Peace and Quiet

"Please stop! I'd rather be back with the chatterbox engines!"

- Murdoch to the sheep

Peace and Quiet is the seventeenth episode of the seventh season.

Plot
At the docks, goods are arriving night and day, causing the engines to work so hard that their axles ache. So the Fat Controller brings in a new engine called Murdoch to help. He has ten driving wheels and looks very strong. The engines all welcome him, but Murdoch thinks they are all very chatty.

Later, Murdoch has a very long train to pull. He looks forward to some peace and quiet, but everywhere he goes is noisy. Murdoch looks forward to a nice rest at the sheds that night.

But as he arrives, Salty and Harvey begin to ask him lots of questions about his past. Murdoch becomes annoyed and tells them both that he wants peace and quiet, and that he doesn't want to share a shed with chatterboxes. Salty tells him that they are only being friendly.

The next day, Murdoch has another long train to pull. This time, he travels through the countryside. He is happy to finally have some peace and quiet. But he comes across some sheep on the line, who have escaped through a broken fence. His driver and fireman fail to move the sheep, so Toby is sent to help by bringing the farmer. The sheep are so noisy that Murdoch wishes he was back with Salty and Harvey. Toby finally arrives and the farmer and his two dogs move the sheep off the line. Murdoch continues on his way.

Later that evening, Murdoch arrives back at the sheds with Harvey and Salty. He apologies for being rude to them, and Harvey tells him that they are happy to share the shed with him. This reminds Salty of a story, which makes Murdoch smile. The sheep would have kept him awake, but a story might send him to sleep.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Henry
 * Harvey
 * Murdoch
 * Salty
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Toby (does not speak)
 * Farmer Trotter (not named; does not speak)
 * Percy (cameo)
 * Duck (cameo)
 * Douglas (cameo)
 * Emily (cameo)
 * Arthur (cameo)
 * Cranky (cameo)
 * Gordon (deleted scene)
 * Donald (deleted scene)
 * Clarabel (deleted scene)
 * Cyril the Fogman (deleted scene cameo)

Locations

 * Brendam Docks
 * Sodor Shipping Company
 * Knapford Sheds
 * The Coaling Plant
 * Henry's Tunnel
 * Suddery Castle
 * Tidmouth Harbour (stock footage)
 * Wellsworth (deleted scene)
 * The Cement Works (deleted scene)
 * Marseille (mentioned)

Trivia

 * Stock footage from Fish is used.
 * In the Michael Brandon version, Murdoch says "Thanks, Toby!" at the end of the penultimate scene.
 * In a still picture, Arthur is not in the shed next to Harvey, Salty, and Murdoch.
 * A faceless Bulstrode model can be seen in the second scene of the episode.
 * In a rare photo, Harvey has an Angry face.
 * In a deleted scene at Wellsworth, something white can be seen behind the station.
 * This episode might have been filmed around the same time as Gordon and Spencer as in a deleted scene, Gordon, Clarabel, and Cyril are at Wellsworth in the same positions as they were in the aforementioned episode.
 * Salty says, "Have you worked Marseille?" Marseille is a city in southern France known for its large harbour.
 * This episode marks the last appearance of Duck until the twelfth season, excluding a stock footage cameo in Not So Hasty Puddings.
 * Michael Brandon's narration of this episode has been broadcasted on television, but has not yet to be commissioned for a DVD.

Goofs

 * When Murdoch passes Douglas in the coaling plant, he is pulling the same train that he pulls the next day.
 * When Murdoch puffs into the coaling plant, Duck is shunting trucks. In the next scene, Duck is on another line and Percy has disappeared.
 * When Murdoch is about to depart from Brendam, his eyes look strange.
 * The narrator says "The farmer and his dog went to work", but the farmer has two dogs.
 * When Murdoch tells Harvey and Salty off, Harvey does not have a face.
 * For a brief second in the final shot, Murdoch's eyes do move in alingment with each other.
 * The number of the few black sheep amongst the flock keeps changing.
 * When Murdoch returns the shed in the last scene Emily is there too, but in the last two shots she has disappeared.