Toby, Trucks and Trouble

"If I were you, I should leave the roads for what they were made for. You stay on the rails; you'll find them much more comfortable!"

- The Fat Controller to Toby

Toby, Trucks and Trouble is the thirty-second book of The Railway Series.

Foreword
Dear Friends, Trucks are silly things. They rattle, bang and chatter to each other so much that they can never hear what their engine says. Even if they did, they probably wouldn't take any notice. They pushed Mavis into a lorry, and that made extra work for Toby and Percy while she was being mended.

But on the other hand, perhaps they're not all bad - after all, they did teach Bulstrode a lesson. See what you think. The Author

Mavis and the Lorry
Mavis is bringing trucks down from Ffarquhar Quarry when she sees a lorry at the crossing, where vehicles often come across with dangerous speed and turns. The driver, who is new to Sodor and does not expect to see an engine, has his lorry turned over when it collides with Mavis. Although the driver is unharmed but surprised, Mavis' cowcatcher is bent, and while she is being mended Toby is sent to work at the quarry, leaving Percy with extra work.

Toby's Seaside Holiday
Toby reminisces about his days working at a harbour. One day, his crew told him they were allowed to go to a local village's seaside festival. After receiving brand-new paintwork, he set off to the village. After a night on a siding, Toby was told they did not have room for him, but the real reason was that they were afraid he would show everyone else up. However, Toby's daydream is interrupted when his crew returns. Toby leaves, noting the Fat Controller would have organised the whole event better.

Bulstrode
Percy is told to go to Knapford Harbour to help with an emergency. There, the trucks ask him to unload their stone into Bulstrode, a cantankerous old barge, to get away from his constant complaining. Unfortunately as Percy starts to push, a coupling breaks and some trucks run into Bulstrode, who nearly drowns, but luckily for him the tide is out. The trucks are sad of losing their friends, but happy because they will not have to deal with Bulstrode anymore. The workmen rescue some stone, Percy takes the broken trucks to the scrapyard, and Bulstrode is towed to a beach so children can play in him.

Toby Takes the Road
Terence takes care of the shunting for Percy while he is at the harbour, and brags about how he can "go anywhere and do anything". Then one day, Toby is going to the quarry one frosty morning. At the crossing, the earth has swelled over the rails, derailing Toby and creating two long ruts in the road nearby. With some quick thinking on the fireman's part Toby gets back on the rails, and his crew spread some of his ashes to prevent that incident from happening again. The Fat Controller soon finds out, but all he says is that Toby should stick to the railway. Toby happily agrees.

Mavis and the Lorry

 * Toby
 * Mavis
 * Sir Stephen Topham Hatt III
 * Percy
 * Thomas
 * The New Ffarquhar Constable

Toby's Seaside Holiday

 * Toby
 * 1020
 * Toby's Brothers
 * Percy
 * Henrietta
 * Sir Stephen Topham Hatt III
 * 8783

Bulstrode

 * Percy
 * Bulstrode
 * Troublesome Trucks
 * Sir Stephen Topham Hatt III

Toby Takes the Road

 * Percy
 * Toby
 * Terence
 * Sir Stephen Topham Hatt III
 * Mavis
 * Trevor

Locations

 * Island of Sodor
 * Ffarquhar
 * Ffarquhar Quarry
 * The Quarry Tramroad
 * Ffarquhar Sheds
 * Ffarquhar Yard
 * The Ffarquhar Stationmaster's House
 * Knapford Harbour
 * Knapford Harbour Bridges
 * Knapford Beach
 * Arlesburgh
 * Ulfstead
 * The Mainland
 * Harbour in East Anglia

Trivia

 * This book is set parallel to the events of Thomas and the Twins, as Thomas is nowhere to be seen in this book.
 * This was the first book of The Railway Series that did not contain the word "engine" or "engines" in its title. Although Christopher Awdry is regretful of breaking from tradition, he has stated it created many new book title opportunities. This book is also the second to not have "engine" or "engines" at the end of the title. The first being Tank Engine Thomas Again.
 * This was the last book of The Railway Series to have a story that was televised.
 * As a result, this also the last book to have a televised episode combine two stories into one.
 * This book also marks Mavis' last speaking role in The Railway Series.
 * Toby's flashback in Toby's Seaside Holiday takes place in between 1945 and 1946. Also in the book's second story, a reference to Toby and the Stout Gentleman is made.
 * The events of this book took place in 1987.
 * Mavis and the Lorry and Toby Takes the Road were based on two real events on the Wishbech and Upwell Tramway.
 * This is the first book in which Terence is seen with eyebrows as opposed to his widow's peak.
 * The first illustration is nearly identical to the third illustration of ''Toby's Tightrope.

Goofs

 * The lorry was said to have left the road and skidded into a ditch, but in the illustration it just tipped onto its side.
 * In the second illustration of "Bulstrode", the trucks are missing their buffers.
 * In the seventh illustration of "Toby Takes the Road", Sir Stephen Topham Hatt III appears to be incorrectly illustrated with six fingers on one-hand.
 * The text in "Toby's Seaside Holiday" states that 1020 is younger than Toby, but the J15s were built from 1883-1913 and Toby was built in 1914.
 * When Toby comes off the rails, the sign reads Arlsburgh instead of Arlesburgh.

In Other Languages
Toby, Furgones y Problemas טובי, קרונות משא וצרות Tobik, Wagony i Kłopoty