Edward, Gordon and Henry

Edward, Gordon and Henry, retitled Henry to the Rescue in American releases, is the fourth episode of the first series. It is based on the story of the same name from The Railway Series book, The Three Railway Engines.

Plot

Gordon always pulls the Express and is proud to be the only engine strong enough to do it. One day, he heads down the line with the Fat Controller on board the train, when he sees the tunnel that Henry has been left bricked up in and abandoned for refusing to come out. Henry feels sorry for himself and wonders if he will ever be forgiven and let out.

Gordon plans to whistle rudely at Henry, only to burst his safety valve and he is forced to stop just in front of the tunnel. Upon being told by his driver what has happened and that he can no longer pull his train, Gordon finds his situation very embarrassing, especially since Henry has seen his mishap and is laughing at him. The passengers come out to see Gordon, including the Fat Controller, who promptly orders for another engine to come take the Express, while Gordon is uncoupled and moved onto a siding. Edward is the only engine left in the yard and offers to take the train, but when he tries to push the coaches he finds that he is simply not strong enough. Gordon suggests that Henry should be allowed to try and the Fat Controller agrees, as does Henry upon being asked.

Soon workmen break down the wall and replace the rails, then Henry comes out of tunnel. His paint is very dirty and he feels stiff, but after having a quick run to loosen his joints, he feels a lot better and then he is coupled to the coaches. With Henry pulling and Edward pushing, the two engines manage to move the long train. The Fat Controller leans out the window to wave to them, but the train ends up moving very fast and causes his hat to blow off and land in a field where it is eaten by goat. The two keep running until they reach the last station where the passengers cheer, and on the way home they help Gordon back to the sheds.

Henry is rewarded with a new coat of paint and no longer minds the rain as he knows that the best way to keep his paint nice is not to hide in tunnels, but to ask his driver to give him a washdown after the day's work is done.

Characters

• Edward
• Henry
• Gordon
• Sir Topham Hatt
• James (cameo)
• One of the stone-dropping boys (cameo)
• The Storyteller (cameo)

Locations

• Knapford
• Three-Track Bend and Signalbox
• Henry's Tunnel
• The Pond Runby
• The Goat Field
• Wellsworth (as opposed to Vicarstown)
  • Wellsworth Bridge (deleted scene)
• Tidmouth Sheds

Trivia

• The events of this episode were mentioned by Edward in The Adventure Begins.
• This is the first episode in which Thomas does not physically appear.
• Stock footage from The Sad Story of Henry is used.
• When George Carlin's narration aired on the Shining Time Station episode, Mysterious Stranger, the first few seconds of the opening were cut.

Goofs

• Ringo Starr's US narration is slightly out of sync from the point when Henry leaves the tunnel to when he arrives at Wellsworth.
• When Gordon says "I'm going to poop, poop at Henry," studio equipment is visible in the top right corner and his driving wheels are going backwards. The same errors occur as he slows down.
• After being uncoupled from his coaches, as Gordon passes over the points, his trailing wheels jam as he moves offscreen.
• Gordon rolls over the points incorrectly; he should have gone over the crossover, but he instead goes straight ahead.
• When Gordon moves to the siding, he passes the points and the coaches later change position without explanation.
• While Henry is in the tunnel, his face is covered with black dust, but in the close up of Henry going backwards from the tunnel, he is spotless because it is footage from earlier episodes. The same thing happens after Henry has pulled the express through the tunnel and when he arrives at the station, he is spotless again.
• When Gordon says "Huh! That's no use. Edward can't push the train," his eyes jerk, indicating a scene cut.
• Gordon sets off from Knapford and heads towards Vicarstown. When Edward and Henry set off, they head in the same direction but ended up at Wellsworth, which is in the opposite direction.
• Because stock footage is used, the scene where the Fat Controller tells Henry to turn around is darker and blue ink can be seen smeared on his hand.
• When Edward and Henry set off, the last coach is passing Gordon as the scene ends. But in the next scene, the coach can be seen passing him again. Also, in that same scene, Gordon is derailed.
• When Henry passes the goat, Edward is not behind the train.
• In the close-up of Henry when he is coming out of the tunnel, his cylinder red stripe is sticking out.
• When the Fat Controller asks Henry to pull the train Gordon is not seen in front of the buffers.
• Blu-Tack is visible under some of the people's feet.
• When Edward says "I'm ready," he already starts to move because stock footage from earlier in the episode is used.

In Other Languages

Merchandise

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Books Name Published Publisher Highlights Photo Edward, Gordon and Henry and Gordon Off the Rails 1984 Ladybird Books Ladybird book Also features Off the Rails Edward, Gordon and Henry 1990 Buzz Books Buzz book #05 Henry and the Tunnel 1997 Egmont Random House My First Thomas book Also based on The Sad Story of Henry Magazines Edward, Gordon and Henry (magazine story)

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