• Published 1st Jan 2020
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Thomas and Friends: The Retold Adventures - The Blue EM2



Picture a Land where the Sky is so Blue, a Storybook Land of Wonder...

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Mrs Kyndley's Christmas

It was nearly Christmas on Thomas’ branch line, and this meant that the line was busy, busy, busy. Thomas and Twilight were working especially hard, as Annie and Clarabel were full to bursting with passengers, which made the train very heavy indeed.

“Oh, come along, oh come along!” he called, as they rolled along the line, slowly due to the weight.

“We feel so full! We feel so full!” the coaches complained.

Twilight sighed. “They’re not the only ones,” she said.

“What do you mean?” Thomas asked.

“That lunch we had at Sweet Apple Acres was most filling,” she said. Due to the nature of the timetable, Toby had worked the morning train whilst Twilight and her friends had gathered at Sweet Apple Acres, where Applejack and her family lived, for a pre-Christmas gathering which had culminated in one of Granny Smith’s excellent, if incredibly filling, lunches. The family had been such welcome hosts, even if Applejack’s younger sister had been a little irritating. “As a result,” Twilight continued, “I doubt I’ll want any dinner!”

“Then it must have been good,” Thomas replied. “Not needing food myself, I can’t exactly judge, but I do appreciate good and proper coal.”

Near the other end of Ffarquhar Tunnel is a short climb, and at the end of that climb there is a house, that is neither in New Orleans nor called the Rising Sun. It is a fairly simple two storey building, with windows that face onto the railway line. As Thomas mounted the summit, puffing and panting as he did so, he suddenly saw a hand waving to him.

“I can do it, I can do it!” he panted, as he rolled over the rise and into the next station of Hackenbeck. Twilight got out of the cab and aligned the water tower to replenish Thomas’ tanks.

“Do you know who that was in the house, Thomas?” she asked, rhetorically.

“I’m afraid I don’t,” Thomas replied. “Who are they?”

“That is Mrs Kyndley,” said Twilight, “a most apt name if ever I heard one. She’s a nice old lady, but sadly she is very ill and has to stay in bed all day until she recovers.”

“That’s awful!” said Thomas. “Maybe we can do something for her,” he continued.

Twilight sighed. “I wish we could,” she said. “But what could we do?” Now that Thomas’ tanks were refilled, she got back onboard and they resumed their journey down the line.



All the engines had hard work and heavy loads to look forward to over the holiday season. But they didn’t mind the extra strain one bit, as they could see Mrs Kyndley waving to them from her bedroom window, and this cheered them up greatly as they went about their daily duties.

But then it began to rain. The heavens opened, and indeed remained that way, for days and days and days (rather than always and always and always). It rained so heavily that raindrops began to bounce off the ground, which was thoroughly waterlogged, and Thomas, I am sorry to say, did not like the heavy rain one bit. Neither did Twilight, for that matter.

“Seriously?” she said, to the rain clouds and to Thomas. “Why does it have to rain now, of all times of the year?”

“They need to stop quoting Greg Lake then,” Thomas said simply. “It’s just tempting fate, you see.”

“Oh well,” Twilight replied. “Just pull hard and run quickly to Ffarquhar, and that way we can be indoors quickly and with some hot drinks to warm us up.”

“You mean warm YOU up?” Thomas replied. “I can’t use milk or chocolate, or coffee! I wouldn’t go well with my tanks or boiler!”

“At least you’ve got a permanent source of heat on you at all times,” Twilight answered. “I’m not sure if Mrs Kyndley will wave today, but please do whistle.”

And so, irrespective of whether she waved or not, they always whistled when they passed the home of Mrs Kyndley, hoping the bad-tempered policemen didn’t cause them any trouble for that, which he probably wouldn’t but, but still, it never hurts to be cautious. And so, it went on for many days and weeks.



One day, Thomas was coming up the slope when Twilight called out to him. “Thomas, look! Something’s wrong!”

Hanging out of Mrs Kyndley’s bedroom window was a red flag of some sort, an indication to stop.

“What could the red flag be about?” Twilight asked.

“Maybe Mrs Kyndley needs help!” Thomas suggested.

Twilight got out of the cab and went over to the house, entering a few moments later. After a few minutes had elapsed, she came back out and spoke to the passengers.

“May I have your attention please?” she asked. “Mrs Kyndley needs medical assistance. Can two of you watch over her please?”

Two passengers immediately disappeared into the house.

“Can the guard walk back down the line to get the Hackenback Doctor?”

“I can just phone him!” the guard replied, and switched his handset on.

Just then, Twilight went ahead to check if the line was clear. But it wasn’t.



In front of her was a huge mass of piled up earth and broken trees, covering the entire line and burying the cutting.

“Good heavens!” she cried, and headed back up the line. “I must warn the train!”



She found the doctor with Mrs Kyndley, who looked a little better than when she last saw her. “Silly of me to faint,” she said. “Did you see the red dressing gown? Are you safe?”

“We’re fine,” Twilight replied. “Thanks for the warning; you prevented a nasty accident.” She then explained what had happened to the doctor. “Mrs Kyndley saw the landslide up ahead and warned us, saving our lives in the process.”



The line was cleared a few days later, and the sun shone on Christmas Day as a special train proceeded up the line from Knapford Junction. On the head was Thomas with a snowplough. Behind him was Toby, and behind Toby was Henrietta. Their crews all stood proudly on the footplates, for they had helped a friend in need. And, after all, as Twilight always said, a friend in need is a friend indeed.

Mr Kyndley greeted Sir Toppham Hatt and Twilight at the door, and the three of them went upstairs to where Mrs Kyndley was in bed. After giving her some presents, namely a new dressing gown to replace the red one, some grapes, a new pair of slippers, and some coal, Sir Toppham Hatt spoke.

“The passengers and I,” Sir Toppham Hatt said, “are thankful for you saving our lives when we otherwise would have gone into a cutting and derailed.” He paused. “I hope you accept these tickets for a trip to the South Coast of England, and I hope you will get well soon. I hope we haven’t been too much of a bother. Goodbye, and a Merry Christmas!”

Going downstairs, they then joined the rest of the passengers and sang Christmas carols before re-joining the train to go back to Knapford Junction.

Mrs Kyndley is now in Bournemouth, in Dorset, and is getting better every day. And Thomas, Twilight, Toby, and Flash look forward to the day when they can welcome her home.

Author's Note:

Fun fact: this story was the first in the Railway Series not to be adapted for television (we don't really know why). Despite this, it is alluded to in Thomas' Christmas Party, which no doubt would have confused viewers of the show.

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