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- “Well done, Thomas! That was fun. But to beat you over that hill, I should have to grow wings and be an aeroplane.”
- ― Bertie
Thomas and Bertie, retitled Thomas and Bertie's Great Race in American releases, is the fourteenth episode of the first series. It is based on the story of the same name from the Railway Series book Tank Engine Thomas Again.
Plot
Thomas is waiting at a junction where a bus drives up alongside him. The bus introduces himself as Bertie, who remembers Thomas from the time he took his passengers home after Thomas crashed into a snowdrift and tells Thomas that he has come to help his passengers today. Thomas claims that he can go faster than Bertie, who challenges Thomas to a race. Their drivers agree and Thomas and Bertie begin their race.
Goodbye, Bertie!
As it takes Thomas a while to build up speed, Bertie takes a head start at the beginning until he reaches the level crossing, where Thomas passes him and takes the lead. After that, the road leaves the railway and Thomas stops at the next station to collect passengers. He tells them to get in quickly and as he starts off again, he sees Bertie zooming over the bridge and retaking the lead. Thomas tries to catch up, but he has to stop at Elsbridge because the signal is up. Bertie continues on gleefully while Thomas feels sure that he will lose the race, but he feels better after a drink and is ready to continue just as the signal drops.
While crossing the bridge, Thomas finds that he still has a chance to win, seeing Bertie waiting on a traffic light. As Bertie starts again, Thomas reaches full speed and takes the lead as he passes Bertie at the tunnel and makes it to the last station, winning the race. Everyone cheers for Thomas, but they also give Bertie a big cheer. Bertie congratulates Thomas and remarks that he would have had to be an aeroplane to beat him over the hill.
The two friends now work together and often talk about their race, but the passengers do not like to be bounced around and the Fat Controller warns Thomas about running at dangerous speeds. Although it does not seem likely, the two still hope for a chance to race again.
Characters
- Thomas
- Annie and Clarabel
- Bertie
- Mrs. Kyndley (cameo)
- The Ffarquhar Stationmaster (cameo)
- Terence (mentioned)
- Sir Topham Hatt (mentioned)
Locations
- Knapford Bus Yard
- Knapford Crossing
- Elsbridge
- Ffarquhar
- Dryaw
- Dryaw Signal Runby
- The Wide-Arched Bridge
- The Windmill
- Terence's Field
- Hackenbeck Tunnel
- Rail Under Road Bridge and Signalbox
- Lower Arlesburgh
Trivia
- Stock footage from Thomas and Gordon and Thomas and the Guard is used.
- The shot of Thomas passing the windmill was featured in the show's original opening.
- The first appearance of Bertie in the television series, although he was first seen in the previous episode, but he was not named yet until this episode. He also reference the previous episode as well.
- The episode can be seen in a Japanese PC game, Magical Adventure.
- At one point, Thomas is on Toby's old tramway, albeit not yet introduced.
- This marks the last appearance of Terence's Field until the fourth series episode, Train Stops Play, not counting stock footage in the second series episode, Better Late Than Never.
- The house by the level crossing is really the Lower Arlesburgh station building.
- When this episode was featured on the VHS tape, The Tomica World Show, the end credits to the episode were omitted.
Goofs
- When Thomas and Bertie meet, Thomas' boiler has a chip in it.
- During the first met of the two, the stationmaster appeared on the yard and the narrator says Thomas was waiting at the junction, but it has no platforms here, this is because the narration was taken from the book and Knapford on the Railway Series was reffered as the junction with The Main Line and Thomas' Branch Line, and Knapford in the TV Series is the Big Station.
- When Thomas and Bertie are about to start their race, in the bottom left corner of the screen, a camera shadow can be seen.
- Thomas has Percy's tired face mask on when he puffs into Elsbridge.
- The narrator says "After that, the road left the railway so they couldn't see Bertie," but there is a road right next to Thomas.
- The plane that is seen taking off as Thomas and his coaches leave Dryaw suddenly stops moving before they have passed the camera.
- In a close-up of Bertie, he has no driver.
- In the shot of Thomas racing past Lower Arlesburgh, the end of the set is visible in the background.
- In the shot of Thomas entering the tunnel, in the top left corner, studio equipment can be seen.
- Annie and Clarabel keep changing positions throughout the race.
- In the restored version, studio equipment can be seen when Thomas pulls into Ffarquhar after the race.
- In a close-up of Thomas, a camera capture can be seen on his coupling.
- The narrator says Bertie was fuming at the gates, but Bertie looks happy.
- Because stock footage is used, sometimes Annie and Clarabel are not behind Thomas.
- When Thomas stops at Elsbridge, he passes the end of the platform, but when he is drinking water, he has moved backward.
- As Bertie congratulates Thomas, the number of people near Bertie differs between shots.
- In the final scene, studio equipment can be seen in the top left corner.
In Other Languages
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Home Media Releases
| #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 Off the Rails |
| #07 Thomas and the Breakdown Train | #16 Trouble in the Shed | #25 Down the Mine |
| #08 James and the Coaches | #17 Percy Runs Away | #26 Thomas' Christmas Party |
| #09 Troublesome Trucks | #18 Coal | |