The Deputation

"Of course! The question is..." "What is a desperation?" "It's when engines tell the Fat Controller something's wrong."

- Gordon, Henry, and Percy

The Deputation is the seventeenth episode of the second season. It aired in the US on the Shining Time Station episode, "Sweet and Sour".

Plot
Heavier than normal snow has fallen on the Island of Sodor and while the other engines hate it, Donald and Douglas are used to the conditions and clear the lines. They encounter one drift deeper than most, which turns out to be Henry.

Henry is rescued and returns to the shed, but both Donald and Douglas are upset. They know the Fat Controller will be returning soon and, after destroying a signalbox the spiteful break van between them, are worried that he will send one or possibly both of them away which would lead to them being scrapped. The other engines decide they have to do something to allow both Donald and Douglas to stay. However no one knows what to do.

Percy talks to Edward about the situation and he suggests that the engines nominate someone to talk to the Fat Controller, a "deputation". Percy relays this to the others that they need a "disputation" and they agree to this and nominate a horrified Percy to do the job.

The Fat Controller returns and a nervous Percy stammers through his speech about allowing the twins to stay. The Fat Controller catches on that Percy is a deputation and tells him he understands.

Later in the sheds, the Fat Controller responds to the engines request. After informing them, although he understands their feelings, he doesn't appreciate them interfereing in his decision making. He then surprises everyone by awarding Donald and Douglas, as a result of their good work in the snow, with new coats of paint and their names painted on them and warns them that he doesn't want to see any more mistakes. The engines realise that the Fat Controller is allowing both twins to stay and, overjoyed, drown out the rest of his speech with happy whistles.

Characters

 * Edward
 * Henry
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Duck
 * Donald and Douglas
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Bertie (cameo)
 * The Spiteful Brakevan (mentioned)

Locations

 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * Rolf's Castle
 * Tidmouth
 * The Watermill

Trivia

 * This episode is based on the story of the same name from The Railway Series book, The Twin Engines.
 * In the UK version, Percy exclaims "I!? I can't!". In the US narration, he exclaims "Me? I can't!".
 * In the UK version, the Fat Controller says, "I had a deputation, I understand your feelings but I do not approve of interference". In the George Carlin US version, the line is changed to, "I had a deputation. I understand your feelings and I've given a lot of thought to the matter".
 * In the UK version, the twins say, "He'll send us back for sure." In the US version, they say, "He'll send us away for sure."
 * In the US version, Henry says "Help, help". This line is not used in the UK version.
 * In Germany, this episode is named "Help for the Twins".

Goofs

 * When Donald and Douglas leave the yard back-to-back, a truck is being derailed.
 * Gordon's right buffer is bent when he says "A lot of nonsense about a broken signalbox."
 * When Percy reverses to tell the engines about a "deputation", the track in front of him bounces upward.
 * During the long silence, the twin next to Duck has his tender derailed.
 * Percy's eyes are off centre for the majority of the episode.
 * When the engines whistle, one of the twins is missing an eyebrow.
 * Donald and Douglas have their nameplates in a few scenes.
 * When Donald and Douglas are in the shed, one twin's tender is derailed.
 * To the left of the watermill, there is green grass that isn't covered in snow.
 * It is said that Donald and Douglas had a van between their tenders, but they actully had a coach.

Episode
300px|left|thumb|UK narration