Thomas the Babysitter

"Why are you crying Thomas? Have you lost another race?" "It's not me crying Bertie, I've got a baby on board."

- Bertie and Thomas

Thomas the Babysitter is a nineteenth season episode.

Plot
One morning at Knapford, Thomas, Annie and Clarabel have one last journey before they can take a break. A lady walks onto the platform pushing a pram, with a crying baby inside. Annie and Clarabel both hope that they won't be travelling on the train today, but the lady and baby climb aboard, much to their dismay.

But as soon as Thomas starts on his way, the crying stops. The coaches and Thomas all breathe a sigh of relief and wonder what made the baby stop crying. But their thoughts are interrupted when Thomas stops at Dryaw and the baby begins to cry again. Bertie begins to tease Thomas about it just as Toby arrives. Henrietta suggests someone sing the baby a lullaby, so Annie gently sings Rock A Bye Baby as Thomas leaves the station. To their surprise, it works, but not for long as Thomas stops at a red signal. The baby cries again, so this time both Annie and Clarabel try to sing the baby back to sleep. The other passengers begin to get tired of all the noise. But as Thomas starts again, the crying stops, and Thomas realises that it is his puffing that calms the baby down.

Each time Thomas stops, the same thing happens. The rest of the passengers disembark but for some reason, the mother and baby never leave the train. At last Thomas reaches Ffarquhar, the last station, and the mother has to get off with her baby. Thomas puffs away to turn around on the loop for his return journey, happy that they no longer have to listen to the crying. But once back at Ffarquhar, to their horror, the mother is waiting to get back on the train. And the baby is still crying. Thomas remembers that the baby stops crying whenever he is puffing, so he decides not to stop at any stations. But Annie and Clarabel both tell him how silly that is, since he has other passengers and he'd get in trouble with the Fat Controller. So Thomas stops at every station, and the baby continues crying each time he stops.

Once back at Knapford, everyone is exhausted, and the coaches are happy to be able to take a break. But Thomas watches the mother trying to calm her baby, and comes up with a plan. He asks the Fat Controller if he can miss his break and take the mother and baby on a journey with no stops, so they can both get some rest. Annie and Clarabel both worry that the plan won't work, but the Fat Controller thinks it is a very kind idea, and so it is arranged.

Thomas takes the baby and mother along his branch line without the need to stop at any stations, and soon both mother and baby are fast asleep. Later as Thomas comes back to Knapford, a workman named Albert thanks him for all his help. It turns out that Thomas' passengers are his wife and son, and they have been so busy that they haven't even picked a name for the baby yet. They decide to name him Thomas after the day's events. Thomas apologises to Annie and Clarabel for making them miss their break, but thinks it was all worth it. But Annie and Clarabel don't reply, as they have both fallen asleep.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Toby
 * Annie and Clarabel
 * Henrietta
 * Bertie
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * The Grumpy Passenger
 * Albert
 * Albert's Wife
 * Thomas the Baby
 * Edward (cameo)
 * Gordon (cameo)
 * Percy (cameo)
 * Stanley (cameo)
 * Daisy (cameo)
 * Jem Cole (cameo)
 * The Teacher (cameo)
 * The Welsh Bird Watcher (cameo)

Locations

 * Knapford
 * Thomas' Branch Line
 * The Windmill
 * Dryaw
 * The Watermill
 * Maithwaite
 * Ffarquhar

Trivia

 * Stock footage and altered footage from Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure is used. Also, a rendition of the original theme song is heard in the beginning of the episode, which was an idea originally considered for that special.
 * The inspirations for this episode could have come from the magazine and book stories, Thomas and the Baby.
 * This is the second time something or someone is named after Thomas, the first being one of Farmer Trotter's piglets.
 * During the scene when Thomas the Baby looks at Sir Topham Hatt, a fish eye lens view is used.
 * This episode marks Daisy's first appearance in an episode since Bulls Eyes. However, she only has a cameo.

Goofs

 * Percy's tankers change from oil to milk ones in between shots.
 * When Stanley leaves from Ffarquhar station, he whistles but no steam emits from him.
 * Stanley leaves from Ffarquhar station but when the shot switches to the close up of Thomas, Daisy is seen in the background pulling away instead of Stanley.

Merchandise

 * Magazine Stories - Thomas and the Baby

UK

 * Full Steam to the Rescue!

US

 * Ultimate Friendship Adventures