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“Old Toby's going to be scrapped!"
"Really?"
"It's true! Everyone says so."
"No, no, no, just no! My Toby is in fine shape. There's no way he's going to be scrapped!”
― Paxton, Emily and Henrietta

The Truth About Toby is the second episode of the nineteenth series.

Plot

Toby's sideplates are rattling and Henrietta suggests that they call in at the Steamworks to have them looked at. Toby tells her that he does not have the time as he has a lot of jobs to do. Toby leaves Henrietta at Knapford to take a trainload of scrap to the scrapyard. Henrietta reminds Toby to have his sideplates looked at and suggests he fill up with coal before he goes. Toby loses patience and tells Henrietta that she does not need to tell him everything.

Toby pulls in next to Reg at the scrapyard and sure enough, he does run out of coal. Toby asks if Reg has any to spare, but Reg is a diesel-powered crane. Just then, Edward chuffs past and Toby rings his bell to greet him. After he has gone, Toby realises that he should have stopped Edward to ask him for some coal. Reg tells Toby that another engine will be along shortly and he starts to unload Toby's scrap. Sure enough, Thomas clatters past. Toby calls out to him, but Thomas cannot hear him over the noise of scrunching scrap. Clarabel sees Toby and thinks he looks very sad. A short while later, Edward passes by again. Toby calls out, but like Thomas, Edward cannot hear him over the sound of Reg at work. Edward does manage to hear Toby's bell, which he thinks is odd; Toby should not still be at the scrapyard. Toby tells Reg that he is making too much noise and asks if there is some way he can attract the other engines' attentions. Reg decides he will wave a brightly coloured piece of scrap like a red flag when the next engine passes. Soon, Henry passes and Reg waves an old, red car in the air. Reg, however, accidentally loses his grip on the car and throws it towards Henry, scaring the nervous green engine.

Meanwhile, at the Docks, Edward tells Salty that every time he has passed the scrapyard, Toby has been there. Clarabel says she saw him looking sad, too. Salty comes to the sad conclusion that old Toby is going to be scrapped. Thomas is shocked and says Toby is far too useful to be scrapped.

Back at the scrapyard, Toby spots Thomas puffing towards him in the distance. Reg decides it would be a good idea to lift Toby up in the air so that Thomas will be able to see him asking for help. Toby is not impressed. Thomas passes and hears Toby screaming at Reg to put him down and the little tank engine realises that Salty must be right and Toby is going to be scrapped.

The news of Toby's fate soon travels around the island. Thomas tells Gordon who tells Caitlin. Caitlin then tells Connor and soon Stanley, Edward, Salty, James and Percy all hear the news. It is not long before every engine on Sodor has heard the news. Meanwhile back at the scrapyard, Reg lowers Toby back onto the rails, admitting that his idea might not have been the best one.

In the yard at Knapford, Paxton overhears Henry talking to Stafford about Toby. Paxton then tells Emily and Henrietta overhears. Henrietta is adamant that it is not true; there is no way her Toby is going to be scrapped.

As the sun goes down, Toby cannot understand why nobody has stopped to help him all day. Suddenly, Emily clatters in and tells Reg and Toby that there is a rumour going around that the old tram engine is going to be scrapped. Toby says he is not going to be scrapped, he merely ran out of coal. Henrietta tells Toby that she told him to fill up with coal and Toby has to admit she had been right and apologises for snapping at her earlier. Emily then lends Toby some of her coal.

Later on, the Fat Controller gathers all of the engines at Knapford. They are surprised to see Toby pull in. Then, the Fat Controller arrives and makes an announcement saying that Toby the Tram Engine is not going to be scrapped and that he is still a hard working and really useful engine. He goes on to say that whoever started the rumour caused a lot of confusion and probably some delay. Toby has no idea how the rumour started and chuckles about it with a regretful Thomas before he puffs away with his sideplate still rattling. He remembers that Henrietta had told him to go to the Steamworks and laughs as Henrietta sighs.

Characters

Locations

Cast

UK

US

  • Joseph May as Thomas
  • William Hope as Edward and Toby
  • Kerry Shale as Henry and Gordon
  • Rob Rackstraw as James
  • Christopher Ragland as Percy
  • Jules de Jongh as Emily
  • David Menkin as Stanley
  • Rebecca O'Mara as Caitlin
  • Keith Wickham as Salty, Stafford and Sir Topham Hatt
  • Steven Kynman as Paxton
  • Teresa Gallagher as Annie and Clarabel
  • Maggie Ollerenshaw as Henrietta
  • Tim Whitnall as Reg

Trivia

  • David Menkin joins the UK voice cast.
  • Going by production order, this is the fourth episode of the nineteenth series.
  • At the beginning of the episode, an arrangement of Toby's theme by Robert Hartshorne, previously heard in the fourteenth series episode Toby and the Whistling Woods, is played. It is also heard when Toby arrives and breaks down at the scrapyard, when Toby sees Thomas pass by, when Toby returns to the yard, and when the episode ends.
  • This episode on PBS Kids aired before Marion and the Dinosaurs so the audience may not know who Samson is.
  • This episode marks the first few things:
    • The first episode where all members of the Steam Team have speaking roles.
    • The first episode in where Samson appears, but does not speak.
    • The first episode since the third series via Shining Time Station to premiere on TVNZ 2 in New Zealand.
    • In the UK dub:
      • The first episode to feature Rob Rackstraw as Toby.
      • The first time David Menkin has voiced a character.
  • This episode marks the only time of a few things:
    • The only episode where David Menkin voices Stanley in this episode in both dubs.
    • Stanley's only speaking role in the nineteenth series.
    • Samson and Reg's only appearances in the nineteenth series.
  • This episode marks the last appearances of Reg and Wellsworth Scrap Yard until the twenty-first series episode P.A. Problems. However, Wellsworth Scrap Yard was mentioned in the episodes The Christmas Coffeepot, Engine of the Future and Dowager Hatt's Busy Day.
  • The car that Reg uses as a red flag is a recolour of Sir Topham Hatt's Car. The car is very similar to Mr. Percival's, which appeared in two merchandise lines, Take Along and Take-n-Play. It is unknown whether this is actually the same car or not.
  • From this episode onwards, Reg gains a slightly higher voice compared to his previous appearances.
  • In the Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Baltic Russian and Vietnamese dubs, the UK English dub can be heard in the background as a dubbing track was not used.

Goofs

  • Nigel Pilkington is not credited in the UK credits despite voicing Percy.
  • When Gordon tells Caitlin "Old Toby is going to be scrapped," her valve gear is not connected to her crosshead.
  • When Toby leaves Ffarquhar Quarry, Henrietta's door is left open.
  • Edward's brake van disappears at Brendam Docks but reappears when Henry arrives.
  • When Toby reverses to couple up to his trucks full of scrap, the truck's coupling is facing sideways right.
  • When Toby goes under a bridge at the beginning, the lighting is not rendered properly as the shadow effect is missing on his face.
  • At the end of the episode, Connor's side rods are not rendered properly as he watches Toby and Henrietta departing.

Quotes

“Toby! You're here!"
"Of course I am, Thomas! I just needed some coal."
"Quiet everyone, please! I just want to say absolutely and categorically that Toby the Tram Engine is not being scrapped. Toby is still a hard-working and really useful engine and, whoever spread the rumour that Toby was going to be scrapped, caused a lot of confusion and probably even some delay. If you're..."
"I don't know how that silly rumour came about."
"I know... [CHUCKLES NERVOUSLY] ...I have no idea how that got started! What a silly idea!”
― Thomas, Toby and the Fat Controller

In Other Languages

View content
Language Title
Brazilian Portuguese A Verdade Sobre o Toby
Chinese Mandarin 托比的真相
Croatian Istina o Tobyu
Czech Pravda o Tobym
Dutch De Waarheid Over Toby
French La Vérité Sur Toby
Greek Η αλήθεια για τον Τόμπι
Hungarian Toby és az Igazság
Italian La verità su Toby
Japanese さよならトビー?
Korean 토비의 진실
Norwegian Sannheten om Toby
Polish Prawda o Tobiku
Romanian Adevărul Despre Toby
Russian Ложный слух
Serbian Istina o Tobiju
Slovenian Resnica o Tobiju
Spanish La Verdad Sobre Toby
Ukrainian Правда про Тобі

Home Media Releases

UK

US

  • Whale of a Tale and Other Sodor Adventures (Direct-to-Home Video)
  • Season 19

CAN

  • Whale of a Tale and Other Sodor Adventures (Direct-to-Home Video)

AUS

  • Whale of a Tale and Other Sodor Adventures

FRA

  • Series 19 (Digital Download)

CHN


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