Duck and the Slip Coaches

"Hello, Slippies!"

- Duck to the slip coaches

Duck and the Slip Coaches is the eighth episode of the eighteenth season.

Plot
It is high summer, when many tourists visit Sodor and the engines are busier than ever. The Fat Controller is concerned about getting them all to their destinations on time. One evening, Duck comes to stay at Tidmouth Sheds to help out with passenger trains in the morning. He tells the other engines about the slip coaches they used on the Great Western Railway that can be uncoupled at stations without stopping. He also says how tricky it is to get the timing right, and that it needed lots of practice. James finds Duck and his stories annoying but later that night, he tells the Fat Controller about the slip coaches and claims it as his idea.

The Fat Controller purchases three of Duck's old slip coaches from the mainland, which arrive the following morning. Duck is overjoyed to see his old friends, but is crestfallen when James is rewarded with the job of pulling them. James pulls the coaches and releases the first coach at Bluff's Cove, but slows down too much to show off to the passengers on the platform. The last coach bumps into his train, causing the rest of the coaches to bump into James. None of the passengers are hurt, but are very cross and complain.

The Fat Controller speaks severely to James, but Duck intervenes, revealing the slip coaches are his old friends and that James had taken his idea. The Fat Controller promptly puts Duck in charge of the slip coaches, and he manages to pull them perfectly, to the delight of the passengers. That night, the Fat Controller, the slip coaches, and all the engines (except for James) give Duck three cheers.

Characters
Some grumbling passengers can also be heard. Some of them are voiced by Keith Wickham in the UK narration.
 * Thomas
 * Edward
 * Henry
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Duck
 * Emily
 * Slip Coaches
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Some children
 * Annie and Clarabel (cameo)
 * The Teacher (cameo)
 * The Bird Watcher (cameo)
 * The Ginger-haired Boy (cameo)
 * Dowager Hatt's Friends (cameo)

Locations

 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * Knapford
 * Animal Park
 * Bluff's Cove
 * Wellsworth

Trivia

 * The footage that depicts Duck on the Great Western Railway resembles a 1940s newsreel.

Goofs

 * Teresa Gallagher's name is misspelt as "Teresa Gallgher". Rebecca O'Mara's name is also incorrectly written as "Rebecca O Mara".
 * When Edward is at the Animal Park, he has Thomas' whistle sound.
 * In the first shot of Duck on the Great Western Railway, he is missing his "GWR" lettering.
 * Some of the people waving at James as he passes with the slip coaches were seen boarding the train at Knapford.
 * When the Fat Controller ushers the passengers onto the train, the small girl and her family leave their luggage on the station platform.
 * When the rear slip coach detaches at Bluff's Cove, it and the rest of the train are moving slowly, but when the collision occurs they are both moving faster.
 * The rear slip coach is re-coupled to the train when he says "Capital idea".
 * When one of the coaches uncouples at Knapford, some of the children appear to slide out of the doors, and several passengers seem to exit through the same door at once. Also, a little girl's feet goes through the floor and running board of the coach when jumping out.
 * After a close up of Duck at Tidmouth Sheds, Thomas disappears.
 * The slip coach behind Duck cannot automatically uncouple, as Duck's coupling hook can not drop down. Furthermore, there was no need for it to uncouple, as Duck had finished his journey and could therefore simply stop at the station.