Rusty and the Boulder

"We should have left this part of the island...alone."

- Sir Topham Hatt after seeing the destruction caused by Boulder

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

Plot
On the Island of Sodor, high up in the mountains, there 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 the 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 is working hard. The men are pleased, but no one bothers to check the boulder. But it started raining, the workmen left. Rusty is gazing up, and shivers as above stood Boulder. Suddenly, a large slab of rock lands on the rails. Rusty is shocked and worried by this, but his driver is concerned. The driver thinks the rock has been loosened by the rain, but Rusty thinks it is Boulder telling them to go away. As they leave, a face mysteriously appears on Boulder, then disappears again.

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 notices something. He realises 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 rolls along the line of the rails as Rusty quickly drives himself backwards to get away from Boulder. Rusty and his driver stop at a junction and wait for Boulder to pass by, but Boulder is nowhere to be seen. Then, they soon realise that Boulder is behind them. Just ahead, they see a small junction, so Rusty races towards it. Rusty takes the line that goes uphill, while Boulder thunders past by them.

Meanwhile, Skarloey is making his way up to the quarry. Then, he sees the boulder heading for him. He becomes shocked, shouts for help, and quickly reverses, but the boulder is catching up fast. Skarloey slips into a siding, while the Boulder passes by. Boulder smashes up the water tower that was in between the tracks. Skarloey realises they have to warn the yards, but Rusty does not know how. Boulder rounds a bend, and there ahead is Rheneas. He shouts that the boulder is running loose, as his driver quickly drives him back as fast as he can. Both Rheneas and the Boulder go through the viaduct, as Rheneas runs into some buffers with Boulder just missing him, but his driver sighs that it is rather a smash than a squash. At the yards, Percy is collecting trucks. Then, he hears Boulder. Percy is shocked, and realises that Boulder is heading straight for him. Percy makes his whistle squeak, closes his eyes, his crew jumps, and Boulder crashes into the sheds, causing a large explosion with flames.

When The Fat Controller inspects the damage, he decides to close the mine. Then he looks at Boulder with the shed, destroyed. He realises that they should have left this part of the island alone. They move Boulder to a hill close by the yards so it would never harm anyone on the island anymore.

Characters

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

Locations

 * Boulder Quarry
 * Rheneas Viaduct
 * Echo Pass Ravine

Trivia

 * Going by production order, this is the twenty-sixth episode of the fifth season, and the season finale.
 * 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". This reference was later used in the Thomas Around the World short Thomas Goes for Gold.
 * 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.
 * This is one of Davey Moore's favourite classic series episodes alongside Thomas' Train.

Goofs

 * Due to his model being changed, Rusty's face gets bigger and then smaller again throughout the episode.
 * Boulder is still covered in moss while it chases Rusty. However, once it appears behind him, all the moss has vanished.
 * In the close-ups of Rheneas, the hook attached to the camera he is pulling along is visible.
 * In the close-up of Rheneas' driver, his right eye (viewer's left) appears to be overloaded of black marker. Also, he appears to be in Rusty's cab rather than Rheneas'.
 * When the water tower pieces crash onto Skarloey, his driver gets hit by the timber.

Merchandise

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

UK

 * Spooks and Surprises
 * The Very Best of Thomas and Friends
 * The Complete Fifth Series

US

 * Spills and Chills and Other Thomas Thrills
 * Quarry Adventures On Sodor

JPN

 * Sing-Along and Stories 2
 * The Complete Works of Thomas the Tank Engine 2 Vol.2
 * Thomas the Tank Engine Character Encyclopaedia

AUS

 * Spooks and Surprises
 * The Very Best of Thomas and Friends
 * The Complete Fifth Series
 * The Best of Thomas and Friends - Volume 1

NOR

 * Fleas and 15 and other Stories

GER

 * Heroes on Rails