Marion and the Dinosaurs

"Eeeeeeeeeek! Look out! Look out! Steam shovel coming through!"

- Marion

Marion and the Dinosaurs is an episode from the eighteenth season.

Plot
There is only one thing Marion loves more than digging and that's talking about digging. One morning, she is at the Town Square admiring the dinosaur skeleton she had dug up in the claypits when Toby trundles up. Marion can't resist boasting about her great find, but Toby is confused; he thought scientists dug up the skeleton. Marion says the scientists may have finished off the digging with their tiny shovels, but she's the professional digger. Toby smiles to himself as Marion steams away.

Some time later, Marion is digging to clear a site for some new sheds in a siding. Marion gets a bit of a fright when Thomas makes her jump by puffing up right in front of her. Thomas tells her to let him know if she digs up anything exciting, but all Marion manages to unearth is a rusty metal bar.

Thomas is making a delivery of stones and plants to the Earl at Ulfstead Castle. When he arrives on the estate, Millie and Stephen steam out, very excited. Their excitement soon subsides when they see it is only Thomas. Stephen explains that the Earl has ordered a special shipment from the Mainland. Millie goes on to say that it's a surprise, but it will be very, very big and they have been given the task of waiting for it to arrive. Thomas wonders what on earth the special shipment could be.

That night, back at the siding, Marion is asleep. She is woken by what she believes is an engine passing by. When she looks she doesn't see an engine, she sees a line of dinosaurs coming towards her. She thinks she is dreaming and orders herself to wake up. When that doesn't work, she tells the dinosaurs to go away and, to her surprise, that works.

The following morning, Marion is very sleepy as she sets back to work. Then, Thomas arrives and gives her a fright by pulling up in front of her again. Marion tells him that last night she saw some dinosaurs. Thomas reminds Marion that dinosaurs aren't around anymore. Marion agrees that dinosaurs were around many years before people, railways and digging was even invented. Thomas tells her that it was just a bad dream and he sets off.

A little while later, Marion hears another engine coming along and, this time, she looks to see who it is so she isn't startled again. She doesn't see an engine, she sees the line of dinosaurs from last night coming towards her again. Marion orders herself to wake up, but realises that she is not dreaming. Marion is so scared that she reverses away from the approaching dinosaurs as quickly as she can.

Marion reverses all the way up the slope to Ulfstead Castle. Stephen and Millie think the important shipment has arrived, but are surprised to see Marion reverses straight towards them. Millie and Stephen let Marion, who is still shouting about dinosaurs, into the castle. Stephen is sure she can't have really seen dinosaurs, but Millie sees the big creatures make their way up the slope towards the castle grounds. Millie and Stephen are very frightened and retreat into the castle. Once there, Millie, Stephen and Marion all sit and listen to the noises coming from the outside. Marion thinks she can hear the dinosaurs breathing, but Stephen thinks it sounds more like a steam engine. Then, they hear the Earl whoop with joy as he calls out that his important delivery has arrived. Stephen and Millie decide to go outside and investigate. Marion is more nervous and holds back, but then she sees a new, green engine pull in with some model dinosaurs on flatbeds.

The new engine introduces himself as Samson. The Earl tells him that he had been due to arrive last night. Samson is a little embarrassed and states that he has never been to Sodor before, got lost in the dark and ended up spending the night at a quarry. The Earl is more interested in the dinosaurs he has ordered for his new dinosaur park. Now it is Marion's turn to be embarrassed for thinking the dinosaurs were real. The Earl explains that he wants to build a dinosaur park so that visitors can come and see what the magnificent creatures actually looked like all those years ago. He then tells Marion that he wants her to be on the look out for anymore dinosaur bones. Marion is very pleased with her new task and sets off right away, talking endlessly about where she is going to try first. Stephen jokes that Marion really "digs" the dinosaurs now.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Toby
 * Stephen
 * Samson
 * Millie
 * Marion
 * Sir Robert Norramby
 * Timothy (cameo)
 * Henrietta (cameo)
 * The Bird Watcher (cameo)
 * The Teacher (cameo)
 * One of Dowager Hatt's Friends (cameo)
 * Sir Topham Hatt (mentioned)

Locations

 * Town Square
 * Ulfstead Castle
 * Sodor China Clay Company
 * Blue Mountain Quarry (mentioned)
 * The Dinosaur Park (mentioned)

Trivia

 * References to Tale of the Brave are made.
 * Some parts of the plot are similar to the third season episode, Thomas, Percy and the Dragon.
 * Robert Wilfort joins the cast.
 * This is the last episode to feature Ben Small as Toby in the UK.
 * The events of this episode's ending overlap the first part of Samson at Your Service.

Goofs

 * At the end, Millie and Stephen are on the same track, but it is not dual-gauged.
 * At one point, all but one of the trucks and the brakevan for Thomas' train of plants and rocks disappear, but then reappear in the next shot.
 * The size of the dinosaur models changes throughout the episode.