Philip to the Rescue

"I'll go get help! Oh wait. I can't!"

- Philip

Philip to the Rescue is the twentieth episode of the nineteenth season.

Plot
Philip, the new diesel boxcab on the North Western Railway, continues to boast about how he won a race against Gordon. Little did Phillip know, however, that Gordon did not actually participate in the race. Gordon simply sent him racing off just so he could be left alone to rest.

One day, as he is showing Thomas how fast he can shunt in the yard, James arrives to collect a goods train, which are not the type of trains he favours pulling. Phillip asks James if he saw how fast he shunted, which James was not watching. Thomas likes little Philip, but James just thinks he's just a "showoff", which Thomas finds it funny that James should say such a thing.

James, completely annoyed and determined to show Phillip how strong he is, assembles a long train of trucks, flatbeds carrying steel girders, and oil wagons: seventeen in total. At Knapford Station, Thomas sees Phillip pulling a longer train than James', though he is only pulling empty trucks. Thomas tells Edward that Phillip is really cheeky, to which Edward says that reminds him of a little tank engine who wanted to see the world. Thomas blushes at this.

James now feels sorry for taking so many trucks, as they are hard to pull, especially up Gordon's hill. At last, he barely reaches the top, but as it turns out, it's harder to control them downhill. The trucks push James down the hill, and around a bend. James, now balancing on the single sleepers, is in a state of panic, and soon his balancing act ends, hurdling him into a bridge. He finds himself wedged against the unhurt rocks rocking back and forth over the bottom rails.

Philip is on the way back from the quarry when he sees James, who begins losing his balance. James warns Phillip not to come any closer, then tells him to go get help. However, he slips and Philip rushes just in time to catch him with his particularly strong roof. While James is thankful, he can't get back on the tracks on his own. Philip offers to get help, but then realises that he can't move, not without the risk of James falling on the ground. In any case, they're both stuck.

Fortunately, James' guard telephones the Fat Controller, who sends help right away. Soon, Percy and Rocky arrive to lift James onto Rocky's flatbed. James is upset about his paint being all scratched. Once again, he thanks Philip, then apologises for accusing him of being a showoff, something that catches Philip off guard. The Fat Controller scolds James for being in over his head with taking too many trucks, and soon, Percy takes James over to the Steamworks.

At the sheds, before being sent to for repairs, Philip tells the other engines at Tidmouth Sheds about what happened. He tells them that the Fat Controller said James was being a showoff, to which Edward tells him that right now, he's being a showoff. Philip agrees, but can't help adding "yeah, but not as much as James, though". This makes all the engines laugh, except Gordon, who thinks Philip needs to get his own shed.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Edward
 * Henry
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Emily
 * Philip
 * Annie and Clarabel
 * Rocky
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Some Workmen
 * James' Guard (does not speak)
 * Duck (​cameo)
 * Rosie (cameo)
 * Stanley (cameo)
 * Charlie (cameo)
 * Diesel (cameo)
 * Paxton (cameo)
 * Stafford (cameo)
 * One of Dowager Hatt's Friends (cameo)

Locations

 * Knapford
 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * Knapford Station Yard
 * Shunting Yards
 * Gordon's Hill
 * Sir Topham Hatt's Office
 * Sodor Steamworks (mentioned)
 * Anopha Quarry (mentioned)

Trivia

 * A flashback of The Little Engine Who Raced Ahead is used as stock footage from the last episode, and references to said episode and The Adventure Begins are made in this episode.
 * A brief instrumental of Really Useful Engine is heard.
 * This therefore makes this the first episode since the seventh season episode, Three Cheers for Thomas, where a Thomas and Friends music video is heard instrumentally.
 * The plot and events of the episode are similar to the sixth season episode, Gordon Takes a Tumble.
 * The way James derails is similar to the first season, episode Thomas and the Breakdown Train in it's retelling in The Adventure Begins.

Goofs

 * Matt Wilkinson is not credited in the UK end credits for voicing Rocky.
 * In the flashback, it takes a while for Gordon to act surprised after Philip interrupts his nap.
 * When James puffs up the hill, James' leading wheels are moving slower than the speed James is actually moving.
 * James' buffer beam is more scratched when Rocky lifts him off of Philip compared to when James first crashed.
 * The position of James' trucks changes between the first and second shots of his accident.
 * In one shot of James going down the hill, his tender is merged with the truck behind him.

UK/US/AUS

 * Start Your Engines!

Merchandise

 * Wooden Railway - Speedy Surprise Drop