| For other uses, see Break Van (disambiguation). |
| For other uses, see Donald and Douglas. |
- “You're nothing but a screech and a noise when all is said and done. Spite Dougie, would ya? Take that!”
- ― Donald to the Spiteful Brake Van before ramming him
Break Van, retitled Donald and Douglas on North American releases, is the sixteenth episode of the second series. It is based on the story of the same name from The Railway Series book The Twin Engines.
Plot
A pair of black twin engines named Donald and Douglas have arrived on Sodor from Scotland to work on the railway; however, the Fat Controller had only expected one engine. He gives each of the two engines a number: Donald is 9 and Douglas is 10, but still intends to send one of the two engines back to Scotland.
Donald: "Ye're a muckle nuisance! It's ta leave ye behind I'd be wantin'!"
Spiteful Brake Van: "You can't! I'm essential."
A spiteful brake van in the yard takes a disliking to Douglas and causes trouble whenever Douglas has to take him out, making his trains late and causing Douglas to worry that he will be the one sent back to Scotland. One day, Donald angrily confronts the brake van for treating Douglas in such a cruel manner and bumps him violently, threatening him with more to come if he continues to misbehave. The van starts behaving better after this. But one day, Donald loses control while reversing on some slippery rails and accidentally crashes tender-first through some buffers and into a signal box. The Fat Controller is quite disappointed and speaks severely to him, as he had intended to keep him and send Douglas back home. Now Donald needs to have his tender mended and James will have to do his goods work in his absence, which the Fat Controller knows James will hate.
The Fat Controller is proven right; James is very angry about the extra work. Douglas unknowingly mentions James' accident with some tar wagons, worsening James' bad mood. He then pulls a goods train, which includes the Spiteful Brake Van, who decides to make work difficult for James by encouraging the trucks to hold back, which tires James out.
Meeting Douglas at Wellsworth, James asks for his help in climbing up Gordon's Hill and Douglas obliges. The two engines work as hard as they can, but James starts losing steam halfway up the hill. The brake van, beneath the weight of James and the heavy train on one side and Douglas pushing in from the other, is crushed to pieces and receives a black eye. Fortunately, the Guard manages to jump clear while no one else is hurt, and the Fat Controller arrives with Edward, who comes with one of the Breakdown Cranes to help clear the mess. As the van's remains are lifted away, the Fat Controller is angry that Douglas has caused an accident, but Edward vouches up for him, having heard what happened and tells the Fat Controller of all the hard work he did. Although the Fat Controller understands Douglas was trying to help James, he is still unsure and turns and walks away, trying to make up his mind about something.
Characters
- Edward
- James
- Donald and Douglas
- Troublesome Trucks
- The Spiteful Brake Van
- Sir Topham Hatt
- Thomas (cameo)
- Henry (cameo)
- Gordon (cameo)
Locations
- Island of Sodor
- Scotland (mentioned)
Trivia
- Originally, The Missing Coach was going to serve as Donald and Douglas' proper introduction in the series before the episode was cancelled. Two shots from said cancelled episode are reused for the opening scene of this one.
- The episode's original UK title is a pun and portmanteau of the word "Break" and the UK term Brake Van.
- This episode marks:
- The first time a character suffers an injury to their face (the brake van is seen with a black eye after the crash).
- The only appearance of the Spiteful Brake Van.
- This episode was filmed alongside Thomas Comes to Breakfast, as in the latter episode, Donald's tender can be seen sticking out of the signal box when Thomas pulls into Tidmouth Station and in the close-up shot of Percy at Tidmouth Yard Sheds.
- The rag used to wipe down Douglas' tender is blu-tack.
- A reference to the first series episode, Dirty Objects is made.
- In the restored version, an extended speed-up scene of Donald's wheels sliding is used.
- During filming of the scenes of Gordon's hill, Douglas' nameplate was accidentally left on. In the original version, it was hidden by a black bar in post-production and the footage was cropped to hide it.
- This episode was paired up alongside the third series episode, The Trouble with Mud, in an airing of Storytime with Thomas.
- Because this episode was originally broadcast alongside Better Late than Never, when it was later released on its own, some versions, most notably on VHS and Cartoon Network, still had Christopher Awdry's episode listed in the end credits.
- Donald's accident in this episode was later mentioned in the twenty-first series episode, Emily in the Middle.
- Better Late than Never and this episode aired on 24 April 1989 with another gap in the middle of airings, this second gap coincided with May Day Bank Holiday and aired The Deputation/Thomas Comes to Breakfast on 8 May.
- The JEI TV version of the Korean dub added subtitles to inform viewers what brake vans and tenders are.
- This episode was never released on home video in South Korea.
Goofs
- Donald is in Tidmouth station instead of the yard in the close-ups of him when he talks to the brake van.
- When Donald bumps the brake van, the bumping sound is late by a second.
- In the restored version, a string that ties to the end of Donald's tender pulling him can be seen just before he crashes.
- When Donald crashes into the signal box:
- The M in the Tidmouth Sign is missing but, in the next shot, the M is seen.
- The alarm falls off but, in the next shot, it is still intact.
- When Donald says "I'm sorry, sir." there is a gap between his right eye (viewer's left) and face.
- At the yard, Henry, Gordon and James' eyes are very misaligned.
- When James leaves the yard:
- His goods train changes rolling stock.
- A salt van from his train jolts.
- His tender body is not properly assembled to its chassis.
- When James passes Suddery Castle, the brake van does not appear to have a face.
- Douglas has his nameplate at Gordon's Hill in the restored version as well in two shots of the original version.
- The brake van turns brown when Douglas crushes him and he is also smiling.
- When Douglas crushes the brake van, his wheels are bluish-grey. This is due to his wheels and other areas of his model being covered in Fuller's earth, which the crew would douse trucks or structures the engines were going to crash into and destroy with in order to create a scale effect and make the slow motion appear more dramatic.
- Edward's eyes are misaligned when he is heading for the accident.
- When the brake van's wreckage is being cleared away:
- A workmen’s overalls are not fully painted on his back, with another one having sticky tac around his neck in the close up of Edward.
- Douglas' face is clean but, later, his face is dirty and his nameplate is also crooked and peeling.
- In the close-up shot of Edward, he is derailed.
- When the Fat Controller says "I don't know," Douglas' face moves slightly.
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Episode
References
| #01 Thomas, Percy and the Coal | #10 The Runaway | #19 Daisy |
| #02 Cows | #11 Percy Takes the Plunge | #20 Percy's Predicament |
| #03 Bertie's Chase | #12 Pop Goes the Diesel | #21 The Diseasel |
| #04 Saved from Scrap | #13 Dirty Work | #22 Wrong Road |
| #05 Old Iron | #14 A Close Shave | #23 Edward's Exploit |
| #06 Thomas and Trevor | #15 Better Late than Never | #24 Ghost Train |
| #07 Percy and the Signal | #16 Break Van | #25 Woolly Bear |
| #08 Duck Takes Charge | #17 The Deputation | #26 Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree |
| #09 Percy and Harold | #18 Thomas Comes to Breakfast | Cancelled: The Missing Coach |
| Cancelled: Gordon Goes Foreign | ||