Sir Stephen Topham Hatt III

Sir Stephen Topham Hatt III is the grandson of Sir Topham Hatt I, son of Sir Charles Topham Hatt II, and older brother to Bridget Hatt. He took over his father's role as controller of the North Western Railway in 1984 and became Sir Topham Hatt III in 1997.

Biography
Stephen Hatt was born in 1941 to Charles Topham and Amanda Hatt (née Croarie), his sister Bridget was born two years later in 1943. In 1951, the Hatts spent a long holiday on Toby's Old Tramway in East Anglia. Stephen was excited when he first met Toby, but Bridget accidentally offended him by assuming he was an electric tram.

He became the Fat Controller in 1984 and succeeded to his father's baronetcy upon his death in 1997. In 1970, he married Helen Margaret, a distant cousin and granddaughter of the Reverend Nicholas Dreswick, the much-respected historian of Sodor. They had three children: Richard Topham, born in 1972 and no doubt destined to be Sir Topham Hatt IV (Stephen turned seventy-nine in 2020 and gave no hint of retiring), Charles Nicholas (1974-present) and Emily Helen (1977-present).

He played a part in the construction of Jock, which was a project dear to his father's heart. With great skill, he masterminded the arrangements for the royal visit in 1995, when he welcomed the Prince of Wales on his first visit to Sodor.

Richard Topham is no doubt destined to be Sir Topham Hatt IV, but when is yet to be known. In Sodor: Reading Between the Lines, it was last heard that his father was 64 in 2005 and had not given any hint of a retirement.

Appearances
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The Railway Series

 * Toby the Tram Engine - Toby and the Stout Gentleman

He appeared in the following books as the Fat Controller:
 * James and the Diesel Engines - Old Stuck-Up and Crossed Lines
 * More About Thomas the Tank Engine - Thomas, Percy and the Coal, The Runaway and Better Late Than Never
 * Gordon the High-Speed Engine - High-Speed Gordon, Smokescreen , Fire Escape and Gordon Proves His Point
 * Toby, Trucks and Trouble - Mavis and the Lorry, Toby's Seaside Holiday, Bulstrode and Toby Takes the Road
 * Thomas and the Twins - Scrambled Eggs and Trevor Helps Out
 * Thomas and the Great Railway Show - Museum-Piece, Not the Ticket, Trouble on the Line and Thomas and the Railtour
 * Thomas Comes Home - Snow Problem, Washout! and Thomas Comes Home
 * Henry and the Express - Out of Puff, Overhaul, Sliding Scales and Henry Sees Red
 * Wilbert the Forest Engine - Percy's Porridge and Wired-Up
 * Thomas and the Fat Controller's Engines - Birdstrike, Edward and the Cabbages, Rabbits and Golden Jubilee
 * Thomas and Victoria - Overloaded, Avalanche and Toby's Vintage Train
 * Thomas and his Friends - Thomas and the Swan, Buffer Bashing, Gordon's Fire Service and Centenary

Companion Volumes
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 * 1986 - Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree
 * 1987 - The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways and Thomas and the Evil Diesel
 * 1992 - Thomas and the Hurricane
 * 2005 - Sodor: Reading Between the Lines
 * -|Other Media=

Annual Stories

 * 1985 - Percy to the Rescue, Thomas and the Important Visitor, Donald's Duck (Annual story)]] and Gale Warning
 * 1986 - Percy and the Christmas Tree, Old Groaner and Gordon's Stowaway
 * 1987 - Donald and the Lost Tarpaulin, Signal Failure and Percy's Passengers
 * 1988 - Responsibilities
 * 1989 - Trapped by Trees, Post Early for Christmas and Harold and the Landslide
 * 1990 - Thomas and the Cricketers, Hosepipes and Shunters and Points of No Return
 * 1992 - Percy and the Vicar's Prizes
 * 1993 - James' Traffic Jam, Thomas and the Snow Block, Oliver Gets the Bird and The Hut that Walked by Itself
 * 1994 - Thomas and the Tickles, James' Rest Cure and Bertie the Snow Bus
 * 1995 - Easter Egg Special, The Picnic Express and Thank You, Thomas and Toby
 * 1996 - James Gets Cracking, Rings a Bell!, All Pull Together, The Wrong Shirt and Pantomime Pranks