Snow

"It's a snowball!" "It's a snow house!" "It's an engine!"

- Workmen speculating over Skarloey's igloo

Snow is the twenty-sixth episode of the fifth season.

Plot
Thomas has become snowed down by a tunnel where Rusty is working close by. So to pass the time, Rusty tells Thomas a story.

One snowy day, Skarloey was travelling up to the slate mine when he passed through a ravine. His driver was concerned that noise could cause an avalanche, and he sets an emergency cap. When Skarloey runs over it, nothing happens, so his crew decide to make a cup of cocoa and be on their way. Unfortunately, up in the slate mines some "empties" jam the winch and some trucks run down the slope into the ravine, causing an avalanche which buries Skarloey. When Rusty comes to the rescue, they discover that Skarloey's heat has created an igloo, and inside they find Skarloey's crew nonchalantly sipping cocoa.

Thomas uses this as an example about how trucks can be so troublesome while Rusty states the same for snow. The workmen finally clear the snow from behind Thomas, but Gordon then arrives with his snow machine, covering Thomas again only to be buried when the noise causes an avalanche. Thomas jokes that if Skarloey could emerge from an avalanche laughing, Gordon could at least do the same.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Gordon
 * Percy
 * Skarloey
 * Rusty
 * Peter Sam (cameo)
 * Duncan (cameo)

Locations

 * The Windmill
 * Stepney's Branch Line
 * Standard and Narrow Gauge Tunnel Runby
 * Skarloey Railway Slate Quarry
 * Echo Pass Ravine

Trivia

 * Going by production order, this is the twenty-fifth episode of the fifth season.
 * Stock footage from Thomas and Percy's Christmas Adventure is used.
 * During most of the flashback, Skarloey's large scale model was used; but during the scene where the narrator says "When the snow came...", his small scale model is used. The same goes for Rusty: When interacting with Thomas, Rusty's small scale model is used; but when he appears during the flashback, his large scale model was used.
 * When the trucks plunge into the ravine, music is heard in the US and international versions but not the UK version. The music has a small bit of the TUGS danger theme.
 * This was the last episode of a few things:
 * Britt Allcroft's last episode as producer and writer.
 * Angus Wright's last episode as executive producer.
 * David Maidment's last episode as railway consultant.
 * The last episode produced by The Britt Allcroft Company.
 * The last episode narrated by Manfred Steffen in Germany, Gérard Boucaron in France and Diego Brizzi in Latin America, and the last episode to be narrated by Tatá Guarnieri in Brazil until Hero of the Rails.

Goofs

 * In various scenes, part of Skarloey's cab roof is snapped.
 * When the trucks race down the incline, the middle truck derails.
 * When the trucks crash through the snow bank and buffers they are coupled, but they fall off separately, one by one. Additionally, a truck is missing when they fall into the ravine.
 * When the trucks are on the incline, the front truck has a narrow-gauge truck face, but when it crashes through the buffers it has a standard-gauge truck face.
 * When Thomas talks to Percy, his eyes are wonky.

UK

 * Spooks and Surprises
 * Seasonal Scrapes
 * Christmas Collection
 * My Little Thomas and the Royal Visitor
 * The Complete Fifth Series

DVD Boxsets

 * Classic Collection

US

 * Thomas' Christmas Wonderland and other Thomas Adventures
 * Thomas' Snowy Surprise and Other Adventures
 * Ultimate Christmas

DVD Boxsets

 * Celebrate with Thomas
 * Holiday Favorites

AUS

 * Spooks and Surprises
 * The Complete Fifth Series

DVD Packs

 * Complete Series 1-10

ITA

 * Back All!

JPN

 * The Complete Works of Thomas the Tank Engine 2 Vol.4
 * Sing-Along and Stories 3
 * Sodor Tour: Surprise Happening

BRA

 * Christmas in the Beautiful Land of Thomas

DK

 * Forward and Backward and Other Stories

MYS

 * Busy Going Backwards and Other Adventures
 * Salty's Secret and Other Thomas Adventures

GER

 * Lots of Little Helpers

PHL

 * Happy Ever After (Philippine DVD)

NOR

 * Fleas and 15 and other Stories

SWE

 * Hidden in Snow