This story marks the debut of the Gordon character of Derek: Gary. This story is based upon the Thomas story "Thomas and Gordon," where the big engine does something similar to the sneaky little engine. I struggled to find how to make the original story more silly and over-the-top without basically repeating it. I ended up with having Gary pull Derek not just from one Express top to the next, but through the whole thing from beginning to end. Having no reference for any Pennsylvania Railroad express line nor finding one, I decided to make one up based loosely upon the SEPTA Broad Street Line. Based on this story, I estimate the Somewhere Express to have approximately 29 stops.