Thomas is a college boy that is obsessed with trains and wants to become a train engineer. He spends his days taking care of the trains in a local railway system. One day, he discovers that the primary train that runs the system has been offline for weeks and he sets off to find out what happened.
Thomas finds out that the train has been offline because its number one engineer, also known as the professor, died in an accident. The professor was in charge of maintaining the engine and all trains on the line by hand. This was no longer possible after they were automated. Thomas knows he has to fix this problem before it gets too late or risk shutting down all trains on this line. Every day, Thomas goes back to fix more of the broken parts and continue to feed coal into the engine's firebox because it needs fuel to stay alive.
The other trains on the line know of Thomas' dilemma but remain unsympathetic because they lost their engineer and can
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The story begins with Thomas being called to fix the trains before they break down for good. All of the trains in the station are either broken down or about to. The only ones still running are long, empty cars that people use to get out of town.
Thomas becomes friends with a conductor, who is helping him maintain the trains and help them stay alive. Thomas also falls in love with Lily, a girl who has been living on the longest train that runs all through town. She makes up stories to entertain herself while she's stuck on this train that's always running but never arriving anywhere.
It's only when Thomas finds out about her living conditions that he decides to help her get off of this train for good and start a new life. But then Lily learns about Thomas' secret: he has been taking care of these trains before they become too old and need replaced for years now and she is determined to stay on this train at all costs.
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"Thomas and the trains" is about a college boy who is obsessed with trains and wants to save them from extinction. He has a death wish and is in love with the trains---they are like his lovers. They exist together long after people stopped riding the trains.
One day, he finds out that a train has been cut up and its parts sold off. Angry, he decides to go to the train yard, where he meets a train named Sally who needs help getting her intestines back into her body. Thomas helps Sally with his boat, then falls in love with her, as she is the only woman who has ever accepted him for who he was.
He tells Sally that he wants to leave his life behind and be with her forever. She agrees and they get on a freight train heading East to find other abandoned trains. The story concludes with all of these trains living together in peace without humans to maintain their equipment or fix their rails from breaking due to age
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