The Lion of Sodor

"This is the finest statue I've ever seen!" "And the cleanest!"

- The Mayor and the Fat Controller

The Lion of Sodor is the second episode of the thirteenth season.

Plot
Thomas is given the job of transporting a crate containing a very special statue called The Lion of Sodor. However, he thinks his cargo is a real lion, so he decides to take extra care of it. En route to Knapford, Thomas decides to make sure the lion is well fed and comfortable, so he collects syrup from Henry, fish from Edward and straw from Toby, which are all put inside the crate. When Thomas arrives at Knapford station, the crate is opened up and everyone is shocked to see the Lion of Sodor in a terrible mess. Thomas feels very silly and owns up to what he thought of his cargo. The Fat Controller and Henry explain that the Lion of Sodor was a special statue which got broken. Thomas' cargo was the new statue of the Lion. Feeling silly, Thomas agrees to get the statue clean. Taking advice from Henry and Edward, he gets it cleaned at the wash-down and then polished at the Sodor Steamworks. Once the Lion of Sodor looks very clean, Thomas takes Toby's advice to a short-cut via the windmill to get back to Knapford station, where the Mayor of Sodor is very pleased to see the new statue.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Edward
 * Henry
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Toby
 * Cranky
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * The Mayor of Sodor
 * Emily (cameo)
 * Big Mickey (cameo)
 * The Teacher (cameo)
 * The Bird Watcher (cameo)
 * The Ginger-haired Boy (cameo)
 * The Blond-haired Boy (cameo)
 * The Schoolchildren (cameo)
 * The Welsh Bird Watcher (cameo)
 * The Lady with the Big Hat (cameo)
 * The Female Puppet Show Entertainer (cameo)
 * Victor (mentioned)

Locations

 * The Viaduct
 * Brendam Docks
 * Knapford
 * Maron
 * Sodor Steamworks
 * The Windmill
 * Maithwaite
 * The Washdown
 * Kirk Ronan Junction

UK

 * Ben Small as Thomas and Toby
 * Keith Wickham as Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy, The Fat Controller, and The Mayor of Sodor
 * Matt Wilkinson as Cranky

US

 * Martin Sherman as Thomas and Percy
 * William Hope as Edward and Toby
 * Kerry Shale as Henry, Gordon, James and Sir Topham Hatt
 * Glenn Wrage as Cranky
 * David Bedella as The Mayor of Sodor

Trivia

 * This episode marked the first of a few things:
 * The Mayor of Sodor's first speaking role.
 * The first appearance of the Viaduct since the seventh season and its first appearance in CGI.
 * This episode was shown in select US theatres in October 2010.
 * Buster's theme from Thomas and the Moles when he flattens the molehills is heard.
 * This episode was used for TV advert of Google Home in Japan.

Goofs

 * When Thomas arrives at the docks, the flatbed is missing its axles. Also, when he first arrives, it is lighter in colour.
 * Toby said he only has straw in his trucks, but as he had flatbeds, he should have said on his trucks.
 * The narrator said Thomas' engineer (driver) put the syrup in the lion's crate, but it is really his fireman (identified by his moustache).

Merchandise

 * Take-n-Play
 * Magazine Stories - A Lion on Sodor
 * Books - The Lion of Sodor (China only)

UK

 * The Complete Series 13
 * The Lion of Sodor
 * Milkshake! Gold

DVD Packs

 * 10 DVD Boxset
 * Sodor's Heroes!

US

 * The Lion of Sodor

DVD Packs

 * Steam Team Collection

AUS/SA/Arabia/POL/GER/SWE/NOR/FIN/DK/CZ

 * The Lion of Sodor

FRA

 * Series 13 (digital download)

JPN

 * Sodor Maintenance Shop is Busy
 * Special Gift of Hiro and Thomas
 * Everybody Gather the Island of Sodor Athletic Meeting

THA/ITA

 * Creaky Cranky

CHN

 * Slippy Sodor (Chinese DVD)

GER

 * The Lion of Sodor

DVD Boxsets

 * With 15 Great Stories

Episode
El León de Sodor Lew Sodor Sodor oroszlánja