| For other uses, see Down the Mine (disambiguation). |
- "Fire and smoke! I'm sunk!"
- ― Thomas after falling down a mine
Down the Mine is an episode of the first series. It is based on the story of the same name from The Railway Series book Gordon the Big Engine.
Plot
One day, while Thomas is waiting at Lower Tidmouth, Gordon - who is still in disgrace after recently falling into a ditch - pulls in with some trucks. As soon as Gordon stops, Thomas jokes about him smelling of ditch water. Before Gordon can respond, Thomas leaves with his coaches. Annie and Clarabel are shocked at Thomas' rudeness and scold him for it but he does not care. Thomas is pleased with his clever joke as he shunts his coaches, still in shock, onto a siding and heads off to collect trucks at the lead mines.
The mine has many underground tunnels dug up long ago. The tunnels' roofs are strong enough to hold up the weight of trucks but not engines. At the points, there is a board that warns engines not to enter the area. Thomas has often tried to pass the board but has always failed. This time, however, he has made a plan. When his fireman leaves the cab to change the points, Thomas bumps the trucks hard enough that he knocks his driver off the footplate, allowing him to pass the board. He moves over unsafe rails, which collapse under his weight, leaving him lodged in a large hole.
"Please get me out. I won't be naughty again."
Having seen everything, the Fat Controller chastises Thomas for his naughtiness and then begins to ponder how to get him out. A crane would be too heavy for the ground to support, so he decides to call in Gordon to pull Thomas out. Thomas feels uneasy about this, given how he insulted Gordon. Upon hearing about Thomas' situation, Gordon heads to the rescue laughing. Arriving at the scene with a rescue cable winch attached to his buffer beam, Gordon promises to have Thomas out in no time. The cable is fastened between them and, after a lot of hard work and pulling, Gordon manages to finally free Thomas from the hole.
Thomas apologises to Gordon for his cheekiness and Gordon accepts Thomas' apology because he had actually made him laugh. Now that both engines are in disgrace, they agree to form an alliance and help each other in the future. With that, the two allies head back to the sheds.
Characters
- Thomas
- Gordon
- Annie and Clarabel
- Sir Topham Hatt
- Troublesome Trucks (do not speak)
- One Little Boy (stock footage cameo)
Locations
Trivia
- Going by original UK broadcast order, this is the first series finale.
- According to Britt Allcroft, this episode and the third series episode All at Sea were her favourites.
- This episode was originally written and filmed in 1983 as the test pilot for the television series. The pilot had fewer characters and flatter lighting. The pilot was test screened in 1983 and was greenlit by ITV. As of 2025, footage of the pilot has never been seen other than short clips used as stock footage in the final episode.
- The dialogue script for this episode was completed on 8 March 1983.
- A copy of the pilot was given to Rick Siggelkow, who showed it to his wife and then to a preschool class. The results were positive, launching Shining Time Station, with Siggelkow being the show's co-creator.
- According to Ian McCue, the pilot footage currently resides in Mattel's storage unit in Southampton.[citation needed]
- The events of this episode directly continue into the fourth series episode Paint Pots and Queens. The events of this episode are later mentioned by Thomas in the second series episode Percy Takes the Plunge, Thomas again in the 2012 special Blue Mountain Mystery, James in the 2017 special Journey Beyond Sodor, Diesel in the 2018 special Big World! Big Adventures! during the song Where in the World Is Thomas? and by Thomas again in the twenty-third series episode Deep Trouble. Furthermore, there is a recreated CGI flashback to this episode in Blue Mountain Mystery. In the flashback, he frantically tries to reverse out of the chasm after falling in, which did not happen in the episode.
- When originally broadcast in the United Kingdom in January 1985, this episode was paired with the previous episode. However, VHS releases instead paired it with Thomas' Christmas Party.
- Roland Rat introduced this episode alongside Off the Rails when the pairing was first aired in 1985. On its airing in December 1985, the episode was introduced by Rod Hull and Emu on 20 December 1985 individually before the airing of Thomas' Christmas Party just four days later.
- Some of the trucks at the mine have "N.E." written on their sides, which is likely a reference to the livery worn by LNER rolling stock (including locomotives) during World War II.
- The buffers on the truck Thomas bumps into are lowered specifically so that Thomas can hit them properly.
- In the Welsh dub, Thomas is not seen bumping the trucks.
- The Korean title of this episode shares the same as the series premiere.
- Pictures of this episode were used for the end credits section of Mister Moose's Fun Time and for Storytime with Thomas.
- This episode marks the first time a danger sign is used. The danger sign shown in this episode would later appear in the second series episode Percy Takes the Plunge, where Thomas also references the events of this episode.
- For unknown reasons, Gordon has a lower pitched whistle than normal and this is also the only episode to feature this particular whistle.
- This episode marks the first time the full "Danger" theme is used in the series; the last few bars of the theme were first heard in Thomas Goes Fishing.
- This episode also marks the final appearances of the Old Coaches.
- This is the only episode narrated by Ringo Starr not featured on any other DVDs in the UK apart from The Complete Series 1.
- This episode marks the last appearance of Thomas' first series worried face until the third series episode Thomas Gets Bumped with eyebrows modified to resemble a concerned face in future seasons and his cheeky one.
- Scenes from this episode were recreated for the Japanese web video series Salaryman Thomas.
Goofs
- The Croatian dub of this episode uses the music and sound effects from Off the Rails.
- At the beginning of the episode, the narrator refers to Lower Tidmouth as "the junction."
- In a close-up shot of Clarabel, a white wire is visible behind her left window (viewers' right).
- When Thomas shunts Annie and Clarabel, his eyes are misaligned and the coaches are also missing their nameplates.
- Because footage from the unaired pilot is used:
- The lining on Thomas' cab and splashers are missing.
- Thomas is missing his lamp irons.
- Smoke can be seen coming out of Thomas' eyes due to the model's performance.
- Annie and Clarabel disappear from their position beside the signal box.
- In the close-up of the danger sign, it says "Engines must not pass this board" but, in the shot just before and when Thomas passes the sign, it says "Engines must not pass this point" instead. The same is true with several promotional shots.
- After the fireman goes to turn the points, he disappears in the next shot.
- A small piece of hair can be seen on the left side of Thomas' smokebox in the close up of Thomas after the Fat Controller suggests that Gordon will pull him out.
- Thomas' side rods are in different positions before and after Gordon pulls him out of the mine.
- After Gordon pulls Thomas out of the mine, Thomas' eyes are slightly misaligned.
- Thomas' wheels drag along the line for a few seconds before he blows his whistle when he and Gordon leave the lead mines.
In Other Languages
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Merchandise
Thomas and Bertie and Thomas Down the Mine (1985 Ladybird book)- Thomas Down the Mine (1985 Octopus book)
- Thomas Down the Mine (1990 Buzz Book)
Magazine Story
- Thomas Down the Mine (1988 magazine story)
- Tales from the Past Engines (2012 Toys R Us-exclusive pack)
Home Video Releases
Episode
UK narration
US narration (George Carlin)References
| #01 Thomas and Gordon | #10 James and the Express | #19 The Flying Kipper |
| #02 Edward and Gordon | #11 Thomas and the Guard | #20 Whistles and Sneezes |
| #03 The Sad Story of Henry | #12 Thomas Goes Fishing | #21 Toby and the Stout Gentleman |
| #04 Edward, Gordon and Henry | #13 Thomas, Terence and the Snow | #22 Thomas in Trouble |
| #05 Thomas' Train | #14 Thomas and Bertie | #23 Dirty Objects |
| #06 Thomas and the Trucks | #15 Tenders and Turntables | #24 Thomas' Christmas Party |
| #07 Thomas and the Breakdown Train | #16 Trouble in the Shed | #25 Off the Rails |
| #08 James and the Coaches | #17 Percy Runs Away | #26 Down the Mine |
| #09 Troublesome Trucks | #18 Coal | |