Toad Stands By

"Well, Oliver, so you don't know your own strength, is that it?"

- The Fat Controller

Toad Stands By is the twentieth episode of the fourth season. It first aired in the US on the Shining Time Station episode One of the Family in 1995 and re-aired on Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales in 1996.

Plot
When Oliver returns from the Works, the trucks, prompted by their ringleader, S. C. Ruffey, sing Pop Goes Old Ollie to spite him, and refuse to stop even when threatened by Thomas, Percy and Duck. Toad, fearing that the matter may escalate, asks to speak with Oliver and gives him an idea. Oliver, feeling a sense of responsibility, agrees with Toad. Oliver shunts S. C. Ruffey and his lieutenants and prepares to pull them, but S. C. Ruffey whispers to the trucks to hold back, and they do. Oliver, however, is determined and simply pulls S. C. Ruffey apart. When the Fat Controller scrutinizes the remains, he attributes it to S. C. Ruffey's poor build, but tells Oliver to keep it under his dome. After the incident, the trucks become fearful of Oliver and whisper to each other not to anger him. S. C. Ruffey, who was repaired, wisely keeps his mouth shut.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Percy
 * Duck
 * Douglas
 * Oliver
 * Toad
 * S. C. Ruffey
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Henry (cameo)
 * James (cameo)

Locations

 * Callan
 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * Shunting Yards
 * The Works (mentioned)

Trivia

 * This episode is based on the story of the same name from The Railway Series book, Oliver the Western Engine.
 * Stock footage from Oliver Owns Up is used.
 * At the beginning of the episode, the scrapyard Oliver passes is really the Crovan's Gate set redressed with scrap models of Thomas, Gordon, Donald, and Douglas.
 * In the US narration, Oliver no longer has a Brooklyn accent.
 * This was the first and only time in the series that the tankers have faces. These faces appear to be the same ones used on the narrow gauge trucks.
 * In Sweden, this episode is called "Toad Helps Out". In Norway, it is named "Trust Toad". The Italian, German, and Spanish title is "Toad's Plan". In Japan, this episode is called "Brightness of Toad".
 * Excluding his facemask, which was used on trucks for numerous occasions, this episode marks the first and only appearance of S.C.Ruffey.

Goofs

 * In a close-up of the trucks singing, one truck has a broken buffer.
 * When Oliver says "It's really my fault, I shouldn't have fallen in the turntable well", Henry's trucks wobble, and then derail.
 * Toad changes from the siding in the yard to a siding just outside the station.
 * James and Oliver have different whistle sounds.
 * In the scene where S.C. Ruffey collapses, his axles are gone.
 * Toad asks Douglas whether he can work with Oliver, but it has never been indicated in the television series that Toad is Douglas' brakevan.
 * Douglas has Duck's whistle sound when he agrees to Toad's plan. At the end of the episode, Douglas has a different whistle sound.
 * When Oliver stops after going in between two rows of trucks, in one shot he is stopped just before two vans on either side, then in the next shot he is between the two vans.
 * When Oliver starts pulling the trucks, S.C.Ruffey is right next to Toad, but in the head-on shot of him groaning, he is several metres ahead of Toad.
 * S. C. Ruffey, at the end of the episode, has two couplings on his hook.
 * Before the trucks start singing, there are two trucks behind Duck and in front of Thomas. However when the trucks stop singing and are told to be quiet, they have gone.