Thomas & Friends

- Season 4

(1994)

Percy, Toby and Duck want to hear a story, so Thomas tells them the story of Duke . . .

Duke was left alone in the shed after the mine closed down. Years later, a group of visitors to the Island of Sodor begin an adventurous journey to find Duke and reunite him with his old friends Stuart and Falcon.

Percy is eager to rush out and show off his new coat of paint, but Thomas warns him to allow down by telling him the story of Duke and how he clung on to Falcon like a Bulldog and pulled him to safety when he came off the track and nearly fell down the mountainside.

Holidaymakers to the Island liked riding in Duke's special train "The Picnic". One evening though Duke feels unwell and has to be helped along by Stuart and Falcon. Stuart teases Duke about this, but Duke gets his own back on Stuart by playing a trick on him.

Sir Handel (formerly known as Falcon) is pushed off the rails by angry coaches, and old Skarloey is the only engine left. He is determined to get the visitors home, even when one of his springs fails on a hill.

Skarloey and Rheneas are tired old engines who work very hard on their own line. Sir Handel and Peter Sam are brought in to help them but Sir Handel's bad temper gets him in trouble with The Fat Controller.

In a haste to meet his connection with Henry, Peter Sam almost leaves the refreshment lady behind.

Sir Handel is hated by freight-cars and is bitter enough to pretend to be sick so he won't have to shunt at Gordon's advice. Peter Sam and Rusty take over his work instead, but Peter Sam is mistaken for his best friend and attacked.

Skarloey finally returns to his part of the railway and Rheneas, Peter Sam, and Sir Handel after being repaired, and meets Rusty as well as Duncan, a rough, wild, reckless steam-engine.

Rusty has been working on the line while Skarloey was away at the menders. Duncan ignores Rusty's warning about a broken section of line and he is soon rocking n' rolling along the rails.

A strong wintry wind makes Peter Sam's funnel wobble. An icicle in the tunnel brings disaster, but Peter Sam is given a very special new funnel.

Sir Handel gets into a confrontation with a grumpy steamroller called George.

Duncan's rudeness reaches its peak when he stops on the viaduct and refuses to move, angering the passengers.

Skarloey tells Duncan the story of Rheneas' bravery and hard-working attitude even after suffering a breakdown, hoping Duncan will learn a thing or two. A few days, Rheneas returns to the railway.

When Rusty hears that another engine is needed to help run his favorite line, he asks Douglas if he knows of any stranded in the scrapyard he saved Oliver from. Only diesels go there now, so Rusty ventures out and meets Stepney.

Stepney's wishes come true at last, when one day he is invited to visit all other engines on the railway and he begins the long trip down the line.

Stepney watches a cricket match while waiting at a signal. As he sets off again, he doesn't realise that the ball has landed in one of the trucks. Caroline the Car sets off with the players in pursuit of Stepney, the trucks and the cricket ball!!

A stuck-up diesel engine arrives in the yard. After he breaks down, Duck and Stepney step in to take his train. Afterwards, Stepney has to go back home.

Only James is in a good mood after the circus has come and gone since he gets to take it out again, but Henry has more to be upset about when trying to unblock his least-favorite tunnel which turns out to hold an elephant.

Oliver is always teased by the freight-trucks so not even Duck, Thomas, and Henry can silence them. His break-van Toad convinces him to put all his energy into forcing the trucks to move when they refuse so they'll leave him alone.

Daisy soon regrets teasing Toby about his cow catchers and being afraid of bulls. Champion the Bull doesn't run away when Daisy hoots at him and he will not even look her in the eye.

Thomas and his friends have been invited to the big city, but before the special trip, Thomas has a bad accident. If Thomas cannot be fixed in time, the Fat Controller and his engines will have to go to the big city without him.

It is a proud day for all the engines on The Fat Controller's Railway as the Queen is coming to visit. Henry misses the chance at pulling the Queen's train when a pot of paint gets tipped over him, but Gordon and Thomas are there to help out.

Extra vans are added to Henry's "Flying Kipper" train which means he can have Duck help him up the hill. However, when the tail lamp drops off, Duck collides with the fishy train.

Toby is eager to be involved in the seaside town parade until it turns out there's no room left for him in it. Percy is called in to deal with Bulstrode, an unpleasant barge, which makes the trucks more disagreeable than usual.

Thomas and Percy are upset when their friend, a postal-worker, is forced to bicycle instead of drive to do his job, but things go from bad to worse when Percy's driver accidentally runs over the bike he propped against the mail-coach.