TTTE S20E13: The Railcar & the Coaches

Thought I'd review another episode of Season 20. This time, on our favourite diesel railcar who's finally returned this season.


(Special thanks to Thomas the Tank Engine Wikia for the image)

479. The Railcar and the Coaches.

Written by: Davey Moore.
Aired: US: 15 December 2016. UK: 29 December 2016. AUS: 9 April 2017.

One winter day, the Fat Controller puts Thomas on quarry duty and asks Daisy to run his branch line in his absence. As few passengers are now travelling to Harwick, Daisy is delighted and sets off the following morning. Upon meeting Annie and Clarabel at the carriage shed, she tells them that they will not be needed, as the passengers will be travelling in her today. Thomas overhears Daisy making unkind comments to the coaches and warns her that she might need them. Daisy dismisses his claims, stating that she never needs to pull coaches and sets off to work, leaving Annie and Clarabel alone. The two attempt to pass the time by playing "I Spy," with little success.
Daisy goes about her work without fuss and her passengers are most impressed. That evening, she continues to be rude to Annie and Clarabel, calling them old-fashioned and out-of-date, since they cannot move on their own. The coaches are most offended by her rudeness as Daisy once again states that she will never pull coaches before leaving. However, Daisy had spoken too soon, as the Fat Controller asks her to take Annie and Clarabel the next day so that she can take more passengers.
Daisy reluctantly collects the coaches the next morning, although she refuses to apologise. Unbeknownst to her, however, Annie and Clarabel have made a plan to pay Daisy back for her rude comments. As they travel along the branch line, they pretend that they can hear something wrong with Daisy, including rattling and creaking noises. They remark on how terrible the "noise" is, state their surprise that the passengers have not complained and add that this noisy something is good for nothing but scrap. Unfortunately, their plan backfires: Daisy is so mortified that, at Maithwaite Station, she orders all of her passengers off and rushes away in panic to find out what the problem is, leaving Annie, Clarabel and the furious passengers stranded. Thomas passes by with his quarry trucks and decides to tell the Fat Controller that Daisy left her passengers behind. Annie and Clarabel cringe; they know what would happen if the Fat Controller finds out what they've been up to.
At Knapford Station, the Fat Controller and an engineer look over Daisy but are unable to find anything wrong with her. Daisy, still in a state, insists that Annie and Clarabel told her there was definitely something wrong, even if she cannot hear anything. This leads her to think that she is going deaf and she rushes off to the Dieselworks to see her fitter. Thomas arrives soon afterwards and the Fat Controller asks what his coaches said to Daisy. Although unsure, Thomas explains that she has been rude to them since arriving and has abandoned them at Maithwaite.
It is late at night when Thomas finally arrives to collect Annie and Clarabel. The Fat Controller is cross with the coaches, just as they predicted and immediately scolds them for their actions. He explains that Daisy's fitter has found nothing wrong with her at all and warns them that just because she was rude to them, that does not give them the right to be rude to her back. The coaches, sadly remarking that two wrongs do not make a right, apologise as Thomas takes them back to the carriage shed.
Annie and Clarabel decide to apologise to Daisy the next morning, but are surprised when Thomas arrives. He explains that Daisy has returned to the Harwick Branch Line and will not be taking them today. Annie and Clarabel are delighted to have Thomas back...until Thomas points out that he is still on quarry duty and that the Fat controller has assigned another engine to pull them in the meantime. Annie and Clarabel are horrified when they discover the "other engine" is Diesel.

Well, considering this was released to DVD before Ryan and Daisy and The Way She Does It aired on TV, I thought it fair to review this episode before those.

I have to say that this was a well done episode. A well done focus on Daisy, who'd been absent from an episode for like 20 years! Granted, she was in Calling All Engines!, but that's not the case.

Also, this episode has a nice moral to it. Annie and Clarabel told lies about Daisy all because she was being rude to them, only for Fat Controller to scold the 2 coaches just goes to show that 2 wrongs don't make a right.

And it was funny when the engine who was taking Annie and Clarabel at the end wasn't Thomas, Percy, Toby, Daisy or Mavis, but Diesel! He was all "Hello, ladies!", and he ended up laughing like Waluigi from the Mario series. Speaking of which, I wouldn't be surprised if Kerry is taking inspiration from Charles Martinet's voice for that meming chin man.


Now, back on subject. I'm giving away my overall opinion on this episode. While it wasn't the best Daisy episode so far, it was still a good one.

My rating: 8.5/10.

Season 20 scorecard:

8. Pouty James: 3/10.

12. Love Me Tender: 10/10.

13. The Railcar and the Coaches: 8.5/10.

24. Buckled Tracks & Bumpy Trucks: 8.5/10.
25: Tit for Tat: 10/10.

26. Mike's Whistle: 9.5/10.

27. Useful Railway: 9.5/10.

Season 20 rating so far: 8.5/10.