![]() ![]() When I got older, I applied for a job as an engineer trainee on MATA, and got it! For me, it was a dream come true. I eventually developed other interests – namely girls – but I still never lost my interest in trains. I’d spend hours watching that toy train run around in an oval, pretending it was real and that I was driving the locomotive through forests, passed fields, across mountains, and past small towns. There was even a small bottle of drops you’d put in the smokestack that allowed the engine to make smoke. It consisted of a steam engine and four passenger cars. When I was 10, my grandparents bought me a Lionel train set for my birthday. I had all the characters: Thomas, Percy, Gordon, James, Toby, Daisy, all of them. Naturally, my favorite toys as a tyke were my Thomas the Tank Engine toys. Whenever I saw a train, I would imagine all the places it was going to and coming from. Now, when most people see trains, they just see big machines rolling down ribbons of steel, but me, I saw trains as symbols of freedom and a way out of the hood. MATA or “The M”, as some people call it, and Amtrak passenger trains that would breeze by, heading to and from the Central Station in the heart of the city. Then there were the fast-moving commuter trains of the Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, a.k.a. There were the long, lumbering freight trains pulling boxcars, flatbeds, and tankers, which I would try and count as they clattered by. There were three types of trains that used those tracks and still do to this day. From my bedroom window, I could watch the trains roll by. Percy cannot help but be pleased as Toby remarks that Thomas is acting as if he had seen a ghost.The house I grew up in was right next to a set of busy railroad tracks. Percy, who is now cleaned up and none the worse for his adventure, arrives having heard everything. However, as he makes his excuses, Percy whistles in the distance and Thomas runs off. Toby asks what happened and Thomas reveals he slept in the goods shed claiming he did not want to intrude as Toby would be sad about Percy. The next morning, Thomas finally returns and meets Toby at the station. Thomas, terrified, quickly runs off to collect Annie and Clarabel. Thomas is frightened as the shed doors open and reveal what appears to be Percy's ghost. ![]() Thomas is unconcerned and tells Toby not to worry.Īfter this, however, a ghostly voice comes from outside demanding to be let in. ![]() Toby tells him the line has been cleared, but that he thinks he saw Percy's ghost. Thomas is concerned for Percy, but also worries that this will make him late. Toby promises to help.Īt the shed, a scared Toby arrives and tells Thomas, who is preparing to take his evening train, that Percy has had an accident. ![]() This gives Percy an idea to scare Thomas and asks not to be cleaned yet. The signalman arranges to sort out the hazard on the line, but suggests Percy be cleaned up as he looks like a ghost. Ghost train thomas photosheet driver#While Sam the farmer has gone for help, Percy comes down the line and smashes the cart to pieces and the lime completely covers Percy, who runs to the nearest signal box.Īt the signal, Percy meets Toby and his driver explains to the signalman what happened. What Percy does not know is that a broken cart of lime is ahead on the tracks. Percy enjoys running at night and knows exactly where he is despite the dark. That evening, after his work at the harbour is done, Percy runs back to the shed. Percy tells his driver that Thomas did not believe in the ghost and Percy's driver explains that he does not either it was a story on television. Percy is afraid to think of it, however Thomas does not believe a word and runs off calling Percy a silly little engine. Percy is telling Thomas and Toby the story of a ghost train that his driver told him the night before. ![]()
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