Gordon and the Famous Visitor

**Gordon and the Famous Visitor** is the third episode of the third season and the 63rd episode overall. It is based on the story Domeless Engines from the thirteenth Railway Series book, Duck and the Diesel Engine.

## Plot

It is an important day in the yard, as a special visitor named City of Truro has arrived and is now the centre of attention, with many people taking photographs and making notes. Duck explains to Thomas and Percy that City of Truro is a very famous celebrity and they will have the chance to talk to him later. Thomas, however, believes that City of Truro is too famous to want to talk to them. Thomas, Duck, Percy and the other engines are very pleased about the Visitor, but Gordon thinks it is a lot of fuss about nothing. The other engines are happy to find that City of Truro is quite friendly and he enjoys talking to them well into the night.

Early the next morning, City of Truro heads back to his own railway, and Thomas tells Gordon that the engine is famous since he was the first to go over 100 mph. Gordon tells Thomas that City of Truro had no dome and that domeless engines have are not trustworthy because they have no respect as far as he is concerned. He also claims that 100 mph would be easy for him.

Later that day, Duck is taking some trucks to Wellsworth and tells Edward what Gordon has said about the visitor. Edward tells Duck that Gordon is simply jealous, since he thinks that no engine should be famous but him. Moments later, Gordon thunders past the two engines on the main line as his wheels pound the rails, determined to go as fast as the visitor. Duck watches and jokingly tells Edward that Gordon will knock himself to bits.

Further along the line, Gordon begins to feel something loose on top of his boiler. He decides to slow down, but it's too late. on the Viaduct, he meets a teasing wind which blows in very hard puffs. The wind creeps under Gordon's loose dome, lifts it off and sends it flying away into the valley below. Gordon is most uncomfortable without his dome with the wind whistling through the hole where it should be and feels embarrassed too, and to make matters worse for him, he is laughed at by the trucks at Knapford. He tries to shoo them away by blowing steam at them, but nothing he does works.

On the journey home, Gordon wants his driver to find his dome. However, he says that it is too late find it now and Gordon will have to go to the works for a new one. Gordon is most upset and hopes that the sheds are going to be empty tonight when he gets home, but all the engines are there waiting. As Gordon turns around on the turntable, he hears a voice saying, "Never trust domeless engines! They aren't respectable!"

## Characters

* Thomas
* Edward
* Gordon
* Percy
* Duck
* Troublesome Trucks
* City of Truro *(does not speak)*
* Henry *(cameo)*
* James *(cameo)*
* Toby *(cameo)*
* Donald and Douglas *(cameo)*
* Bill and Ben *(cameo)*
* Bertie *(cameo)*
* Trevor *(cameo)*
* The Fat Director *(cameo)*

## Locations

* Tidmouth Sheds
* Tidmouth Goods Station
* Tidmouth Yards
* Wellsworth
* The Viaduct
* Knapford
* Knapford Yards
* Crosby
* Crosby Tunnel
* Sodor Steamworks (mentioned)

## Trivia

* Gordon losing his dome is based on an event when an LNER K3 Class No. 61809 lost its dome.
* This marks the first and only appearance of City of Truro. Unlike the official TV Series, City of Truro does have a face in the Sodor Stories series, and his speed record is also mentioned like in the original book.
* The only episode until the fourteenth season episode, Toby's New Friend, where Donald and Douglas make cameos together.