| For other uses, see Thomas and the Guard (disambiguation). |
- "I've lost my nice guard, I've lost my nice guard."
- ― Clarabel
Thomas and the Guard, retitled Thomas and the Conductor on North American releases, is the eleventh 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 the Tank Engine is very proud of his branch line and considers it the most important part of the whole railway. His two coaches, Annie and Clarabel, agree with him. Thomas loves his coaches very much, even though they are old and need new paint. When taking trains, both can take passengers, while Clarabel can also take their luggage and a guard. Thomas and his coaches often sing to each other on their journeys. Annie and Clarabel know how important pleasing the Fat Controller is to Thomas and they know too that, if Thomas gets cross, he is not cross with them.
One day, Thomas waits impatiently at Elsbridge for Henry's train. It is coming from the Loop Line but is late again, which makes Thomas very cross. Eventually, Henry feebly arrives, complaining that his system is out of order. However, Thomas is unsympathetic and falsely claims that Henry's problem is his own laziness. Desperate to leave, Thomas starts as soon as the guard blows the whistle, leaving the guard behind on the platform. The guard waves his red flag but it is no use as Thomas is already hurrying out of the station.
As usual, Thomas sings to his coaches but Clarabel will not sing as she is upset that her guard has been left behind. Annie is upset as well and tries to tell Thomas that the guard is missing but he is in too much of a hurry to listen. The two coaches try to apply their brakes but they cannot without the guard. Eventually, Thomas, much to his annoyance, stops when he reaches a red signal and he and his crew wait for the guard to tell them what the problem is. However, he has been left behind which only Annie and Clarabel know and they finally tell Thomas once he asks.
"We've left him behind!"
Clarabel and the passengers soon notice the guard running down on the tracks as fast as he can. When he reaches the train, he drinks milk to cool down because he is very hot and then tells everyone what happened. Thomas apologises for the incident and, even though it was not his fault, the guard accepts the apology, pointing out that the signal has dropped. Then, Thomas and his coaches proceed with the trip. With Annie and Clarabel's guard back on board, they feel much better and Thomas manages to reach the end of the line quicker than ever before.
Characters
- Thomas
- Henry
- Annie and Clarabel
- Bertie (pre-filmed footage cameo)
- One Little Boy (cameo)
- One Stone-dropping Boy (cameo)
- Signal Engineers (cameos)
- Sir Topham Hatt (mentioned)
Locations
- Hackenbeck Tunnel
- Terence's Field
- The Windmill
- The Wide-Arched Bridge
- Dryaw
- Elsbridge
- Rail Under Road Bridge and Signal Box
- Ffarquhar
Trivia
- Pre-filmed footage Thomas Goes Fishing and Thomas and Bertie and stock footage from Thomas and the Breakdown Train are used.
- A promotional image shows Thomas with his scared face which would make an appearance in Thomas Goes Fishing.
- The shots of Thomas passing under the bridge before entering the tunnel and arriving at Ffarquhar station were used for the original opening credits.
- This is the second episode to show Henry's illness.
- This is the first episode of four things:
- The first episode where the outro music is not heard during the ending.
- The first episode in which James does not appear.
- Annie and Clarabel's first speaking roles.
- The first to be introduced individually by Rod Hull and Emu on 2 December 1985.
- This is the only episode adapted from Tank Engine Thomas Again not to have a song based on it.
- This episode was never released on home video in South Korea.
- In the original British narration, Thomas calls the guard Mr. Guard, while in the American narration, to avoid confusion with Mr. Conductor, he does not call him by any name.
Goofs
- In the opening shot and towards the end of the restored version, studio equipment is visible in the top-left corner.
- In many scenes, Annie and Clarabel are facing the wrong way.
- In some close-ups of Thomas, Annie and Clarabel are not behind him.
- When Henry puffs into the junction, his brake coach is facing the wrong way.
- Thomas' eyes are a little misaligned when telling Henry he needs exercise.
- When Thomas says "Bother that signal! What's the matter?" the background is different showing a set of buffers, but previously, there were just bushes. This can be identified more in a deleted alternate scene which had Thomas facing the signal from the opposite direction.
- In the close-up of the guard waving his red flag, Henry and his train are not in the background.
- In the close-up of Thomas' driver, his cap's brim is broken.
- In the first close-up of Thomas' whistle, the hill beside him is gone. The same thing also happens in the close-ups of the guard.
- The guard only has his red flag when he is said to have had two flags.
- The guard's facial hair changes from having a full beard to being clean shaven between scenes. On the platform, he is clean-shaven, after catching up to the train, he has a moustache and when talking to Thomas, he has a full beard.
- Annie is still sad when the guard catches up to Thomas.
- Some of the figurines have Blu Tack beneath their feet.
- Before the episode ends, a camera connector is on Thomas' front coupling rod.
- As Thomas, Annie and Clarabel enter the tunnel, camera equipment can be seen in the top-left corner.
In Other Languages
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Merchandise
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Home Video Releases
Episode
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 | |