Thomas Gets Bumped

"Thank you for looking after my passengers!" "Oh, that's alright Thomas! I like to make new friends, but I'm glad to share them with you!" "Bertie, you're a very good friend indeed!"

- Thomas and Bertie

Thomas Gets Bumped is the sixth episode of the third season. It first aired on Shining Time Station in the episode Nickel in a Pickle in 1991.

Plot
Thomas is late after taking some children home when their bus breaks down and Thomas is afraid he will be replaced.

His fears amplify when the rails on his branch line buckle and he is sent to shunt in the yard while Bertie does his passenger work. But the Fat Controller adjusts Thomas' timetable so he and Bertie can work together more often.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Percy
 * Bertie
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * James (does not speak)
 * Annie and Clarabel (do not speak)
 * Stephen Hatt (cameo)
 * Mrs. Kyndley (cameo)

Locations

 * Knapford
 * Ffarquhar
 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * The Goods Station
 * The Watermill
 * Shunting Yards
 * Suddery (deleted scene)

Trivia

 * This is the first episode not based on a story by Wilbert or Christopher Awdry. Instead, it was adapted from two magazine stories, Hello, Thomas! and A Bump on the Line, they were both written by Andrew Brenner.
 * Stock footage from Percy's Promise is used.
 * In the restored version, when Bertie takes Thomas' passengers along the road that runs by the railway he is wearing his worried face.
 * In Norway, this episode is named "Thomas Gets Hooked Off". In Germany, it is titled "Thomas Derailed". The Italian title is "Friendship Always Wins". In Poland, it is titled "Thomas Falls Off the Rails". In Japan, this episode is called "Helping of Thomas and Bertie". It is called "Thomas Goes Rails" in Finland. "Thomas in a Worry" is the Welsh title.
 * A deleted scene shows Thomas leaving Ffarquhar after talking to Bertie at the very end which didn't happen in the original nor restored versions. It was shown during the Thomas and the U.K. Trip in Japan.
 * This episode may be based on a real event that took place on the 5th of June, 1950. That day, The Flying Scotsman derailed at Tollerton due to heat buckled track.

Goofs

 * Side views of Thomas at the signal show that his siderods appear to be disconnected from his front wheels.
 * A wire can be seen under Annie and Clarabel when Thomas puffs along before reaching the broken track.
 * When Thomas falls off the tracks a stone is visible underneath him.
 * The sign on Ffarquhar station is blank and the roof is badly damaged.
 * The Fat Controller has a black car.
 * When Thomas passes by the goods station at the beginning, Thomas' signal is up.
 * In the shot of the damaged tracks, Thomas is not seen coming around the bend, but in the next shot, he is already around it.
 * In one shot at Knapford, James can be seen ahead of Percy, but when Percy talks to him, somehow James has inexplicably moved further back.
 * Heat from the sun would not have been enough to disfigure railway tracks so drastically. Even if it did, why were the tracks next to the bent track perfectly level?