Thomas, Percy and Old Slow Coach

"You said the countryside's run got you all fired up, James, but I didn't think you meant it in this way!" "Pah! It was the stupid trucks'/cars' fault, not mine!"

- Percy teasing James over his accident.

Thomas, Percy and Old Slow Coach (originally titled Fire Engines) is the sixteenth episode of the fifth series. In the US, it aired back to back with Thomas and the Rumors in an episode of Storytime with Thomas.

Plot
Thomas, James and Percy look up at the early morning sky. Thomas says that all the villagers of Sodor are happier when springtime comes, but James complains about the hard work he has been given especially the coastal runs he has been running on lately. Percy however tells him that the Fat Controller wants everything to be ready for the holidays and the salty air makes him feel good. James scoffs and prefers being in the countryside instead, before leaving the shed to collect his goods train from the docks.

Thomas and Percy then leave the sheds to take some empty trucks to the scrapyard. When they finish their job, they discover an old coach in the scrap yard. She looks very dirty and sad and says that she is not useful any more and only has mice to ride in her despite being in good condition. The yard manager arrives and is asked by Percy's driver about the coach, whose name is Old Slow Coach and is due to be broken up soon. Thomas and Percy are very upset and though he is unsure how yet, Thomas offers to help her.

Meanwhile, James is enjoying his journey with a few fuel tankers when there is trouble; one in his train is leaking fuel, causing all the tankers to ignite from the sparks billowing from James' funnel. His driver immediately pulls the train into a siding and notifies the fire brigade. Thomas and Percy then arrive at the junction and the guard reveals what happened. Although it is quite a mess, the fire is soon extinguished. Percy teases James about being fired up in the countryside, rather than being in the literal way, but James states that he blames the tankers that caused the fire. Thomas and Percy are now given the all-clear signal by a firefighter to proceed with their journey at a reduced speed, while they feel sorry for James.

Later that day, Thomas and Percy take on water when they find out that there is another fire at the workmen's hut near them, so they decide to go see how they can help. The fire engines arrive, but there is a bigger problem; they are completely out of water from the previous fire and cannot use seawater as it would clog their pumping apparatus, so the firefighters are forced to let the hut burn. Thomas suggests that they use the water from his and Percy's tanks. The plan works well and the fire is soon put out, but the workmen's hut is completely destroyed. A foreman arrives and worries about housing for the men and says that they cannot sleep on the beach, so Percy then comes up with the idea of using Old Slow Coach as the workmen's new temporary hut. Percy's crew then phones the Fat Controller, who agrees to the idea.

Old Slow Coach is cleaned up, repainted and restored and feels splendid. Thomas and Percy collect her and she sets off happily enjoying her new life with the workmen. They all agree there is nothing old or slow about her and she will always be Really Useful.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * James
 * Percy
 * Old Slow Coach
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * The Fire Brigade
 * Jem Cole
 * Big Mickey ​
 * Gordon
 * Donald or Douglas
 * City of Truro
 * Flying Scotsman
 * Märklin Engine ​
 * Toad

Locations

 * Tidmouth Hault
 * Tidmouth Hault Sheds
 * The Workmen's Hut
 * Sodor Ironworks
 * Sodor Shipping Company
 * The Flour Mill
 * Standard and Narrow Gauge Tunnel Runby
 * Tidmouth Beach
 * Tidmouth Lighthouse
 * Sir Topham Hatt's Office
 * Brendam Docks

Trivia

 * The working title of this episode appears to have been called "Fire Engines." This may have been dropped because of its similarity to the story "Fire-Engine" in the The Railway Series book James and the Diesel Engines.
 * The scene of the dawning sky at the beginning is actually an edited scene from Thomas and the Rumours.
 * The opening shot is similar to the closing shot of the Third Season episode, All at Sea.
 * Elements of the magazine story Fire are used.
 * Scrap models of Thomas, Gordon, one of the Scottish Twins, City of Truro, Toad, the Märklin Engine and the old tenders can be seen in the background in shots of the scrapyard; along with Gordon's pilot model seen in the first shot.
 * In the first shot of Thomas and Percy at the scrapyard, a scrapped OBB boxcar from TUGS can be spotted.
 * In the Latin American Spanish, Polish and Czech dubs, Old Slow Coach is referred to as a male.
 * When Thomas and Percy puff to see what they can do about the fire at the workmen's hut, behind them in the background at Tidmouth Hault is the stationmaster's house from the second series episode, Thomas Comes to Breakfast.
 * This episode aired on the same day that Spooks and Surprises was released on VHS.
 * In the US dub, James' line, "Oh help!" is taken directly from James and the Trouble with Trees.
 * The Workmen's Hut is the model of Dryaw Goods Station being reused.
 * There are a few deleted scenes that did not make it into the final cut, including:
 * A deleted scene of the early morning sky.
 * A deleted scene of Percy talking to Old Slow Coach.
 * An alternate Shot of Percy's driver asking The Yard Manager to tell them about Old Slow Coach.
 * An alternate Shot of The Yard Manager telling them about Old Slow Coach.
 * A deleted scene of Old Slow Coach's full body.
 * An alternate Shot of The leaky Fuel Tanker.
 * An alternate Shot of James puffing with his fiery fuel tankers in a panic with his shocked face off-centre.
 * A deleted scene of James' driver calling for help.
 * A deleted scene of Thomas' driver asking the guard what happened.
 * A deleted scene of Thomas and Percy shunting their trucks in to the Shed while stopping at the water tower.
 * An alternate Shot of Thomas' driver looking at The workman's hut that is on fire.
 * An extended scene of Thomas and Percy watching the fire before The Fire Brigade arrive.
 * A deleted scene of The Fire Brigade arriving to put out the fire.
 * Some extended scenes of Old Slow Coach fully restored.
 * An alternate shot of Thomas buffering up to Old Slow Coach wearing his original grinning face instead of his happy one.
 * A deleted close-up scene of Old Slow Coach as the Workman's hut.
 * This episode marks the first of a few things:
 * Old Slow Coach’s first appearance.
 * The first appearance of Thomas' unused alarmed face from the third series.
 * The first appearance of Tidmouth Hault since the third series.
 * The first appearance of a non-Awdry rolling stock character.
 * This episode marks the last of a few things:
 * The last episode where Thomas' shocked face gains a bucktooth.
 * A guard's last speaking role until the eighteenth series episode, Thomas and the Emergency Cable.
 * The last appearance of The Flour Mill until the eighth series.
 * The last time "stupid" was said in the series (though it would be used in Thomas and the Magic Railroad).

Goofs

 * At the beginning of the episode, James' tender brake pipe is missing.
 * In one scene, Thomas' frantic face's eyebrows were rubbed off.
 * In one shot of Old Slow Coach at the scrapyard, Percy and his trucks are missing.
 * When Thomas and Percy shunt their trucks in the sidings, Percy's eyes are misaligned.
 * When the guard says: "It's quite a mess," Thomas lurches forward a bit.
 * When Percy says: "You said the countryside runs got you all fired up James," his lamp is misaligned.
 * When James says "Oh, help!", his eyes are misaligned.
 * In one shot in the scrapyard, part of the rails are oily, but in the previous scene, there was nothing on the rails.
 * When Thomas and Percy take Old Slow Coach away, something is hanging on top of the screen.
 * In a close-up of James, the tracks next to him lead to bushes.

Quotes

 * Thomas: Everyone's so much happier when springtime comes.
 * James: Everyone except the Fat Controller/Sir Topham Hatt. He seems to be working us harder than ever. I'm tired of these coastal runs.
 * Percy: He just wants everything to be ready for the holidays. Anyway, salty air makes me all cheerful in my smokebox.
 * James: Pah! It's the countryside that really gets me fired up. It's the only place to be.




 * Percy: You said the countryside got you all fired up, James. But I didn't think you meant it in this way!
 * James: PAH! It was this stupid trucks'/cars' fault, not mine!

Merchandise

 * Books - Thomas and Percy to the Rescue

Home Media Releases
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UK

 * Peep Peep Party
 * The Complete Series 5

DVD Boxsets

 * Classic Collection
 * Peep Peep Party and Brave Little Engines Double Pack
 * Peep Peep Party/Engines to the Rescue/The Chocolate Crunch Triple Pack

US

 * Cranky Bugs and Other Thomas Stories
 * Races, Rescues and Runaways and Other Thomas Adventures
 * Thomas & Friends Classic Volume 5

CAN

 * Cranky Bugs and Other Thomas Stories

DVD Boxsets

 * Totally Thomas Volume 3

AUS

 * Happy Holidays
 * The Complete Series 5

DVD Packs

 * Complete Series 1-10
 * Classic Collection
 * Series Five and Series Six Double Pack

NZ

 * Happy Holidays

ZA

 * Thomas and the Rumours

ITA

 * Back All!

SWE

 * Little Engines Help Out

NOR

 * The Old Coach

DK

 * Forward and Backward and Other Stories

GRC

 * The Trains Have Fun

MYS

 * Haunted Henry and Other Thomas Adventures
 * Put Upon Percy and Other Adventures

PHL

 * Oliver's Great Adventure

JPN

 * New Thomas the Tank Engine 2 Vol.4
 * A Nice Little Story of Thomas the Tank Engine
 * The Complete Works of Thomas the Tank Engine 2 Vol.3

KOR

 * Character Special Edition Series Vol. 2
 * Friends Love Story

WAL

 * Fleas and 15 other Stories

HK

 * Thomas and Friends Volume 12
 * Thomas and Friends Volume 5

THA

 * Thomas and Friends - Volume 18

TWN
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 * Help the Happiest Friends
 * Thomas and Friends Volume 3

Thomas, Percy y el Viejo Vagón תומס, פרסי ואולד סלואו קואוץ' トーマスとふるいきゃくしゃ Tomek, Piotruś i Stary Wolny Wagon Томас, Перси и Старый Медленный Вагон