Hello everyone! 🙂

Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!

It’s Day 20 of ‘Bradley’s Basement’s Advent Calendar 2025.

Shall we meet a new character in the ‘Thomas the Tank Engine’ series?

‘TOBY AND THE STOUT GENTLEMAN’

This ‘Thomas’ episode introduces a new character in the TV series – Toby the Tram Engine. This might be one of these rare occasions where Thomas, Edward, Henry, Gordon, James and Percy don’t appear in the episode, since it’s just Toby and his coach called Henrietta.

‘Toby and the Stout Gentleman’ is based on the first story of the same name from the seventh ‘Railway Series’ book ‘Toby the Tram Engine’. The book was inspired by a family trip to a fish quay where the Rev. W. Awdry and his son Christopher first saw a tram engine. 🙂

Toby is not an ordinary tram, as you might see in Manchester or Amsterdam. 😀 Toby is a steam tram who pulls Henrietta as his coach and a train of trucks from farms and villages to the main line. I assume Toby’s branch line is on a far away part of the Island of Sodor. 😐

One day, Toby meets the Fat Controller, who is on holiday with his family. It’s interesting to see the Fat Controller in casual clothes and not in his usual dark uniform. He, his wife and his two grandchildren go for rides with Toby aboard Henrietta, as they enjoy their holiday.

There’s a sense of sadness for Toby, especially when his branch line is about to be closed. He has his last day giving rides to passengers on his branch line before he’s sent away to be shut in his shed forever. But then, the next morning, Toby’s future might be very bright.

Thanks for reading and watching!

Check out what Day 20 of my ‘Bradley’s Basement’s Advent Calendars for 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 were about!

Bye for now!

Tim 🙂