T.C.'s runaway to Breakfast

**T.C.'s runaway to Breakfast** is the 16th episode of season 1 of The Railway Stories of CW Railroad, and the first chapter of Branch Line Engines of Cartoon World.

## Summary

T.C. is very skilled at knowing all the stops on his line before his driver can, as his driver jokes he can manage without him. But T.C. doesn't believe he could. But he ends up becoming a runaway engine the next morning.

## Plot

Having run his branchline for many years, T.C. knows it very well. After another hard day of work, T.C.'s driver jokes that T.C. could almost manage without him. T.C. finds this a little ridiculous. Later in the shed, T.C. talks to Sherin and Hugs about what his driver said. They both agree about how crazy it sounds and make it clear they would never even consider running without one.

The next morning, a firefighter comes and starts up the engines' fires.
T.C. wakes up first as the warmth spreads through his boiler. As he looks at Hugs and Sherin still asleep when suddenly, he starts moving. At first, T.C. believes it's on his own, but does not realize he is only moving due to a careless cleaner messing with his controls. T.C. quickly realizes the deep trouble he's in and tries vainly to wheesh and stop, but cannot do anything without a driver and keeps moving forwards. T.C. continues moving down the line and into the yard, as he heads for the sidings. He believes the buffers will stop him, only to find the siding he's on has no buffers. In which T.C. then drives off the rails and over the roadway, before realizing he's heading straight for the Yardmaster's Home, where he and his family are about to have breakfast. T.C. crashes through the front window leaving him peering into the
dining room at the family. The house rocks, causing broken sheetrock and
shattered glass to be scattered. Both the Yardmaster and his wife are
 angry at T.C. for crashing into their house and ruining their
breakfast in the process. The yardmaster's wife scolds T.C. for
what he did and now she will now have to cook some more. She storms out,
 slamming the dining room door shut, causing more sheetrock to fall on
T.C., making him feel depressed.

T.C. is left in the house for a while as there's no time to haul him out. But later in the afternoon, after workmen
 prop up the house with strong poles and lay rails through the garden, 1206 arrives and pulls T.C. clear of the house. T.C. is
freed, but there are pieces of fencing, a bush, and a broken window
frame hanging from his front, which has been badly twisted by the
impact. 1206 leaves while T.C., now in disgrace, is left
behind miserable.

Back at the sheds, Mr. Steward arrives and talk to T.C., where he tells T.C. the incident wasn't his fault as they have found the cleaner responsible for making T.C. a runaway and he was suspended from work for a month and has to pay for the damages to the yardmaster's house. Then Mr. Steward tells T.C. he'll be sent to the repair works but it will take a long time to repair his front. As a result, a diesel railcar will be brought in to do his work for the time being. T.C. is surprised to hear a diesel railcar will be doing his work, as Mr. Steward adds in that diesel railcars never go gallivanting off to breakfast in yardmaster's houses.

## Trivia

* This episode is based on the Thomas episode: "Thomas Comes To Breakfast"
* The Storyline continues in Rose the Railcar