Wayward Winston

"Stop, start, start, stop! Make up your mind, Winston!"

- Gordon

Wayward Winston is the third episode of the seventeenth season.

Plot
One day, Thomas is taking the Fat Controller and his family to Ulfstead Castle when they come across some very bumpy track. The Fat Controller decides that the bumpy stretch of track must be repaired as soon as possible.

Soon, workmen start to repair the bumpy line. Each day, the Fat Controller inspects the workmen's progress in Winston. The Fat Controller is still unable to operate Winston properly which causes the other engines to tease Winston. Winston also finds himself frequently having to remind the Fat Controller to apply the handbrake. Winston tells Percy that he sometimes wishes that he could go without a driver. Percy tells Winston not to be so silly and Winston and the Fat Controller travel further up the line. When they stop again, the Fat Controller forgets Winston's handbrake again, but this time, Winston does not remind him and he starts to roll away. The Fat Controller is horrified to see Winston rolling away. Just then, Thomas pulls up with a train of stone. The Fat Controller jumps in Thomas' cab and orders the tank engine to chase after Winston.

Winston zooms through Wellsworth Station and past Gordon and Emily being closely followed by Thomas and the Fat Controller. Gordon predicts that Winston is heading for big trouble, but Winston is having the time of his life. When a signalman sees Winston without a driver, he tries to switch the runaway track inspection vehicle off of the main line, but inadvertently switches Thomas instead. The signalman then makes an emergency telephone call to another box to explain what is happening. The man in the next signalbox, switches Thomas back onto Winston's line.

Soon, Winston rolls up to a junction and sees Paxton about to pull onto his line ahead. Paxton's signal suddenly turns red and he slams on his brakes. Paxton stops just in time, but is puzzled by what the big rush is. Winston is no longer enjoying his experience and wishes that he had a driver after all.

Winston nears Tidmouth Sheds and is horrified to see a line of trucks ahead on his line. Winston shuts his eyes and prepares for a collision, but instead he starts to make spluttering noises. He rumbles to a stop just in front of the trucks; he has run out of fuel. Then, Thomas and the Fat Controller pull up. The Fat Controller is very cross with Winston for going off without him. Winston points out that it was not all his fault; the Fat Controller had forgotten to apply the handbrake. The Fat Controller accepts the blame for his part in the incident and Winston admits that he should have reminded him. Winston now realises that he does need a driver, after all.

All of the engines are happy when the work on the bumpy line is complete. They are all glad not to be bumping along like Winston anymore. Winston no longer minds the engines teasing and is just pleased to have Sir Topham Hatt back in the driving seat.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Henry
 * Gordon
 * Percy
 * Emily
 * Paxton
 * Winston
 * Annie and Clarabel
 * Bertie
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * James (cameo)
 * Lady Hatt (cameo)
 * Stephen Hatt (cameo)
 * Bridget Hatt (cameo)

Locations

 * Kellsthorpe
 * Wellsworth
 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * Bluff's Cove Junction
 * Ulfstead Castle (mentioned)

Trivia

 * Keith Wickham takes over the role of Bertie for the first time in this episode.
 * In the UK version, the narrator's lines "Sir Topham Hatt was still not used to driving Winston" and "As he and Sir Topham Hatt left for the day..." are omitted. Also, some fade effects are missing from the UK version.
 * This episode marks the debut of Kellsthorpe in CGI, which was last seen in the eleventh season.
 * The Spanish title of the episode is "Winston Out of Control".

Goofs

 * Steven Kynman is not listed on the UK credits for voicing Paxton.
 * When Thomas is switched off the main line, his headlamp is on his left (viewer right) lamp iron, whereas in the rest of the episode, the lamp is on his right. His break pipe is also on the left side of his buffers.
 * Thomas is switched down the siding at Bluff's Cove Junction, but in the next shot he is on a two-track branchline.
 * When Thomas is switched back to the mainline, the points were not set for the line he takes.
 * Bluff's Cove Junction has three tracks going under when there should be four.
 * Henry goes over the track being repaired.
 * In one of the scenes of Thomas chasing Winston, smoke is coming from his tanks not his funnel.
 * In the scene when Paxton stops for Winston, he was going to derail anyway because the points were set the wrong way.
 * At the end of the episode, Thomas, Henry, Gordon, and Winston should not have been traveling on the same track.