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- “So the 'Old Iron' caught you after all.”
- ― Edward
Old Iron is the fifth episode of the second series. It is based on the story of the same name from the Railway Series book Edward the Blue Engine.
Plot
One day, James is forced to wait at Wellsworth for Edward to arrive with his train. James is infuriated by this and grumbles about Edward being late again, though Edward finds it funny. After finishing his work for the day, James is still bad-tempered when he puffs back to the shed that afternoon. He complains to Thomas and Percy that Edward always makes other engines wait and clanks like a lot of "old iron". Thomas and Percy are annoyed at this remark and tell James that Edward could beat him in a race any day, to which James sarcastically says he would like to see.
The next morning, James' driver suddenly falls ill and is sent home. With only his fireman on hand, James, to his annoyance, is relegated to shunting for the rest of the day. After the fireman uncouples James from the trucks, the signalman suddenly spots James leaving without anyone in his cab and sets the signals at "danger" to halt traffic down the line. James' fireman then speaks with the signalman, who says he saw two boys on James' footplate playing with his controls, then quickly ran off when he started. The signalman's telephone rings, with an engine inspector on the other end. After finishing the call, the signalman then tells the fireman that the inspector is coming and wants him to get a shunter's pole and a coil of wire rope.
"What a lark, what a lark!"
The inspector soon arrives in Edward and the fireman is ready with the pole and the rope. With James' fireman and the inspector riding along with his own crew, Edward sets off. Meanwhile, James happily sails along the line after leaving the yard, oblivious that anything is wrong and simply glad to be free from shunting. Before long, his mood changes as he finds himself starting to go faster. He realizes there is no one in his cab and starts to panic. By now, Edward is racing out of Knapford and heading down the Main Line as fast as he can to catch up to James. Soon, the two are almost neck and neck, with Edward giving it everything he can to keep up. Edward's driver does his best to keep him in alignment with James, while the inspector carefully climbs out of Edward's cab and makes it to his front with a noose of the rope hanging from the crook of the shunting pole, trying to slip the noose over James' right buffer. It is difficult for the inspector, but he finally manages to catch the buffer and tie it to Edward's left one. Braking gently to keep the rope from snapping, Edward's driver checks the two engines' speed, while James' fireman rushes over to his cab and takes control, allowing both engines to finally slow down.
As the two tired engines approach Crosby, James apologises for his earlier insult, which Edward accepts. Waiting for them on the platform is the Fat Controller. He congratulates the crew on their rescue and then tells James that he can rest before he takes his next train, while Edward is rewarded with a trip to the Works to get his worn-out parts mended. Edward is delighted, remarking how nice it will be to run without clanking.
Characters
- Thomas
- Edward
- James
- Percy
- Sir Topham Hatt
- Charlie Sand
- Engine Inspector
- The Naughty Boys (do not speak)
- Henry (cameo)
- Gordon (cameo)
- Troublesome Trucks (cameos)
- Sidney Hever (cameo)
- Stephen Hatt (cameo)
- Mrs. Kyndley (cameo)
- Toby (mistakenly mentioned in Swedish re-dub)
Locations
- Wellsworth
- Tidmouth Sheds
- Knapford
- Crosby
- The Works (mentioned)
Trivia
- This episode is based on a real event that took place when an Alco S2 locomotive ran away from a yard in Alton, Illinois, United States. The incident was nearly identical to the episode.
- When Edward arrives at the Sodor Shipping Company, a first series-styled truck can be seen in the goods train next to him.
- In the restored version:
- The fade effect when Edward says "So the 'Old Iron' caught you after all", is removed.
- In the close-up of the Fat Controller, the background is blacked out.
- In several promotional pictures, James is smiling while he is at the sheds with Thomas and Percy. One of these images was used on the front cover of several cover variants of James Learns a Lesson and Other Stories in the 1990s.
- In the original story by Wilbert Awdry, the police arrested the boys, who were then "walloped soundly" and punished by their fathers. This was cut from the TV adaptation as it references child abuse and because of its time limit.
- At one point, James and Edward pass Mrs. Kyndley's Cottage.
- The road bridge where Edward almost catches up with James is actually one of the New Harbour Bridges.
- The close-up of James' bufferbeam where the rope is swaying across his right buffer (viewers' left) is actually Thomas' bufferbeam but with his headlamp removed.
- The script change of "The Fat Controller was waiting" to "Sir Topham Hatt was waiting" makes this episode the only one of Ringo Starr's US dubs to have him re-narrate just one line.
- This episode marks the first appearances of James' tired face mask.
- The Korean title of this episode shares the same name on JEI TV and DVD Acadamy.
Goofs
- In the beginning, there is a gap between the face plate and the eyes and a crumb found on James' footplate. Thomas also has a gap in between the eyes and the face plate.
- Edward pulls his passenger train in the opposite when he meets James at Wellworth.
- Percy's brake pipe is tilted.
- James' face is crooked when he says "Really?"
- When James reverses into his shed, the track is off centre and Ringo Starr's narration can also be faintly heard in the background in the Japanese dub.
- In the Louise Raeder Swedish dub, Edward has Percy's whistle sound at the end. This is because the audio at the end was taken from Percy and the Signal. Also in the Håkan Mohede Swedish re-dub, Percy is referred to as Toby.
- In a promotional image, James' ill driver is standing inside of Henry's cab.
- Despite James' runaway mishap starting in the morning, the clock in the signal box has its hands set at 1:20, as if it was afternoon.
- When James starts again next to the signal box, the trucks have disappeared.
- The wire used to change one of the signals is visible.
- A piece of blu tack can be seen on the signalman's hand to hold the telephone.
- When Edward picks up James' fireman:
- His eyebrows are missing.
- The inspector has a large stain around his mouth because the figurine portraying the porter from Cows was used.
- His close-up model tender also has a large size and a different shape because Gordon's tender is reused.
- In the restored version, a tiny piece of studio equipment can be seen near the top center when James races through Knapford Station.
- Henry's eyes are misaligned when Edward races through Knapford Station.
- During the chase sequence:
- The tracks in the foreground and background end in the bushes.
- The track layout which Edward and James run along has point work in various places but all of them lead to nowhere.
- The insides of Edward and James funnels are also white instead of black.
- In the original version, studio equipment is visible in the top-right corner when Edward catches up to James.
- When the inspector is walking towards the front of Edward, James' tender starts to derail.
- Edward and James appear to pass under the same bridge twice just before the inspector catches the latter's buffer.
- Edward's boiler is very off centre and his tender is also tilted after the rope is attached between him and James.
- Despite both engines arriving side by side at Crosby station, they pass by it earlier in the episode: first James, before the close up of his wheels and Edward after he rushes through Knapford Station.
- After the chase, Edward and James pass the water column twice. This is due to alternate footage of the former fading into the latter the wrong way.
In Other Languages
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Merchandise
- My Thomas Story Library book - Edward
- Magazine story - Old Iron
Home Video Releases
Episode
References
| #01 Thomas, Percy and the Coal | #10 The Runaway | #19 Daisy |
| #02 Cows | #11 Percy Takes the Plunge | #20 Percy's Predicament |
| #03 Bertie's Chase | #12 Pop Goes the Diesel | #21 The Diseasel |
| #04 Saved from Scrap | #13 Dirty Work | #22 Wrong Road |
| #05 Old Iron | #14 A Close Shave | #23 Edward's Exploit |
| #06 Thomas and Trevor | #15 Better Late than Never | #24 Ghost Train |
| #07 Percy and the Signal | #16 Break Van | #25 Woolly Bear |
| #08 Duck Takes Charge | #17 The Deputation | #26 Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree |
| #09 Percy and Harold | #18 Thomas Comes to Breakfast | Cancelled: The Missing Coach |
| Cancelled: Gordon Goes Foreign | ||