Faulty Whistles

"Look! It's Duncan the musical engine!"

- Rusty

Faulty Whistles is the twenty-sixth episode of the sixth season.

Plot
Peter Sam is delivering some goods, but on the way home his whistle is knocked off by a branch. Duncan laughs and sets off with his goods. On the way, he startles Elizabeth and the bull she is carrying by whistling loudly. When he passes Terence in a field he prepares to give him the same surprise, but he blows his whistle so hard it simply flies off into the field.

Luckily, one of Duncan's trucks is carrying an organ destined for Strawberry Grove School, and Headmaster Hastings plays the organ when and where Duncan should whistle. Duncan reaches home safely, but is teased by Skarloey, Rheneas, and Rusty. Peter Sam tells Duncan that he was brave to go on without a whistle. This cheers Duncan up.

Characters

 * Rheneas
 * Peter Sam
 * Duncan
 * Rusty
 * Elizabeth
 * Headmaster Hastings
 * Skarloey (does not speak in US version)
 * Terence (does not speak)
 * Farmer Finney (does not speak)

Locations

 * Skarloey Railway Engine Sheds
 * Rheneas Viaduct
 * Skarloey Bridge
 * Skarloey Railway Mountain Line
 * Strawberry Grove

Trivia

 * This story appears to be a loose adaptation of the Railway Series story, Mike's Whistle. Peter Sam and Duncan take the roles of Duck and Mike respectively.
 * The organ plays the song "Comin' Round the Mountain" while Duncan puffs on the cliffside.
 * Headmaster Hastings is named after the episode's writer, Ross Hastings.
 * This was the final episode narrated by Alec Baldwin in the US and Terje Strømdal in Norway and the final episode narrated by Vladimir Jurc in Slovenia until the thirteenth season.
 * This episode is the last to have Britt Allcroft as an executive producer, though she would become creative consultant in Season 7.

Goofs

 * Peter Sam and Duncan have the same whistle sound.
 * When Elizabeth is carrying the bull, her eyes are wonky.
 * For the first shot of the camera "pulling" Duncan, at the bottom of the screen a wire is bouncing up and down.
 * In the US narration, Alec Baldwin does not give Duncan a Scottish accent.
 * Duncan's driver's hair is blonde for most of the episode, but brown when he is looking for Duncan's whistle.
 * The narrator says "The rest of the engines just ignored him", but Peter Sam was the only one there.
 * In the close-up of Duncan's whistle flying off, there is no one in his cab.
 * Because Terence's regular sized model is used, he is not to scale with Duncan.
 * When Peter Sam crosses the bridge at the beginning of the episode, his cab is empty.

Merchandise

 * Take Along (four-pack and movie car; both discontinued)