Toby and the Stout Gentleman

"Is it electric?"

- Bridget Hatt

Toby and the Stout Gentleman, retitled Toby the Tram Engine in American releases, is the twenty-first episode of the first season.

Plot
Toby the tram engine and his coach Henrietta have a hard life on their tramway; the buses and lorries have taken over much of the traffic and Toby's line is on the verge of closing down. Henritta complains that she feels empty and longs for the days when she was full of people and many trucks would rattle behind her.

Things brighten up for Toby and Henritta when a stout gentleman and his family visit for a holiday. Unbeknownst to Toby, the stout gentleman was the Fat Controller. His two grandchildren, Stephen and Bridgett, begged to ride on Toby and the stout gentleman agreed. The stout gentleman was very pleased with the old tram engine and thanked him for a wonderful ride. Everyday for a fortnight, the Hatt family rode in Henritta on the tramway. When it was for them to leave, they said their good-byes and the stout gentleman promised to return.

Not long after the Hatts left, Toby's driver had bad news; their line was closing down. Toby and Henritta ran one last farewell run, where many people came to have one last ride aboard Toby. That evening, Toby went to his shed and fell sadly asleep. The next morning, the shed doors swung open and woke Toby with a start. His crew danced and in the driver's hand was a letter from the stout gentleman!

Characters

 * Toby
 * Henrietta
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Stephen Hatt
 * Bridget Hatt
 * Lady Hatt (not named; does not speak)

Locations

 * Arlesdale End
 * Lower Arlesburgh
 * The Windmill

Trivia

 * This episode is based on the story of the same name from the Railway Series book, Toby the Tram Engine.
 * There are differences in Ringo's US and UK narrations. Some differences are:
 * After Toby grumbles, "Electric indeed!" Ringo says that Toby "was very hurt." in the UK narration. In the US narration he says that Toby "was proud of being a steam train."
 * When Toby's driver says they've received a letter from the Stout Gentleman, the UK narration says, "Toby listened and... but I mustn't tell you any more, or I shall spoil the next story!" In the US narration, his driver simply says, "Maybe it's good news..."

Goofs

 * When the narrator says, "We are sorry your line is closing down", Toby is slanted.
 * Toby already has his 7 before joining the North Western Railway.
 * In the restored version, Toby's bell is silver rather than gold when in closeups.
 * This episode is supposed to be set in East Anglia, which has no mountains, but mountains are shown in the background throughout this episode.