Edward's Exploit

This article is about 'the episode'. You may be looking for 'the magazine story, the UK DVD, the Italian DVD or the Philippines DVD'.

“Did you see him straining?"
"Positively painful!"
"Just pathetic! He should give up and be preserved before it's too late!"
"Shut up! You're all jealous! Edward's better than any of you!"
"You're right, Duck. Edward's old but he'll surprise us all!”

― Henry, James, Gordon, Duck, and BoCo arguing about Edward

Edward's Exploit is the twenty-third episode of the second season. It aired in the US on the Shining Time Station episode, The Magic is Believing in 1991.

Plot

Bertie has been taking several visitors to the Island of Sodor on a tour and on their last afternoon, Edward is to take them to visit Bill and Ben at the China Clay Works. But Edward has trouble starting due to the packed coaches. James and Henry make snide remarks, while Gordon grumbles that it is time for Edward to be retired. Duck and BoCo take exception to this and defend him, knowing Edward is capable of far more than he seems. Finally Edward manages to start and leaves the station.

Edwards arrives at the junction where the passengers meet Bill and Ben, who enjoy the attention and getting their photos taken. The passengers then board the twins' brakevans and travel to the China Clay Works. The visitors have a wonderful day, being very impressed with the clay works and Bill and Ben. Afterwards, the passengers return to the junction and board Edward's coaches to head home.

On the way back, the weather takes a bad turn and it begins to rain hard. As Edward fights the elements, his sanding gear fails, which forces his fireman to ride out front to drop the sand onto the rails manually. But there is worse to come and Edward's wheels slip fiercely, causing him to stop with a nasty cracking noise.

Edward's crew examines him, and finds that a crank pin broke forcing them to remove the siderods that keeps Edward's drive wheels synchronized. Edward's driver reminds him that they must get the visitors back to the station as soon as possible since they must leave tonight. Edward promises to try.

Edward tries to start, but the heavy coaches and slippery rails prevent Edward from leaving. Edward's crew makes adjustments to the coaches. Now, Edward will pull them as he does trucks, instead of pulling them all together; Edward will start the first, which will help pull the second, and then the third. Edward makes another attempt to start, and this time it works. Edward is forced to go slowly, but keeps steady and finally makes it back to the station.

By the time Edward returns, it is quite late, but the passengers have made it back in time. They are very grateful and thank Edward and his crew for all their hard work. Afterwards, Edward wearily returns to the shed. Duck and BoCo make sure Edward is left in peace as Gordon and James remain silent out of respect.

Characters

Edward
Henry
Gordon
James
Duck
BoCo
Bill and Ben (do not speak)
Bertie (stock footage, does not speak)
Sir Topham Hatt (does not speak)
The Enthusiasts (do not speak)
Jeremiah Jobling (cameo)
Jem Cole (cameo)
The Ffarquhar Stationmaster's Wife (cameo)

Locations

Trivia

This episode is based on the story of the same name from The Railway Series book, Main Line Engines.
Stock footage from Thomas and Bertie and Bertie's Chase is used.
A deleted scene shows Henry in the sheds instead of James.
In the US, this episode aired before The Diseasel, this means that American viewers would not know who Bill, Ben, and BoCo are.

Goofs

When the engines watch Edward struggle, Edward, Gordon, and BoCo's eyebrows are missing. Edward's eyebrows are also missing when he pulls into the station and whistles. Also, the back roof of Knapford is missing.
When BoCo says "You're right, Duck!", his face mask moves a little.
In a close up of Edward struggling to pull his train, his second front wheel is derailed.
When Edward leaves Knapford, the last coach's paint is peeling up.
When Duck says, "Edward's better than any of you", a steam platform is visible underneath Edward.
The first coach of Edward's train has a loose running board.
Fingerprints are visible in the dust on top of Bill and Ben's brakevans.
When Bill and Ben arrive at the quarry, someone on the back of Bill's brakevan wobbles.
In the close-up of Edward's driving wheels without the siderods, some of the sticker used for Edward's lining is badly torn up.
When Edward's driver says "Steady, boy", you can see the reflection of a crew member's beard in the window.
When Edward enters his berth at Tidmouth Sheds, BoCo's shed doors are hanging off. In the same shot, Gordon's eyes are wonky.
When Edward arrives at Knapford at night, blue wires are visible on his and Henry's running board, near their headlamps, also blu-tak is visible under The Fat Controller.
Edward mysteriously gains headlamps when he reaches Knapford.
In the close-up of Edward's fireman sanding the track, Edward is not moving.

Merchandise

Magazine stories - Edward's Exploits

In Other Languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	がんばりやのエドワード	President Edward
Spanish	La Hazaña De Edward	Edward's Exploit
Welsh	Camp Edward	Edward Sport
Polish	Wyczyn Edka	Feat Edward
Czech	Edwardův výkon	Edward's Feat
Norwegian	Edwards store dåd	Edward's Great Exploit
Dutch	Edward is een Held	Edward is a Hero
German	Edwards Heldentat	Edward's Feat
Italian	La locomotiva coraggiosa	The Brave Locomotive
Croatian	Edwardov Posebna Endeavor	Edward's Particular Endeavor
Danish	Edward anstrenger sig	Edward Strives
Brazilian Portuguese	O Esforço de Edward	Edward's Struggle
Chinese	艾德华的丰功伟绩	Edward's Great Achievement
Korean	책임감 강한 에드워드	Edward's Strong Sense of Responsibility
Hungarian	Edward hőstette	Edward's Feat
Slovenian	Edvardovo junaštvo	Edward's Heriosm
Russian	Подвиг Эдварда	Feat Edward
Ukrainian	Подвиг Едварда	Edward's Feat
Romanian	Aventura lui Edward	Edward's Adventure
Slovak	Eduardov výkon	Edward's Performance
Swedish	Edwards store did	Edward's Deeds
Finnish	Edwardin Sankariteko	Edward's Feat
Thai	เอ็ดเวิร์ดอนทนมาก	Edward's Endured Extreme Heat