Really Useful Coaches

"You've been Really Useful coaches!" "You see, Thomas? We're useful too!"

- The Fat Controller praising Annie and Clarabel

Really Useful Coaches is a magazine story.

Plot
Annie and Clarabel are cross when they overhear the Fat Controller praising Thomas; after all, they do as much work as he does and they seldom get praised. Later, Thomas is given the special job of taking some soldiers to the countryside for a training exercise. He takes the soldiers to Gordon's Hill where they embark on their training. Thomas then chuffs up the hill to return to the station.

As Thomas is returning, snow begins to fall and the coupling between him and Annie snaps. Thomas is too busy worrying about the weather to notice until he is almost at the top of the hill. He reverses to get his coaches but a snowdrift had blocked his line, so he has no choice but to return to the station without them. Thomas is upset, but the Fat Controller assures him that they will find Annie and Clarabel the next day. The Fat Controller, however, is more worried about the soldiers being outside in a blizzard.

Next day, Thomas and the Fat Controller find Annie and Clarabel at the bottom of Gordon's Hill. They have some special passengers - the soldiers! They had taken shelter in the coaches overnight. The Fat Controller tells the coaches that they are "really useful", much to the coaches' delight.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Annie and Clarabel
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * The Soldiers

Goofs

 * Annie changes shape between the first and last illustration.