Thomas and the Rubbish Train

"Phewey! You're the stinkiest steamie I've ever smelled!" "I may be stinky, but I'm being really useful! Bye, Diesel!" "Huh! Useful(!)"

- Diesel trying to tease Thomas

Thomas and the Rubbish Train, retitled Thomas and the Garbage Train for American releases, is the seventh episode of the sixteenth season.

Plot
Thomas puffs into the docks where the Fat Controller tells him to be a back engine for Whiff's long rubbish train destined for the dump. Thomas is happy to help his friend. Just as Thomas rolls up to the train, Diesel rattles by. He teases Thomas by saying that pushing the rubbish train will make him a smelly engine. Thomas dismisses Diesel's jibe and he and Whiff set off.

At Maron, Thomas and Whiff have to wait for a signal. On the platform, Thomas is surprised to see the Duchess of Boxford looking sad. She explains that she wants to go to tea with Lady Hatt, but Spencer is busy with the Duke. Thomas offers to take her after finishing his jobs. He tells her to go and wait for him at Wellsworth. The Duchess happily wanders away, leaving Thomas delighted with his very important job. Then Diesel's words echo in Thomas' mind. Thomas thinks that the Duchess will not want him to take her to tea with Lady Hatt if he smells of rubbish. The signal drops and Thomas and Whiff set off once again.

Whiff and Thomas soon arrive at a junction where one track leads to a branch line. Thomas has an idea. He decides to chuff down the branch line and meet back up with Whiff at the next junction. This way, Thomas does not have to be with the rubbish for so long. The signal changes and as Whiff continues along the main line, Thomas switches onto the branch line where he passes a meadow of flowers. Thomas rejoins Whiff at the next junction as planned. Whiff had not noticed that Thomas had not been there, but is starting to show fatigue from the train's heavy load. Gordon grandly pulls up next to Thomas and remarks that both he and Whiff are really smelly. Thomas, who was feeling very embarrassed, decides he must find another track to get away from the rubbish. At the next junction, Thomas switches onto the coastal line and puffs alongside the sea. Thomas buffers back up to the rubbish train at the next junction. By now, the heavy rubbish train is taking its toll on poor Whiff. Suddenly, Emily whooshes by. She remarks that Thomas is a stinky engine which makes Thomas blush with embarrassment and become very worried. So, at the next junction, Thomas diverts himself onto the track which passes the bakery.

At Wellsworth, the Duchess is waiting for Thomas who is running late. Thomas rounds the bend into Wellsworth and does not see an exhausted Whiff standing at the platform until it is too late. Thomas collides with the rubbish trucks making them topple off the tracks, sending smelly rubbish and oily engine parts everywhere. The Duchess is shocked and asks Thomas if he is all right. Thomas is fine and confesses to being a very silly engine and at one point Thomas was embarrassed about his accident. Then Thomas has an idea. He asks the Duchess to travel to Lady Hatt with Whiff while he fetches Rocky to help clear up the mess. The Duchess thinks this is a very good idea and Whiff feels honoured to have such an important passenger.

Later, Rocky has picked up all the rubbish and put it back into the trucks. Thomas huffs to the rubbish dump with his very heavy and smelly load. On the way, he meets up with Diesel who calls Thomas stinky again. Thomas admits that he may be stinky, but he is being really useful. Diesel just scoffs.

On the way back from the rubbish dump, Thomas meets Whiff, the Duchess, and Lady Hatt at the level crossing. The Duchess cheers for all of the very useful engines on Sodor.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Gordon
 * Emily
 * Whiff
 * Diesel
 * Rocky
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * The Duchess of Boxford
 * Stanley (does not speak)
 * Scruff (does not speak)
 * Lady Hatt (does not speak)
 * Henry (cameo)
 * James (cameo)
 * Toby (cameo)
 * Hiro (cameo)
 * Cranky (cameo)
 * The Teacher (cameo)
 * The Two Bakers (cameo)
 * Spencer (mentioned)
 * The Duke of Boxford (mentioned)

Locations

 * Sodor Dairy
 * Whiff's Waste Dump
 * Brendam Docks
 * Sodor Shipping Company
 * Shunting Yards
 * Maron
 * The Lighthouse
 * Knapford Iron Bridge
 * Sodor Bakery
 * Wellsworth
 * Bluff's Cove

Trivia

 * In the UK narration, Whiff's voice has changed since the fifteenth season.
 * In the UK narration, when he sees Thomas for the second time, Diesel says "Huh! Useful!" while in the US narration, he simply scoffs.
 * This is the only sixteenth season episode to have a different title for the US and UK.
 * This episode marks the Duchess of Boxford's first speaking role since Hero of the Rails.

Merchandise

 * Magazine Stories - Thomas and the Rubbish Train (magazine story)

UK

 * The Complete Sixteenth Series
 * Muddy Matters (DVD)

DVD Boxsets

 * 10 DVD Boxset (2014)
 * Friends Together

AUS

 * ABC For Kids - All Aboard!

US

 * Muddy Matters
 * Season 16 (Digital Download)

CHN

 * Bust My Buffers

THA

 * Ho Ho Snowman

GER

 * Thomas and the Rubbish Train

MYS

 * Thomas Toots the Crows (Malaysian DVD)