Buckled Tracks and Bumpy Trucks

"Well Thomas, I must admit that for once my mother was right! White really does reflect the sun and keep things cool. Just like your smart new safari hat! It is NOT a safari hat! So when are you going off to the jungle, Sir?"

- Sir Topham Hatt, Thomas and Toby

Buckled Tracks and Bumpy Trucks, retitled Buckled Tracks and Bumpy Cars in North American releases, is the twenty-fifth episode of the twentieth season.

Plot
It is a very hot summer on Sodor, which is causing many problems for the engines. Belle and Flynn are kept especially busy as many of the bushes are so dry they end up catching fire. As they travel down the line, they notice that the tracks have become slightly warped in the heat. Flynn proposes they cool the rails down with water, but as Flynn has no water left in his tanks and Belle wishes to save hers in case of another fire, they are forced to leave the rails alone.

Sir Topham Hatt has also been feeling the effects of the heat and later that day, Dowager Hatt arrives at Knapford Station aboard Thomas to deliver a present for him, in the form of a white safari-style hat, which will reflect the sun's rays rather than absorb the heat like his black top hat would. The Fat Controller feels silly with the white hat, especially when Thomas and some passengers laugh at him, but reluctantly agrees to wear it.



Meanwhile, the heat continues to warp the tracks, making them bumpier. As Whiff crosses over them, a glass bottle is knocked off his truck, which causes the nearby grass to catch fire. The Fat Controller is soon alerted to the state of the tracks and heads off to investigate. He attempts to dispose of his white hat on the way there, to no avail.

At the same time, news of the fire reaches the Sodor Search and Rescue Centre and Flynn and Belle rush off to tackle it. Unfortunately, before they can reach it, Belle derails on the buckled tracks. She urges Flynn to tackle the fire himself before it spreads, which he does so once he switches to his road wheels. Thomas later brings Rocky to lift Belle back onto the rails just as the Fat Controller arrives. When Thomas learns that his white hat has kept him cool, he proposes that, if the rails were painted white too, they would not bend.

The Fat Controller approves of the idea and soon the tracks are repainted in white as the day draws to a close. Despite this, the Fat Controller's white hat is still laughed at, much to his annoyance. He throws his safari hat to a nearby goat, only to find out that the goat didn't like it and threw it back at him.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Gordon
 * Toby
 * Whiff
 * Belle
 * Flynn
 * Henrietta
 * Rocky
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Dowager Hatt
 * A Porter
 * Emily (cameo)
 * Annie and Clarabel (cameo)
 * The Great Composer (cameo)
 * The Lady with the Big Hat (cameo)
 * The Great Railway Show Judge (cameo)
 * Albert (cameo)
 * Albert's Wife (cameo)
 * Victor (portrait cameo)

Locations

 * Thomas' Branch Line
 * Farmer Trotter's Pig Farm
 * Knapford
 * Sir Topham Hatt's Office
 * Sodor Search and Rescue Centre
 * Misty Island Tunnel
 * Brendam Docks (portrait)
 * Sodor Steamworks (portrait)

UK

 * John Hasler as Thomas
 * Keith Wickham as Gordon, Whiff, Sir Topham Hatt, Dowager Hatt, the porter and some passengers
 * Rob Rackstraw as Toby and Flynn
 * Teresa Gallagher as Belle and some passengers
 * Maggie Ollerenshaw as Henrietta
 * Matt Wilkinson as Rocky

US

 * Joseph May as Thomas
 * Kerry Shale as Gordon
 * William Hope as Toby, Whiff and Rocky
 * Teresa Gallagher as Belle and some passengers
 * Rob Rackstraw as Flynn
 * Maggie Ollerenshaw as Henrietta
 * Keith Wickham as Sir Topham Hatt, Dowager Hatt, the porter and some passengers

Trivia

 * Portraits of Thomas from Creaky Cranky and Victor from Percy's Parcel are seen in the Fat Controller's Office.
 * The branch line which the tracks bend from the heat is the same line which suffered the same problem in Thomas Gets Bumped that the Fat Controller addresses.
 * Tracks being painted white to counter the heat has been done on a real railway after the heat caused issues for said railway.
 * This is the only episode of the twentieth season to have a different title in both the UK and US.
 * Going by the Channel 5 guide listing, this is the seventeenth episode of the twentieth season.
 * When the passengers laugh at the Fat Controller's safari hat, he uses Gordon's catchphrase, "Oh, the indignity!", with Gordon responding "That's my line!" This is what's known as a "Borrowed Catchphrase".

Goofs

 * Jam Filled is credited for producing this episode despite not producing it.
 * In the UK dub, when Belle and Flynn say "We will," the end of Belle's line is cut off.
 * When Belle derailed her trailing wheels also derailed but not see in the next scene.

UK

 * Team Up With Thomas