Thomas Puts the Brakes On

"Hello, Thomas! Your brakes don't sound good."

- Stanley

Thomas Puts the Brakes On is the seventeenth episode of the twelfth series.

Plot
The Sodor River Bridge is being repaired and Thomas has been helping with it. He now has one more delivery: four sets of special blocks made specifically for the bridge. The Fat Controller warns Thomas that there are no more like it anywhere and Thomas sets off for the bridge. As he chuffs to it, he applies his brakes at a red signal next to Stanley. His brakes are squeaking loudly and it takes a while to brake. Stanley offers to take the blocks for him, but Thomas is determined.

Along the way, Emily warns Thomas to slow down because of a sharp bend. Thomas applies his brakes, but the squeak is much longer and his brakes do not work right. Hitting a bump, some sets of the special blocks bounce off of his flatbed. However, Thomas is too concerned about his brakes to notice and he keeps on puffing. He soon decides to go slowly, but as he goes down Gordon's Hill, he rushes down it because of the weight of his delivery. Gordon comes with the express and tells Thomas to slow down. Thomas puts the brakes on, but as before, there is a squeak and the brakes do not work. Worse still, the squeak is louder. Thomas veers into an emergency siding and bashes the buffers. More blocks fall off, though Thomas is still too concerned about his brakes to notice.

Thomas soon sees the bridge up ahead and is excited. But as he chuffs down, his brakes fail altogether. Thomas clatters off the track and onto the broken part of the bridge. The flatbed hits Thomas' rear buffers, knocking the rest of the blocks into the river. This is where Thomas discovers that he lost all of his blocks. Stanley helps Thomas back onto the track and they set off to recover the blocks. With Murdoch taking Rocky, the blocks are recovered and Thomas goes to the works. When Thomas returns to the bridge, his brakes do not squeak and he instantly stops. Thomas and Stanley are pleased and spend the day on the newly-built bridge.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Gordon
 * Emily
 * Stanley
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Murdoch
 * Rocky
 * Sir Topham Hatt's Assistants

Locations

 * Sodor River Bridge
 * River Hoo
 * Knapford Yards
 * Gordon's Hill
 * The Lumber Mill

Trivia

 * Behind the scenes footage for The Great Discovery showed Pierce Brosnan narrating this episode.
 * Stock footage from the eleventh series episodes, Dream On, Don't be Silly, Billy and edited stock footage from Thomas and the Billboard was used.
 * This episode marks the last of several things:
 * Murdoch's last appearance to date.
 * The last appearance of Thomas' shocked face.
 * The last appearance of River Hoo.
 * The last appearances of Gordon, Emily, and Rocky in the model series, not counting the stock footage in Percy and the Bandstand for Emily.
 * This episode marks the last of a few things for Stanley:
 * His last appearance until Misty Island Rescue.
 * His last appearance in a episode until the fourteenth series episode, Thomas' Tall Friend.
 * His last speaking role until Day of the Diesels.
 * His last speaking role in a episode until the fifteenth series episode, Surprise, Surprise.
 * His last appearance in the model series.
 * This episode aired before The Great Discovery premiered in the UK, meaning the audience would not have known about Stanley.
 * This episode marks the second time that Stanley has used a chain to pull Thomas back on the rails, the first being in The Great Discovery.
 * In reality, Thomas’ driver and fireman should’ve put Thomas in reverse as an alternate braking method by closing the regulator and throwing his reverser in reverse to stop a runaway like this. This practice was unfavourable as brakes were used more but this practice is occasionally used
 * The guard should’ve also used the brakes in the brake van

Goofs

 * The chain between Thomas and the flatbed gets longer when Thomas derails at the bridge.
 * When Stanley goes to collect the bricks on the hill, a track disappears.
 * The brake van at the end of Thomas' train disappears when Stanley shunts Thomas back to the yard. In the same scene, one of Thomas' eyes is missing.
 * In a picture of where they found the blocks from the hill, red and brown wires are visible.
 * A string can be seen pulling Gordon when he passes Thomas.
 * Stanley's piston rod is crooked when he pulls Thomas from the bridge.
 * Rocky's eyes are misaligned when Thomas passes him.
 * Thomas' eyes are misaligned when he passes Emily.
 * When Thomas derails on the bridge, Stanley's CGI face fades away, and his tracker can be faintly seen.
 * After Thomas derails at the bridge, the narrator says his flatbed hit his buffers, when it hit the rear of his bunker.

Merchandise

 * Books - Thomas and the Bumpy Ride and Thomas' Mixed-Up Day/Thomas Puts the Brakes On
 * Magazines - Put the brakes on, Thomas!

Home Media Releases
{{Scroll box|

UK/AUS

 * The Complete Series 12

AUS DVD Boxsets

 * The Essential Collection

US/CAN/LATAM/BRA

 * Railway Friends

US DVD Boxsets

 * Adventure Pack
 * Full Steam Ahead
 * Extraordinary Engines and Railway Friends Double Pack

MYS

 * Thomas Puts the Brakes On and Other Adventures

ZA

 * Percy and the Bandstand

FRA/GER

 * Best Friends

THA

 * Thomas Puts the Brakes On

KOR

 * Thomas the Little Engine and Friends Season 7 Vol. 3

TWN

 * Thomas Puts the Brakes

HK
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 * Thomas and Friends Volume 45

Thomas Frena a Tiempo Tomek Gwałtownie Hamuje Без тормозов (12 сезон)