Thomas the Tank Engine Wikia
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This article is about the episode. You may be looking for the vinyl record, the US/Canadian VHS, the Malaysian DVD or the magazine story.
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Tenders and Turntables is the fifteenth episode of the first series. It is based on the story of the same name from the Railway Series book Troublesome Engines.

Plot

Ever since Thomas left the yard to run his branch line, life has become harder for Gordon, Henry and James. Without a station pilot, they must shunt in sidings and fetch their own coaches, and their complaining causes the Fat Controller a lot of trouble. In addition, while Thomas, being a tank engine, does not need a turntable, the larger tender engines do, as it is dangerous for them to run fast backwards. However, Gordon soon starts acting as though his tender is a symbol of his importance.

One windy day, after talking to Thomas about the recent work, Gordon heads for the turntable at the end of the line. The turntable is near the ocean, so the wind is very strong, and it becomes difficult to turn unless an engine is perfectly balanced on the turntable. Gordon is in a bad mood and is unable to get perfectly balanced, and neither his crew nor the workmen are able to get him to cooperate. After several attempts, they give up and tell Gordon that he has to pull his next train backwards.

When Gordon arrives at Elsbridge, a group of schoolboys taunt him by calling him a tank engine. Thomas, waiting on the other side of the platform, laughs and suggests that Gordon should scrap his tender and get a nice bunker. James passes by with his train and laughs at Gordon as well. Gordon warns him that he may also stick on the turntable, to which James replies that he is not "fat" like him.

James later returns to the sheds and carefully lines up on the turntable, allowing it to move very easily. But the strong wind begins to spin James around like a top. Gordon arrives and sees the whole thing. When the turntable finally stops spinning, James is very dizzy, with his face having turned green. Gordon laughs and asks James if he was playing "roundabouts" as James silently backs into the shed, still dizzy, and completely humiliated.

Gordon, James, and Henry hold an indignation meeting that night. After the day's events, they decide it would be best to go on strike.

Characters

Locations

Trivia

  • This episode's opening exposition is taken from the story, Henry and the Elephant, which was not adapted for television until the fourth series.
  • This episode is one of the few instances where the term "fat" is kept intact in the US dub; in other episodes such as Thomas and the Guard and Off the Rails, the word is replaced with less pejorative terms due to broadcasting concerns.
  • James' whistle as he puffs onto the turntable and goes into the sheds after being spun is absent in both of Ringo Starr's dubs and the Ukrainian voice-over.
  • A behind-the-scenes photo taken at the time of filming for this episode shows that the Märklin Engine was used. The photo also shows Thomas with the same train he pulled in Troublesome Trucks, indicating that the beginning of said episode was filmed alongside this one.
  • Freeze frames are used when Thomas talks to Gordon about pulling his train backwards and for James' closeup in Tidmouth Sheds.
  • The JEI TV version of the Korean dub added subtitles to inform viewers what tank engines and tender engines are.
  • The ditch that Gordon later fell into is briefly seen at the top of the screen when he tries to balance himself onto the turntable.
  • In the restored version, the scene of James spinning around on the turntable is slowed down.
  • This is the first episode:
    • Where the Fat Controller appears and is named, but does not speak.
    • Where a character's name is not in the title.
  • This is the first episode in which the full outro music does not play. This will happen again later in Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree.

Goofs

  • When the engines say they "get no rest", Henry has no crew in his cab and his train also has no brake coach.
  • The second coach slightly bounces a few times when the rest tell the big engines they are "lazy and slack".
  • In the close-up of the Fat Controller looking upset, his hat's brim has two chips in it.
  • When Gordon is on the turntable the first time, some wires can be seen inside his cab.
  • The narrator says that the fireman tried to turn the handle on the turntable, but there is a workman stationed at the turntable booth instead.
  • When Thomas and Gordon are at Elsbridge:
    • Clarabel is facing the wrong way.
    • Gordon's left buffer is crooked.
    • Both engines' puffing noises are heard before they start to move.
  • When James passes through Elsbridge, his brake coach is facing the wrong way.
  • When James puffs onto the turntable, he is facing the sheds, but in the close-up shot of him, he is facing away from the sheds.
  • In the close-up of James moving on the turntable, the reflection of crew member Frank Schultz can be seen in his smokebox, and his dome is also scratched.
  • The turntable stops on the last berth to the right, but when James backs into the shed, the turntable is in the center.
  • The Korean title of the episode is 고든, 제임스, 헨리의 꿍꿍이 (Godeun, Jeimseu, Helliui kkungkkungi). However, this is incorrect grammar, and the correct title should have been 고든, 제임스 그리고 헨리의 꿍꿍이 (Deun, Jeimseu Geurigo Helliui kkungkkungi).

In Other Languages

View content
Language Title
Brazilian Portuguese O descontentamento dos grandes
Chinese Mandarin 煤水车和转盘
Croatian Tenderi i okretaljke
Czech Tendry a Točny
Danish Kulvogne og drejeskiver
Dutch Kolenwagens en draaischijven
Finnish Hiilivaunuveturit karusellissa
French Les tenders et les plaques tournantes
German Kohlewagen und Drehscheiben
Greek Προβλήματα για όλους
Hebrew קטרי הפחם ומשטח הסיבוב
Hungarian A rakoncátlan mozdony
Icelandic Stórlestir og snúnispatlar
Italian Locomotive arrabbiate
Japanese おおきなきかんしゃとてんしゃだい
Korean 고든, 제임스, 헨리의 꿍꿍이
Latin American Spanish Vagones y plataformas
Norwegian Store tog og snuplasser
Polish Parowozy i obrotnice
Romanian Tenderele şi plăcile rotative
Romansh Platta girabla
Russian Тендерные паровозы
Serbian Lokomotive i okretnice
Slovak Tendrovky a točne
Slovenian Težave lokomotiv pri obračanju
Swedish Stora lokomotiv
Turkish Kömür Vagonları ve Döner Platformlar
Ukrainian Тендери і поворотні кола
Welsh Troi Mewn Cylchoedd

Merchandise

Home Video Releases

UK

UK VHS/DVD Boxsets

WAL

  • Troublesome Trucks and 8 Other Stories

US

CAN

  • Tenders and Turntables and Other Stories (Ringo Starr's US dub)
  • Thomas and His Friends Get Along
  • The Early Years (UK dub)

US/CAN DVD Boxset

AUS

AUS DVD Packs

NZ

ZA

IND

MYS

PHL

LATAM

ITA

FRA

ROM

ROM DVD Pack

NL

NL DVD Boxsets

GER

NOR/ICE

DK

SWE/FIN

SVN

HRV

SRP

GRC

GRC DVD Boxset

TUR

THA

JPN

JPN DVD Boxset

KOR

CHN

HK

Episode


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