A Smooth Ride

"I can do it! I can do it! To the top! To the top!"

- Sir Handel

A Smooth Ride is the second episode of the tenth season.

Plot
Sir Handel arrives at the Transfer Yards after working all summer at the stone quarry. Mr. Percival tells him to take apples from the orchard to the middle station and give a smooth ride. Sir Handel collects the trucks and starts his journey for the middle station. However, when he approaches a hill, Sir Handel realises that he is rattling and rocking, so he stops. Peter Sam arrives behind Sir Handel and is concerned about his friend. Once Sir Handel tells him about his problem, Peter Sam helps him to the summit. At the middle station, Sir Handel is praised by Mr. Percival, so he does not tell him about his problem.

However, Sir Handel starts to worry as his next job is to take sheep from the farm to their new field; these require a smooth ride too. Once again, Sir Handel rattles and rocks at the approach of a hill and stops. Duncan arrives and helps Sir Handel in getting the sheep to their field.

Sir Handel returns to the Transfer Yards where Mr. and Mrs. Percival are waiting. Today is Mrs. Percival's birthday and Mr. Percival wants Sir Handel to take them to the summit of Culdee Fell for a picnic. This makes Sir Handel very worried as he knows how steep the gradient to Culdee Fell is. Sure enough, when climbing up Culdee Fell, Sir Handel rattles and rocks again and then stops. Mr. Percival is concerned about Sir Handel and suggests that he should send him back to the stone quarry where only bumpy engines work. Sir Handel owns up to his problem, but Mr. Percival makes a phone call.

Mighty Mac helps Sir Handel back to the Transfer Yards and Sir Handel is now sure that he is going back to the stone quarry. However, when they arrive, Mr. Percival is not sending Sir Handel back to the stone quarry; he has asked a fitter to fix him. After his repairs, Sir Handel is able to climb up the summit of Culdee Fell smoothly.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Sir Handel
 * Peter Sam
 * Mr. Percival
 * Duncan (does not speak)
 * Mighty Mac (do not speak)
 * Mrs. Percival (does not speak)
 * Bridget Hatt (cameo)

Locations

 * Transfer Yards
 * Culdee Fell
 * The Skarloey Railway Viaduct

Trivia

 * Inside the coach, two real life London Midland and Scottish Railway posters are seen.
 * This episode marked the first time Sir Handel had a speaking role since the fourth season episode, Steam Roller.
 * In Germany, this episode is called "A Quiet Ride". It is called "A Shaky Experience" in Denmark. And "A Useful Engine" is its title in Norway. In Japanese, this episode is called "Run Smoothly".

Goofs

 * When the narrator reads the episode title, Sir Handel takes the same route and trucks as he does when he delivers the apples.
 * Mr. Percival does not tell Sir Handel where to collect the apples from.
 * Mighty Mac mysteriously turns around while taking Sir Handel to the Transfer Yards.
 * When Sir Handel's wheels spin one derails.
 * The narrator said that the children in his passenger cars cheered, but Sir Handel had only one coach.
 * The narrator says "shutter" instead of "shudder".
 * Peter Sam should not have been traveling so close behind Sir Handel.
 * The narrator said that Sir Handel had been in the slate quarries all summer, but the slate quarry had been seen in previous episodes with Sir Handel nowhere in sight. In addition, episodes set in the winter have been seen since his last appearance.
 * In the US narration, the trucks of apples are referred to as such at one point.
 * A brakevan should have been added to Sir Handel's train.
 * When Sir Handel breaks down, he makes "Diesel noises".