Trust Thomas

"He's sick." "Yes, he is - I mean, I am!"

- Gordon and James

Trust Thomas is the thirteenth episode of the third season. It aired in the US on the Shining Time Station episode, Achoo in 1991.

Plot
Thomas finds out that Bertie has lost his trust in the railway's service after it failed to deliver tar to mend the roads two weeks earlier, and resolves to find the source of the problem.

Meanwhile, James is complaining about having to shunt while Percy is at the harbour when Gordon advises him to pretend to be sick. When Thomas arrives James tells him he is ill, and Thomas offers to take his trucks for him. The trucks, who are cross at James for bumping them, decide to get to take their anger out on Thomas. On the way back from the quarry, the trucks push Thomas over some points and onto a jetty, which floats across the pond and sinks.

Duck takes the trucks away and Edward helps Thomas home. When Thomas tells Edward about the tar, he recalls several wagons were left at Wellsworth and collects them to ensure they reach Bertie now. James and Gordon apologise for their trick, and Bertie arrives to tell Thomas that his road is about to be mended. Bertie regains his trust in the railway while Gordon and James slowly depart for the shed.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Edward
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Bertie
 * Percy (does not speak)
 * Duck (does not speak)
 * Annie and Clarabel (cameo)

Locations

 * Knapford Yards
 * Anopha Quarry
 * The Quarry Tramroad
 * Sodor Shipping Company
 * Toryreck
 * Ffarquhar River Bridge
 * Callan Pond
 * Arlesdale Lake and Mountains Line
 * Arlesdale Castle
 * The Rail Barge
 * Wellsworth (mentioned)
 * Knapford Harbour (mentioned)

Trivia

 * Parts of the plot of this episode are adapted from the magazine story Bertie's Bumpy Roads.
 * A deleted scene of Thomas running on Toby's Old Tramway from the first season is used at the beginning of this episode.
 * This marks the last appearance of the red lining on the back of Thomas' coal bunker until The Adventure Begins.
 * James' subplot of pretending to be ill, as suggested by Gordon is loosely adapted from Sir Handel's subplot in Trucks! The story of origin would be adapted in the following season.
 * This episode is very similar to Percy's Predicament, in which an engine is too lazy to do their work and another engine gets into an accident because of it.

Goofs

 * The causeway Thomas puffs across is the one on Toby's old tramway.
 * Although James says that he has to do Percy's work while Percy's at the harbour, Percy can be seen in the background in a close up of Gordon smiling in the yard.
 * While Thomas passes the camera while taking the trucks to the quarry, the last truck's face is falling off.
 * In one of the shots of Thomas passing the camera with the empty trucks, one of the truck's faces is off-centre.
 * When Thomas leaves the quarry and when Thomas crosses the bridge, his trucks have no faces, even though they had them before and after.
 * Thomas passes the points leading to the muddy pond before the narrator has time to say so.
 * The narrator said that Thomas' driver applied the brakes, but his wheels are still moving.
 * In a rare picture, a camera can be seen at the top left amongst the trees before Thomas runs onto the jetty.
 * In the close-up of Thomas after he rides the jetty, his wheels have already sunk into the pond, but in the next shot of his wheels, they have not sunk yet.
 * Edward says a truck of tar was left at his station, but two appear in the flashback.
 * The toad on Thomas' front at the end has adhesive underneath its feet.
 * In the US version, the narrator says that the trucks pushed Thomas past the points even though this had happened long before the scene had begun.
 * In the restored version, James goes past the camera completely when pushing the trucks, resulting in his actions being repeated when he meets Gordon in the next scene.

Quotes

 * Thomas: "Bad luck Bertie. Now if you were a steam engine, you would run on a pair of reliable rails."
 * Bertie: "Hmmph! The railway was supposed to deliver tar to mend the road two weeks ago! You can't trust a thing that runs on rails!"
 * Thomas: "I run on rails! You can trust me Bertie. I'll see if I can find out what's happened."

Merchandise

 * Buzz Books - Trust Thomas
 * Magazine Stories - Thank You, Thomas!

Home Media Releases
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UK

 * Trust Thomas and Other Stories (UK) (Direct-to-Home Video)
 * Children's Pre-School Compilation
 * The Biggest Ever Christmas Collection
 * My Little Thomas and Bertie Adventures
 * The Very Best of Thomas and Friends
 * The Complete Third Series

DVD Packs

 * Classic Collection
 * 10 DVD Boxset
 * The Best of Friends
 * The Fogman and The Very Best of Thomas and Friends Double Pack

WAL

 * Thomas the Tank Engine: Bumper Special 1

US

 * Trust Thomas and Other Stories
 * Thomas and His Friends Get Along
 * Thomas' Trainyard Adventures
 * The Greatest Stories
 * Season 3 (Digital Download)

DVD Packs

 * Trust Thomas and Other Stories/A Big Day for Thomas (DVD) Double Feature
 * On-the-Go Pack
 * Totally Thomas Volume 2
 * Totally Thomas Volume 6

AUS

 * Trust Thomas and Other Stories
 * The Biggest Ever Christmas Collection
 * The Very Best of Thomas and Friends
 * The Complete Third Series
 * The Best of Thomas and Friends - Volume 1
 * My First Thomas with Bertie and Harold

DVD Boxsets

 * 60th Anniversary - Limited Edition Boxset
 * Complete Series 1-10

NZ

 * Time for Trouble and other stories
 * The Biggest Ever Christmas Collection
 * Bumper Video Collection Volume 4
 * Thomas Train Set Compilation Video Volume 6

JPN

 * Thomas the Tank Engine Volume 15
 * The Complete Works of Thomas the Tank Engine 1 Vol.5
 * Bertie and Harold Fellow Friends
 * The Best Collection

DVD Boxsets

 * The Complete DVD Box 1

KOR

 * For the Story of Determination

ITA

 * On Christmas Eve

GR

 * The Twin Engines Were Confused!

DVD Boxsets

 * 3 DVD Boxset 2

DK

 * Now There Will Be Trouble and Other Stories

IN

 * The Trouble with Mud and Other Stories

MYS

 * Thomas' Christmas Party and Other Thomas Adventures

NOR

 * Thomas, Percy and the Post Train
 * Thomas-Festival

FIN

 * Thomas, Percy and the Post Train

UKR

 * A Train Thomas and Friends

GER

 * Rail Free for Steam and Diesel!

NL

 * Rely on Thomas
 * The Greatest Stories: The Adventures of Thomas

SER

 * Synchronized 1

CHN

 * Thomas and Friends Season 1-4 (DVD)

THA

 * Thomas and Friends - Volume 10 (Thai DVD)

TWN
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 * Thomas and Friends Volume 7 (Taiwanese DVD)