Visitor is the first episode of the second season of the Stories of Sodor and the sixteenth episode overall.
Plot[]
On August 12th, 1938, Montgomery of the Great Western Railway visited the Island of Sodor and crowds of people flocked to see the poster boy of the GWR. Delighted in the generated publicity, Mr. Star used the event to forge new business partnerships. Duck had come with Montgomery as well. Just then, Gordon speeds by the sheds with the express and sees the crowd of people as a lot of nonsense over nothing. The engines ignore him. That night, Montgomery talked with the Nor'easters at length at everything. Montgomery left for the mainland early next morning while Duck stayed behind. Gordon still doesn't see the fame of Montgomery visiting, and Thomas and Duck explain to him that Montgomery is famous since he was the first ever vehicle to go 100 mph. Gordon points out that the claim has never been verified and departs saying 100 mph would be easy for him.
Later that day, Duck takes some trucks to Wellsworth where Edward is. Edward tells Duck that Montgomery wanted to double head a special train with him when he visits Sodor next year. Edward also tells Duck to take no notice of Gordon since he thinks no engine should be famous but him. Duck say he and Thomas had almost dared him to go 100 mph if he could, but Edward assures him that Gordon wouldn't do anything to jeopardise his passengers. Just then, Gordon passes by, typically staying at the speed limit. At the bottom of the hill, a loose brick from a bridge falls hits Gordon's dome, but Gordon decides he doesn't need to stop. At the viaduct, a teasing wind is blowing and halfway across the viaduct, the wind blows off his dome. The brick had loosened the dome so that the wind could pluck it off. Despite his injury, Gordon arrived at Barrow on time. All the passengers at the station and the trucks in the yard laugh at him. Gordon soon went to the works to have his dome replaced. The workmen also found additional problems that needed attending to, which was mostly wear and tear, but it would keep Gordon out of action for the next few weeks, so Mr. Star had to bring in a replacement.
At Knapford, Thomas tells Eric about the time his fireman had almost poured fish into his boiler. They hear an unfamiliar whistle and a GNR C1 Atlantic named Alice pulls up alongside them. Thomas and Eric are surprised when Alice says she can fetch her own coaches, since they're not used to express engines doing their own shunting unless they had to. Alice happily goes off to turn around and prepare to take her train. As she approaches the turntable, she notices a green tender, numbered three. Henry and James are talking when Alice suddenly arrives and blows her whistle, startling the two. Henry tells James he is familiar with Alice, since they used to work on the GNR. Henry also remembers Alice had always kept him going despite his poor health. Alice was a magnificent replacement. She took the express, as well as helping with goods work, shunting and any other job that needed to be done. She did every task without complaining, which led to the Nor'easters joking about getting the replacement to be permanant.
A few days later, Mr. Star gets a phone call from Head Office. He then goes to Knapford Harbour where Percy, Toby and Alice are. He tells them that they will soon be getting a visit from a railway board inspector. Alice is worried since from the stories she's heard, visits are always followed by sackings and closures. Mr. Star and Mr. Zorro tell their engines that they have to be on their best behaviour, with the inspector arriving on one of The Flying Scotsman's holiday trains from London next Thursday.
When Thursday came, Mr. Star, Eric, Edward and Toby are at Knapford, wondering who the inspector is as Scotsman arrives. Mr. Star then goes over to see who the inspector is, and he and the engines are dumbfounded to see that the inspector is none other the Fat Controller himself.
Characters[]
- Thomas
- Edward
- Henry
- Gordon
- James
- Percy
- Toby
- Duck
- Eric
- Diesel
- Colin
- Peter
- Flying Scotsman
- Alice
- Mr. Star
- Mr. Zorro
- Anthony
- Pete
- The Fat Controller (not named; does not speak)
- Montgomery (does not speak)
- Donald (cameo)
- Adam (cameo)
- Clive (cameo)
- Skarloey (cameo)
- Rheneas (cameo)
- Matthew (cameo)
- Stanley (cameo)
- Stuart (cameo)
- Andreas (cameo)
- Kate (mentioned)
- Alfred (mentioned)
- Burke and Blair (mentioned)
- Jim (mentioned)
Trivia[]
- This episode adapts The Railway Series story "Domeless Engines", also known as Gordon and the Famous Visitor in Thomas & Friends.
- The events Thomas tells Eric come from the story Thomas Goes Fishing.
- James and Henry's conversation about a tunnel being the perfect bomb shelter foreshadows Henry hiding from the Nazi bombers in Blitz.