you, Hector. You were right. It was silly not to stick to tracks I knew would be safe."

Hector smiled and said, "That's alright, James. And I'm sorry I got angry earlier."

"I understand why you did," wheeshed James, feeling more foolish than ever. He thought for a moment and then said to the rest of the trucks, "Thank you all for helping me through the snowdrift."

The trucks gave an awkward 'you're welcome' and Hector did his best to contain his laughter.

At the next junction, they all met Thomas. He was clearing the tracks of snow and grumbling all the while but he was happy to see James and Hector.

"Thomas," said Hector. James knew it was best to let Hector keep talking. "We're having trouble finding a safe way through the snow to Great Waterton. Can you tell us which tracks are safest?"

"I'll show you!" peeped Thomas.

As Thomas led the way to Great Waterton, James and Hector started to tell him what had happened.

"Did Stanley's advice work?" Thomas asked when James told him about shunting his trucks into place.

"Well..." said James before trailing off.

"Yes. Very well," said Hector, trying to save James from embarrassment.

"Well, yes," said James, "but that wasn't the only problem."

As they all travelled the rest of the way, James told Thomas about his mistake. He was deeply embarrassed the entire time.

When they all finally reached Great Waterton, Stanley was there.

"Well, now you can tell Stanley how his advice saved you from running into any trouble," Thomas puffed cheekily.

James was cross but he knew he deserved it.

"Did you manage to stay in control?" asked Stanley quietly.

"Yes," said James with a smile, "but not without help. I've still got a lot to learn before I can be a good leader."

"I think you're well on your way, James," said Hector. The big truck now had a lot of respect for the splendid red engine.

"I hope so," sighed James, "but until then, you'll have to boss the trucks about."

They both burst out laughing. Then, Hector fell silent for a moment.

"I think bossing everyone about is something I need to learn not to do, really," he said at last.

Now, it was James' turn to respect Hector. As for Stanley, he just didn't understand a word of what was being said.