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This article is about the episode. You may be looking for the South African VHS, the German VHS, the German DVD or the Buzz Book.
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“Never trust domeless engines, they're not respectable!”
― Gordon

Gordon and the Famous Visitor is the fourth episode of the third series. It is based on the story Domeless Engines from the Railway Series book Duck and the Diesel Engine.

Plot

It is an important day in the yard, as a special visitor named City of Truro has arrived and is now the centre of attention, with many people taking photographs and making notes. Duck explains to Thomas and Percy that City of Truro is a celebrity - a very famous engine - and they will have the chance to talk to him later. Thomas, however, believes that City of Truro is too famous to want to talk to them. Most of the engines are very pleased about the Visitor but Gordon thinks it is a lot of fuss about nothing. The other engines are happy to find that City of Truro is quite friendly and he enjoys talking to them well into the night.

Early the next morning, City of Truro heads back to his own railway and Thomas tells Gordon that the engine is famous since he was the first to go over 100 mph. Gordon tells Thomas that City of Truro has no dome and that domeless engines are not trustworthy or have no respect as far as he is concerned. He also claims that 100 mph would be easy for him.

Later that day, Duck is taking some trucks to Wellsworth and tells Edward what Gordon has said about the visitor. Edward tells Duck that Gordon is simply jealous, since he thinks that he should be famous. Moments later, Gordon thunders past the two engines on the main line as his wheels pound the rails and disappear through the station, determined to go as fast as the visitor. Duck watches and jokingly tells Edward that Gordon will knock himself to bits.

Further along the line, Gordon begins to feel something loose on top of his boiler. He decides to slow down but it's already too late. He meets a teasing wind which blows in very hard puffs on the Viaduct, not a gentle or hard steady one. The wind creeps under Gordon's loose dome, lifts it off and sends it flying away into the valley below. Without Gordon's dome, he is most uncomfortable with the wind whistling through the hole where it should be and feels embarrassed too. And to make matters worse for him, the trucks laugh at him when he gets to Knapford. He tries to shoo them away by wheeshing steam at them but nothing he does works as they crowd him around.

On the journey home, Gordon wants his driver to find his dome. However, he says that it is too late to find it now and Gordon will have to go to the Works for a new one. Gordon is most upset and hopes that the sheds are going to be empty tonight when he gets home but all the engines are there waiting. As Gordon turns around on the turntable, he hears a voice saying, "Never trust domeless engines, they aren't respectable!"

Characters

Locations

Trivia

  • In several promotional pictures:
    • Thomas, Percy and Duck are at the other end of Tidmouth Sheds.
    • City of Truro's tender can be seen at the left of Gordon (viewer's right).
    • Gordon is pulling red express coaches instead of the green ones.
    • Edward and Duck are at the station instead of the yard and Gordon races through the station on the left track rather than the middle.
    • Gordon is seen crossing the viaduct in the opposite direction without his dome. Another photo features him on the viaduct with his dome wearing his first series ashamed face.
  • The first draft was written on 1 February 1991.
  • Sped-up stock footage from the previous episode is used.
  • In the UK and international dubs (excluding the Ukrainian voice-over), when Gordon is said to be "most uncomfortable", the music is omitted.
  • In the restored version:
    • The scene of Gordon leaving Tidmouth Goods Station is shortened and is replaced with an extended shot of the other engines talking to City of Truro at night.
    • The scene of Gordon thundering by Wellsworth is slightly slowed down.
  • This is the first time a real-life engine appears in the television series.
  • There is a bulldozer from TUGS next to Gordon when he arrives at Tidmouth Sheds.
  • Although City of Truro's name is never mentioned, it is seen on the banner at Tidmouth Sheds and a close-up of his nameplate.
  • When first repeated on CITV on 29 January 1993 in the United Kingdom, Duck's conversation with Edward at Wellsworth was cut out to fit the time slot.
  • The first coach in Henry's train as he passes through Wellsworth seems to be one from Series 2, as the paint around the windows is white instead of tan/yellow.
  • Henry is the only steam engine not present at the sheds during the City of Truro's visit, save for Gordon, who passed by the sheds a few seconds later at the beginning of the episode.
  • This episode was paired alongside Paint Pots and Queens in an airing of Storytime with Thomas in the US.
  • This episode marks the last appearance of Gordon's annoyed face from the first two series.
  • This episode marks the only with a few things:
    • City of Truro's only appearance (not counting picture or scrapped model cameos).
    • The only episode until the twentieth series episode, Toby's New Friend, where Donald and Douglas make cameos together.
  • This episode was never released on home video in South Korea.
  • This episode is the first to be released on VHS in Finland.

Goofs

  • In the close-up on Thomas and Duck at the sheds, Duck is derailed.
  • Gordon's grumpy face is missing the eyebrows.
  • In the opening scene, Toby's front window is broken.
  • When Gordon seems to pass through Wellsworth, he also passes through Henry's Forest four times.
  • When Gordon feels "something loose", he brushes against a tree.
  • After Gordon loses his dome, his coaches disappear.
  • Half of the embankment moves down and up slightly when Gordon goes through the Country Line.
  • When Gordon goes through Knapford, he is tilted to the right. In the same scene, the red express coach to the far left is also seen with exposed wires around its buffers.
  • Duck's right wheel is derailed when Thomas asks him who City of Truro is.
  • Edward's whistle is a bit crooked when Duck talks to him.
  • Henry's eyes are misaligned when he passes Edward and Duck at Wellsworth.
  • In the last shot of the episode, Gordon's eyes are misaligned and his buffers are also slightly crooked.
  • Black blue tack can clearly be seen underneath the feet of some people at the start.
  • In the Swedish dub of this episode, Thomas says City of Truro went 100 "mil" per hour, which is the general distance measurement in Sweden. However, 100 mil per hour convert to 621.371192 miles, or 1,000 kilometres per hour, a speed that is impossible to reach for a steam engine.
  • Gordon's eyes are misaligned when he says, "He did it, I'll do! He did it, I'll do it!"
  • Gordon's buffers are crooked in many scenes.

Quotes

Gordon: Good riddance! Chattering all night. Who is he, anyway?
Thomas: Duck told you. He's famous!
Gordon: As famous as me? Nonsense!
Thomas: He's famouser than you. He went 100 miles an hour before you were even thought of.
Gordon: So he says but I didn't like his looks. He's got no dome! Never trust domeless engines. They're not respectable. I never boast but I'd say 100 miles an hour would be easy for me.

Edward: Hello! That famous engine came through this morning. He whistled to me! Wasn't he kind?
Duck: He's the finest engine in the world.
Narrator: Then he told Edward what Gordon had said.
Edward: Take no notice. He's just jealous. Look, he's coming now.
Gordon: [rockets past] He did it, I'll do it! He did it, I'll do it!
Duck: He'll knock himself to bits.

Gordon: The top of my boiler seems funny! It feels as if something is loose! I'd better go slower.

In Other Languages

View content
Language Title
Chinese Mandarin 高登与著名访客
Czech Gordon a slavny host
Danish Gordon og den berømte gæst
Dutch Gordon en het beroemde bezoek
Finnish Jori ja kuuluisa vieras
French Gordon et le visiteur illustre
German Eine weltberühmte Lok
Greek Ένας διάσημος επισκέπτης
Hungarian Gordon és a különleges látogató
Italian Gordon e l'ospite famosa
Japanese ゴードンとゆうめいなきかんしゃ
Korean 날아간 보일러 덮개
Norwegian Gordon og den berømte gjesten
Polish Gabryś i gwiazdor
Romanian Gordon și vizitatorul faimos
Russian Гордон и известный посетитель
Serbian Gordon i poznati posetilac
Slovenian Gorazd in slavni obiskovalec
Swedish Gordon och den berömda gästen
Turkish Gordon ve Meşhur Ziyaretçi
Ukrainian Гордон і знаменитий гість
Welsh Gordon a'r Ymwelydd Enwog

Merchandise

Home Video Releases

UK

UK DVD Boxset

WAL

US

CAN

  • Thomas Gets Bumped and Other Stories
  • Best of Gordon

US/CAN VHS/DVD Packs

AUS

AUS DVD Packs

NZ

ZA

IND

MYS

PHL

ITA

FRA

NL

GER

GER DVD Boxset

NOR

DK

SWE

FIN

  • Thomas, Percy and the Dragon

SVN

SRP

GRC

GRC DVD Boxset

TUR

THA

JPN

JPN VHS/DVD Boxsets

CHN

HK

Episode

References



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