WHO THE FAT CONTROLLER TRULY IS
This is about the stout gentleman himself, Sir Topham Hatt, better known as "The Fat Controller" and how to perfectly describe him. If you wondering who this Topham is. Well, for the sake of the picture, I'm adding Sir Charles Topham Hatt II from the Railway Series, who was controller of North Western Railway from 1954 to 1984 (a very good thirty years I say.). There is another reason why I added chose him, but that will be later.
Now all Thomas fans are familiar with Sir Topham Hatt. And he became a well-known character. However, like most T&F fans, I'm sick and tired of how some fans see him. As @CrovanWorks pointed out, he was character assassinated in the Brenner Era (execpt for Skiff and the Mermaid) and turned into this Homer Simpson type of character who always suffers a lot no thanks to those stupids woke leftists. And even worse and the thing I hate is that those woke people, including fanfics like that Shed 17 bullsh*t and those damn original scripts in S5 described Topham as a cruel, tyrannical dictator who is unfair.
But I and many other fellow Thomas fans know how The Fat Controller truly is. And The Fat Controller is neither your typical Homer Simpson nor a cruel tyrannical dictator.
In fact, in my opinion, Sir Topham Hatt is one of the most important and without a doubt one of the best characters who deserves the next Sodor's Finest about himself.
The Fat Controller is a strict but a kind, humble, and fair father figure who is willing to accept all engines, no matter what type, e.g. Steam, diesel, electric, petrol etc. He is willing to give them a chance to be on their railway.
He only disciplines an engine who misbehaves or when they are discriminatory towards others, he sends them packing, like how he did with Diesel, D4711/D261/Bowler and D199/Spamcan. This is a very important rule: NO DISCRIMINATION!
His railway is not just for hard-working engines but it's also for engines who show respect and treat others fairly and he is willing to give them a chance to improve their behaviors, a big example is Daisy.
The most important thing about Topham is that he views his engines not machines, but he views his engines as living, breathing people who have lives and free-will and considers the engines as equals. And treats his engines as if they are a part of his own family. And that is The True Meaning of a Railway.
And plus, he doesn't have something that we have. And this is in all caps for a reason and that's what I love about Topham: THE FAT CONTROLLER DOESN'T HAVE A FAVOURITE ENGINE. Yep, while we Thomas fans have our favorite engines, The Fat Controller does not have a favorite, and that's a good and one of the best parts about him.
The reason why I chose Sir Charles Topham Hatt II is because he is the best version of The Fat Controller and the perfect sum-up to who Topham truly is.
He kept both Donald and Douglas after learning what happened.
He gave Daisy a second chance to improve after Percy's accident thanks to Toby, who put a good word into Daisy. And now Daisy is the first diesel officially purchased on the North Western Railway.
He invited the Flying Scotsman to his railway to help cheer up Gordon after Gordon learned about what happened to his siblings on the mainland.
Gave Bear another chance and now Bear's the number 3 diesel of the NWR.
He saved Oliver, Isabel and Toad (along with Dulcie, Alice and Mirabel) and presumably more engines, all steam, diesel and electric, from scrap.
In conclusion, this is who Sir Topham Hatt truly is. He isn't a butt monkey. He isn't a dictator. Sir Topham Hatt is a man who is a humble father figure to his engines and understand their problems. All of what I said is how you perfectly describe The Fat Controller. And why is undoubtably and unquestionably one of the MOST IMPORTANT AND BEST CHARACTERS OF ALL TIME. And when this is why Sir Topham Hatt deserves a Sodor's Finest.
