Sir Topham Hatt I

### Children

Sir Bertram Topham Hatt II (son)Stephen Hatt (grandson), Bridgette Hatt (granddaughter)

**Sir Topham Hatt I**, also formerly known as **the Fat Director**, was the controller of the North Western Railway from 1914 to December 1957.

## Biography

Sir Topham Hatt is strict but fair. He can be strict, but with a good reason and he deeply cares about his engines and also show a fatherly side to them. He is quite a strong character and will remind the engines that he is in charge if they start to rebel against his authority. He does not stand bullying and even though he is usually serious, he does enjoy a good jolly laugh.

Despite his kindness and fairness, however, there are times where Sir Topham Hatt berates the engines for situations beyond their control, although it is usually because he still feels like their carelessness or ignorance played a hand in it.

In 1922, he received attention all over Britain after he shut up Henry in the tunnel. It may have been negative responses that persuaded him to let Henry out again. He was also criticised for not helping the passengers push or pull Henry out, claiming it was his doctor who had ordered him not to. This scandal led the Fat Director to pick up his act. However, despite that, he still managed to keep the railway running very smoothly. The same could be said for World War II. Sodor was generally not a target for Germans, and the railway thrived.

At this time he had six engines, Thomas, Edward, Henry, Gordon, Molly and James. In 1925, he opened the Ffarquhar Branch Line to passengers, which brought the railway to the rural towns and villages such as Maithwaite and Hackenbeck.

In 1926, Henry, James, and Gordon went on strike, disrupting the passenger schedules. Hatt purchased a new engine from the Avonside Engine Company in Bristol called Percy, and shut the three big engines in the shed as punishment. After they were let out, Henry's problems began to worsen. During the Great Depression, Hatt had to buy Welsh Coal from the mainland. Despite it working wonders, it was expensive and Hatt was determined to keep his costs down. However, Henry had an accident in January 1935 where he collided with a goods train, so Hatt decided to send him to Crewe for a complete overhaul. Hatt had been friends with W.A. Stanier, and Stanier re-designed Henry into a Black 5.

In 1951, Hatt was taking his grandchildren on holiday to East Anglia when they came across the old Wisbech and Upwell Tramway which was struggling. Here, they met Toby the tram engine, and after Thomas had an incident with police, Hatt bought Toby to work on the Ffarquhar branch. In 1953, Queen Elizabeth II came to Sodor shortly after her coronation, and she met with Sir Topham Hatt and all the engines.

In 1956, he began to work on improvements to the harbour at Arlesburgh, and reopened the Arlesburgh Branch in the same year. During his final year as controller of the railway, he rescued Oliver from scrap in 1957.

During Christmas Day 1957, there was a farewell party for him before his retirement a few weeks later, as well as a thank-you for Thomas and Percy. In January 1958, the new controller of the railway was taken over by Sir Topham’s son, Sir Bertram Topham Hatt II, and the name was changed from “The Fat Director” to “The Fat Controller”.

## Attire

Sir Topham Hatt, the previous Controller of the railway, is a short, chubby gentleman. He usually wears a morning dress, consisting of grey trousers, a white shirt, a black tie, a purple waistcoat, a black tailcoat a black top hat with a purple band around and a rose decoration on his tailcoat. He also has thinned brown hair.

## Engines Acquired

* Glynn *(1914; temporarily)*
* Gareth *(1914; temporarily)*
* Gabriel *(1914; temporarily)*
* Eagle *(1914)*
* Thomas *(1915)*
* Edward *(1915)*
* Henry *(1922)*
* Gordon *(1923)*
* Molly *(1923)*
* James *(1925)*
* Percy *(1926)*
* Fergus *(1927)*
* Jinty *(1946; temporarily)*
* Toby *(1951)*
* Hiro *(1951; temporarily)*
* Duck *(1953)*
* Diesel *(1954; temporarily)*
* Donald and Douglas *(1954)*
* Bill and Ben *(1955)*
* Daisy *(1955)*
* BoCo *(1955)*
* City of Truro *(1956: visited)*
* Mavis *(1956)*
* Flying Scotsman *(1957: visited)*
* Oliver *(1957)*

## Road Vehicles Acquired

* Bertie *(1925)*
* Algy *(1929)*
* Brenda *(1933)*
* Bulgy *(1957)*

## Appearances

### Season 1

* The Sad Story of Henry
* Edward, Gordon and Henry
* Thomas’ Train
* Thomas and the Trucks
* Thomas and the Breakdown Train
* James and the Coaches
* Troublesome Trucks
* James and the Express
* Thomas and the Guard *(mentioned)*
* Thomas Goes Fishing
* Thomas and Bertie *(mentioned)*
* Tenders and Turntables *(does not speak)*
* Trouble in the Shed
* Percy Runs Away
* Thomas Saves the Day
* Coal
* It’s Good to be Gordon
* The Flying Kipper
* Whistles and Sneezes
* Toby and the Stout Gentleman
* Thomas in Trouble
* Dirty Objects
* Thomas’ Christmas Party
* Off the Rails
* The Trouble With Mud
* Down the Mine
* Paint Pots and Queens

### Season 2

* Thomas, Percy and the Coal *(does not speak)*
* Saved From Scrap *(mentioned)*
* Old Iron
* Percy and the Signal *(does not speak)*
* Duck Takes Charge
* Thomas and Trevor *(mentioned)*
* Percy and Harold *(mentioned)*
* The Runaway
* Percy’s Promise
* Percy Takes the Plunge
* Pop Goes the Diesel
* Dirty Work
* A Close Shave
* Better Late Than Never *(mentioned)*
* The Missing Coach
* Break Van
* The Deputation
* Thomas Comes To Breakfast
* Daisy
* Percy’s Predicament
* Wrong Road *(does not speak)*
* Edward’s Exploit *(does not speak)*
* Woolly Bear *(mentioned)*
* Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree
* Thomas, Percy and the Dragon

### Season 3

* A Scarf For Percy
* Time For Trouble
* Gordon and the Famous Visitor *(cameo)*
* Donald’s Duck
* Thomas Gets Bumped
* Diesel Does It Again
* Henry’s Forest
* No Joke For James
* Thomas, Percy and the Post Train
* Mavis *(mentioned)*
* Toby’s Tightrope
* Edward, Trevor and the Really Useful Party *(does not speak)*
* One Good Turn
* Tender Engines
* Escape
* Oliver Owns Up
* Toad Stands By
* Percy, James and the Fruitful Day
* Thomas and Percy’s Christmas Adventure *(does not speak)*

### Season 10

* Blue Mountain Mystery *(cameo in flashback)*

### Season 14

* Sodor’s Legend of the Lost Treasure *(cameo)*

## Trivia

* There have currently been two controllers of the North Western Railway, Sir Topham Hatt and later his son, Sir Bertram Topham Hatt. If Bertram were to retire someday, the role of controller will likely be passed onto his son Stephen Hatt.
* The most recent season (Season 17) takes place in 1976. By this time, Sir Topham Hatt I would be 90 years old.
* Sir Topham Hatt is often accompanied by two men in standard blue railway uniforms. They are presumed to be either his assistants or his bodyguards.
* Sir Topham Hatt is shown to be right handed, so is Bertram.
* The Fat Controller (in general) is the only named human character to appear and speak in every series of the series.
* Sir Topham Hatt’s name is a pun on *top hat*, the constant loss of which is a running gag throughout the series.