Last Train for Christmas

"Merry Christmas, Harold!" "Ho, ho, ho, ho!"

- Thomas and Father Christmas

Last Train for Christmas is the eighteenth episode of the eighteenth series.

Plot
It is Christmas Eve on the Island of Sodor and people are hurrying home to be with their families. It is snowing and Oliver, Duck and Thomas are out ploughing the Little Western. Thomas is looking forward to Christmas because no trains run and they all get to stay in their warm sheds without their snowploughs.

Connor is on the Mainland collecting passengers who are returning home for the holidays. Unfortunately, Connor's train is soon full and some passengers are left at the station, including a little boy on crutches who is worried about making it home for Christmas. Connor promises that he will come back for them as there is still one more train before Christmas.

By the time Connor reaches Knapford, it is getting very late. Connor tells the Fat Controller that if he has more coaches, he will still be able to get everyone home for Christmas. The Fat Controller is concerned; more heavy snow is on the way. Connor assures the Fat Controller that he is a very fast engine and will not get caught in the snowfall.

Connor heads into the sidings, looking for more coaches. Suddenly, he hears a chorus of voices calling out to him. Connor does not know where the voices are coming from, but Thomas does. Thomas reverses into the siding and nudges a snowdrift. Snow falls the ground revealing Duck's slip coaches. Thomas explains that the slip coaches will be ideal because Connor can uncouple them without even having to stop.

Connor steams back across the island with the slip coaches. Heavy snow starts to fall over Sodor which causes trouble for the engines. Paxton even manages to get stuck. This is enough for the Fat Controller to take action. He goes out onto the platform at Knapford to make an announcement to his engines. He tells them all that there can be no more trains and that the last train for Christmas will have to be cancelled. Percy is upset that so many people will not be able to get home to spend Christmas with their families. The Fat Controller spots a family standing lovingly together on the platform and has a sudden change of heart. He tells the engines that if they work together as a team, they have a good chance of clearing the line for the last train.

All of the engines get to work. Thomas and Percy clear the line to Wellsworth. As they stop outside the station, Percy spots some lights in the sky. Percy believes it to be Santa Claus, but it turns out to be Harold who is on duty looking for anyone stranded in the heavy snow.

Edward and Henry busily clear the tracks beyond Maron, but it is Emily who has the hardest job of all; clearing the tracks from Vicarstown to the Mainland where the snow is deepest of all. She is quickly running out of steam and reverses into a siding, preparing to give up, when she hears a loud whistle. It is Hiro coming from the opposite direction. He has no trouble charging his way through the snowdrifts. He pulls off to join Emily in the siding so Connor can pass, shouting his thanks for Hiro's help. Hiro then spots something in the sky and thinks it might be Santa, but it is only Harold once again.

Connor drops the first slip coach off at Kellsthorpe Road Station, the second at Maron and the third and final one at Wellsworth. Unfortunately, Connor uncouples the last coach too close to the station and it does not stop at the platform, it overshoots. If it is not pushed back to the platform, the passengers will be left stranded in the snow. Luckily, Thomas is there and is able to shunt the coach back to the platform.

When Connor finally arrives at Knapford, the little boy he had met earlier that evening thanks him for getting them all home for Christmas. Then, the Fat Controller arrives and thanks Connor for all his hard work and determination. Connor says that his efforts would have been in vain if it had not been for his friends helping out. The Fat Controller thanks all the engines for their help and leaves. The engines leave, too, except for Thomas who sees a red light in the air; he calls up to wish Harold a "Merry Christmas" and reverses away. However, this time it is actually not Harold; it is the real Santa Claus with the light Thomas saw being Rudolph's red nose.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Edward
 * Henry
 * James
 * Percy
 * Duck
 * Oliver
 * Emily
 * Hiro
 * Connor
 * Diesel
 * Slip Coaches
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Father Christmas
 * The Blond-haired Boy
 * Paxton
 * Harold
 * Sir Topham Hatt's Assistants
 * The Teacher
 * The Bird Watcher
 * The Welsh Bird Watcher
 * The Female Puppet Show Entertainer

Locations

 * Island of Sodor
 * Town Square
 * Knapford
 * M.C. Bunn
 * Wellsworth
 * Maron
 * Kellsthorpe Road
 * Vicarstown Bridge
 * The Mainland
 * The First Mainland Station

UK

 * Ben Small as Thomas
 * Keith Wickham as Edward, Henry, James, Percy, the Fat Controller, Father Christmas and Some Passengers
 * Teresa Gallagher as Emily and the Blond-haired Boy
 * Kerry Shale as Diesel
 * Steven Kynman as Duck and the Third Slip Coach
 * Joe Mills as Oliver
 * Jonathan Forbes as Connor
 * Jonathan Broadbent as the First Slip Coach
 * Rebecca O'Mara as the Second Slip Coach
 * Togo Igawa as Hiro

US

 * Martin Sherman as Thomas, Percy and Diesel
 * William Hope as Edward
 * Kerry Shale as Henry, James, Sir Topham Hatt and Some Passengers
 * Jules de Jongh as Emily and the Blond-haired Boy
 * Steven Kynman as Duck and the Third Slip Coach
 * Joe Mills as Oliver
 * Jonathan Forbes as Connor
 * Jonathan Broadbent as the First Slip Coach
 * Rebecca O'Mara as the Second Slip Coach
 * Togo Igawa as Hiro
 * Keith Wickham as Santa Claus

Trivia

 * Going by production order, this is the thirteenth episode of the eighteenth series.
 * The station on the Mainland that Connor is at is actually a modified Crovan's Gate.
 * This episode marks the first appearance of Father Christmas since the second series episode, Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree and his first appearance in CGI not counting the Fat Controller dressing up as him in certain episodes.
 * In Australia, this episode was first available to view on the ABC iView online service on 21st December before its television broadcast.
 * The blond-haired boy with his crutches may be a reference to Tiny Tim from Charles Dickens' novel A Christmas Carol.
 * In the US, this episode aired before Duck and the Slip Coaches, meaning that the audience may not know who the Slip Coaches are.
 * The first episode to air in the United Kingdom and Australia on the same day.
 * Near the Fat Controller's telephone there is a poster from the Hero of the Rails intro.
 * This is the last episode of a few things:
 * The Slip Coaches' last speaking roles.
 * Father Christmas' last appearance, not counting mentioned appearances.
 * The last episode with Jonathan Broadbent as the voice of the first Slip Coach and Rebecca O'Mara as the second Slip Coach.
 * The last episode produced solely by Robert Anderson.
 * The last episode where Duck is voiced by Denis Bespaliy in Russia.
 * The Final episode to air on Four Kids in New Zealand a few days before it got shut down and replace by Bravo.
 * In the Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Baltic Russian and Vietnamese dubs, the UK dub can be heard in the background as a dubbing track was not used.

Goofs

 * In two shots during the meeting at Knapford, Henry is not rendered properly, as his body has raised from his chassis.
 * The number of Connor's own coaches changes at Wellsworth from three to four.
 * In the shot of the last slip coach uncoupling from Connor, the slip coach's coupling is one that can unhook from other couplings. In the next shot, it is a standard coupling.
 * When the engines leave Knapford, Henry's siderods are not moving.

Merchandise

 * Books - The Last Train for Christmas

Home Media Releases
{{Scroll box|

UK

 * The Christmas Engines
 * The Complete Series 18

DVD Boxsets

 * Festive Favourites

US

 * The Christmas Engines
 * Season 18

DVD Boxsets

 * The Christmas Engines and Hero of the Rails Double Pack

AUS

 * The Christmas Engines

FRA

 * Series 18

THA

 * Last Train for Christmas

China
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 * Marion and the Pipe

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