This article is about the episode. You may be looking for the US/Canadian VHS/DVD, the Malaysian VCD, the UK book or the German book. |
- "Yo, ho, ho, and a bucket of prawns! The tiller spins..."
"And the captain yawns!" - ― Salty and the Troublesome Trucks
Salty's Secret is the first episode of the sixth series.
Plot
Although the Sodor engines love their work, there is way too much, which is when the Fat Controller brings new engines to help like a dockyard diesel named Salty who enjoys working near the sea. It is his first day working on Sodor and he is hopeful he will be working near the sea as it surrounds islands like Sodor. Naturally, he is disappointed when he is sent to work at the quarry to help Mavis, Bill and Ben with an important job for the Fat Controller. Bill and Ben think that they do not need help, or that Salty will be able to manage all of the trucks. However, when they see that Salty manages to win the trucks over with his tales and songs of the sea, the twins are surprised and rather jealous. But Salty still longs for the sea.
One night, Mavis and the twin tank engines see Salty alone outside. Bill and Ben call him names and express boredom from his stories, but Mavis tries to comfort him. Salty wants to be near the sea again, but he knows that the quarry work is important at this point. The next day, Salty tries to show Bill and Ben his secret with the trucks, which is singing a tune for the trucks to sing along with. Bill and Ben try singing a rhythm to get the trucks moving, but they cannot make them move the way Salty can.
Later, the Fat Controller arrives at the quarry, and is surprised to see that the job has been completed. Mavis tells him that they could not have done it without Salty. Luckily for him, there is no further work for him at the quarry, so he is finally transferred to Brendam Docks, which is his dream place to work. It is where he feels really useful and he sorts out the trucks better than any other engine, who don’t know his secret like the trucks.
Characters
- Bill and Ben
- Mavis
- Salty
- Troublesome Trucks
- Sir Topham Hatt
- Thomas (cameo)
- Edward (cameo)
- Henry (cameo)
- Gordon (cameo)
- James (cameo)
- Percy (cameo)
- Troublesome Vans (cameos)
- Sir Topham Hatt's Brown-haired Assistant (cameo)
- The Ffarquhar Quarry Manager (cameo)
- Toby (deleted scene cameo)
- Harold (deleted scene cameo)
- Big Mickey (deleted scene; faceless cameo)
- The Horrid Lorries (faceless; cameos)
Locations
- Jem Cole's Yard
- Brendam Docks
- The Seaside Village
- Tidmouth Beach
- Tidmouth Sheds
- The Church Runby
- Bulgy's Bridge
- Ffarquhar Quarry
Trivia
- Salty regales a story to himself at the beginning with the context "... we heaved until the old freighter finally caught the tide", which sounds similar to the second story of the Railway Series book Thomas and the Twins, What a Picture! in which Bill and Ben do the same for a cargo ship.
- Going by production order, this is the second episode of the sixth series.
- This was the first episode of many things:
- Salty's first appearance.
- The first episode produced by Gullane Entertainment under its current name.
- Phil Fehrle's first episode as producer.
- Britt Allcroft's first episode as executive producer since the second series episode, Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree.
- Peter Urie's first episode as executive producer.
- The first episode released in the 21st century and the third millennium.
- The first episode to have its own writer, rather than David Mitton or Britt Allcroft.
- The first episode narrated by Giorgio Bonino in Italy, Blanche Ravalec in France and Terje Strømdahl in Norway.
- The first episode (as well as the first Thomas the Tank Engine production) made in the 21st century and the third millennium.
- The first episode to feature the sixth series intro.
- The first episode filmed in 16:9 widescreen, although the majority of the episode was filmed in 4:3 fullscreen and later cropped to widescreen.
- The first episode to air after the release of Thomas and the Magic Railroad.
- The first episode not dubbed in German.
- The first and only appearance of Salty's worried/exhausted face on-screen.
- The first time that Thomas' whistle valve stems are blue since the first series episode, Thomas' Christmas Party.
- This is Mavis' last episode with a leading role until the thirteenth series episode, A Blooming Mess.
- This is the only series premiere in which Thomas does not speak.
- A deleted scene shows Salty coming up to Bill, Ben and Mavis and the sheds in the opposite direction. Another shows Mavis coming up to Salty to the opposite direction, and she is smiling.
- Some scenes were recreated in the CGI Series for the seventeenth series episode, Away From the Sea.
- The end of the scene where Salty says "The tiller spins..." is sped up.
- Toad's scrap model from Escape can be seen in the first scene of this episode.
Goofs
- When Mavis first meets Salty, her happy face mask is missing its eyebrows.
- When Salty sings the line "The tiller spins...", he can be seen rolling off the end of the set and studio equipment can also be seen in the top left corner.
- Bill's buffers are crooked and his eyes are misaligned when Salty tells his secret to him and Ben.
- When Salty sings "Yo ho ho and a bucket of prawns," he is rolling towards one of the twins and there are three trucks behind him. But in the next shot, he is in a different part of the quarry, both twins appear behind him, he gains several more trucks and the trucks in front of him disappear.
- When the trucks sing "And the captain yawns!", all but one of them have misaligned eyes, and the trucks are also suddenly facing forwards.
Quotes
- Salty: [sings] Yo-ho-ho and a bucket of prawns! The tiller spins (final part later by the trucks) and the captain yawns.
- [Bill and Ben try sorting the trucks]
- Bill and Ben: Here we go. Here we go. Here we go.
- The Troublesome Trucks: No, we don't. No, we don't. No, we don't, don't, don't!
Merchandise
- Books - Salty's Secret and Salty's Secret (Germany only)
- Magazine Stories - Seaside Salty and Salty and the Trucks
- My Thomas Story Library - Salty (discontinued)
In Other Languages
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Home Video Releases
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DVD BoxsetsJPN
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DVD Boxsets
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THATWN |
#01 Salty's Secret | #10 Twin Trouble | #19 Buffer Bother |
#02 Harvey to the Rescue | #11 The World's Strongest Engine | #20 Toby Had a Little Lamb |
#03 No Sleep for Cranky | #12 Scaredy Engines | #21 Thomas, Percy and the Squeak |
#04 A Bad Day for Harold the Helicopter | #13 Percy and the Haunted Mine | #22 Thomas the Jet Engine |
#05 Elizabeth the Vintage Lorry | #14 Middle Engine | #23 Edward the Very Useful Engine |
#06 The Fogman | #15 James and the Red Balloon | #24 Dunkin Duncan |
#07 Jack Jumps In | #16 Jack Frost | #25 Rusty Saves the Day |
#08 A Friend in Need | #17 Gordon Takes a Tumble | #26 Faulty Whistles |
#09 It's Only Snow | #18 Percy's Chocolate Crunch | |