Christopher Awdry) make this clear. Sir Topham Hatt, 1st Baronet (1880-1956) He was a talented engineer who was apprenticed with Sir 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 the branch line, and designed the locomotives that ran upon it. When the standard gauge railways of the Island were merged into the North Western Railway in 1914, Topham Hatt was called upon for his engineering skill. He constructed a bridge to link Sodor with the Mainland, as well as a number of branch lines and improvements to locomotive facilities. He was immediately made a Director of the railway. Topham married Jane Brown and fathered a son (Charles Topham Hatt) and a daughter (Barbara Jane Hatt). Jane was sister to Sir Handel Brown, Liberal MP for Sodor East and owner of the Skarloey Railway, making all successive descendants of the two railway families cousins. Charles wed Amanda Croarie, daughter of the owner of the Ffarquhar Quarry Company, and Barbara married Henry Regaby, the Viscount Harwick. In light of this, Topham's family unit can be seen as an alliance of several of the most prominent families in Sodor. When the North Western Railway was nationalised and became part of British Railways in 1948, Topham Hatt was made Controller of the railway. 1948 also saw him made a baronet for his services to the railways of Sodor. He retired as Controller in 1952 and died in 1956 at age 76. This Fat Controller appears to be the one shown in the series. He appeared in: The Three Railway Engines The Sad Story of Henry Edward, Gordon and Henry Thomas the Tank Engine Thomas' Train Thomas and the Trucks Thomas and the Breakdown Train James the Red Engine Tank Engine Thomas Again Thomas and the Guard Thomas Goes Fishing Thomas and Bertie Troublesome Engines Henry and the Elephant Tenders and Turntables Trouble in the Shed Percy Runs Away Henry the Green Engine Coal The Flying Kipper Gordon's Whistle Percy and the Trousers Henry's Sneeze Toby the Tram Engine Gordon the Big Engine Edward the Blue Engine Saved from Scrap Old Iron Sir Charles Topham Hatt, 2nd Baronet (1914-1997) Charles Topham Hatt was the son of the first Sir Topham Hatt and