Rusty and the Boulder

"Rather a smash than a squash!"

- Rheneas' driver

Rusty and the Boulder is the twenty-fifth episode of the fifth season.

Plot
On the Island of Sodor, high up in the mountains, was a mysterious boulder. And it stood alone for a long time. But one day, a new quarry is being built near the mines on the land below and Rusty is afraid a giant boulder will fall onto the line. He confesses his fears to Thomas and Percy. Then Edward arrives with a new machine called Thumper to help with the mining process. Soon, Thumper was working hard. The men were pleased, but no one bothered to check the boulder. But one rainy day, when it rained, the workmen went away. Rusty is gazing up and shivered above stood boulder. Suddenly, a large slab of rock landed on the rails. Rusty was shocked and was worried by this, but his driver was concerned. The driver reassures him.

The next day, the sun is shining and Thumper is working harder than ever. He always works hard on the rocks below Boulder. Suddenly, Rusty noticed something. He realized that Boulder is moving, but his driver does not believe him until Boulder falls down in front of them and begins to chase Rusty. Boulder was rolling along the line of the rails as Rusty quickly drove himsef backwards to get away from Boulder. Rusty and his driver stop at a junction and wait for Boulder to pass by, but Boulder was nowhere to be seen. Then, they soon realized that Boulder is behind them. Just ahead, they saw a small junction, so Rusty raced towards the junction. Rusty takes the line that goes uphill while Boulder thundered past by them.

Meanwhile, Skarloey was making his way up to the quarry. Then, he saw a boulder heading for him. He got shocked, shouted for help, and quickly reverses, but the boulder is catching up fast. Skarloey slips into a siding while the Boulder passes by. Boulder smashed up the water tower that was near the rails. Boulder rounded a bend and there ahead was Rheneas. He said that the boulder was running loose, as his driver quickly drove him back as fast as he could. Both Rheneas and the Boulder went through the viaduct, as Rheneas got smashed into some buffers with Boulder just missing him, but his driver sighed that it's rather a smash than a squash. At the yards, Percy was collecting trucks. Then, he heard Boulder. Percy was shocked and realized that Boulder was heading straight for him. Percy made his whistle squeaked, closed his eyes, and Boulder crashes into the shed, causing a firey explosion.

When Sir Topham Hatt inspected the damage, he decided to close the mine. Then he looked at Boulder with the shed, destroyed. He thoughted that they should have left this part of the island alone. They moved Boulder to a hill close by the yards. And so, the boulder would never harm everyone in the island, anymore. Rusty is sure that on a clear night, it is gazing up at the mountain, and it is sighs are being carried on the wind, to where it once used to stand proud and silent. I wonder if Rusty is right. Don't you?

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Edward
 * Percy
 * Skarloey
 * Rheneas
 * Rusty
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Thumper (does not speak)
 * Terence (cameo)
 * George (cameo)
 * Butch (cameo)

Locations

 * Boulder Quarry
 * The Skarloey Railway Viaduct

Trivia

 * Boulder's face is based upon Gordon's.
 * The same model for Boulder is used for both the large-scale and normal-scale sets.
 * This episode marks the first and only appearance of Thumper to date.
 * In this episode, the quarry was brand new and closed in a short amount of time, meaning the events of Bye George! and Duncan Gets Spooked must have occurred during the events of this episode as they also took place at the Boulder Quarry yards at the base of the mountain. Furthermore, George is seen at Thumper's dig site, meaning that he served his week-long punishment and was brought back to the quarry to help.
 * The scene where Boulder chases after Rusty, coupled with how round the boulder was, may have been based off of the Indiana Jones film "Raiders of the Lost Ark".
 * Rusty's small-scale model is used at the beginning and end of the episode, but his large-scale model is used throughout the rest.
 * In the UK version Skarloey says "Yikes!". But in the US version they said "Help!"
 * In the UK version Rheneas says "Yikes!". But in the UK version the said "Hurry!"
 * In the UK version Rusty says "That is maybe percy." But then in the US version he said "Well Percy."
 * In the US version the line it says "..but they veried into the sighting" is missing.
 * In the UK version Rheneas driver yells "Rather a smash than a squash!". But then in the US version they said "Better a smash than a squash."

Goofs

 * Due to his model being changed, Rusty's face gets bigger and then smaller again throughout the episode.
 * When Boulder falls off the cliff, it hits an outcrop but still falls vertically onto the track.  It should have rolled over the side of the track since there was nothing in the way to stop it.
 * Boulder is still covered in moss while it chases Rusty. However, once it appears behind him, all the moss has vanished.
 * Skarloey looked scared before he realized Boulder was coming.
 * In the close-ups of Rheneas, the hook attached to the camera he is pulling along is visible.
 * As Boulder approaches the sheds, the ground bounces.
 * In the US version, the term "trucks" is used at one point.
 * When Boulder approaches Skarloey at the water column, Skarloey does not have a driver, but when the column is smashed, his driver is seen leaning out of the cab.
 * The close-up of Rheneas' driver is actually of the circular window on the left side of Rusty's cab.
 * When Boulder races past Rheneas, the same scene from earlier in the episode when Boulder races pass Rusty is used.
 * Brakevans should have been added to Skarloey and Edward's trains.
 * When the water tower pieces crash onto Skarloey, his driver gets hit by the timber.
 * Boulder should have fallen from the viaduct whilst chasing Rheneas.

Merchandise

 * Wooden Railway - Boulder Mountain Set
 * Take-Along (discontinued)
 * Wind-up Trains (Japan only) - Boulder