Thomas and the Great War

A Child Gone Missing

Christopher had an unpleasant night; he had recently found out that his father had been to the Island of Sodor twenty eight years ago and the war was pushing their once close relationship further and further away from him. By 4:50 a.m., the other engines were still dozing except for Henry, whose driver and firemen were discussing about a special train that takes crates of fish to other places far away called "The Flying Kipper". Christopher who was awake, overhead their conversation and immediately went to the conclusion that the Flying Kipper would take him home, or least somewhere along the way.

Henry was reluctant to take the train. The first time he pulled the Flying Kipper resulted in a major collision with the brake van of a goods train caused by ice and snow and the damage done to him was so critical that he had to be repaired at Crewe Locomotive Works, to which the Fat Director called "a fine place for sick engines" (the cost of Welsh coal was too expensive). But now since it was springtime, Henry was confident that he could pull the train without a single mishap.

He started off just as Christopher was dressed in his shirt, blazer, socks and shoes and quietly followed Henry with his sack in one hand over his shoulder. He turned back to see Thomas who was still asleep and whispered. "Goodbye, Thomas."

Christopher ran after Henry at a distance, following him all the way to Tidmouth Harbour, which was much larger and more industrial than the one he had landed in. There were passenger and cargo ships docked in the bay and a fishing boat called the S.S. Kathryn loading the vans with crates of fish needed for the Flying Kipper. While Henry found a turntable so that he could pull the train head on, Christopher tried to sneak into one of the vans without being noticed by any of the men loading the train. He creeped under the undercarriages of the vans until he came to the end of the train, and without anyone noticing, slipped into the van connected to the break van just as the door closed on him. One of the workers was sure to have spotted a young lad of ten or twelve years of age, but he brushed it off and was glad to see Henry pulling into the loading area so that he could take the rest of the day off.

At 5:00, Henry was ready. The shunter fastened the coupling, the last door was shut, the guard blew his whistle and the Flying Kipper was ready to go.

"Come on! Come on!" puffed Henry to the vans.

The vans shuddered and groaned. "Trickety trock! Trickety trock!"

They left the harbour, past the sheds and onto the main line. Christopher could feel the train moving as he hugged his sack, he knew that as a stowaway, a train full of fish did seem like a splendid way to travel, unfortunately the smelly aroma of fish was soon getting to him.

Henry, however was making good progress, though as soon as he passed Crosby he decided to slow down in case of any faulty signals, but since his train was heavy he charged toward Gordon's Hill going slower and slower until at last he reached the top and stopped to look down at the view.

"Maybe I'll wait until the sun's up by a little bit," thought Henry. "Then I'll be able to see the line more clearly without my lamp."

He waited three minutes, and was just about to wait for another five when Christopher grew impatient and the smell of fish oil was starting to irritate his nose. So without thinking wisely, he opened the door to the van and called out. "Are we there yet?"

Henry did not hear Christopher, but the van he was riding in did.

"Stowaway!" screamed the van. "Stowaway!"

The other vans were frightened at having a stowaway on board, so frightened that they banged their buffers, pushing Henry down the hill at a tremendous rate as Christopher held on for dear life from the rooftop of the van. He rushed through Maron Station and went straight over the Cronk Viaduct where they approached a bend leading to Killdane. Henry's driver quickly regained control just as he passed the bend, and slowed down just as Henry's left wheels nearly came off the rails and almost tipped over, causing the vans to bump Christopher off the train along with his sack and three crates of fish that were smashed open upon impact.