Down the Mine

"Down the mine, is he? Ha, ha, ha! What a joke!"

- Gordon

Down the Mine is the twenty-fifth episode of the first season.

In the US, it first aired on the Shining Time Station episode, "Too Many Cooks".

Plot
Thomas teases Gordon about his dip in a ditch and leaves to shunt in the lead mines, where he plans to pass a "Danger" sign, but when he does falls into a mineshaft. Gordon comes to the rescue, and the two form an Alliance.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Gordon
 * Annie and Clarabel
 * Sir Topham Hatt

Locations

 * Lower Tidmouth
 * Knapford

Trivia

 * This episode is based on the story of the same name from The Railway Series book, Gordon the Big Engine.
 * This story is based on a real event. Though in this particular event, the collapsing mine hole was miles deep and all that was recovered of the engine was its tender.
 * According to a SiF interview with Steve Asquith, this was to be the pilot episode of the series, but was pushed back and reshot later in the season.
 * The buffers of the truck Thomas bumps into are lowered specifically so that Thomas can hit them properly.

Goofs

 * When Thomas shunts Annie and Clarabel his eyes look wonky and Annie and Clarabel are missing their names.
 * The sign says "Danger! Engines must not pass this board!", but when Thomas passes the board it says: "Danger! Engines must not pass this point!"
 * The unsafe rails were broken before Thomas ran over them.
 * When the Fat Controller says "Let me see" the man to the right is losing his cap's brim.
 * In the close-up of Thomas down the mine, after the Fat Controller suggests that Gordon could pull Thomas out, a hair is stuck on Thomas' side.
 * In the first scene of Gordon coming to Thomas' rescue, he is on the branchline.
 * When Gordon goes under the bridge something blue appears above it.
 * When Gordon and Thomas leave the mine, Thomas' wheels drag along the line for a few seconds before he blows his whistle.