You Can't Win

"Poor old engine! It's no good, Stuart. You can't win."

- Duke

You Can't Win is the fourth episode of the fourth season. It first aired on Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales in 1996 in the US.

Plot
Duke is feeling poorly and Stuart jokes that he and Falcon may have to keep him in order. Duke pays no attention, but when he is taking his passengers home, he starts wheezing and Falcon and Stuart have to help him. The three split up at the next station so Falcon can take Duke's train to the dock and Duke and Stuart can take Falcon's train home. Stuart is delighted, but Duke is not quite out of steam and makes a grand effort. At the top station, a man tells his son that Duke had to help Stuart, who furiously disappears in a cloud of steam.

Characters

 * Duke
 * Falcon
 * Stuart
 * Thomas (cameo)
 * Bertie (cameo)
 * The Refreshment Lady (cameo)

Locations

 * Crovan's Gate
 * Sodor Castle
 * Hawin Doorey
 * Rheneas
 * Skarloey
 * Skarloey Railway Mountain Line
 * Cros-ny-Cuirn
 * Tidmouth Sheds (stock footage)

Trivia

 * This episode is based on the story of the same name from The Railway Series book, Duke the Lost Engine.
 * Behind the scenes footage of the episode was filmed in 1994 as part of a Thomas segment for WIN Television's Sixty Minutes.
 * Stock footage from Bulldog is used.
 * This episode marks Duke's last speaking role to date.
 * This is the only episode based off of a story from Duke the Lost Engine which is not narrated by Thomas to the other standard gauge engines.

Goofs

 * As Stuart is being coupled up to Duke, Duke is wearing one of Falcon's faces.
 * At the beginning, Stuart has Rheneas' whistle sound. Also, when Falcon takes Duke's passengers to the boat, he has Rheneas' whistle sound. Later, when Stuart leaves the station with Duke, Stuart has Falcon's whistle sound.
 * In a rare still of Stuart coupling up to Duke's train, his funnel is loose and his lining is peeling off.
 * In a deleted scene, it is not sundown when Duke and Stuart enter Crovan's Gate.
 * In a rare Japanese still, Duke is seen coupled in front of Stuart instead of behind him.