Toad's Adventure

"You are a really useful and very brave brakevan!"

- Dowager Hatt praising Toad

Toad's Adventure is the sixth episode of the eighteenth season.

Plot
Oliver is always telling his brake van Toad about the time he escaped from the scrapyard to come to Sodor. Toad was there at the time, but he has still heard the story a hundred times as they puff up and down the Little Western line. Toad wishes that he could have an adventure of his own to talk about.

Later, Oliver leaves Toad in the shunting yard while he takes a passenger train. Toad is happy not to have to listen to Oliver's tale again, but he does not like the prospect of sitting around for ages doing nothing. Then, James arrives looking for a brakevan for his goods train. Toad pleads with James to take him with him. James agrees and soon they head off to Vicarstown.

On the way, Toad has to listen to James' boasting which is still a refreshing change from Oliver's endless stories. Soon, Toad is concerned that they are going too fast, but James insists that there's nothing wrong with their speed. As they puff up the hill, James strikes a branch on the line. The branch goes under the train and uncouples James from his train. Suddenly, Toad is rolling back down the hill with the trucks. Toad tries his best to stop the runaway train.

Meanwhile, Thomas is puffing along the line with the Fat Controller and Dowager Hatt. He is taking them both to the opera on the mainland. As Thomas rounds the bend by Gordon's Hill, he stops suddenly. The Fat Controller leans out of the carriage window to enquire about the situation, but is soon alerted to Toad and the runaway trucks speeding straight towards them. Thomas tries to reverse out of the way, but Percy pulls up behind Thomas on the same line. There is not time for both engines to reverse and Toad knows it's up to him to save them all now. With sparks flying from his wheels, Toad manages to stop the trucks just in time. James pulls up, just as the Fat Controller demands to know what has happened. James is about to confess to going too fast, but Toad covers for him by saying that they just hit a branch and it was all an accident. The Fat Controller is satisfied and Dowager Hatt calls Toad a really useful brakevan. The Fat Controller agrees with his mother and Toad feels very proud.

It is not long before James and Toad are heading to Vicarstown once again. Toad tells James that he can go a little faster if he wants, but this time James does not want to speed up.

When they return to the shunting yard, James thanks Toad for all his help. Then, Oliver puffs in and starts to tell Toad all about his day. James tells Oliver that he ought to ask Toad about his adventure. Oliver finds it hard to believe that Toad has had an adventure, but Toad tells him all about his day. Soon, all the engines in the yard are gathered round listening to Toad's thrilling adventure. Oliver says he cannot believe it, but Toad says he will tell him the whole story again tomorrow.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * James
 * Percy
 * Oliver
 * Toad
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Dowager Hatt
 * Edward (cameo)
 * Henry (cameo)
 * Harvey (cameo)
 * Rosie (cameo)
 * Stanley (cameo)
 * Charlie (cameo)
 * Paxton (cameo)

Locations

 * Gordon's Hill
 * Shunting Yards
 * Vicarstown (mentioned)
 * The Little Western (mentioned)

Trivia

 * The third season episode, Escape is referenced.
 * This marks the first time since the fifth season that Toad has had a leading role in an episode. It also marks Oliver and Toad's first speaking roles since the twelfth season.
 * Joe Mills joins the voice cast.

Goofs

 * Toad says he always wanted an adventure, but he had one in Busy Going Backwards.
 * At one point during his journey with James, Toad is facing the wrong way.
 * The branch on the line should have broken when James ran over it.
 * James turns around too fast after loosing Toad and his trucks, and coming back down the hill.
 * Thomas, Percy and James should not have been traveling on the same track so close to each other.
 * Thomas and Percy still had time to reverse away from Toad.
 * At the end of the episode, after James leaves, Harvey arrives on the same track as him, but from a different direction.
 * Why would Thomas need two coaches just to pull two people?
 * The way how Toad stops at the bottom of the hill is somewhat unrealistic. He seems to stop, shake slightly, and then hit buffers with Thomas. (Though this may be a result of the load shifting, but the effect would still be a bit overdramatic.)
 * It takes Toad a lot longer to travel down the hill then it should have.
 * During the ending, Stanley is seen pushing trucks past James and Toad, then a few seconds later, Charlie shunts flatbeds on the same line as him and pushes them over some points and he goes over to Toad, but then in the final shot, Stanley somehow got from one side of the flatbeds to the other.