Pop Goes the Diesel

Pop Goes the Diesel is the twelfth episode of the second series. It is based on the story of the same name from the Railway Series book Duck and the Diesel Engine.

Plot
Duck works very hard on the Island of Sodor and everything goes smoothly when he is around. He can keep the trucks in line, the coaches quiet, and the passengers happy. He is very proud of his Great Western heritage and talks endlessly about it, which irritates the larger engines, who quickly grow tired of hearing about "the Great Western way."

One day, a visitor arrives. The Fat Controller introduces the new engine as Diesel, stating that he has agreed to give him a trial, and tells Duck to show him around and teach him what to do. Diesel introduces himself before heaping compliments on Gordon, James, and Henry, who are in awe by his flattery. Duck, however, takes a dislike to Diesel's oily nature and shows him to the yard, where it becomes apparent that Duck's dislike of Diesel is mutual as Duck orders Diesel to refer to the Fat Controller as "Sir Topham Hatt" before Diesel smugly tells Duck that he does not have to be taught what to do, saying Diesels know everything and come to a yard to improve it, dubbing himself as "revolutionary". Duck is not impressed with Diesel's boasting and orders him to arrange the trucks while he leaves to take Gordon's coaches to the station. Eager for the chance to show off, Diesel quickly gets to work.

When Duck returns, he finds Diesel trying to move some very old, near-derelict trucks with stiff joints and brakes from a siding. Duck decides to let the events play out, and watches with interest. Diesel struggles to move the trucks and gets so forceful with them that some of their brakes snap and the gear jams in the sleepers, causing several of the trucks to derail and overturn in the process. Diesel tries to push the remaining trucks back, but he still cannot move them and is forced to give up.

As Duck finally comes around carrying some other trucks, Diesel asks Duck why he did not tell him about this when he had gone through so much trouble. Duck replies that Diesel never asked him, as he was having fun being "revolutionary". Duck leaves happily, while Diesel fumes angrily.

Diesel is later forced to help the workmen clear the mess, a job that he hates, especially as the trucks have started laughing and singing a degrading song at him. When the clean-up is over, Diesel, now cross with the trucks and with Duck, storms off back to the sheds to sulk.

Characters

 * Henry
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Duck
 * Diesel
 * Troublesome Trucks
 * Sir Topham Hatt

Locations

 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * Tidmouth Goods Station
 * Knapford Yards
 * Sodor Shipping Company
 * Brendam Warehouse

Trivia

 * The title, as well as the song featured, is a pun on the nursery rhyme, Pop Goes the Weasel.
 * Despite being Diesel's introduction episode, he made a cameo in the previous episode.
 * In the restored version, during both close-ups of Diesel, his eyes move differently compared to the original version of the episode.
 * This is the first episode for a few things:
 * The first episode where vans have faces.
 * The first episode where trucks have rectangular faces.
 * The first episode to feature Salt Vans, LBSC Railway 8 Ton Vans and Cattle Trucks with faces.
 * The first time Diesel tried to pull a line of trucks with the brakes on. He would eventually do it again in the sixth series episode, The World's Strongest Engine.
 * Diesel's first speaking role in the series as well as the first time he is referred to by name.
 * The first and only episode in the second series where Duck has his smirking/sly face.
 * The events were mentioned by Duck in the third series episode, Diesel Does it Again.
 * In the Romansh, Hungarian, Turkish, Korean and Cantonese dubs, the song sung by the Troublesome Trucks is still in English, though JEI TV's version of the Korean dub has subtitles.
 * Ringo Starr did not re-sing Pop Goes the Diesel for his US dub. Instead, the word "trucks" in each stanza were replaced with "cars", while "trucks out" was replaced with a newly recorded "cars out". Coincidentally, some versions of the UK dub do not include him singing with the trucks during their song.
 * When Diesel "gave a great heave" the footage is reversed. The derailed truck behind him can be seen propping itself back up on the rails as Diesel pulls forward.
 * The episode's title would of shared the same name for the Jack and the Sodor Construction Company series, but the latter was cancelled.
 * This episode was never released on home video in South Korea.

Goofs

 * When Duck is on the turntable, in the beginning, the turntable bounces back and forth a little when it stops. There is also a gap between his face and the smokebox.
 * The front right wheel on the Fat Controller's car is crooked.
 * In the scene where Duck is exactly side-on, a small space between the face and the model is visible.
 * Henry and James's tenders are missing in the first shot featuring them, and Gordon's tender is tilted.
 * When Duck and Diesel leave the sheds and the other engines start talking:
 * Except for Percy, their eyes are wonky, especially Gordon and Henry's.
 * James' leading wheels are derailed.
 * Gordon and Henry's faces are crooked.
 * Gordon's buffers are crooked.
 * A figurine has sticky tac under his feet.
 * When Duck passes James, Gordon, and Henry, there are only two tracks to the right of the water tower, and it is not in line with the Sodor Shipping Company building. When Diesel and Duck arrive, later on, there are three tracks to the right of the water tower, and it is in line with the building.
 * When Diesel is on the turntable, there are moments where camera equipment is reflected in the windows.
 * When Diesel backs into Tidmouth Sheds, Gordon's eyes are wonky.
 * Duck's eyebrows are missing when he and Diesel are frowning at each other; they are also missing when Diesel first backs into the shed.
 * Duck is not in the siding when Diesel tries to pull the trucks.
 * When Diesel loses patience with the trucks and pulls them even harder, the first few trucks are already off the tracks, but when Diesel is still trying to pull them in the next scene, they are not off the tracks.
 * Steam can be seen around Diesel when he is trying to move the trucks.
 * When the narrator says "Diesel lost patience," one of the trucks has a clump of hair inside it.
 * When Diesel tries to push the trucks back, he backs down onto the breakdown train, not the trucks. In the same scene, one of the buffers stops on the left is leaning over.
 * In one scene, there is not a truck in the siding that Duck is in before he goes to collect the other trucks. One appears in the siding during the trucks' song, then after it finishes, there is not.
 * In the scene of Duck seeing Diesel after he collects his trucks, Diesel backs down to the trucks he was struggling with (straight into them), then he comes forward a little so as to be directly in line with Duck. Furthermore, when Duck leaves, he goes backwards suddenly before heading off.
 * When Duck runs around to collect his trucks, his eyes jitter a little before he stops to talk to Diesel.
 * After Duck leaves to get Gordon's coaches, there is still steam venting from the track.
 * When the narrator says "Diesel had to help the workmen clear the mess," the breakdown train is missing one of its buffers. Also, the left buffer is a little chipped.
 * Throughout the Knapford Yards and Brendam Warehouse scene sequence, Diesel is missing his eyebrows.
 * Henry's whistle sound is lower-pitched at one point during the scene at Tidmouth Sheds.
 * When Diesel first tries to move the trucks, the front truck derails.
 * The narrator says that Diesel was delighted to show off, but he is still frowning.
 * In the Romansh dub, there is a large pause after Diesel says "We are revolutionary."
 * While Diesel tries to move the trucks, the truck right behind him is a china clay truck, but when he pulls the truck off the track, it appears to be a coal truck.
 * Before Duck leaves with some trucks, his handrail is a bit crooked.
 * When Duck tries to pronounce "revolutionary" his face is loose, and a tiny piece of sticky tac can be seen above his face.
 * When the trucks sing, an empty coal truck appears out of nowhere in the spot where Duck was watching Diesel trying to pull the old trucks. It also disappears when Diesel scuttles away to the shed.

Quotes
______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________
 * Sir Topham Hatt: Here is Diesel. I have agreed to give him a trial. He needs to learn. Please teach him, Duck.
 * Diesel: Good morning. Pleased to meet you, Duck. Is that James, and Henry, and Gordon too? I am delighted to meet such famous engines.
 * The bigger engines: He has very good manners. We are pleased to have in our yard.
 * Diesel: Your worthy Sir Topham Hatt thinks I need to learn. He is mistaken. We diesels don't need to learn. We know everything. We come to a yard and improve it. We are revolutionary.
 * Duck: Oh! If you're revo-thinga-gummy, perhaps you would collect my trucks/cars while I fetch Gordon's coaches.
 * Narrator: Diesel, delighted to show off purred away.
 * Trucks/Cars: (groan while Diesel tries to pull them) We can't! We won't!

(after Diesel's snafu with the trucks)
 * Duck: Thank you for arranging these, Diesel. I must go now.
 * Diesel: Don't you want this lot?
 * Duck: No thank you.
 * Diesel: And I've taken all this trouble? Why didn't you tell me?
 * Duck: You never asked me. Besides, you were having such fun being rev-whatever-it-was-you-said. Goodbye.

Merchandise

 * Buzz Books - Pop Goes the Diesel
 * Ladybird Books - Pop Goes the Diesel/Dirty Work/A Close Shave

Home Media Releases
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UK

 * Percy and Harold and Other Stories
 * The Biggest Ever Christmas Collection
 * The Complete Series 2
 * The Very Best of Thomas and Friends
 * Percy Takes the Plunge

DVD Boxsets

 * Classic Collection
 * The Fogman and The Very Best of Thomas and Friends Double Pack

US

 * Better Late Than Never and Other Stories
 * Thomas Comes to Breakfast and Other Thomas Adventures
 * Thomas' Useful Stories
 * Thomas & Friends Classic Volume 2

CAN

 * Better Late Than Never and Other Stories
 * Thomas Comes to Breakfast and Other Thomas Adventures

DVD Boxsets

 * Adventure On the Tracks
 * Totally Thomas Volume 9

AUS

 * Percy and Harold and Other Stories
 * The Biggest Ever Christmas Collection
 * The Very Best of Thomas and Friends
 * The Complete Series 2
 * My First Thomas with Diesel

DVD Boxsets

 * 60th Anniversary - Limited Edition Boxset
 * Essential Collection
 * Complete Series 1-10
 * My First Thomas
 * Classic Collection
 * Series One and Series Two Double Pack

NZ

 * Percy and Harold and Other Stories
 * The Biggest Ever Christmas Collection
 * Bumper Video Collection Volume 3
 * Thomas Train Set Compilation Video Volume 6

FRA

 * The Talkative Trains

JPN

 * Thomas the Tank Engine Volume 9
 * The Complete Works of Thomas the Tank Engine 1 Vol.2
 * The Complete DVD Box 1
 * I Will Not Loose to the Diesel

PHL

 * Percy Takes the Plunge

GER

 * Thomas and His Friends Vol. 4
 * The Runaway and 4 Other Adventures
 * Rail Free for Steam and Diesel!

HRV

 * Duck Takes Over

UKR

 * A Train Thomas and Friends

NL

 * Percy and Harold
 * The Greatest Stories: The Adventures of Edward, Toby and the Diesels

NOR/FIN/ISL

 * Thomas the Tank Engine 4

ITA

 * The Locomotive and the Helicopter

DNK

 * The Runaway Train and Other Stories

BRA

 * The Earliest Adventures of Thomas

LATAM

 * The Visit of Thomas

DVD Boxsets

 * The Adventures of Thomas

IND

 * Pop Goes the Diesel and Other Stories

MYS

 * Percy Takes the Plunge and Other Thomas Adventures
 * Bertie’s Chase and Other Adventures

ROM

 * Thomas and the Great Runaway

DVD Packs

 * Triple Pack 1

SER

 * Thomas the Tank Engine 3

CHN

 * Thomas and Friends Season 1-4

HK

 * Thomas and Friends Volume 4
 * Thomas and Friends Volume 8

THA
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 * Thomas and Friends - Volume 6

Schöner Mist, Herr Diesel! Diesel da la Nota הנה קופץ הדיזל La locomotiva diesel ディーゼルがやってきた Samochwała Diesel Дизельный локомотив