Bulgy Rides Again

"Silly hens! Silly passengers! You can have them both!" "The farmer still needs help with his vegetables." "A vegetable bus? (Hmm... Hey,) That's not such a bad idea! "And we're back carrying passengers."

- Bulgy, Emily, and Thomas.

Bulgy Rides Again is the nineteenth episode of the seventh series.

Plot
Holidaymakers are coming to Sodor, but Thomas and Emily are at the foundry for maintenance and find that there is no one to run the branch line during the summer holidays. When the Fat Controller needs to find a way to carry more passengers, Thomas says that this is "A double-decker problem” which gives the Fat Controller an idea; he goes to Bulgy, the double-decker bus who is still a hen house after the accident with the bridge. The Fat Controller gives Bulgy another chance to be back on the road and Bulgy is delighted.

Bulgy arrives at the foundry, meeting Thomas and Emily and tells them that he is going back on the road. When Emily thinks that he should help the new farmer to deliver his vegetables around the island, Bulgy insists on taking passengers instead. After being repainted, his driver takes him back to his field, where his previous residents, the hens, think he looks splendid. While Bulgy is sleeping, the hens miss their home, and so, one by one, they creep aboard and sleep on his luggage racks.

The next day, Bulgy picks up some passengers to take to the station, driving so smoothly that the hens do not wake up. Everything is going fine, until he has some trouble getting past Trevor. When Bulgy turns, he almost hits the Post Van and swerves, and suddenly loses control. It suddenly wakes up the hens, which frighten the passengers and cover them with feathers and eggs. The passengers are angry over this incident and want to complain to the Fat Controller. Bulgy tells them that it was not his fault, but they still did not believe him.

When Bulgy is sent to be cleaned, he is angry at both the hens and the passengers. Emily tells him that the farmer still needs help to sell his vegetables, for which Bulgy thinks being a vegetable bus is a good idea. Thomas then adds that he and Emily are now maintained and ready to carry passengers again. As a result, Bulgy is repainted green and turned into a mobile vegetable stand. Bulgy cannot be happier, as now he does not have to put up with hens or passengers.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * James
 * Emily
 * Bulgy
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * The Storyteller
 * One Railway Board Member
 * The Photographer
 * Trevor
 * Henry
 * Gordon
 * Percy
 * Arthur
 * Annie and Clarabel
 * Lady Hatt
 * Bridget Hatt
 * Mrs. Kyndley
 * Jem Cole
 * Farmer Trotter
 * Refreshment Lady
 * Tom Tipper
 * The Injured Sailor
 * Cyril the Fogman
 * Oliver
 * Peter Sam

Locations

 * Bulgy's Bridge
 * Bulgy's Field
 * Knapford Sheds
 * Henry's Tunnel
 * The Mountain Village
 * Kirk Ronan Road
 * Wellsworth
 * The First Three-Track Station
 * Tidmouth Bay
 * Lakeside
 * Neptune Refreshments

Trivia

 * Going by production order, this is the eighth episode of the seventh series.
 * This episode, the 175th episode of the show, is exactly 100 episodes after the third series episode, Bulgy, which was the 75th episode.
 * This episode marks a few milestones for Bulgy:
 * His first appearance since the fourth series episode, Mind that Bike.
 * His only appearance in the seventh series, excluding the stock footage appearance.
 * His first speaking role, let alone starring role, since his introduction in the third series episode, Bulgy.
 * His last speaking role and the last time he is referred to by name until the twenty-first series episode, Unscheduled Stops.
 * His last starring role until the twenty-third series episode, Free the Roads.
 * The episode marks last with a few things:
 * The last time Peter Sam is seen with his old funnel, which was seen via stock footage.
 * Tom Tipper's last appearance until the eighteenth series episode, The Perfect Gift.
 * The Post Van until the twenty-fourth series episode, Emily's Best Friend.
 * After Bulgy is refitted, both the signs on his top decker are "Railway Bus" signs.
 * Stock footage from Bulgy, Peter Sam and the Refreshment Lady and Percy's Chocolate Crunch, and deleted scenes from Bulgy and No Sleep for Cranky are used.
 * The events of the episode Bulgy are mentioned and shown.
 * Michael Brandon's dub of this episode uses the original music composed by Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell instead of the new music by Robert Hartshorne on Thomas and the Jet Engine and Other Adventures.
 * Prior to being released on Amazon for digital download in 2016, Michael Brandon's dub of the episode with Robert Hartshorne's music had only been broadcast on television, and the dub itself was never released on DVD.
 * In the UK dub, Bulgy has developed a nasal voice.
 * This is one of several episodes from the seventh series to have its title card read on Nick Jr. and PBS half-hour Series 9 airings.
 * Because of the use of stock footage from Percy's Chocolate Crunch, this episode and Best Dressed Engine have the same opening shot.

Goofs

 * Oliver has Percy's whistle sound.
 * Because stock footage is used, Peter Sam has his old funnel.
 * Bulgy overtakes Trevor then swerves to avoid the mail van. In the next shot, Trevor and the mail van are nowhere to be seen and Bulgy appears to have backed up quite a bit.
 * When Bulgy says, "A vegetable bus? That's not such a bad idea!" a crew member's movements are reflected in his front driver-side window and Bulgy's face is slightly crooked.
 * When Bulgy ends up getting stuck behind Trevor, Thomas is seen pulling a goods train on a nearby track, even though he is supposed to be at the foundry with Emily.
 * When Trevor overtakes Bulgy after the hens wake up, Trevor's noise is suddenly absent when the passengers get a close-up; then, in the very next shot, when Bulgy sulks, "It's not my fault!", Trevor is audible again.
 * The storyteller's hat is severely damaged in one scene.
 * When the passengers evacuate Bulgy, they are dirty. But when Bulgy sulks "It's not my fault!" they are spotless.
 * The small scale model of Bulgy's driver has a moustache, but his large scale model is clean shaven.
 * When James admires Bulgy's new red paint work, behind him, Emily is derailed and appears to have hit a wall.
 * When the Fat Controller comes to talk to Bulgy about his restoration, Bulgy is not in as much disrepair as he was at the end of his debut.
 * The first scenes of the foundry take place at Knapford Sheds, but when Bulgy returns after his mishap with the hens, the setting for the foundry is changed to Wellsworth. Thomas and Emily are also in different positions.
 * Bulgy's eye mechanism can be seen in his wheel arch when he says, "Thank you, sir! I'll be the best bus ever!"
 * The Fat Controller's car and Bulgy have the same horn sound.
 * When Bulgy departs with his passengers, he leaves the storyteller behind. However, after the hens frighten the passengers, she can be seen on board.
 * Towards the end of the episode, some small scale figurines have black sticky tac under their feet.

Quotes

 * The Fat Controller: I need to find a way to carry more passengers. We have more holidaymakers/vacationers-
 * Emily: And fewer engines.
 * Thomas: A double-decker problem.
 * The Fat Controller: A double-decker problem? Hmm...


 * Thomas: Bulgy, what are you doing here?
 * Bulgy: I'm being repaired. I'm going back on the road.
 * Emily: I think you'll be helping the new farmer. He needs to deliver his vegetables around the island.
 * Bulgy: Vegetables? Pah!/Hmph! I'm going to carry passengers!


 * Bulgy: Silly hens! Silly passengers! You can have them both!
 * Emily: (Hmm...) The farmer still needs help with his vegetables.
 * Bulgy: A vegetable bus? (Hmm... Hey,) That's not such a bad idea!
 * Thomas: And we're back carrying passengers.


 * Narrator: Bulgy is happy now. He has new green paintwork and a smart serving hatch. The Fat Controller/Sir Topham Hatt agreed he could become the island's only vegetable stand on wheels. Bulgy likes carrying vegetables. They don't lay eggs, and they never complain.

Merchandise

 * Motor Road and Rail
 * TrackMaster
 * Tomica
 * Capsule Plarail
 * Nakayoshi
 * Books - Bulgy Rides Again and Thomas and the Double-Decker Bus
 * Magazine Stories - Bulgy's Back!

Home Media Releases
{{Scroll box|

UK

 * Pulling Together!
 * The Complete Series 7

DVD Packs

 * Classic Collection
 * Pulling Together!/The Chocolate Crunch Double Pack

WAL

 * Machines Co-Extract

US

 * Thomas and the Jet Engine and Other Adventures
 * Thomas & Friends Classic Volume 7

CAN

 * Thomas and the Jet Engine and Other Adventures

DVD Boxsets

 * Totally Thomas Volume 8
 * Adventure On the Tracks
 * Play Date Pack

AUS

 * The Complete Series 7

DVD Packs

 * Complete Series 1-10
 * Series Seven and Series Eight Double Pack

SWE

 * Hooray for Thomas!

JPN

 * Thomas the Tank Engine Series 7 Vol.3
 * Fun Animals on Sodor Island

DK

 * Hip Hooray for Thomas and Other Stories

DVD Boxsets

 * Danish DVD Boxset

MYS

 * Fergus Breaks the Rules and Other Adventures
 * Something Fishy and Other Adventures
 * Tooty Holiday Compilation

ITA

 * Hooray for Thomas

KOR

 * The Story of Getting to Know Nature

THA

 * Thomas and Friends - Volume 25

HK

 * Thomas and Friends Volume 16
 * Thomas and Friends Volume 2

TWN
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 * Long Live Thomas
 * Thomas and Friends Volume 16

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