On Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th September the railway once again played host to the Friends Of Thomas weekend as has now become customary.  The event was centered around Douglas Station with the usual static attractions such as “Peedee” and “Reggie” the buses (being the PD2 and A.E.C. Regent III vintage buses complete with faces), as well as the troublesome trucks (M.78 and H.1) and the dirty diesel (No. 17).  Trains operated as normal and all events were centred in Douglas Station including face painting and the obligatory bouncy castle.  The event was operated in conjunction with H.I.T. Entertainment who own the rights to the character, and a dedicated steam locomotive in the form of No. 4 Loch of 1874 was on hand in the station on the Sunday as had been the case in previous years, No. 17 Viking was in use as Dirty Diesel complete with suitably grumpy face..