Thomas in Trouble

This article is about 'the first season episode'. You may be looking for 'the eleventh season episode, the UK DVD, the magazine story, the Croatian DVD, the book or the Buzz Book'.

“Where's your cowcatcher?"
"But I don't catch cows, sir."
"Don't be funny!”

― The policeman and Thomas

Thomas in Trouble, retitled Thomas Breaks the Rules in American releases, is the twenty-second episode of the first season. In the US, this episode aired on the Shining Time Station episodes Ring in the Old in 1989 and How the Station Got Its Name in 1993.

Plot

One day, Thomas is leaving the quarry at the end of his branch line with both trucks and Annie and Clarabel. The rails here run alongside the road, so Thomas is always careful at this point in his run and whistles to make sure no one gets hurt. Thomas sees a new policeman on his bike and, having been friends with the previous policeman who had just retired, he whistles good morning to him. Unfortunately, this policeman is not in the mood to be friendly.

The policeman first complains about Thomas' whistling after muttering over not getting much sleep last night, and then tells Thomas that he is breaking the law by not wearing cowcatchers and sideplates on the road. Thomas gets angry, and his driver argues that they have never had an accident before. But the policeman claims that it makes things worse, and the policeman brands Thomas a "regular law breaker". Thomas then continues sadly to the station.

In his dining room, the Fat Controller is having breakfast when he is phoned about Thomas' incident with the police. Rushing to the station, the Fat Controller is told what happened, and talks to the policeman who won't back down while staying loyal to his duties. The Fat Controller concedes that Thomas will need to be fitted with cowcatchers and sideplates. Thomas is distraught by this, saying that he will be laughed at for looking like a tram. The comment causes the Fat Controller to remind of Toby. Knowing that the tram engine is losing a lot of his work to buses and lorries, the Fat Controller writes a letter to Toby's controller asking if he can be sent to Sodor.

A few days later, Toby arrives, and is greeted by the Fat Controller, who notices that Toby has brought Henrietta with him and is more than happy to allow her to stay as well. Toby soon proves to have a talent for handling the trucks. Although Thomas is jealous at first, he quickly becomes good friends with Toby, especially when Toby uses his bell to frighten the policeman.

Characters

Thomas
Toby
Sir Topham Hatt
The policeman
The butler
Henrietta (does not speak)
Lady Hatt (not named; does not speak)
James (cameo)
Annie and Clarabel (cameo)

Locations

Trivia

This episode is based on the story of the same name from The Railway Series book Toby the Tram Engine.
A portrait of a Victorian-style steam engine depicted with a moustache can be seen at Topham Hall.
As the Fat Controller was listening to the phone, the fast-talk is simply the later quote from Ringo Starr's UK narration within the episode 'But however much he argued with him, it was no good. "The law is the law," he said, "and we can't change it!" The Fat Controller felt exhausted.' sped up. This was also used in Off the Rails, but with more quotes from this episode within.
Stock footage from Thomas' Train is used, though only in the original version (restored only uses a different footage, presumably alternative from said episode).
Footage of Thomas puffing away sadly was used for the intro of Storytime with Thomas, albeit Thomas' face was edited.
A deleted scene shows Toby pulling his train past Tidmouth Sheds.

Goofs

In the first close-up of the policeman talking, the camera wobbles.
In the restored version, during the first close-up of Thomas, his wheels do not move for the first two seconds of the shot.
When the narrator says that the policeman was "red in the face and very cross," he looks sad.
As Thomas is seen stopping and talking to the policeman, a small black spot is seen on the top right corner of his tank.
When Thomas' driver says "Rubbish! We've been along here hundreds of times and never had an accident!" the brim of his cap is falling off.
In the restored version, the words "Regular lawbreaker" were written long before the narrator says that the policeman wrote them in his notebook.
When the Fat Controller talks to the policeman, the brim of his top hat has paint chips in it.
Before Toby comes onscreen after frightening the policeman, the track he is on wobbles.
A step is slightly broken for the stairs in Elsbridge.
In a picture of Thomas at Elsbridge and when Thomas first stops by the policeman, his eyes are wonky.
Clarabel is facing the wrong way when Thomas puffs away from the policeman.
In the Serbian version, Ringo Starr's narration can be heard in the background.
When Thomas whistles to Sir Topham Hatt, no steam emits.

Merchandise

In Other Languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Norwegian	Thomas i trøbbel	Thomas in Trouble
Spanish	Thomas en problema / Thomas rompe las reglas	Thomas in Trouble / Thomas Breaks the Rules
German	Thomas in Not	Thomas in Distress
Welsh	Tomos a'r Plismon Newydd	Thomas and the New Policeman
Hebrew	תומס בצרות	Thomas in Trouble
Japanese	トーマスとけいさつかん	Thomas and the Police
Brazilian Portuguese	Thomas Desrespeita a Lei	Thomas Overturning the Law
French	Thomas a des ennuis	Thomas is in Trouble
Croatian	Tomica u Nevolji	Thomas in Trouble
Danish	Thomas i knibe	Thomas in Trouble
Chinese	托马斯有麻烦了	Thomas is in Trouble
Korean	토마스와 토비의 만남	Thomas and Toby's Meeting
Hungarian	Thomas Bajba Kerül	Thomas is in Trouble
Italian	Thomas nei Guai	Thomas in Trouble
Finnish	Tuomas-Veturi Vaikeuksissa	Thomas The Tank Engine in Trouble
Slovenian	Tomaž se znajde v težavah	Thomas Finds Himself in Trouble
Dutch	Thomas in de Nesten	Thomas in the Nests
Russian	Томас в беде	Thomas is in Trouble
Ukrainian	У Томаса неприємності	Thomas in Trouble
Romanian	Thomas Are Necazuri	Thomas Has Trouble
Slovak	Thomas má problémy	Thomas Has Problems
Polish	Kłopoty Tomka	Trouble Thomas
Swedish	Thomas i Trubbel	Thomas in Trouble
Czech	Tomáš má potíže	Thomas is in Trouble
Serbian	Tomas u nevolji	Thomas in Trouble
Thai	โธมัสถูกตำรวจเรียกตรวจ	Thomas Was a Police Inspector