Special Attraction

"Oooogh! I'm sinking!" "Serves you right! You were always barging in and moaning!"

- Bulstrode and the troublesome trucks

Special Attraction is the twenty-fifth episode of the fourth season. It aired in the US on the Shining Time Station special, Queen for a Day in 1995.

Plot
One day, Toby is sent to a seaside village to be their "special attraction", as they have one every year, but when he gets there he learns there is no room for him in the parade.

Toby chuffs back to the junction, and when Percy sees how sad Toby is, he wants to know why, but The Fat Controller tells him to take care of some important work in the harbour, and his driver says that it'll be trouble with Bulstrode, a disagreeable barge who never stops complaining.

At the harbour, Bulstrode and the trucks are arguing about who is in the wrong place. Then, when Percy arrives, the trucks want to be shunted into a siding to load Bulstrode up, so he can leave.

Percy unfortunately cannot stop in time and ends up shunting the trucks toppling off the wharf, who land right in Bulstrode's hull; which nearly sinks him much to the other trucks amusement. After being emptied, a disgraced Bulstrode is towed to a beach for children to play in. When Percy returns, Toby is over his disappointment and tells Percy that his driver says that both of them are Special Attractions after all.

Characters

 * Percy
 * Toby
 * Bulstrode
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Trevor (cameo)
 * Jem Cole (cameo)
 * The Vicar of Wellsworth (cameo)
 * Farmer Trotter (cameo)
 * The Refreshment Lady (cameo)
 * The Dryaw Policeman (cameo)
 * The Crovan's Gate Policeman (cameo)

Locations

 * Elsbridge
 * Knapford Harbour
 * Tidmouth Beach
 * Gordon's Hill
 * The Lighthouse
 * The Seaside Village
 * Norramby Church Station
 * Road Beside Rail and Canal Runby (deleted scene)

Trivia

 * This episode is based on the stories Toby's Seaside Holiday and Bulstrode from The Railway Series book, Toby, Trucks and Trouble.
 * The models for O.J., Izzy Gomez, and Big Mickey from TUGS are seen.
 * This episode marks the first and only appearance of Bulstrode to date, although his model and face were used in later episodes.
 * This was the last episode to be featured on Shining Time Station, the remainder of Season 4 would air on Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales.
 * In the US version, after Bulstrode says "Come on, come on!", George Carlin hiccups.

Goofs

 * Studio equipment can be seen when Toby puffs through the seaside.
 * When the trucks say "There's no engine and we can only go where we're put! You're in the wrong place, not us!" one has wonky eyes and another truck's face is loose.
 * When Percy's trucks land in Bulstrode's hull, Percy's wheels derail and he is crooked on his chassis.
 * The buffers Percy hits are placed quite a distance ahead of where the track actually ends.
 * In a close-up of Toby at the seaside, his left window (viewer's right) appears to be burnt.
 * In the close up of the truck's wheels when they say "Help! Help!", the track bounces slightly.
 * When Percy reverses with the trucks, they are facing him. But when he is lining them up, they are facing away from him.
 * When the trucks burst through the buffers, they come off the rails, but in another shot they derail again.

UK

 * Thomas and Stepney and other Stories
 * Children's Pre-School Favourites (1995)
 * Thomas' Train and 17 other stories
 * The Complete Fourth Series
 * Classic Collection

WAL

 * Help and 15 other stories

US

 * The Gallant Old Engine and Other Thomas Stories/Henry and the Elephant

JPN

 * New Thomas the Tank Engine Vol.4
 * Sing-Along and Stories 1
 * The Complete Works of Thomas the Tank Engine 2 Vol.1
 * To Transport a Lot Today

UKR

 * A Train Thomas and Friends

AUS

 * Thomas and Stepney and other Stories
 * All Aboard October!
 * The Complete Fourth Series

NOR

 * Thomas and Stepney (Norwegian VHS)