Thomas Gets the Blues - ThomasNATION Fanstory
March 28, 2026
Thomas the Tank Engine takes pride in a lot of things. His branch line, his friends, his travels around the globe and the work he does on the railway. But one other thing he values is his blue paintwork. He has a saying when it comes to his hue: "blue is the only color for a really useful engine". But then you have James, who values his red paintwork above everything and everyone else. As a result, Thomas and James occasionally butt heads over whose paintwork is better, such as one particular afternoon at Knapford. The sky was blue, but Thomas' face was red. He just got back from hard work at the quarry and was out of breath.
"Ha! Look at you!" laughed James. "Your face is almost as red as me!"
"You try pulling fifteen trucks of slate up Gordon's Hill." Thomas groaned.
"Please. I would never do anything to risk messing up my splendid paintwork." James boasted. "Look at the way it shines in the sunlight."
"Ugh. If you love your paintwork so much, just marry it already."
"Would if I could, honestly. It adds a lot of variety to this railway."
"What's that supposed to mean? Everyone knows blue is the only color for a really useful engine."
"Yeah, blue paint with red lining, never seen that before. Honestly, your paintwork is so boring."
Thomas took great offense to that comment. "Y'know something? Blue's the color of the sky. It's the color of calmness. Red is the color people associate with "stop"."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning you should stop trying to compare. You know every morning on the school run, kids point out how blue I am? Hearing that always makes me feel special."
"My red gives me character."
"What?! Blue engines have plenty of character!"
"Both of you, settle down." commanded Sir Topham Hatt. "We have a lot of work to do, and we can't get it done with you two bickering."
"Yes, sir." the two sighed.
The two engines' work dragged on through the night, and while James was away on a late night run, Thomas was venting to Percy about their argument.
"I don't get that." Percy thought. "I mean, I'm perfectly fine being green."
"James doesn't care." Thomas complained. "The only thing he cares about is his paintwork."
"Why not just mess his paintwork up a little?" suggested Gordon. "Show him that us blue engines are a force to be reckoned with?"
"No, that didn't go well last time." Thomas sighed. "Days like this I wish he never had that red paint. And that he was blue. In fact...I wish everyone was blue. Like me."
"I don't know," Percy thought. "I've always been green, I wouldn't want to be any other color."
"I know, but just imagine it. We wouldn't get into these arguments, we'd all live in harmony in a bright blue world. It'd be paradise."
"For you." chimed in Emily. "If everybody's the same, that's not paradise. What makes an engine special is the fact that they're different. Just sleep on it, okay? We have a lot to do tomorrow, you should focus more on that than what color you are."
Thomas was still rather upset as everyone else dozed off. As he looked up at the night sky, a shooting star shone past.
"I wish everyone was blue..." he sighed one last time.
The next morning, Thomas woke up bright and early. However, something felt a little...off. The sheds were completely empty.
"Uh...morning? Hello?" Thomas asked. "Where is everyone?"
"Right here." called James from inside the sheds. "Honestly, I was having such a wonderful dream."
James slowly rolled out of his shed and...Thomas couldn't believe his eyes.
"What?" asked James. "Is there something on my face?"
But there wasn't. James, who valued his bright red paintwork...was bright blue! Thomas could barely contain his laughter!
"Ha! You doing okay, James? You look a little blue!" Thomas chortled.
"What are you talking about?"
"Percy! You gotta see this! James is blue now!"
Percy rolled out of his shed...and he was blue as well. "Yeah, I know. Looking good, James!"
Thomas stopped laughing. Something strange was going on. "Percy? Why are you blue?"
"Where have you been?" joked Percy as the other Steam Team members woke up. Everyone, from Nia to Emily, was the same shade of blue Thomas was.
"Morning, everyone!" called out Nia. "Isn't it a lovely, bright blue morning?"
"Uh...did I miss something? Are you guys pulling a trick on me?" Thomas asked.
Just then, Sir Topham Hatt pulled up in a dark blue suit. "Morning, everybody!"
"Hey, sir. New suit?" Thomas asked, still confused.
"Yes, it is. Thought it was time for a new shade of blue, didn't you?" Sir Topham Hatt chuckled. "Now, we have a lot of work to do today, and I'm expecting nothing but the best. Because what's the Sodor Railway motto?"
"Really reliable and right on time!" Thomas shouted.
"...no?" Sir Topham Hatt said. "Everyone else?"
"Blue's the only color for a really useful engine!" the other engines chanted.
"Right!" Sir Topham Hatt declared. "Now, let's do a great day of work."
Thomas smiled to himself. His mantra was finally applying to everyone else. "Heh. I can get used to this."
Thomas loved this new Sodor. Nobody argued over their paintwork because every engine was coated with blue. They were all living in harmony in a bright blue world and Thomas felt like the king. In the new bright blue Sodor, he was still number one. However, just as he was getting used to it, Sir Topham Hatt approached him that afternoon.
"Thomas, a word?" he asked.
"What's wrong, sir?"
"Nothing's wrong, Thomas. I'm just proposing a sort of...change."
"Change? What kind?"
"I've noticed that James is really pulling his weight around here, so I'm going to be giving him your branch line."
"Oh, cool, let me know how he...WHAT?!"
"It's nothing personal, I assure you."
"But...but what will I do?"
"I'm promoting you to the Main Line local full time."
"Well...okay." Thomas was woebegone. The cracks in his paradise were starting to show. As he picked up his new, navy blue branch line coaches, he noticed James on the other platform, picking up what used to be his passengers.
"Mummy! Look at James, the bright blue engine!" called out one small child.
"That's me!" smirked James, smugly.
"...but I was the bright blue engine." Thomas frowned.
Later, Thomas found himself venting to Percy again. "I don't get it. I wish for everyone to be blue like me. And James still finds a way to one-up me!"
"Why are you so upset?" asked Percy. "I mean, everybody's blue...er, color wise. Everyone's happy, is my point."
"But...I dunno." sighed Thomas. "Right now, I wish he was a color other than blue."
"What, like red? Because between you and me, I think he'd look really silly as a red engine."
"But red gives him character, it makes him...unique..." Thomas thought back to what Emily said the night before. "In fact...if everyone's blue like me, then maybe it isn't paradise. What makes an engine special is the fact that they're different."
"Thomas? What are you saying?"
Thomas gulped. "Percy. I made a huge mistake. I don't want to live in a world where everyone's the same! I want you to be green, or Toby to be brown. Nia to be orange. James to be red! I wish everything was back to the way it was before I made that wish!"
PEEP-PEEP! A whistle echoed through the hills of Sodor.
Thomas woke up back in his shed. It was nothing but a dream.
"Morning, everybody!" called out Nia. "Isn't it a lovely morning?"
"Morning, Nia." yawned James.
"James!" Thomas gasped. "You're red!"
"...I am?" James asked, sarcastically.
"Okay, I just wanna say, for every time I said I wished you were blue..."
"Wait, you wished what?"
"...I'm really sorry. I realise now that what makes us special is how unique we are."
"See? I told you." smirked Emily.
"Oh. Well, apology accepted." smiled James. "And y'know something? That blue isn't so bad on you. I mean, it's no splendid red, but it looks nice."
"Thanks."
Just then, Sir Topham Hatt pulled up...in a dark blue suit. "Morning, everybody!"
"Hey, sir...uh...new suit?" Thomas asked, confused. Is everything really back to normal?
"Yes, it is. My black suit is in the wash right now." Sir Topham Hatt explained. "Bit too much pasta last night. Now, we have a lot of work to do today, and I'm expecting nothing but the best. Because what's the Sodor Railway motto?"
"...uh...really reliable and right on time?" Thomas questioned.
"Bingo!"
Thomas sighed with relief. "Oh, thank goodness. Everything's back to normal."
About the Author: JF the LOLZOR
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