Edward the Very Useful Engine

"Duck should play with other ducks, 'coz he's no good at pulling trucks! Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack! Hold back! Hold back!"

- The Troublesome Trucks

Edward the Very Useful Engine, retitled Edward the Really Useful Engine in some American releases, is the twenty-third episode of the sixth season.

Plot
Gordon thinks that Edward is old and should be retired, and the other big engines agree with him, but Percy is concerned about this. He tells his driver and the Fat Controller about what Gordon said about Edward, who attends to the matter immediately.

The Fat Controller arranges for Edward to teach Stepney to run a new loop line, while Duck does Edward's work, but it makes no difference to Gordon. Edward enjoys working with Stepney, but Duck does not enjoy working with the trucks, especially when they hold him back on Gordon's Hill. Duck is stuck on Gordon's line, and it's too late to switch him to the middle line, so the guard tries to flag him down, but Gordon passes by and tries to push Duck up, but it's no good.

Gordon's crew sends for Edward to help both engines, and as the strange train sets off and pulls into the station, Gordon feels rather embarrassed and is told off by The Fat Controller for saying rude things about Edward, who has proven to be responsible, reliable and very helpful. The next day, Gordon apologizes to Edward and says that he really is a useful engine. Now there is no more talk about Edward retiring.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Edward
 * Henry
 * Gordon
 * Percy
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Stephen Hatt (not named)
 * James (does not speak)
 * Duck (does not speak)
 * Stepney (does not speak)
 * Farmer Trotter (cameo)
 * Oliver (deleted scene)

Locations

 * Knapford
 * Tidmouth Bay
 * Maron
 * The Windmill
 * The Viaduct
 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * Gordon's Hill
 * Shunting Yards
 * The Lighthouse
 * Callan
 * The Loop Line

Trivia

 * This was the final episode to be written by David Mitton.
 * This is one of the few episodes of the sixth season to be later re-narrated by Michael Brandon in the US.
 * This marks the final appearance of Stepney until the twelfth season, not counting appearances in the seventh season made up of stock footage.
 * Three posters at Knapford read "Alicia Botti in concert tonight at the castle".
 * In the US, this episode was named "Edward the Very Useful Engine" until Michael Brandon narrated it.  It was then renamed "Edward the Really Useful Engine".
 * Going by production order, this is the twenty-sixth and final episode of the sixth season.
 * During the production of the episode, fellow wikia user and Thomas fan Elliot K. Ward visited Shepperton Studios on Friday May 15th, 2002, with Phil Fehrle as his tour guide.

Goofs

 * In the American narration, after Alec Baldwin says, "Sir Topham Hatt spoke severely to Gordon", a voice can be faintly heard saying "Take six".
 * Stepney has Skarloey's whistle sound.
 * When Gordon is seen coming up the hill to push Duck, the guard is seen waving a red flag, but in the very next shot, he is in the brakevan.
 * When Edward buffers up to Gordon a white wire is visible in the windows of the express coach.
 * Duck has Oliver's whistle sound at the beginning.
 * In Michael Angelis' 2005 renarration, the term "freight cars" is used at the beginning.
 * When Edward and Stepney are at Tidmouth Bay and in a deleted scene, Stepney is pulling four coaches. However, when he passes the windmill, he's only pulling three.