James and the Coaches (magazine story)

"The brakes are full on. Must be a leak in the pipe, you have banged the coaches enough to make a leak in anything."

- James' driver

James and the Coaches is a magazine story based upon the episode of the same name from the first series of the television series.

Plot
James is enjoying his new life on the Island of Sodor, although he still has a lot to learn as the Fat Controller tells him that he must learn from his mistakes. Edward also tells James to be careful with the coaches, as they do not like being bumped. Soon everyone comes to admire James, as he sees himself as a "splendid engine" and lets off steam. But as he does so, a shower of water falls into the Fat Controller's new top hat and soaks it. However, James does not notice this as he thinks he had better get going, and puffs quickly out of the station despite Edward and the coaches' telling him to go slowly.

When they are about to stop at a station, James is going so fast that two coaches are beyond the platform and the engines have to go back to let the passengers out. The Fat Controller speaks severely to James telling him that if he misbehaves again, he will take away his red coat and have him painted blue. James does not like to hear this and later he is very rough with the coaches and becomes more crosser as no one comes near him, and puffs out of the station while thinking he can pull coaches just as well as Gordon can. Out onto the open line, James goes so fast that the coaches get fed up of his boastfulness and decide to stop. Soon, James end's up grinding to a halt and wonders what is the matter. As his crew checks that his brakes are full on and a pipe is leaking.

The crew and the guard come up with a solution, they need a newspaper and a bootlace to fix the pipe, but also wonder where can they get the bootlace and set to see the passengers for questioning. Soon the guard goes to see a smart man with a bootlace and asks if he give it to him. The man refuses to accept to which the guard tells him that the train won't be moving anytime soon if he doesn't give his bootlace. This has turned for the worse as the passengers all say what a bad railway it was, and then they tell the man how bad he is as well until at last, the man gives in and hands his laces over to the guard. At long last with a pad of newspaper tied round the hole in the brake pipe with the bootlace, James is on his away again - a much wiser engine as he takes care not to bump coaches again but worries what The Fat Controller will say to him when he returns to the sheds.

Characters

 * Edward
 * James
 * The Fat Controller
 * Jeremiah Jobling
 * Gordon

Locations

 * Knapford

Trivia

 * This story is based on the first series episode of the same name.
 * The confrontation between the guard and the man takes place inside the coaches rather than outside in the field.
 * Edward doesn't pull the train with James in the first part of the story.

Goofs

 * In some illustrations, James's wheels are white.
 * In the fifth illustration, James has no eyebrows.

Gallery
Kuba i Wagony (historia magazynowa)