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This article is about the episode. You may be looking for the 2015 magazine story, the 2017 magazine story or the DVD.
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"And what do you say?"
"Oh, the indignity...!"
"Sorry?"
"I mean thank you. Thank you, Edward..."
"You're welcome, Gordon. Any time."
― Edward and Gordon

Old Reliable Edward is the first episode of the eighteenth series.

Plot

Edward is an old engine and is teased a lot, especially by Gordon, who calls Edward unreliable. But the Fat Controller knows that Edward is a really useful engine.

One day, Gordon is going up his hill when he sees something red blowing beside the track. Believing it to be a danger signal, Gordon stops, but he quickly discovers that it is actually a pair of red trousers, which quickly blow into his face. Feeling foolish for his blunder, Gordon tries to get back up to speed, but because of his heavy express coaches, he ends up being unable to move up the hill. Meanwhile, at Wellsworth Station, Edward is flagged down by the stationmaster, who states that Gordon is stuck on the hill. While still sore over Gordon's insults and his hypocrisy, Edward heads off to give him a push, though not without minor grumbling.

Back at the hill, Gordon is waiting impatiently for Edward to arrive. While he waits, he gets teased by both Emily and Thomas, the latter of whom Gordon makes the mistake of revealing the reason he stopped. When Edward finally arrives, Gordon is very angry and calls Edward old and slow. Despite this, Edward manages to push Gordon to the summit of the hill, though the instant Gordon is able to move on his own he speeds away without thanking Edward. The older engine later meets Thomas at the yard and talks with the tank engine about his grievances with Gordon. Deciding Gordon needs to be taught a lesson, Thomas shares a look with Edward and then puffs away, with the older engine slowly realising his intentions as he does so.

That night in the sheds, all of the engines are laughing about what had happened to Gordon earlier and laugh even more when Thomas adds in the red trousers. Edward says that Gordon needed him to push him to the top of the hill, though Gordon insists that he did not need Edward at all. Seeing an opening, Thomas decides to put his plan into action and bets Gordon that he cannot go faster than him. All the engines gasp and think that Thomas is very silly for thinking he can go faster than Gordon. Even Gordon thinks it is unfair and says that he will have no problem following Thomas across the island, going as far as giving him a ten-minute head start. While the other engines look around concerned, Thomas shares a wink with Edward, who smiles back knowingly.

As agreed, Thomas and Gordon meet at Knapford, exchanging banter before Thomas leaves before Gordon and starts to puff along the main line. Annie and Clarabel express concern, not wanting to be seen as fools, but Thomas reassures them before continuing on. It is not long before Clarabel sees Gordon approach on the other line, and both she and Annie are sure Gordon is about to pass them, but Thomas then switches to Gordon's line. Gordon is not impressed by Thomas' speed and orders him to move back to the other line, but Thomas objects to switch tracks and clarifies the details of the agreement they made last night. Realising that he fell right for one of the tank engine's tricks, a now unhappy Gordon has no choice but to slowly follow Thomas towards the hill.

When they reach Gordon's Hill, Thomas starts to slow down even more and continues doing so even after Gordon resorts to begging. Eventually, they get so slow that Gordon gets stuck on the hill again. Thomas' plan has worked and he carries on his way while Edward pulls up next to Gordon. This time, it is Edward's turn to call Gordon unreliable for always sticking on his hill, with the bigger engine calling out Thomas' bluff. Edward goes to puff away, but Gordon calls after him, asking for a push. In response to this, Edward throws Gordon's earlier insults back at him, and continues to leave, forcing Gordon to swallow his pride, apologise, and promise to do better before the express engine desperately asks again. Deciding the bigger engine has learned his lesson, Edward relents to Gordon's pleas and returns to buffer up behind the express. Pushing him up the hill, Edward catches Gordon falling back into old habits, and the latter is forced to quickly correct himself, finally thanking Edward as he finally gets over the hill. Satisfied, Edward stops on the crest of the hill and sees Gordon off with a knowing smile.

Characters

Locations

Cast

UK

US

Trivia

  • Apart from laughter, Henry, James, and Percy do not have any dialogue in this episode.
  • This episode is similar to the sixth series episode, Edward the Very Useful Engine.
  • This episode marks the first of several things:
  • Most of the television guides in the UK list this episode's title as "Ole Reliable Edward".
  • The episode's American air date coincides with the 70th Anniversary of The Railway Series.
  • In the Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Baltic Russian and Vietnamese dubs, the UK dub can be heard in the background as a dubbing track was not used.

Goofs

  • The ocean usually seen in the distance at the bottom of Gordon's Hill is missing in this episode.
  • When Edward begins to push Gordon up the hill the first time, Thomas has Edward's whistle sound.
  • After Gordon gets stuck on the hill the second time, in the shot following Thomas, all the lines behind Gordon are clear; in the next shot, Edward is seen pulling up besides Gordon.
  • When Gordon is asking for Edward's help to be pushed up the hill, Edward is next to Gordon, but as Edward puffs away laughing, a first person perspective from Edward shows him on Gordon's line.
  • After the trousers land on Gordon's buffer beam, they move independently on Gordon - so when he moves up or down, the trousers do not.
  • In the closing shot, Edward's steam appears not to disperse in the upper left-hand corner of the screen.

Merchandise

In Other Languages

View content
Language Title
Brazilian Portuguese O velho de digno de confiança Edward
Chinese Mandarin 可靠的老艾德华
Czech Starý, spolehlivý Edward
Danish Gamle pålidelige Edward
Dutch Oude betrouwbare Edward
French Toujours Là Quand Il Faut!
Hungarian Öreg, megbízható Edward
Indonesian Edward Tua yang Handal
Japanese たよりになるエドワード
Korean 믿음직한 에드워드
Latin American Spanish Edward el confiable
Lithuanian Senas patikimas Edvardas
Norwegian Gamle, pålitelige Edward
Polish Stary Niezawodny Edek
Portuguese O Velho Confiável Edward
Romanian Te poţi bizui pe bătrânul Edward
Russian Старый добрый Эдвард
Serbian Stari pouzdani Edvard
Spanish Edward, el Más Fiable
Taiwanese Mandarin 可靠的老艾德華
Turkish Güvenilir Yaşlı Edward

Home Video Releases

United Kingdom UK

TheAdventureBegins(UKDVD) The Adventure Begins (bonus feature)
TheCompleteEighteenthSeries The Complete Series 18

USA US

TheAdventureBeginsDVD The Adventure Begins (bonus feature; Direct-to-Home-Video)
ThomasandFriendsSeason18DigitalDownload Season 18

Australia Canada AUS/CAN

TheAdventureBeginsAUSDVDCover TheAdventureBeginsDVD The Adventure Begins (bonus feature)

France FRA

Series 18 (digital download)

Japan JPN

ThomastheTankEngineSeries18Vol.1 Thomas the Tank Engine Series 18 Vol.1

Thailand THA

NotSoSlowCoaches(ThaiDVD) Not So Slow Coaches

China CHN

DisappearingDiesels(ChineseDVD) Disappearing Diesels

Indonesia IDN

Old Reliable Edward (DVD) Old Reliable Edward

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