Controller

**Controller** is the fourth episode of the third season of the Stories of Sodor and the thirty-ninth episode overall.

Controller/Transcript

## Plot

Sir Topham Hatt greets the engines warmly. Edward finally says that it is a pleasure to see the stout gentleman, but they didn't expect him to be their controller, especially since he was supposed to be the Director of the Railway Board. Sir Topham Hatt tells them that he will be stepping down as director and says that in light of recent events, it'd be the best thing for all of them. He is aware that the engines are aware of his recent problems just as he's been aware of theirs. Peter then asks how the Board of Directors had picked him in the first place. Gordon agrees to hear the story, jokingly admitting they can have some variety.

The railways were vital in both keeping Britain afloat and in the nation's recovery. The major reason why they were so effective was mostly thanks to Sir Topham Hatt. Before the war, he implemented policies that increased efficiency across the network. During the war, he visited numerous yards and depots to deliver inspiring speeches. The papers nicknamed him "The Churchill of Trains" and Sir Topham was able to keep his position when the war ended. Clement Attlee and his Labour Party campaigned and won on the platform of social reforms and industrial nationalisation. Sir Topham Hatt was in favour of nationalising the railways at first, but he began to have his doubts as time went on, with him being the only one.

At the Department of Transport, Sir Topham Hatt is at a meeting with Andrew Hodges. Sir Topham Hatt has reviewed the proposals and is not happy with them, as he views the financial projections as unrealistic. Hodges says they can minimise the loses if they make the necessary cuts, which is a sizable reduction in staff and services. Sir Topham points out that could cause lots of public discontent as there won't be any to administer if they cut too much of the operational staff. Hodges says the proposals will be put into effect within three months, barring objections and revisions. Since there is still time for other submissions, Sir Topham puts down his own proposals with the assistance of his staff and engines. Hodges admits they are irregular, but are still delighted to hear them. Sir Topham then says that instead of nationalising the railways, the network will be divided into geographical regions, each its own company responsible for maintaining its own assets. While it is more or less the same system they have now, the companies, privately run, will receive government subsidies as long as they meet certain criteria. The overall cost to the government will also be minimal and eliminates the need for a massive central bureaucracy. As for the engines and rolling stock, they will be purchased by individual companies from workshops around the country; The manufacturing will be regulated the state to ensure they are built to a uniform standard and design to reduce overall maintenance and running costs. Hodges describes Sir Topham's thoughts as "most original and imaginative", and will take his proposals, promising to talk to the Minister. Sir Topham thanks them and leaves.

The next morning, Sir Topham Hatt meets up with William, Toad, Albert and Geoffrey. He explains to them about what happened at the meeting. Presently, a man runs up to Sir Topham to tell him about a story that will be in today's papers. Every newspaper in the country had the same story: The proposals for British Railways. Every key detail was leaked to the public, which caused profound public outrage as no community wanted to risk losing its livelihood. The police conducted an investigation and they found out that the source of the leak was a member of the Railway Board who, like Sir Topham, had strongly opposed the proposals. The nameless director lost his job and was imprisoned by the unauthorised disclosure of a confidential document. Another leak happened, which was a section of the minutes taken during Sir Topham's meeting at the Department of Transport, specifically the section where he threatened to disclose his own proposals. This led to accusations that Sir Topham had authorised and ordered the original leak to take place. The renewed outrage put Sir Topham on the defensive. Around this time, he received a letter from Mr. Zorro's wife, asking him to come to Sodor to visit. Sir Topham accepted as a chance to escape the bad press.

Once the Flying Scotsman arrived at Barrow-in-Furness, the announcements at the station tell the passengers that because of technical difficulties, all trains bound for Sodor will terminate here, with bus services to the marina for connecting ferries to Sodor. Scott guesses the technical difficulties are with the Lift Bridge to Sodor, which it was the last time he tried to run the express to Sodor two weeks earlier. Scott then says the Lift Bridge used to run properly until they started neglecting the maintenance. Sir Topham knows it's Corbett not authorising the expenditure as he knows of Mr. Corbett's penny-pinching but is perplexed to see it happen to a vital piece of infrastructure. He decides to have a talk with Corbett once he arrives on Sodor. While Sir Topham doesn't like boats, he decides to go the whole way anyway.

On Sodor, Bertie and Stuart are talking about the recent events. The latter says the passenger and goods numbers have been dwindling and blames the roads, much to Bertie's outrage. Presently, Sir Topham has exited a lavatory nearby and asks Stuart why he blames Bertie for their decreasing workload. Stuart then explains to the stout gentleman about Freeman's actions. Seeing how things have changed, Sir Topham asks Stuart and Bertie to keep his presence secret as he plans to stay incognito for as long as possible. The two agree to this.

Later, Sir Topham has arrived at Wellsworth Hospital where he meets Mrs. Zorro who tells him that her husband is doing well and the doctors have let him outside. He is in the garden with Rachael, his granddaughter. Mrs. Zorro bring Sir Topham into the garden where Mr. Zorro and Rachael are. Mr. Zorro greets the stout gentleman warmly, as does Rachael. She is now five years old and will be starting school soon. Mr. Zorro asks his wife to take their granddaughter to the café outside the hospital while he talks with Sir Topham. Once they leave, Mr. Zorro tells his friend that he will start the Chemotherapy trials next week; He also brings up how agnoising the wait is to find out who will replace him. It came down to Corbett and Freeman through bad luck and the railway will suffer if either get the job. Mr. Zorro then tells him someone else can take the job: Sir Topham Hatt himself. Sir Topham finally says it isn't possible, not as long as he's the director of the Railway Board. Mr. Zorro tells his old friend he wasn't responsible for the recent leaks and is disgusted for him to get the blame, as well as the Ministry of Transport wanting Sir Topham to retire. Mr. Zorro also advises Sir Topham to go for another position where he can still serve for the railways to avoid retirement. Sir Topham remarks that he does like Sodor, and there is a book series by the Reverend W. Awdry that already names him as Sodor's controller. Mr. Zorro tells Sir Topham that Awdry's depiction of him is most accurate and he belongs here. While his credibility has been severely compromised as a result of the bad press, Mr. Zorro tells him that his odds of becoming controller are much higher than Corbett's or Freeman's. Mr. Zorro reminds him about his old habits as an intelligence officer and he indulged in them concerning their backgrounds.

Sir Topham never really said to the engines what Mr. Zorro had told him; he did admit that he was alarmed by what he learned. Rather than using blackmail to become controller of Sodor, he secretly met with the other members of the Island's railway board. One by one, he persuaded to support him for the position. He somehow did it without being found out and on the day the Board gathered to choose a new controller, the decision was a landslide.

Corbett and Freeman congratulated him, but they weren't happy. Sir Topham has decided not to fire them as their talents and experience can serve the railway in spite of their flaws. He plans to have a very long conversation with each man once he's done. Sir Topham then goes off to call his wife and after that, he returned to London to announce that he was stepping down as Director to be Sodor's Controller. After he moved to Sodor, he talked with Freeman and Corbett. The purse strings were loosened and the suspicious leaks benefitting the roads immediately stopped. The engines were over the moon with Sir Topham Hatt as their new controller. This optimism would not be misplaced as time went on.

## Characters

* Edward
* Gordon
* Toby
* Douglas
* Peter
* Flying Scotsman
* William
* Geoffrey
* Albert
* Stuart
* Toad
* Bertie
* Mr. Zorro
* Mrs. Zorro (Charlotte)
* The Fat Controller
* Basil Corbett *(does not speak)*
* Giles Freeman *(does not speak)*
* Thomas *(cameo)*
* Henry *(cameo)*
* Percy *(cameo)*
* Duck *(cameo)*
* Donald *(cameo)*
* Oliver *(cameo)*
* Adam *(cameo)*
* Peckett *(cameo)*
* Samantha *(cameo)*
* Spencer *(cameo)*
* Molly *(cameo)*
* Charles *(cameo)*
* Wendell *(cameo)*
* Montgomery *(cameo)*
* Arthur *(cameo)*

## Trivia

* This is the first episode of the series in which the majority of the runtime is focused on a human character.