Thomas the Tank Engine Wiki
Advertisement
Thomas the Tank Engine Wiki
Thomas the Tank Engine Wiki
16,327
pages
in: Episodes, Series 23 episodes, 2010s,
and 2 more
English

Rangers of the Rails

View source
This article is about the episode. You may be looking for the magazine story.
Main page
Gallery

"It's been a while since I had a big adventure. If only I had a story like Thomas and Nia's to tell."
― Emily

Rangers of the Rails is the thirteenth episode of the twenty-third series.

Plot[]

One late evening as Emily and Nia head back to Tidmouth Sheds, they notice a large storm is brewing and Nia tells Emily that she hoped it would be over by morning, since she would be taking the Sodor Rangers up to Callan Castle tomorrow. Emily tells her that sounded really exciting.

That night, a large storm begins to pick up as the engines sit in their sheds. Percy was worried about the storm, but Thomas reassures him, telling him it was the perfect night to stay indoors and tell stories. Rebecca eagerly asks Nia to tell them the story of her, Thomas and the collapsing bridge in the Brazilian rainforest and Percy asks to tell them about the different animals in Africa.

Amazed that Nia had been to so many different places, Emily tries to talk about the time she had gone to the mainland as part of the Great Railway Show, but James interjects, annoyedly telling Emily they had heard that same old story a trillion million times. Apologising, Emily sadly laments that it had been a while since she had a big adventure of her own, and wishes she had a story like Thomas and Nia's to tell.

The next morning, the storm has passed as Rebecca, Nia and Emily leave the sheds. As Nia talks about having to pick up the Rangers camping supplies and the Rangers themselves after she had finished her work in the yards, Rebecca has an idea, suggesting that Emily could take the Rangers to the castle instead, giving Nia more time to finish her jobs and Emily the chance to have an adventure. Nia agrees to the idea and Emily picks up the Rangers at Knapford Station, feeling extremely happy to be going on an adventure.

As Emily heads up to the castle, she encounters a section of bumpy track, forcing her to slow down and eventually stop, much to the Rangers' annoyance. She then comes across a flooded section of track and worries she should not go through it. But not wanting to disappoint the Rangers by not carrying on, she puffs through the water anyway and makes it through.

As it grows dark and the fog comes down, Emily comes across a fallen tree branch on the track. Once again not wanting it to stop her and disappoint the Rangers, as by this point she was running late, Emily tries to push past it, but ends up derailing herself as she crashes into it and landing on the branch instead, unable to move as she sadly laments that now she could not make it to the campsite and had let everyone down.

Meanwhile, Nia is heading home to the sheds, wondering if Emily had enjoyed her adventure when she suddenly spots a truck containing the Rangers' camping supplies, which Emily had forgotten to bring and had not come back for. Realising that she must be in trouble, Nia sets off to help her.

Nia hurries across the bumpy track and flooded section of line and soon comes across the derailed Emily, only to find to her surprise that even without the camping supplies, she and the Rangers were fine. Emily explains that she had realised that she forgot the camping supplies after she was derailed, but despite this, the Rangers had been practicing their ranger skills by finding clean water, building their own campfire to keep warm, and even building their own shelters and tents out of sticks, to Nia's surprise.

Emily is however happy to see Nia, and was sure that the Rangers were happy to have extra supplies. Nia tells Emily that she could help pull her back onto the line so they could go home, but Emily instead suggests they camp out for the night with the rest of the Rangers, which Nia excitedly agrees with. The next morning, Nia and the Rangers work together to pull Emily off the branch and back onto the track.

As Emily and Nia head home with the Rangers, the two laugh about their camp-out, calling it an adventure. Emily was excited to tell the other engines about her adventure, but Nia playfully tells her she wanted to tell it first and Emily challanges her to a race as the two race off laughing.

Characters[]

Locations[]

Cast[]

UK[]

US[]

Trivia[]

  • Going by production order, this is the sixteenth episode of the twenty-third series.
  • This is the first non-international episode since the Big World! Big Adventures! rebrand not to have Keith Wickham as part of the voice cast. However, going by production order, this is the second non-international episode since the rebrand not to have Wickham as part of the voice cast.
  • Emily references The Great Race when she mentions being in the best decorated engine parade.
  • Scenes from Big World! Big Adventures! are recreated in the fantasy sequence with Emily replacing Thomas and Nia in certain points.
  • This episode is quite similar to the twelfth series episode Excellent Emily, as both episodes involve Emily trying to get the job done and never gives up until she got into trouble but later helped to safety. Emily is seen not giving up when crossing through a flooded track, which is also a reference to this episode.
  • Emily's statement of not having any recent adventures could be a reference to her lack of starring roles in the previous series.
  • This marks Ace's first appearance in an episode (albeit in a fantasy sequence) and his only appearance in the twenty-third series.
  • This episode, along with Deep Trouble, were the last episodes to air on Nickelodeon in the US before Netflix picked up the series in March 2020.
  • This is the first time the show's opening phrase "All aboard for a big adventure!" is said in an episode, as well as the first time said phrase is said by a character other than Thomas.
  • This marks the Troublesome Tankers (in the original series) and Captain's last appearances if newspaper appearances count for Captain.

Goofs[]

  • Rebecca has Nia's whistle sound when they leave the sheds.

Merchandise[]

In Other Languages[]

Language Title
Brazilian Portuguese Escoteiras dos trilhos
Czech Skautky na kolejích
Dutch Op Avontuur met de Rangers
Estonian Relsivalvurid
German Auf der Suche nach dem Abenteuer
Greek Οι πρόσκοποι των σιδηροδρόμων
Indonesian Pahlawan Jalan Kereta
Italian Piccole esploratrici all'avventura
Japanese エミリーのだいぼうけん
Korean 에밀리의 하룻밤 모험
Latin American Spanish Exploradoras de los rieles
Latvian Reindžeri uz Sliedēm
Lithuanian Bėgių Prižiūrėtojai
Polish Harcerze
Romanian Cercetașii de pe Șine
Russian Приключения рядом
Spanish Exploradoras de la vía
Turkish Demir Yolunun İzcileri
Vietnamese Lần Theo Dấu Vết Hướng Đạo Sinh

Home Media Releases[]

UK[]

NL[]

<< Series 22

Series 23

Series 24 >>

#01 Free the Roads #09 Diesel Do Right #17 Lorenzo's Solo
#02 Crowning Around #10 Grudge Match #18 Deep Trouble
#03 Chucklesome Trucks #11 Panicky Percy #19 Too Loud, Thomas!
#04 The Other Big Engine #12 Laid Back Shane #20 Diesel Glows Away
#05 Heart of Gold #13 Rangers of the Rails Special #01 Steam Team to the Rescue
#06 Batucada #14 Wish You Were Here Special #02 All Tracks Lead to Rome
#07 Gordon Gets the Giggles #15 Out of Site Special #03 Mines of Mystery
#08 Thomas Makes a Mistake #16 First Day on Sodor!
Español Polski Русский
*Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, Fandom will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.
More Fandoms
Advertisement