The Bright Truck!

"Thanks to you Thomas, I feel a lot brighter, too!"

- The old truck

The Bright Truck!, alternatively titled The Colourful Truck, is a magazine story.

Plot
There has been an accident on Thomas' branch line. One of Thomas' trucks bounced off the rails, overturned and spilled sand onto the track. Duck has brought a crane and workmen to clear up the mess. The Fat Controller is not happy and Thomas is worried that he will be blamed for the accident, but The Fat Controller knows it is the truck to blame as it is very old and so decides it is time for the truck to be taken out of service. After the truck is put back on the rails, Thomas shunts it into a nearby station and carries on with the rest of his train.

The next day, Thomas arrives at the station with a passenger train. The old truck looks very sad and lonely. He fears that he has been left to rust or that he is going to be sent to the scrapyard. Thomas feels sorry for the truck and is sure there must be something he can still do. Later, along his branch line, Thomas sees Terence pulling an old wagon. Terence says the old wagon will soon look like the one by the farm shop. As Thomas passes the farm shop, he notices the other wagon which is painted and full of fresh vegetables.

When Thomas returns to the Main Station, he speaks with the Fat Controller. He has an idea how the truck can be really useful again. A few days later, when Thomas sees the old truck next, it looks hardly recognisable. The old truck has been painted in bright colours and filled with flowers. The stationmaster tells Thomas that the passengers think the truck makes the station look so much brighter. Thanks to Thomas, the truck feels much happier now, too!

Characters

 * Thomas
 * The Bright Truck
 * Terence
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Duck
 * Annie

Goofs

 * Sand is said to have spilled onto the track, but the illustration shows the spilled sand beside the track.