Counting on Nia

"Hey there, number four." "Huh, she's already forgotten our names." "No she hasn't, Gordon." "She's just practicing her numbers."

- Nia, Gordon, Annie and Clarabel

Counting on Nia is the twenty-fifth episode of the twenty-second series.

Plot
Nia is a really clever engine and knows all sorts of things, including the names of all the stations and how to deal with problems. One day, the Fat Controller asks her to take Thomas' coaches, Annie and Clarabel, to pick up passengers at Knapford Station. Unfortunately, she constantly keeps going to the wrong platform until Annie and Clarabel direct her to the right one.

While taking her passengers, Nia goes past some speed limit signs without slowing down and comes off the tracks at a digger site. This upsets Nia at the thought of having let the Fat Controller down. When Annie and Clarabel attempt to cheer Nia up, she confesses to them that she cannot read numbers (which was why she had trouble getting to the right platform and could not slow down at the speed limits). With Annie and Clarabel's help, Nia begins learning numbers and starts seeing them all around her. She even begins calling the engines by their numbers.

Characters

 * Gordon
 * Nia
 * Rebecca
 * Salty
 * Philip
 * Annie and Clarabel
 * Rocky
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Thomas
 * Carly
 * Toby
 * Mr. Bubbles
 * Marion
 * Henry
 * Emily
 * Stanley
 * Charlie
 * Porter
 * Skarloey
 * Peter Sam
 * Duncan
 * Henrietta
 * Cranky
 * Big Mickey
 * The Mayor of Sodor
 * ​​​​​​Sodor United Football Team
 * The Lady with the Big Hat
 * Albert's Wife
 * The Man with the Green Waistcoat and Grey Hair
 * The Female Puppet Show Entertainer
 * The Tree Specialists

Locations

 * Crovan's Gate
 * Skarloey Engine Sheds
 * Brendam Docks
 * Sodor Shipping Company
 * Knapford
 * Knapford Station Yard
 * Annie and Clarabel's Shed
 * Maithwaite Forest
 * Road and Rail Runby and Road Bridge
 * Misty Island

UK

 * John Hasler as Thomas
 * Keith Wickham as Gordon, Salty and the Fat Controller
 * Yvonne Grundy as Nia
 * Rachael Miller as Rebecca
 * Rasmus Hardiker as Philip
 * Teresa Gallagher as Annie and Clarabel
 * Matt Wilkinson as Rocky

US and CAN

 * Joseph May as Thomas
 * Kerry Shale as Gordon
 * Yvonne Grundy as Nia
 * Rachael Miller as Rebecca
 * Rasmus Hardiker as Philip
 * Teresa Gallagher as Annie and Clarabel
 * Keith Wickham as Salty and Sir Topham Hatt
 * William Hope as Rocky

Trivia

 * Going by production order, this is the twenty-sixth episode of the twenty-second series and the series finale of the twenty-second series.
 * This episode marked the last of a few things:
 * The last episode written by Lee Pressman before he left the production team.
 * The last to feature Emily without her twenty-third series details.
 * The last episode until the twenty-fourth series episode, James the Super Engine in which Thomas appears, but does not speak.
 * Marion and Henrietta's last appearances until the twenty-fourth series.
 * Charlie's last appearance.
 * There are many reference made thought the episode:
 * Gordon being held up by a cow is a reference to the second series episode, Cows.
 * Nia's line "This is so exciting!" is a line she also said in Big World! Big Adventures!
 * Clarabel mentions the time Nia used leaves to catch rain water in Big World! Big Adventures. Stock footage from the movie is also reused.
 * Clarabel saying to Gordon that Nia is just "practicing her numbers" is a reference to the film, Thomas and the Magic Railroad.
 * Philip asking about his number being 68 and the football players at Knapford are references to the twenty-first series episode, Philip's Number.
 * This is the only episode of a few things:
 * The only episode in the series where Annie and Clarabel speak, but Thomas does not.
 * Charlie, Peter Sam, Duncan, and Rocky's only appearances in the twenty-second series.
 * This episode marks the first appearances of a few things:
 * The first appearance of the Glyn Valley Tramway Coaches on the Skarloey Railway.
 * From this episode onwards, Skarloey gains a funnel-mounted lamp and regains the brass ring around his funnel for the first time since the fifth series episode, Snow.
 * An ad for Misty Island can be seen in Mr. Bubbles' newspaper.
 * On the Nick Jr. US airing of this episode, it was paired with Banjo and the Bushfire.

Goofs

 * In the aerial shot of Brendam Docks, Carly's base extends in length.
 * During the sequence when Annie and Clarabel teach Nia about the looks of numbers, Nia refers to Marion's shovel as a crane.

Merchandise

 * Ladybird Books - Nia Learns Numbers

UK/AUS

 * A Colourful World

GER

 * Big World! Big Adventures! - Adventures In Sodor