Thomas and the Blue Wheel

"I hope that isn't one of my wheels!"

- Thomas to his driver

Thomas and the Blue Wheel is a magazine story.

Plot
Thomas returns from a train on his branch line, and notices a blue wheel in the yard and is worried it could be one of his. His driver informs him that all six of his wheels are intact. Thomas begins to wonder who the wheel belongs to. His driver decides to go and see for himself, leaving Thomas in the yard.

James arrives and Thomas informs him about the wheel. James is sure it is not his as his wheels are grey. Thomas thinks about Henry and Percy and knows it can not be their's either, as they are green. James says that it must be either Gordon's or Edward's, who are blue like Thomas, then and he puffs away to collect his train.

Gordon steams in but Thomas can not see his wheels as they are obscured by a pile of coal. He asks Gordon about it but Gordon scoffs at the idea and puffs away, leading Thomas to see he has all of his wheels. That leaves Edward as the only engine left which makes Thomas sad as he knows Edward is an old engine and might have to be scrapped. Edward then puffs in, having heard what Thomas had said and hopes it is not true. Thomas is relieved to see Edward also has all of his wheels intact.

Thomas now has no idea who the wheel could belong to but his driver returns with the answer. A workman comes with him carrying brand new tins of blue paint. They inform Thomas that the wheel is just an old one that got repainted and left to dry in the sun to see how the paint would look when the engines get new coats. Edward suggests Thomas should be the first to get one due to how concerned he was for the other engines.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Edward
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Henry
 * Percy