Sir Topham Hatt

Sir Topham Hatt, nicknamed "The Fat Controller", "The Stout Gentleman" (previously known as "The Fat Director"), is the manager of the North Western Railway and is a father figure to his engines.

The Fat Controllers
So far, there have been three controllers in charge of the North Western Railway.

Sir Topham Hatt I (1880-1956)
Topham Hatt was apprenticed at Swindon Works at age 14 and seems to have struck a friendship with W. A. Stanier during his time there. He came to Sodor in 1901 and joined A. W. Dry & Co. at Tidmouth. On their recommendation, he became engineer to the Tidmouth, Knapford and Elsbridge Light Railway in 1909, the Tidmouth Wellsworth & Suddery in 1912, and the North Western Railway upon its formation in 1914. On the NWR, he rose to be general manager in 1923, managing director in 1936, and on Nationalisation in 1948, he was created a baronet on his appointment as chairman of the Regional Executive. He married Jane, sister of Mr. Handel Brown, and retired in 1954 in favour of his son Charles, whom the board had no hesitation in electing as his successor.

Sir Charles Topham Hatt II (1914-1997)
Sir Charles Topham Hatt was the Fat Controller from 1954 to 1984, when he retired in favour of his own son. During his period of office he began improvements to the harbour at Knapford, planned by his father, and re-opened the Arlesburgh branch in 1965/6, being responsible for the construction of the Arlesdale Railway and for establishing the ballast consortium which uses it. He married Amanda Croarie in 1940 and they had two children, Stephen Topham, born in 1941, and Bridget, born 1943. Charles inherited his father's baronetcy in 1956.

Sir Stephen Topham Hatt III (1941-)
Sir Stephen Topham Hatt (who first appeared in Toby the Tram Engine while on a family holiday in East Anglia with his parents and grandfather) became the Fat Controller in 1984, succeeding to his father's baronetcy in 1997. In 1970 he married Helen Margaret, a distant cousin and granddaughter of the Reverend Nicholas Dreswick, the much-respected historian of Sodor. They have three children: Richard Topham, born in 1972 and no doubt destined to be Sir Topham Hatt IV (his father will be 70 in 2011, though he has, as yet, given no hint of an impending retirement), Charles Nicholas (1974-) and Emily Helen (1977-). He played a part in arranging the construction of the Arlesdale Railway's new locomotive, Jock, in 1990, a project which had been dear to his father's heart. With great skill he masterminded the arrangements for the royal visit in 1995, when he welcomed the Prince of Wales on his visit to Sodor.

The Fat Controller in the television series
In the television series, Sir Bertram Topham Hatt, a combination of the three from the Railway Series, runs the railway. He once owned a Sentinel steam lorry named Elizabeth.

Attire
The Fat Controller is a small stout gentleman. He's usually dressed in a black suit with gray trousers, a cream-coloured waistcoat, a black tie, and a top hat. He's most often depicted as having thinning gray hair and blue eyes.

Railway Series

 * The Three Railway Engines
 * Thomas the Tank Engine
 * James the Red Engine
 * Tank Engine Thomas Again

Television series

 * Season 1 - Thomas and Gordon (cameo), The Sad Story of Henry, Edward, Gordon and Henry, Thomas' Train, Thomas and the Trucks, Thomas and the Breakdown Train, James and the Coaches, Troublesome Trucks, James and the Express, Thomas and the Guard (mentioned), Thomas Goes Fishing, Thomas, Terence and the Snow (deleted scene), Thomas and Bertie (mentioned), Tenders and Turntables (does not speak), Trouble in the Shed, Percy Runs Away, Coal, The Flying Kipper, Whistles and Sneezes, Toby and the Stout Gentleman, Thomas in Trouble, Dirty Objects, Off the Rails, Down the Mine, and Thomas' Christmas Party

Trivia

 * Due to political correctness, the Fat Controller is always known by his Sunday name of Sir Topham Hatt in America.
 * Sir Topham Hatt's television model from Lady Hatt's Birthday Party was used in the 2009 Children in Need charity single and was animated using stop-motion.
 * According to Elizabeth, Sir Topham Hatt was a bad driver in his younger days.
 * In 2010, Sir Topham Hatt's office set was part of and exhibit at the Hangaram Museum in Korea.
 * Throughout the television series, Sir Topham Hatt is accompanied by two men in standard blue railway uniforms. They are presumed to be his assistants.
 * The Fat Controller received his knighthood for his service to the railway industry.

Quotes

 * “We'll see about that, engines on My Railway do as they are told.”
 * ―Sir Topham Hatt, Troublesome Engines