It was a terrible mess that was made that fateful snowy morning in November. The track was laid waste, rails twisted and torn asunder. Flat cars and box cars were scattered like tenpins hither and yon. The tank engine lay on its side in the cold, its fire out and steam pressure down to zero.

“This is a terrible tragedy,” the Chief Inspector declared to the press, holding in his hand a heavy crowbar that had been used to pry the rails away from the ties. “More than that,” he continued, “it is a deliberate act of sabotage.”

Sir Topham Hatt stepped up to the microphone and said, “We shall not rest until the culprit is apprehended and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law!”

“Indeed,” reiterated the Chief Inspector, “this is a blatant and obvious case of Thomascide!”