John York
Thomas the Tank ‘Seeing Signals’

Ink on cel
41 x 30 cm

This black-and-white ink illustration is from the Thomas & Friends episode “Seeing Signals.” This episode features Thomas delivering trucks to Wellsworth, but a thick mist causes him to miss a signal and end up on the wrong track, leading to a near accident and the discovery of a signalman who had sprained his ankle and was unable to call for help. Luckily, the signalman’s ankle is not badly sprained and he is soon back at work. When Thomas passes the signal box again, the signalman waves as normal. Thomas thinks that is the best signal of all.

This trio of illustrations captures Thomas’ shifting emotions as he realises he is not at all on his branch line and is heading straight towards some buffers. He seems to be bracing for impact with his breaks screeching all around him.

Condition: generally very good.

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