The Frozen Turntable

"I am not sleeping at a smelly waste dump. It's simply out of the question."

- Gordon

The Frozen Turntable is the twentieth episode of the seventeenth season.

Plot
One cold evening, the steam engines return to Tidmouth Sheds, only to discover the turntable is frozen solid. Only one berth is accessible, and Gordon quickly demands that he uses it. Thomas and Edward, however, believe Percy should use it, as he is pulling the mail that night and will need somewhere to sleep when he finishes. The rest of the engines decide to look elsewhere.

Flynn offers them two berths in the shed at the Sodor Search and Rescue Centre. Gordon is not pleased with this; the noise made in the case of an emergency would keep him awake. James and Emily sleep at the Rescue Centre, whilst the other engines go to the Steamworks instead. Victor explains there is only room for two engines, but Gordon states he would not get any sleep, as being at the Steamworks makes him think about breaking down. Victor suggests sleeping at Whiff's Waste Dump, but Gordon outright refuses.

Edward and Henry choose to stay at the Steamworks, leaving only Thomas and Gordon. Norman explains that one of them can sleep at the Dieselworks, but once again, Gordon refuses to accept the offer, claiming he does not like the smell, so Thomas goes to the Dieselworks instead. Despite his best efforts, Gordon is unable to think of anywhere else suitable for him to sleep, until he remembers Tidmouth Sheds. He heads back, thinking the workmen will have fixed the turntable, only to find it is still frozen.

However, Gordon has another idea. As Percy has not yet returned from his mail run, he decides to sleep in the available berth instead. When Percy finally does arrive, there is no longer any room for him, and he is forced to go to Whiff's Waste Dump. However, Gordon's hopes for a peaceful night's sleep are quickly shattered when work begins on the turntable, keeping him up all night.

By morning, the turntable is finally unfrozen. Before Gordon can leave, though, a test-run goes wrong, and the turntable freezes again, away from Gordon's berth and preventing him from leaving the shed. The Fat Controller soon learns about what happened and puts James on Express duties whilst Percy does his work instead. Gordon is horrified, but there is nothing he can do about it.

It is getting dark by the time the turntable is finally unfrozen again. Gordon is relieved to be able to leave the shed, but unhappy about the fact he has not been able to do any work. The Fat Controller decides to give him Percy's mail duties that evening, much to Gordon's dismay.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Edward
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Victor
 * Norman
 * Flynn
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Some Workmen
 * Henry (does not speak)
 * Emily (does not speak)
 * Whiff (mentioned)

Locations

 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * Sodor Steamworks
 * Sodor Search and Rescue Centre
 * Sodor Dieselworks
 * Whiff's Waste Dump (mentioned)

Trivia

 * Going by production order, this is the twenty-first episode of the seventeenth season.

Goofs

 * Norman should have had a lamp on whilst out at night.
 * In the shot of Gordon, Edward, Thomas, and Victor, while the latter is advising the engines to find another shed, Gordon's front bogey isn't properly positioned under his frame.
 * In a close up shot of Gordon at the Steamworks, his frame extensions appear to be unrendered, but in the same shot, they suddenly become rendered as Gordon says that he would not get any sleep.
 * Either Norman or Thomas somehow turns around to go the Dieselworks.
 * There should be more lighting around the turntable so the workmen can see what they are doing through the night.
 * When all the engines arrive at Tidmouth Sheds, Henry is a few centimetres away from the turntable. But when the camera zooms in, Henry has moved back a noticeable distance.