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Sir Topham Hatt, (less formally but more commonly referred to as the Fat Controller), is the head of the railway in The Railway Series of books written by the Rev. W. V. Awdry. more...

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In the first two books in the series (The Three Railway Engines and Thomas the Tank Engine) he is known as The Fat Director. In the third book (James the Red Engine) he becomes The Fat Controller, as the railway has been nationalised. His full name is revealed in the foreword to the book Henry the Green Engine.

Origin of nickname

The character is first seen in "The Sad Story of Henry" in the first book in the Railway Series, The Three Railway Engines. When Henry refused to leave a tunnel, the story says "a Fat Director who was on the train told the guard to get a rope". The character is referred to as the Fat Director/Controller for the remainder of the Railway Series, both in the narrative and by the other characters. The name Sir Topham Hatt is first mentioned in the Foreword to Henry the Green Engine and also appears on his luggage trunk in the same book in the story "Percy and the Trousers". The first use of the name Sir Topham Hatt in the narrative comes in Duck and the Diesel Engine when Diesel refers to the character as "Your worthy Fat..." but is interrupted and firmly corrected by Duck who says "'Sir Topham Hatt' to you".

Character

When Diesel had been spreading rumours about Duck telling jokes about the big engines, the Fat Controller sent Duck to Edward's Branch line. Duck was chased by the trucks down the line and they pushed him into a barber's shop. When The Fat Controller arrived he spoke kindly to Duck for stopping a serious accident and for being so brave (see Duck and the Diesel Engine), and revealed that sending Duck away was an elaborate scheme to expose Diesel's lies.

Biography (Railway Series)

There have been three Fat Controllers. This is not revealed directly in the stories, as they all look very similar and are all known as Sir Topham Hatt. However, the books The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways (written by Rev. W. Awdry and George Awdry) and Sodor: Reading Between the Lines (by Christopher Awdry) make this clear.

Sir Topham Hatt I

He was a talented engineer who was apprenticed with William Stanier at the Great Western Railway's Swindon works, which gave him a great love of all things Great Western. He went on to assist A. W. Dry in the construction of the Tidmouth, Knapford and Elsbridge Light Railway, which became Thomas' branch line, and designed the locomotives that ran upon it.

Read more at Wikipedia.org