- “That Hugo is the engine of the future!”
- ― Stephen
Engine of the Future is the twenty-third episode of the twentieth series.
Plot
A very unusual, fast engine has arrived on Sodor. He races past the narrow gauge engines, the main line engines and the Fat Controller. When he arrives at the station at Ulfstead Castle, he introduces himself as Hugo, along with his driver, Franz, who is old friends with the Earl. Sir Robert Norramby decides to go for a ride, so he climbs aboard and they set off.
At Knapford Station, James and Percy are believing rumours that Hugo is not really an engine. The Fat Controller asks Thomas to take him to Ulfstead Castle to find Hugo, which he does, with Percy, James, and Philip making up excuses to go see the engine as well. When they arrive, the Fat Controller can hardly believe what he is seeing. Although, he decides to ride him too. When Hugo starts up, Thomas and Stephen believe that he is amazing.
Hugo is discovered by James and Percy on the way, but Philip complains that he missed him. Back at the castle, Stephen tells the other engines that Hugo will replace all of them, so they begin to worry. Hugo then returns to the castle and the Fat Controller is happy that he had a splendid ride.
Later that night, the engines are at Tidmouth Sheds and they talk about how worried they are. Emily says that she does not want to be replaced as she loves working on the railway, and James and Edward agree. Henry fears they will be sent to the scrapyard, but Gordon does not think he will be replaced at all. Just then, Hugo arrives at the sheds and asks if there is room for him to rest, but the engines tell him that they are unfortunately full and attempt to scare him off by telling him that they are for steam engines only. Before Hugo can get off the turntable, Percy is about to go out and make his mail delivery, so he offers him to stay in his shed, but Gordon denies it as he still does not want all the steam locomotives to be replaced. Fortunately, Hugo assures everyone that he will find a different location to sleep at, so he moves away.
Very early in the morning, the engines are still acting hostile towards Hugo. He then wonders why they are all being rude to him and Thomas explains that it is only because he is trying to replace all the steam engines. He does not want to believe it. Percy then tells him that Stephen claimed that he can do whatever he wants, to which Hugo tells them that he does not have buffers and couplers, so he cannot pull trucks and coaches at all, and he moves away from them again. The engines, realising that they have hurt his feelings, feel terrible about how they had been treating him, so they have to do something to cheer him up.
Later, Hugo is to take some important passengers from Knapford Station to Vicarstown, which include the Fat Controller, Lady Hatt, Dowager Hatt, Stephen Hatt, Bridget Hatt the Duke and Duchess of Boxford, the Mayor of Sodor, Lord Callan, and the Thin Controller. Percy is about to apologise to Hugo for what they did, but he is already setting off on his trip. All day long, he carries passengers from one place to another.
That evening, Hugo comes back to Knapford Station, sees the engines again, and they make up for the mistake they made by cheering for him and putting on a party. The Fat Controller wonders what the commotion is about, and Thomas explains that they are putting on a welcome party for the new engine. Percy finally apologises to him for not being very nice to him and officially invites him to sleep with them at Tidmouth Sheds. Hugo is very grateful for what the engines are doing and they see it as a very friendly thing, as does the Fat Controller and the others. At nighttime, when Percy does his usual mail delivery, Hugo finally sleeps with the Steam Team at the sheds and dozes off to sleep.
Characters
- Thomas
- Edward
- Henry
- Gordon
- James
- Percy
- Emily
- Stephen
- Sir Handel
- Duncan
- Philip
- Hugo
- Sir Topham Hatt
- Sir Robert Norramby
- The Knapford Stationmaster
- Franz
- Mr. Percival
- Lady Hatt
- Stephen Hatt
- Bridget Hatt
- Dowager Hatt
- Lord Callan
- Caitlin (exclaims only)
- The Thin Clergyman (not named)
- The Duke and Duchess of Boxford (not named)
- The Mayor of Sodor (not named)
- Novelty (not named; does not speak)
- Sans Pareil (not named; does not speak)
- Norman (cameo)
- Millie (cameo)
- The Teacher (cameo)
- The Birdwatcher (cameo)
- The Lady with the Big Hat (cameo)
Locations
- Vicarstown Bridge
- Crovan's Gate
- Maron
- Ulfstead Castle
- Knapford
- Sodor Suspension Bridge
- Tidmouth Sheds
- Crocks Scrap Yard (mentioned)
- Vicarstown (mentioned)
Cast
UK
- John Hasler as Thomas
- Keith Wickham as Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Sir Handel, the Fat Controller, Dowager Hatt, the Thin Controller, Lord Callan, Franz and the Knapford Stationmaster
- Nigel Pilkington as Percy
- Teresa Gallagher as Emily, Lady Hatt, Stephen Hatt, Bridget Hatt and the Duchess of Boxford
- Bob Golding as Stephen
- Jules de Jongh as Caitlin
- Rasmus Hardiker as Philip
- Rob Rackstraw as Hugo and the Thin Clergyman
- Tom Stourton as Duncan
- Mike Grady as Sir Robert Norramby
- Matt Wilkinson as the Duke of Boxford
- David Bedella as the Mayor of Sodor
US
- Joseph May as Thomas
- William Hope as Edward and the Duke of Boxford
- Kerry Shale as Henry, Gordon and Mr. Percival
- Rob Rackstraw as James, Hugo and the Thin Clergyman
- Christopher Ragland as Percy
- Jules de Jongh as Emily, Caitlin and the Duchess of Boxford
- Bob Golding as Stephen
- Rasmus Hardiker as Philip
- Keith Wickham as Sir Handel, Sir Topham Hatt, Dowager Hatt, Lord Callan, Franz and the Knapford Stationmaster
- Tom Stourton as Duncan
- Teresa Gallagher as Lady Hatt, Stephen Hatt and Bridget Hatt
- David Bedella as the Mayor of Sodor
- Mike Grady as Sir Robert Norramby
Trivia
- Going by production order, this is the thirteenth episode of the twentieth series.
- A flashback from King of the Railway is used.
- When Hugo arrives at Ulfstead Castle, the music heard is the opening fanfare of Also sprach Zarathustra composed by Richard Strauss.
- On the Nick Jr. US broadcast of this episode, it was paired with Hugo and the Airship.
- When Sir Robert Norramby sees Hugo for the first time, he says the phrase "Great Scott," an exclamation which is commonly used by fictional scientist Doc Brown in the Back to the Future movies.
- Other than a surprised exclamation, Caitlin does not have any dialogue in this episode.
- This episode marks Caitlin and Duncan's only speaking roles in the twentieth series.
- This marks Franz's only appearance.
- This marks the only time Nobuaki Kanemitsu voices Duncan in Japan.
- This episode marks the first of a few things:
- The first time Jules de Jongh voices Caitlin instead of Rebecca O'Mara, making this the first episode since the fourteenth series episode Being Percy to have Jules de Jongh as part of the UK voice cast.
- Lady Hatt's first speaking role since the seventeenth series episode, The Afternoon Tea Express.
- The first appearance of Hugo.
- This episode marked the last of a few things:
- Duncan's last speaking role, although he was meant to have a speaking role in the twenty-fourth series episode, The Great Little Railway Show, as well as making one last appearance, but that would only require Tom Stourton recording one line for Duncan. This would also require Chikara Osaka reprising his role of Duncan from the eighteenth series of the Japanese dub.
- Caitlin's last speaking role until the twenty-third series double-length episode, Steam Team to the Rescue.
- Sir Handel's last speaking role until the twenty-fourth series episode, The Great Little Railway Show, as well as Mr. Percival's last appearance in an episode until the same episode.
- A remixed snippet of James' theme composed by Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell can be heard when he, Thomas, Percy, and Philip leave Knapford.
Goofs
- When the engines whistle at Hugo at Knapford station the first time, many of their whistles do not emit any steam.
- On the Nick Jr. US airing, when Hugo blows his horn, the captions read "[blows whistle]."
In Other Languages
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Home Media Releases
UK
- Extraordinary Engines
- The Complete Series 20 (Extraordinary Engines Bonus Disc)
US/AUS
- Extraordinary Engines
US DVD Boxsets
- Extraordinary Engines and Railway Friends Double Pack
| #01 Sidney Sings | #11 Letters to Santa | #21 Henry in the Dark |
| #02 Toby's New Friend | #12 Love Me Tender | #22 Three Steam Engines Gruff |
| #03 Henry Gets the Express | #13 The Railcar and the Coaches | #23 Engine of the Future |
| #04 Diesel and the Ducklings | #14 Mucking About | #24 Hugo and the Airship |
| #05 Bradford the Brake Van | #15 Cautious Connor | #25 The Missing Breakdown Train |
| #06 Saving Time | #16 All in Vain | #26 Skiff and the Mermaid |
| #07 Ryan and Daisy | #17 Buckled Tracks and Bumpy Trucks | #27 The Christmas Coffeepot |
| #08 Pouty James | #18 Tit for Tat | #28 Over the Hill |
| #09 Blown Away | #19 Mike's Whistle | |
| #10 The Way She Does It | #20 Useful Railway | |