Old Iron

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. That evening, James is still grumbling when he puffs back to the shed. 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 outraged 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 duty, James is relegated to shunting for the day to his annoyance. After the fireman uncouples James from his trucks, the signalman suddenly spots James leaving without anyone in his cab and sets the signals at "danger" to halt traffic down the line. He then speaks with the fireman. It turns out that two boys were seen on James' footplate, fiddling with his controls, only to run 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 to get a shunter's pole and a coil of wire rope.

The inspector soon arrives in Edward and the fireman is ready with the pole and rope. With James' fireman and the inspector riding along with his own crew, Edward sets off. Meanwhile, James happily sails along the line, unaware 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 while realizing that his cab is empty, and he starts to panic. By now, Edward is racing out of Knapford and heading down the 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. The driver does his best to keep Edward steadily aligned, while the inspector climbs outside and makes it to Edward's front with a noose of the rope hanging from the shunting pole and tries 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 prevent the rope from snapping, Edward's driver checks the two engines' speed, while James' fireman scrambles 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
 * Engine Inspector
 * The Naughty Boys
 * Henry
 * Gordon
 * Troublesome Trucks
 * Stephen Hatt
 * Mrs. Kyndley

Locations

 * Wellsworth
 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * Tidmouth Goods Station
 * Tidmouth Engine Works
 * Knapford
 * Yards
 * Sodor Shipping Company
 * Crosby
 * C&B Barber
 * MC BUNN
 * Crosby Road Bridge
 * The Works

Trivia

 * 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 a promotional picture, James is smiling while he is at the sheds with Thomas and Percy.
 * 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 Harbours Bridges.
 * In the original story by Wilbert Awdry, the police arrested the boys, who were then "walloped" by their fathers. The scene was omitted in the adaptation to remove references to child abuse and because of its time limit.
 * The close-up of James' bufferbeam where the rope is swaying across his right buffer (viewers' left) is actually Thomas', 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.
 * The Korean title of this episode shares the same name on JEI TV and DVD Academy.
 * 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.
 * This episode marks the first appearances of James' exhausted face mask.

Goofs

 * Despite James' runaway mishap starting in the morning, the signalman's clock 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.
 * Edward is missing his eyebrows when he picks up James' fireman.
 * When James says "What shall I do?! I can't stop!", the line ahead ends right at the trees.
 * After the rope is attached between Edward and James, Edward's body is very off centre, and his tender is tilted.
 * The wire used to change one of the signals is visible.
 * After Edward catches James they pass the water column, but in the next scene, they pass the same water column again. This is due to alternate footage of the former fading into the latter the wrong way.
 * While the inspector tries to catch James, Edward and James appear to pass under the same bridge twice. This is due to the same shot being used twice
 * When James says "Really?" his face is crooked.
 * Studio equipment is visible in the top-right corner when Edward catches up with James.
 * A piece of blu-tack can be seen on the signalman's hand to hold the telephone.
 * Edward's close-up model tender has a large size and a different shape. This is because Gordon's tender is reused.
 * When the inspector is walking towards the front of Edward, James' tender starts to derail.
 * Henry's eyes are wonky when Edward races through Knapford Station.
 * When Edward is chasing after James, the tracks behind him end in the bushes.
 * In a rare picture, James' ill driver is standing inside of Henry's cab.
 * In the Japanese dub, as James reverses into Tidmouth Sheds after he was done arguing with Thomas and Percy, Ringo Starr's narration can be faintly heard in the background.
 * In the original Swedish dub, Percy's whistle can be heard at the end and Edward does not whistle. This is because the audio at the end was taken from Percy and the Signal.
 * In the Swedish re-dub, Percy is referred to as Toby.
 * 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.
 * When James reverses into his shed, the track is off centre.
 * During the chase sequence, the track layout which Edward and James run along has point work in various places, but all of them lead to nowhere.
 * 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.
 * When Edward tries to get close enough to James, both the insides of their funnels are white instead of black.
 * Percy's brake pipe is tilted at Tidmouth Sheds.
 * In the restored version, a tiny piece of studio equipment can be seen near the top center when James passes through Knapford Station.
 * The inspector has a large stain around his mouth. This is because the figurine portraying the porter from Cows was used.

Merchandise

 * Magazine stories - Old Iron
 * My Thomas Story Library - Edward

Home Media Releases
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UK

 * Thomas, Percy and the Coal and Other Stories
 * The Biggest Ever Christmas Collection
 * The Complete Series 2
 * The Best of James
 * Thomas, Percy and the Coal

DVD Packs

 * Classic Collection
 * The Best of Friends

AUS

 * Thomas, Percy and the Coal and Other Stories
 * The Biggest Ever Christmas Collection
 * The Complete Series 2
 * My First Thomas with James

DVD Packs

 * My First Thomas
 * My First Thomas
 * Complete Series 1-10
 * Classic Collection
 * Series One and Series Two Double Pack

NZ

 * Saved from Scrap and Other Stories
 * Thomas, Percy and the Coal and Other Stories
 * The Biggest Ever Christmas Collection
 * The Complete Second Series
 * Bumper Video Collection Volume 2

US

 * Thomas Breaks the Rules and Other Stories
 * Thomas and His Friends Get Along
 * 10 Years of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends
 * Best of James
 * Thomas' Fan Favorite Adventures
 * Thomas & Friends Classic Volume 2

CAN

 * Thomas Breaks the Rules and Other Stories
 * Thomas and His Friends Get Along
 * 10 Years of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends
 * Best of James

VHS/DVD Boxsets

 * Special Video Collector's Set
 * Best Tales on the Tracks
 * Thomas' Fan Favorite Adventures
 * Best of Thomas, Percy and James Platinum Edition
 * Ultimate Thomas Collection
 * Totally Thomas Volume 2
 * Totally Thomas Volume 7
 * Best of James/Best of Thomas Double Feature
 * Best of Collection

FRA

 * Saved from Scrap

KOR

 * For the Story of Determination
 * Best of James

JPN

 * Thomas the Tank Engine Vol.7
 * Best of James and Edward
 * The Complete Works of Thomas the Tank Engine 1 Vol.8
 * Anytime With James!
 * The Complete DVD Box 1

DNK

 * The Runaway Train and Other Stories

NL

 * A Nasty Case
 * The Greatest Stories: The Adventures of Thomas, James and Henry

NOR/FIN/ISL

 * Thomas the Tank Engine 3

HRV

 * Duck Takes Over

UKR

 * A Train Thomas and Friends

GER

 * Old Iron and 4 Other Adventures
 * Thomas and His Friends Vol. 4

MYS

 * Percy and Harold and Other Thomas Adventures
 * Bertie’s Chase and Other Adventures

IN

 * Down the Mine and Other Stories

ITA

 * A Daring Rescue

PHL

 * Old Iron

ROM

 * Thomas and the Great Runaway

DVD Packs

 * Triple Pack 1

SER

 * Thomas the Tank Engine 3

CHN

 * Thomas and Friends Season 1-4

THA

 * Thomas and Friends - Volume 5

HK
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 * Thomas and Friends Volume 4
 * Thomas and Friends Volume 1

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