Salty's Secret

"Yo, ho, ho, and a bucket of prawns! The tiller spins..." "And the captain yawns!"

- Salty and the trucks

Salty's Secret is the first episode of the sixth series.

Plot
Salty is a dockyard diesel who enjoys working near the sea. It is his first day working on Sodor and as the island is surrounded by the sea, he is hopeful he will be working near it. Naturally, he is disappointed when he is sent to work at the quarry to help Mavis, Bill and Ben with an important job for the Fat Controller. Bill and Ben think that they do not need help, or that Salty will be able to manage all of the trucks. However, when they see that Salty manages to win the trucks over with his tales and songs of the sea, the twins are surprised and rather jealous. But Salty still longs for the sea.

One night, Mavis, Bill and Ben see him alone outside. Bill and Ben call him names and express boredom from his stories, but Mavis tries to comfort him. Salty wants to be near the sea again, but he knows that the quarry work is important at this point. The next day, Salty tries to show Bill and Ben his secret with the trucks, which is singing a tune for the trucks to sing along with. Bill and Ben try singing a rhythm to get the trucks moving, but they cannot make them move the way Salty could.

Later, the Fat Controller arrives at the quarry, and is surprised to see that the job has been completed. Mavis tells him that they could not have done it without Salty. Luckily for him, there is no further need for him at the quarry, so he is finally transferred to Brendam Docks, which is his dream place to work. It is where he feels really useful, and he sorts out the trucks better than any other engine, and they know his secret too.

Characters

 * Bill and Ben
 * Mavis
 * Salty
 * Troublesome Trucks
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Thomas
 * Edward
 * Henry
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Sir Topham Hatt's Brown-haired Assistant
 * Ffarquhar Quarry Manager
 * Toby
 * Harold
 * Big Mickey

Locations

 * Jem Cole's Yard
 * Brendam Docks
 * Tidmouth Beach
 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * The Church Runby
 * Bulgy's Bridge
 * Ffarquhar Quarry
 * Mavis' Shed

Trivia

 * Salty regales a story to himself at the beginning with the context "...we heaved until the old freighter finally caught the tide", which sounds similar to the second story of the Railway Series book Thomas and the Twins, What a Picture! in which Bill and Ben do the same for a cargo ship.
 * Going by production order, this is the second episode of the sixth series.
 * This was the first episode of many things:
 * Salty's first appearance.
 * The first episode produced by Gullane Entertainment under its current name.
 * Phil Fehrle's first episode as producer.
 * Britt Allcroft's first episode as executive producer since the second series episode, Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree.
 * Peter Urie's first episode as executive producer.
 * The first episode to have its own writer, rather than David Mitton or Britt Allcroft.
 * The first episode narrated by Giorgio Bonino in Italy, Blanche Ravalec in France and Terje Strømdahl in Norway.
 * The first episode (as well as the first Thomas the Tank Engine production) made in the 21st century and the third millennium.
 * The first episode to feature the sixth series intro.
 * The first episode filmed in 16:9 widescreen, although the majority of the episode was filmed in 4:3 fullscreen and later cropped to widescreen.
 * The first episode to air after the release of Thomas and the Magic Railroad.
 * The first episode not dubbed in German.
 * The first and only appearance of Salty's worried/exhausted face on-screen.
 * This is the only series premiere where Thomas does not speak in the main series; if A Visit from Thomas counts (despite Thomas being in its name), then this is the first one.
 * A deleted scene shows Salty coming up to Bill, Ben and Mavis and the sheds in the opposite direction. The other shows Mavis coming up to Salty to the opposite direction, and she is smiling.
 * Some scenes were recreated in the CGI Series for the seventeenth series episode, Away From the Sea.
 * The end of the scene where Salty says "The tiller spins..." is sped up.
 * Toad's scrap model from Escape can be seen in the first scene of this episode.

Goofs

 * When Mavis first meets Salty, her happy face mask is missing its eyebrows.
 * When Salty sings the line "The tiller spins...", he can be seen rolling off the end of the set and studio equipment can be seen in the top left corner.
 * When Salty sings "Yo ho ho and a bucket of prawns," he is rolling towards one of the twins and there are three trucks behind him. But in the next shot, he is in a different part of the quarry, both twins appear behind him, he gains several more trucks and the trucks in front of him disappear.
 * When the trucks sing "And the captain yawns!" all but one of them has wonky eyes, and the trucks are suddenly facing forwards.

Quotes

 * Salty: [sings] Yo-ho-ho and a bucket of prawns (final part later by the trucks) The tiller spins, and the captain yawns.




 * [Bill and Ben try sorting the trucks]
 * Salty: Here we go. Here we go. Here we go.
 * Bill and Ben: No, we don't. No, we don't. No, we don't, don't, don't!

Merchandise

 * Books - Salty's Secret and Salty's Secret
 * Magazine Stories - Seaside Salty and Salty and the Trucks
 * My Thomas Story Library - Salty

Home Media Releases
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UK

 * The Fogman and Other Stories
 * The Complete Series 6

DVD Packs

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

US

 * Salty's Secret and Other Thomas Adventures
 * Thomas & Friends Classic Volume 6

CAN

 * Salty's Secret and Other Thomas Adventures

DVD Boxsets

 * Totally Thomas Volume 2

JPN

 * Thomas the Tank Engine Series 6 Vol.1
 * Welcome Aboard! Pleasant Fellow First Appearance On Sodor Island

KOR

 * Friends Love Story

PHL

 * Sir Topham Hatt's Holiday

AUS

 * Twin Trouble
 * The Complete Series 6

DVD Boxsets

 * 60th Anniversary - Limited Edition Boxset
 * Complete Series 1-10
 * 3 DVDs
 * Series Five and Series Six Double Pack

SWE

 * Hidden in Snow
 * The World's Strongest Engine

ITA

 * Percy and the Haunted Mine

MYS

 * Salty's Secret and Other Thomas Adventures
 * Busy Going Backwards and Other Adventures

NOR

 * Scaredy Engines

HK

 * Thomas and Friends Volume 13
 * Thomas and Friends Volume 9

THA

 * Thomas and Friends - Volume 19

TWN
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 * Thomas and Friends Volume 14

El Secreto de Salty הסוד של סולטי ソルティーのひみつ Sekret Sylwka Секрет Солти