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. Throughout his journey to Knapford, Thomas decides to make sure that the lion is well fed and comfortable, so he collects syrup from Henry, fish from Edward, and straw from Toby, which are all placed 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, Thomas 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)
 * Victor (mentioned)

Locations

 * The Viaduct
 * Brendam
 * Knapford
 * Maron
 * Sodor Steamworks
 * The Windmill

Trivia

 * This is the first time so far where the Steamworks appears but Victor and Kevin do not.
 * This episode marks the Mayor of Sodor's first speaking role.
 * This episode marks the return of The Mayor of Sodor.
 * There is a special Take-n-Play set based on this episode.
 * This episode was shown in select US theaters in October 2010.
 * In Norway, this episode is called "The Lion on Sodor".

Goofs

 * Thomas and Percy are apparently too young to remember the Lion of Sodor, but they have been on the railway longer than Toby and Cranky.
 * Thomas' driver should have been smart enough to know the lion was only a statue.
 * Lions are carnivores, so why would Thomas' driver try feeding it syrup?
 * Brakevans should have been added to Thomas, Toby, Henry, and Edward's trains.
 * When Thomas gets the syrup from Henry, the narrator says that his driver poured it into the crate, but it was really Thomas' fireman.