Thomas' Shortcut

"Don't be cross, Thomas. Should I tell you my secret?" "What secret?" "I've been re-routed. Now I take a shortcut. So my route is much quicker!"

- Bertie and Thomas

Thomas' Shortcut is the twenty-sixth and final episode of the seventeenth series.

Plot
Thomas is puffing along his branch line, when Bertie pulls up alongside him and teases him by calling him "Slow Coach." Thomas then gets cross and decides to go faster. Thomas arrives at Dryaw Station two minutes early. Bertie tells him that he would have been late unless he had hurried him. Thomas disagrees, as he always gets his passengers to the station on time, yet Bertie seems to always be beating Thomas to the level crossing, so the engine and bus decide to race again. Sometimes when they race, Bertie is quicker, especially when Thomas has to stop for sheep on the line and sometimes Thomas is quicker, especially when Bertie has to stop for road maintenance.

Thomas gets closer and closer to the level crossing, thinking he is going to win, when suddenly, the gates open and Bertie zooms through. Later, the two friends are at Dryaw Station, when Bertie reveals that he has been re-routed, so now he takes a shortcut, which is why he is always winning the races. That night at Tidmouth Sheds, Thomas tells Percy about Bertie being re-routed and Percy tells him that maybe he should take a shortcut too and Thomas thinks that is a great idea. The next day, Thomas sets off on his branch line, looking for a shortcut, when he comes to a junction, where the points have already been switched. Thomas puffs onto the track, only to find himself coming back out onto his branch line.

Thomas comes to another junction, where he once again puffs onto the track there. However, this time he ends up in an old goods yard. The passengers are cross, but Thomas keeps looking. Soon, he comes up to yet another junction, with a track leading right into the woods. Thomas thinks that this must be a shortcut and once again, he puffs onto the track there. Meanwhile, Bertie is waiting impatiently at the level crossing and decides to take off. Thomas continues puffing along the overgrown track, which is leading him to a destination, when suddenly, Thomas crashes straight through some buffers, where he finds himself dangling over the road. The passengers are very disappointed, as now they will be late.

Just then, Bertie pulls up right by him and offers to take Thomas' passengers for him. The passengers agree and they all board Bertie, who then sets off immediately. It is sundown when Harvey arrives to lift Thomas back onto the rails. The Fat Controller arrives as well, who confronts Thomas for making his passengers late. Thomas promises to stick to his branch line from now on. A few days later, Thomas is back and Annie and Clarabel are delighted to see him. Bertie races away and calls him "Slow Coach" again. Thomas and Bertie still like to have races and sometimes Thomas even wins.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Edward
 * Percy
 * Annie and Clarabel
 * Berite
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Harvey
 * Henry
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Emily
 * Paxton
 * Stafford
 * Famer McColl
 * The Bird Watcher
 * The Teacher
 * The Schoolchildren
 * One of Dowager Hatt's Friends
 * The Welsh Bird Watcher
 * The Lady with the Big Hat
 * The Blond-haired Boy
 * The Great Railway Show Judge
 * The Female Puppet Show Entertainer

Locations

 * Dryaw
 * Dryaw Airfield
 * Dryaw Goods Yard
 * Rail Under Road Bridge and Signalbox
 * Crowe's Farm
 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * Knapford
 * Maithwaite Junction
 * Maithwaite Forest

UK

 * Ben Small as Thomas
 * Keith Wickham as Edward, Percy, Bertie and The Fat Controller
 * Teresa Gallagher as Annie and Clarabel

US

 * Martin Sherman as Thomas and Percy
 * William Hope as Edward
 * Teresa Gallagher as Annie and Clarabel
 * Keith Wickham as Bertie
 * Kerry Shale as Sir Topham Hatt

Trivia

 * Going by production order, this is the eleventh episode of the seventeenth series.
 * Digiguide lists this episode as Episode 3 of "Thomas & Friends: Thrills and Spills."
 * An alternate version of this episode exists as in the scene of Thomas arriving at Dryaw Station after the scene moved, the left side has more picture and the right shows less in the US airing and the Series 17 digital download.
 * This episode marks:
 * The first time that Crowe's Farm Crossing appears since the second series episode, Ghost Train.
 * The fourth time Thomas and Bertie are seen racing, the first being Thomas and Bertie, the second being Harold and the Flying Horse (in stock footage) and the third being Three Cheers for Thomas.
 * The sixth time Bertie takes Thomas' passengers, the first being Thomas, Terence and the Snow, the second being Bertie's Chase, the third being Thomas Gets Bumped, the fourth being Thomas and the Tuba and the fifth being Seeing the Sights.
 * The last episode in Poland where Krystyna Kozanecka voices Annie and Bertie before her death.
 * The last episode directed by David Baas.
 * The last episode dubbed in Galician.
 * The events of this episode are mentioned by James in Big World! Big Adventures! during the song, Where in the World is Thomas?
 * The yellow car that passes Bertie has a duck in the backseat.
 * In the Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Baltic Russian and one of the Vietnamese dubs, the UK dub can be heard in the background as a dubbing track was not used.

Goofs

 * Some passengers can be seen on a platform at a station and then later be seen on Thomas' train. This happens several times throughout the episode.
 * During the shot of Clarabel in the old goods yard, a woman can be seen angrily pointing at her watch inside Clarabel. In the next shot the same woman can be seen sitting further up the train by the Bird Watcher.
 * Each time Thomas chooses another track, the points are set against him.
 * When Bertie finds Thomas derailed, he is on the wrong side of the road.
 * At the start and end of the episode, Thomas is running under North American directional rules.
 * When the passengers get off after Thomas derails, Thomas' driver is different.
 * When Thomas looks for a shortcut for the first time, his wheels are moving slower than he is.

Merchandise

 * Magazine Stories - Thomas Takes a Shortcut

Home Media Releases
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UK

 * Spills and Thrills
 * The Complete Series 17

DVD Packs

 * Special Edition Box Set
 * 10 DVD Boxset
 * Limited Offer DVD Box Set

US

 * Spills and Thrills
 * Series 17

JPN

 * Thomas the Tank Engine Series 17 Vol.1

THA

 * Henry's Hero

CHN

 * The Afternoon Tea Express

MYS

 * Away From the Sea

NL

 * Spills and Thrills

DVD Boxsets

 * 2 DVD Boxset

GER
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 * Thomas' Shortcut

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