Henry and the Elephant

"First the rain, then an elephant. Whatever will you be afraid of next?"

- Gordon on Henry's plight

Henry and the Elephant is the nineteenth episode of the fourth season. In the US, it aired in the Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales episode, Paint the Town Red in 1996.

Plot
One morning, Gordon, Henry and James are in a bad mood - with Thomas running his branch line and Percy nowhere to be found, they are forced to collect their own coaches. James decides to take out his anger on Henry and mocks him about his fear of the rain. Henry retorts that James looks like he belongs in a circus, which leads Percy, who had just arrived, to believe the engines had heard about the circus that had come to town. He explains that he'd been helping to shunt the special trucks and coaches on the Fat Controller's request. The big engines soon forget to be cross and eagerly help out too. When it is time for the circus to leave, James is given the task of pulling the train away, making Gordon and Henry cross once again.

Later that day, the Fat Controller informs Henry that a tunnel is blocked and asks him to take some workmen to investigate. Henry arrives at the tunnel, grumbling all the way, and the workmen enter to examine the blockage. A few moments later, they quickly run out in horror. One explains to the foreman that the blockage is alive and they refuse to go back inside. The foreman does not believe them and decides to have Henry push it out. Henry, horrified of the idea of being stuck in a tunnel with something big and alive, protests this decision, but his driver reminds him that the line has to be cleared.

Henry reluctantly enters the tunnel with the trucks he bought the workmen in, only for the blockage to push him back out again. Both Henry and the foreman are surprised to discover the "blockage" is a large, cross elephant that had escaped from the circus. The workmen offer the elephant some cake and water to calm him down. Unfortunately, Henry then accidentally startles him by letting off steam, causing the elephant to spray him with water. The elephant is soon reunited with his keeper, but Henry is most upset by what happened.

That evening, Henry tells the other engines what happened. Although Gordon and James feel sorry for him, they continue to tease him. Thomas, however, praises Henry for his bravery and how well he handled the situation.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Henry
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Annie and Clarabel
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * The Elephant Caper (not named; does not speak)
 * Duck (cameo)
 * Stephen Hatt (cameo)

Locations

 * Elsbridge
 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * Knapford Harbour
 * Henry's Tunnel
 * Shunting Yards

Trivia

 * This episode is based on the story of the same name from The Railway Series book, Troublesome Engines.
 * In the Railway Series, Henry's incident with the elephant was one of the reasons that he went on strike, while in the television series, due to the adaption being held over the event has no connection to the latter.
 * On the airings of PBS Sprout and The Greatest Stories DVD, it uses the unrestored opening and end credits.
 * The models of Big Mickey, Izzy Gomez, and S.S. Vienna from TUGS appear.
 * Henry's mishap with the elephant is based on a real event that occurred in India when a wild elephant blocked a tunnel.

Goofs

 * At the beginning of the story, Thomas has Edward's whistle sound.
 * When Thomas arrives at Elsbridge at the beginning, the camera moves slightly to the left.
 * When the workmen look at the elephant in the tunnel, one of them is missing his right eyebrow.
 * James has Duck's whistle sound when he is helping out at the docks and when he takes the circus away.
 * Gordon's buffers are crooked in the scenes at Tidmouth Sheds.
 * When James says "We get no rest!" and when he is turning round on the turntable, his eyes are wonky.


 * The elephant's keeper's mouth is missing.
 * Percy's cab roof has been raised when he is at Tidmouth Sheds.

Merchandise

 * Take Along (discontinued)
 * Wooden Railway (discontinued)
 * Books - Henry and the Elephant
 * Step Into Reading Books - Henry and the Elephant
 * Magazine Stories - A Jumbo-Sized Surprise

Home Media Releases
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UK

 * Story and Song Collection
 * Fun Time Favourites
 * The Best of Thomas
 * The Complete Series 4

DVD Packs

 * Classic Collection
 * 10 DVD Boxset (2014)
 * The Best of Friends

AUS

 * Thomas and the Special Letter and other stories (Australian VHS) (Direct-to-Home Video)
 * Story and Song Collection
 * Mixy Presents TV Favourites
 * The Complete Series 4
 * Thomas and Stepney and other Stories
 * My First Thomas with Henry and Gordon

DVD Boxsets

 * Complete Series 1-10
 * Classic Collection
 * Series Three and Series Four Double Pack

NZ

 * Thomas and the Special Letter and other stories
 * Story and Song Collection

WAL

 * Help and 15 other stories

US

 * The Gallant Old Engine and Other Thomas Stories/Henry and the Elephant
 * 10 Years of Thomas
 * The Greatest Stories
 * Season 4 (Digital Download)
 * Henry and the Elephant (Take Along DVD)

DVD Boxsets

 * Totally Thomas Volume 7
 * Best Tales on the Tracks
 * Ultimate Thomas Collection

JPN

 * New Thomas the Tank Engine Vol.1
 * Best of Henry
 * Engines’ Big Success
 * Gordon and Henry the Large Engines
 * The Best Collection
 * The Complete Works of Thomas the Tank Engine 2 Vol.2

UKR

 * A Train Thomas and Friends
 * Thomas and Friends - Season 4 (Ukrainian DVD)

PHL

 * Paint Pots and Queens (Philippine DVD)

DK

 * The Brave Engine and Other Stories

MYS

 * Peter Sam and the Refreshment Lady and Other Adventures
 * Thomas and the Special Letter and Other Thomas Adventures

ITA

 * Here Comes the Queen

NOR

 * On New Adventures

NL

 * The Greatest Stories: The Adventures of Thomas, James and Henry
 * Thomas and the Special Letter (Dutch DVD)

GER

 * Heroes on Rails

DVD Boxsets

 * Thomas and His Friends Box Set 1

GR

 * A Day at the Station

DVD Boxsets

 * 3 DVD Boxset 2

SVN

 * Thomas and Stepney (Slovenian DVD)

IN

 * Trucks and Other Stories

CHN

 * Thomas and Friends Season 1-4 (DVD)

THA
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 * Thomas and Friends - Volume 14 (Thai DVD)
 * Thomas and Friends Volume 10 (Thai DVD)