Henry's Forest

Henry's Forest is the ninth episode of the third series. It is based on the magazine story of the same name and Clearing Up.

Plot

Henry has lived on the Island of Sodor for many years and would not want to live anywhere else. He likes every part of it, but there is one place that he enjoys visiting more than any other; this place is the forest. Henry remembers the day long ago when he and Toby had brought some new trees to be planted and Terence and Trevor had helped to haul them into place.

One night, everything changes as a storm rages across the island. All the engines in the sheds are talking about the wind blowing outside, except for Henry, who hopes that it will not harm the forest. By morning, the winds have gone, but severe damage has been done to the forest. Henry is sent to help Donald clear the line of trees. Henry feels very devastated by all the damage done in the forest and now wonders what will happen to all the animals who have lived there.

Henry's trucks are loaded with logs to be taken to the timber mill, where they are recycled to become furniture and other things. Henry takes consolation in the fact the wood will be put to good use, but is still sad to lose part of the place that meant so much to him. Thomas and Toby feel sorry for Henry and wish there is something they could do to make things better again. Toby later meets the Fat Controller at the yards, who notices that the tram engine looks glum. Toby tells him that he and Henry are very sad about the trees and that the forest was a special place to Henry and now some of it has been destroyed. The Fat Controller tells Toby that he will soon put things right and he then sends Toby to collect some trucks, loaded with small trees all ready for planting.

When Henry returns to the forest, he is surprised to see Terence and Trevor, busily helping workmen to plant the trees. Terence tells Henry that they are beginning again and that the hillside will look better than ever before. Now when Henry stops by the forest, he can see the new trees growing strong and tall and the animals are returning to their home. Whatever sounds these woods bring, he is always happy to be here.

Characters

• Thomas
• Henry
• James
• Toby
• Terence
• Sir Topham Hatt
• Gordon (does not speak)
• Donald (does not speak)
• Trevor (does not speak)
• Douglas (cameo)
• Farmer Finney (cameo)
• Jem Cole (cameo)
• Farmer Trotter (cameo)

Locations

• Tidmouth Sheds
  • Tidmouth Goods Station
• Henry's Forest
• The Lumber Mill
• The Watermill
• The Lighthouse
• The Country Line
• Hawin Croka Canal
• Tidmouth Beach (stock footage)
• Wellsworth (deleted scene)

Trivia

• The Reverend W. Awdry is known for criticizing this episode for its lack of realism. The major flaws he found were Henry's driver letting him stop in the forest without alerting a signalman (Rule 55), paving the way for a severe crash with an unaware locomotive and the number of trees so close to the line that could catch fire from a spark from an engine's funnel. He also stated that engines should not be interested in scenery. Britt Allcroft, the episode's adapter, countered the second flaw by claiming to have seen many other railways do the same thing.
• A photograph from this episode was released as a Royal Mail stamp in 2011 to mark the Reverend Awdry's Centenary.
• From this episode onwards, Trevor's eyes move with a motor.
• This episode was rerun back to back with the third series episode, Percy's Promise on Storytime with Thomas.
• The crawler tractor and the three berth garage from TUGS appear in the episode.
• Edited stock footage from the third series episode, Donald's Duck is used.
• This episode marks the last appearance of The Country Line to date, not counting a deleted scene in the third series episode, No Joke for James.
• Despite Henry being the titular character, he only has two lines throughout the whole episode.
• On the week this episode and Diesel Does it Again made their television debut, TV Times held a competition with the deadline of 1 May 1992. Fans had to write the correct names of three engines as pictured in a scene from Woolly Bear and send in their answers. Seven winners would receive various assorted Thomas goods as their prize.

Goofs

• Henry's tender is missing at the scenes inside the shed during the storm.
• In the side view of Toby in the sheds his face is crooked.
• In the close-up of Henry wearing his sad face in the sheds, his eyes and his brake pipe are crooked.
• A nail can be seen in the first shot inside Tidmouth Sheds.
• In the close-up of Henry's driver leaning out the cab, there are holes in his right shoulder.
• In several scenes, Henry's firebox is crooked.

Quotes

[a storm hits the island, awakening the engines in the middle of the night]

Thomas: Listen! Can you hear a strange whistling sound?

Toby: It's the wind blowing outside our shed. But I've never heard it like this before.

James: Do you know? If Gordon wasn't here now, I'd say it was him thundering by with the Express.

Toby: [after the forest is damaged] Oh, dear. I wish there was something we could do to make things better again.

Thomas: Yes, indeed. But what? We can't mend broken trees.

Merchandise

• Books - Henry's Forest
• Buzz Books - Henry's Forest
• Magazine stories - Henry's Forest/Henry's Forest (2004)

In Other Languages

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