The NWR & BnL Partnership Agreement of 1967

The NWR & BnL Partnership Agreement of 1967 was an agreement made between Sir Topham Hatt II and Buy 'n' Large Inc. 's top men, Michael Smith and Richard Davis in 1967.

Background
Buy 'n' Large was formed in 1937 by Michael Smith (1899 - 1976) and Richard Davis (1902 - 1997) as a cigarette factory, and became popular during the 1940s. In 1949, Michael and Richard received a large supply of coal, water and fuel, and began offering to sell it to a railway company. By the 1950s, many railway companies were begging for the railway supplies.

In 1953, Michael and Richard approached Sir Topham Hatt I (1880 - 1956), the controller of the North Western Railway at the time, with a contract to be allowed to settle on Sodor and to sell all railway supplies needed, and to handle the repair shops. Topham Hatt refused and ripped up the contract, sending them out of his office.

Successful Agreement
In 1967, Michael and Richard approached the NWR controller again, who at the time was Sir Charles Topham Hatt (1914 - 1997), and this time was successful. Charles happily made the agreement and the company moved from West Sussex, England to Crovan's Gate, Sodor. They demolished the old works and built Buy 'n' Large's Sodor Steamworks, hiring most of the staff that worked in the old works. The company grew up to be very successful.

Agreement Split
In 2013, BnL 's current CEO, Roger Smith (1955 - ) attempted to manipulate Sir Stephen Topham Hatt (1941 - 2019), the NWR controller at the time, into giving BnL complete legal control over the railway. When Stephen caught track of the plan, he decided to put a lawsuit against the company. The company was then charged with "manipulation, lying and attempting to get control of the railway", and the company had to pay fifty million pounds to Stephen. Stephen then cut ties with the company and the company nearly went out of business.