The Badger Line!

The Badger Line! is a magazine story.

Plot
One evening, Thomas is pulling some trucks along a rarely-used line after being re-routed due to a points failure. He rolls through an abandoned station and passes a siding above an embankment with an abandoned coach. Beyond the siding, Thomas notices some animals with stripy heads emerging from a hole underground. At Main Station, his driver explains that they are badgers and tells his friend, who is a wildlife expert.

The next day, Thomas returns to the station with the Fat Controller and the wildlife expert. At the old station, the expert examines the old coach and thinks it would be the perfect place to watch the badgers. Word quickly spreads amongst the other engines and nature-lovers, so the Fat Controller decides to re-open the station as a nature study centre.

While the station is being restored with the help of Thomas and the other engines, the old carriage is converted into a hide, where small groups of people can observe the badgers without disturbing them. The expert is made a badger warden for the centre and Thomas gets to take the first train on its opening day.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * The Wildlife Expert
 * Troublesome Trucks
 * James
 * Annie

Locations

 * Nature Study Centre