| For other uses, see The Flying Kipper. |
- "Cheer up, Henry. It wasn't your fault. Ice and snow cause the accident. I'm sending you to Crewe, a fine place for sick engines. They'll give you your new shape and a larger firebox. You'll feel a different engine and you won't need special coal anymore. Won't that be nice?"
"Yes, Sir." - ― The Fat Controller and Henry
The Flying Kipper is the nineteenth episode of the first series. It is based on the story of the same name from The Railway Series book Henry the Green Engine.
Plot
"Trock, trick, trock, trick. Alright, alright".
One winter evening, Henry is told by his driver that they will be leaving early the next morning to pull the Flying Kipper, a special goods train that carries fish from the Harbour to the Mainland. He also says that they might be allowed to take the Express if they pull the Kipper nicely, which makes Henry excited.
Early the next morning, at 5:00 AM, Henry enters the harbour, couples up to the heavily loaded vans and carefully starts. Although it is difficult at first, the journey goes very smoothly and Henry enjoys running through the snow-covered countryside as the sun rises. Soon, they near a yellow signal, indicating "caution" and prepare to stop until they notice that the home signal is down. Assuming that the line ahead is clear, Henry's crew allow him to continue at full speed. What neither Henry or his crew realise is that they have been diverted into an occupied siding as the points that lead to the Main Line have frozen towards the siding, where a goods train is waiting to let them pass, while the home signal, which is supposed to be set at "danger", had been forced down by snow.
The engine crew and guard of the other goods train are enjoying hot cocoa in the brake van when they learn that the Flying Kipper is due, so the former decide to head back to their engine. Their exit comes at just the right moment as Henry, seeing the train in front of him, and going too fast to stop in time despite his breaks being applied, whistles frantically and crashes into the brake van, which is destroyed with the entire rear of the train, then he derails and lands on his right side, while his crew manage to jump clear before the collision.
When daylight comes, the Breakdown Train is brought in to clean up the mess, but Henry is distraught, especially after everything was going so well for him since he received his special Welsh coal. The Fat Controller comes up to Henry and kindly reassures him that the accident was not his fault, it was due to the weather. He then tells Henry that he is arranging for him to be sent to Crewe, where he will be given a brand-new shape and a larger firebox, eliminating the need for Welsh coal.
Henry is initially doubtful, but he eventually enjoys his time at Crewe, and when he returns in early spring, he feels better than ever. Everyone is delighted to see Henry in his new shape and he looks so splendid and strong that the crowd gives him three cheers. Even children wait to see Henry in his new shape, sometimes making them late for school. Before long, Henry even gets to pull the Express, which he does so well that Gordon becomes jealous.
Characters
- Henry
- Troublesome Vans
- Sir Topham Hatt
- Gordon (does not speak)
- Edward (cameo)
- James (cameo)
- Märklin Engine (cameo)
- One Little Boy (cameo)
- The Stone-dropping Boys (cameos)
Locations
- Island of Sodor
- The Mainland
- Crewe (mentioned)
Trivia
- Henry's accident was loosely inspired by the Abbots Ripton rail accident that occurred on the East Coast Main Line at Abbots Ripton in what was then Huntingdonshire on the evening of 21 January 1876.
- This marks the following:
- The first on-screen derailment.
- The first episode in which Henry derails and/or gets into an accident.
- One of the few episodes in the US dubs in which the word "caboose" was used instead of "brake van".
- The only episode to keep its two yellow bars transition from the intro when it was aired individually.
- The only appearance of Knapford Harbour until the fourth series episode, Train Stops Play.
- The first appearance of Henry's stuffed-up face.
- The last appearance of Henry's surprised face until the third series episode Henry's Forest and ill face until the fifth series episode Something in the Air.
- The last appearance of the Knapford Bus Yard
- This episode and the fourth series episode Granpuff are Rick Suvalle's favourite episodes from the original Thomas & Friends, and Thomas' Day Off is his favourite episode from Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go.[3]
- This episode is Luke Marty's favourite episode from the original Thomas and Friends, for its great music and Dragon Run is his favourite episode, for it is really funny and The Christmas Letter Express is his favourite special, because he got to sing, they are both from Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go.
- One of the workmen at the harbour just before Henry sets off resembles Ringo Starr.
- The light on the rail-mounted crane appears to be the reflector part of a flashlight strapped to the side of the crane.
- While the narrator talks about the harbour, there is an engine seen moving in the background; this is the unmodified Märklin Engine.
- The brake van that Henry collides with has additional side windows.
- In both US narrations, the term "guard" is used at one point when Henry's train with the Flying Kipper was ready to go, marking the first time a conductor is called by its original British term in the US dub.
- The events of this episode were later mentioned by Gordon in the next episode and Off the Rails, indirectly mentioned by Toby in King of the Railway and later mentioned by Thomas in the twenty-fourth series episode Thomas and the Royal Engine. Additionally, a reference to the line, "This is good cocoa", is also made in the twentieth series episode Love Me Tender.
- The two shots where the narrator says, "The Fat Controller/Sir Topham Hatt came to see him" and when the Fat Controller says, "won't that be nice?" are both freeze frames.
- Thanks to the increased clarity of the restored footage, it shows the engine at the front of the goods train to be James. It is confirmed that James was pulling the goods train that Henry crashed into the brake van of at the time. The shape of his cab windows just as Henry approaches the goods train from behind also gives this away. This is also coupled with the fact that he can be seen pushing some trucks at the scene of Henry's accident.
- Henry loses his wheel splashers after his rebuild but later regains them in the second series.
- In the restored version, most of the nighttime footage from when Henry passes Knapford Sheds to when he lands on his side during the accident is framed lower than on the original print. While thought to be due to film deterioration, it would not make sense as the camera recorded vertically and any damage to the tops of the frame would show on the bottom of the next one. It was likely done to hide the top of the set backdrop which is visible as Henry passes through Wellsworth in the original print. The rest of the footage was possibly left lower by accident when trying to correct the framing of this one scene.
- When Henry flies off the rails, his impact with the ground very obviously jars the surrounding trucks and crates; this effect was not simulated but was instead a direct result of his very heavy Märklin chassis slamming onto the set.
- Two deleted scenes from the previous episode are used.
- This and the next episode were the last two episodes of the first series repeated in 1987 on Children's ITV until Thomas' Christmas Party on Wednesday 30 December.
- This episode and the next one are the first episodes introduced by Matthew Kelly on 2 December 1984. Kelly also introduced the following two episodes before his departure from Children's ITV as the remaining two episodes were used as standalone episodes on Christmas Day of that year. Due to this, Children's ITV briefly ended until 7 January 1985 with constituent programmes all introduced by Roland Rat, who introduced the final episodes on 8 January, thus finally ending the series since its debut.
- In the JEI TV version of the Korean narration, subtitles were added to inform viewers what a yellow signal is.
- In George Carlin's US dub and the Japanese one, the brake sound effect when Henry slips on the icy rails is different from both Ringo Starr's narrations and other international ones.
- The sound effect when Henry crashed into the brake van was heard in the 1983 film The Wind in the Willows.
Goofs
- Henry's eyes jitter in the close-up of him in the shed.
- When Henry is waiting at the Harbour, his eyes are misaligned.
- At the Harbour, Henry has the "pick-up goods" lamp instead of the "perishables" ones. He then gains the correct lamps as he begins to pass the bus depot.
- In two scenes, Henry's lamps are obviously small light bulbs as they stick out. Some blue wires can also be seen attached to the lights.
- As Henry approaches the green light, the edge of the set can be seen ahead.
- The track besides the goods train disappears and reappears several times.
- The arrangement of the trucks in the Flying Kipper changes when Henry is diverted onto the siding.
- During Henry's crash:
- He is partially in his new shape with his top feed.
- The transition from his impact with the goods train to him leaping off the rails is very delayed. As a result, he appears to suddenly jump off the rails whilst stationary.
- A crew member's hand can be seen pushing Henry by the tender.
- He hits the brake van twice.
- His lamps are removed and then put back on after he derailed.
- In the original version, when the Fat Controller says to Henry "Won't that be nice?" James can be seen behind them, but in the very next shot, he is nowhere to be seen.
- The edge of the set can be seen in the top left corner when Henry goes back over the viaduct.
- In the two last close-ups of Henry:
- He is in his old shape. In the previous episode there was a nearly identical close-up of Henry in his new one. From this, it can be judged that the episodes were filmed concurrently and the editors mixed up the footage.
- A small gap can be seen between Henry's eyes and his face mask.
- Some sticker lining on his cylinder is peeling off.
- In the first shot of the harbour, Harlesden is positioned with its stern facing the camera, however when Henry arrives, Harlesden can be seen in the background now with its bow facing the camera.
In Other Languages
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Home Video Releases
Episode
UK narration
US narration (George Carlin)References
| #01 Thomas and Gordon | #10 James and the Express | #19 The Flying Kipper |
| #02 Edward and Gordon | #11 Thomas and the Guard | #20 Whistles and Sneezes |
| #03 The Sad Story of Henry | #12 Thomas Goes Fishing | #21 Toby and the Stout Gentleman |
| #04 Edward, Gordon and Henry | #13 Thomas, Terence and the Snow | #22 Thomas in Trouble |
| #05 Thomas' Train | #14 Thomas and Bertie | #23 Dirty Objects |
| #06 Thomas and the Trucks | #15 Tenders and Turntables | #24 Thomas' Christmas Party |
| #07 Thomas and the Breakdown Train | #16 Trouble in the Shed | #25 Off the Rails |
| #08 James and the Coaches | #17 Percy Runs Away | #26 Down the Mine |
| #09 Troublesome Trucks | #18 Coal | |