".... Thomas was reputed to have to turned to alcohol as a crutch, as Sir Toppam Hat had replaced the aging steam roster with a fleet of new diesels, and losing most of his regular passengers to JJ the Jet Plane. Eventually the booze and the depression caught up with Thomas, and he leaped to his death from a second story window, after being relegated to MOW duty in France. He leaves a tender and a caboose behind as his sole heirs, though rumors persist that crooked management and bad business deals had dried up what royalty money he had left from his long running PBS series he didn't spend in the pubs."