Thomas and the Bottles

"Oh no! What will the Fat Controller say?"

- Thomas

Thomas and the Bottles is a magazine story.

Plot
The Fat Controller gives Thomas the job of delivering some bottles, which he warns Thomas that the bottles are fragile so he must be careful with them. Thomas vows to do the best he can and sets off to collect the trucks.

The trucks are already loaded with the bottles and as soon as Thomas is coupled up, they are ready to go. On the journey, the trucks start to misbehave and Thomas hears the sound of glass breaking. The driver tells Thomas to slow down, but Thomas cannot. As they start down a hill, the trucks make Thomas go faster and faster. As they fly round the corner at the bottom of the hill, one of the trucks falls right over. Bottles are sent flying across the line. Thomas is worried what the Fat Controller will say, but the fireman says they must clear the line before they worry about that.

Thomas' driver and fireman set to work shovelling up the broken glass. Then, they attach a rope to Thomas, around a tree and to the tipped truck. Very gently, Thomas is able to pull the truck upright. Thomas is still worried about what the Fat Controller would say, but to Thomas' surprise, the Fat Controller is not cross at all. The Fat Controller knows that Thomas was not responsible for the damage and praises him for clearing up the mess so well.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Annie and Clarabel

Trivia

 * It is likely that this story was written by Andrew Brenner.
 * An edited illustration from Thomas Spoils the Washing is used.

Goofs

 * The text seems to suggest that only one truck derails, but the illustration shows two derailed trucks.
 * One of the illustrations shows Thomas pulling coal trucks, not trucks of bottles.
 * The trucks' coupling rods have not been coloured in.