Duncan Drops a Clanger

"Sounds like a bell... 'tis a bell... it's MAH bell!"

- Duncan

Duncan Drops a Clanger is the sixth episode of the tenth season.

Plot
It is the day of the Mountain Village Country Fair and all of the narrow gauge engines are busy with their various deliveries. Duncan is on his way to the Transfer Yards to collect the clock tower's bell that is to be polished when he comes across a bumpy stretch of track. This is Duncan's favourite part of the railway as the bumpy track make his wheels clatter and rattle. Rheneas, going in the other direction, whistles to Duncan, telling him that he is going to be late. But Duncan's wheels are so noisy that he does not hear Rheneas' warning.

Once at the Transfer Yards, Duncan collects the bell. The bell chimes sweetly as it is lowered on his flatbed and Duncan quite admires the bell's chiming. The foreman warns Duncan that the bell is very heavy and, as the track to the polishers is long over due for repairs, he must go slowly and carefully. But Duncan is too busy enjoying the bell ringing to even listen to the foreman's warnings.

Duncan soon speeds up and the bell rings louder and louder; he likes the bell ringing even more than his wheels clattering. However, Duncan ignores warnings from Rusty, Skarloey, Mighty Mac, and Sir Handel to slow down and take care as they pass by. Suddenly, Duncan hits some very bumpy tracks and applying his brakes makes things worse. The bell tumbles off his flatbed and rolls down a hill. Now Duncan realizes how wrong he was for going too fast.

However, it turns out that he had not quite lost the bell as Duncan hears a ringing - it is the clock tower's bell. Following the sound, Duncan finds the bell caught in a tree above the line. Quickly, Duncan gets under the tree and catches the bell just in time. Duncan carries on with the bell on his flatbed and goes slowly and carefully to the polishers and all the way back to the Transfer Yards. Later, when the clock tower's bell chimes for the opening of the Country Fair, Duncan is very happy indeed.

Characters

 * Skarloey
 * Rheneas
 * Sir Handel
 * Duncan
 * Mighty Mac
 * Rusty
 * Peter Sam (does not speak)
 * Mr. Percival (cameo)

Locations

 * Transfer Yards
 * The Skarloey Railway Viaduct
 * Village Square

Trivia

 * In Czech, this episode is called "Duncan's Bell Drops". In Norway, it is called "Duncan and the Bell". The German title is "Duncan Loves it Loud". In Japan, the title is "Tone and Bell Duncan". The Finnish title is "Duncan Drives the Clock". The Swedish title is "A Bell Clean Miss".

Goofs

 * The ground shakes as the bell rolls down the hill.
 * Mighty Mac and Sir Handel have the same whistle sound.
 * Duncan delivers the bell to the polishers, but, as the bell is inside the clock tower, Duncan's task should have been to collect the polishers and take them to the bell.
 * Brakevans should have been added to all the trains in this episode.
 * The bell would have been too heavy to hang from a branch.
 * The bell should have been secured to the flatbed.
 * Duncan's driver should have known not to let Duncan go on the bumpy track.
 * When the bell lands on Duncan's flatbed, he jumps from the impact long after it has landed.