Christmas, 1952

"Christmas, 1952" is the 7th episode of The British Railway Series: The End of the LNER.

Plot
Winter has now come, and the engines on the railways are having trouble doing their work in the snow. Tavish, the new Scottish engine, has been put in charge of clearing snow from the tracks, but he is overworked, and becomes angry. One day, Stephen and Herbert are talking about the snow at the junction, when Tavish appears, dragging Allen, who got stuck in a snow bank, with him. Stephen finds it funny, but the others don't.

Later, at the yards, the engines are angrily discussing the snow, when Sir Ralph enters the yard, seething with rage. He demands to know why Tavish isn't clearing the line, and Tavish states that he can't do all of the work himself. After he and Sir Ralph insult each other, Allen comes out of the shed, and says that he has an idea.

Soon, the Foreman is aware of the idea, and speaks to Sir Ralph and Tavish's crews. The 2 engines both refuse to cooperate, but they are made to, and together Sir Ralph and Tavish clear the lines, Sir Ralph rescuing Tavish when he gets stuck.

Late that night, Sir Ralph and Tavish return to the yard, both wondering why they had bothered to do the job, but Stephen reminds them that they did it for the passengers, as they wouldn't want to be stuck at the station on Christmas Eve. Sir Ralph then apologizes to Tavish, but the Scottish engine stops him, saying that he will embarrass himself if he continues. Sir Ralph smiles, and Allen then tells the engines that midnight has just passed. The engines wish one another a merry Christmas, before all going to sleep.

Characters

 * Allen
 * Stephen
 * Sir Ralph
 * Herbert
 * Nigel
 * Tavish
 * Flying Scotsman (cameo (1960's condition and early preservation condition))
 * Gulliver (cameo)
 * The Midland Engine (cameo)
 * Geoffrey (cameo)

Trivia

 * This was the first episode to include music since A Great Problem Goes West!
 * This was the last episode to be made using the first model set layout.
 * This was the first episode in the series to have snow on the layout.
 * This is the first 1 part episode.
 * This is the only episode to date that has Tavish as the main character.