Thomas the Tank Engine Wikia
Register
Advertisement
For other uses, see Trucks (disambiguation).
Main Page

“No one understands our feelings. Now, if you were ill, you couldn't shunt trucks, could you?"
"Good idea! I'll try it!”
― Gordon encouraging Sir Handel to feign illness

Trucks, retitled Rusty Helps Peter Sam on one North American release, is the eighth episode of the fourth series. It is based on the story of the same name from the Railway Series book The Little Old Engine.

Plot

While returning from a daily inspection, Harold the Helicopter spots a little diesel coming around the mountain. The diesel is named Rusty and he has come to help on the Skarloey Railway. Despite Harold's friendliness, Rusty has little time to chat and regards Harold as being cheeky.

Peter Sam and Sir Handel are glad to see Rusty but Sir Handel remains his usual grumpy self; he often bumps his trucks regardless of their behaviour, so they relentlessly play tricks on him. This makes him dislike working with them. One day, Gordon advises Sir Handel to pretend to be ill in order to avoid shunting trucks. Sir Handel thinks this is a great idea and feigns illness the next day. With no time to examine him, Peter Sam and Rusty are each allocated a share of Sir Handel's trucks. Peter Sam, however, does not mind the extra work.

The two engines take the trucks to the slate quarry and the incline. At the incline, trucks are connected to a winch that, using the trucks' weight, brings up empty trucks while sending loaded trucks down a steep hill. Once they reach the top, the empty trucks are loaded with slate tiles and sent down the slope, repeating the cycle. Peter Sam, who never bumps trucks unless they misbehave, waits for his loaded trucks at the bottom of the hill. But the loaded trucks at the top of the hill mistake him for Sir Handel and, despite the empty trucks' warning, break their coupling, hurtle down the slope and crash head-on into Peter Sam, causing severe damage to his front, boiler and funnel; one truck also breaks an overhead water channel, drenching Peter Sam with water. Rusty helps Peter Sam out of the mess and the little engine limps sadly back to the shed.

After Sir Handel apologises for the accident, Peter Sam and the Fat Controller scold him for malingering and not warning Peter Sam to stand well back since trucks dislike him. The Fat Controller then forces him to do Peter Sam's work and his own as punishment and Sir Handel is left plotting his revenge on Gordon. After the wreckage has been cleared away, Rusty heads back home, spotting Harold again. This time, Rusty mimics Harold's words from their previous meeting and the two part ways amicably.

Characters

Locations

Trivia

  • This episode marks:
  • In the original UK dub, some lines are indicated that they were later re-dubbed or moved in later:
    • In the scene of Rusty arriving at the scene of the accident, Rusty's lines "Bust my Buffers!" and "Never mind, Peter Sam, we'll get you out" respectively are heard earlier.
    • The lines in the last scene of Harold and Rusty meeting each other again were redone.
  • The crawler tractor from TUGS can be seen at the quarry.
  • In the original UK dub and US dub, the music is omitted at the incline when the trucks crash into Peter Sam. However, in all later UK and international dubs, new music is added for this scene.

Goofs

  • The Korean title of this episode is "헨리 경의 꾀병" (Henli Gyeong-ui Kkoebyeong), likely confusing the name Handel with Henry, so 헨델 경의 꾀병 (Hendel Gyeong-ui Kkoebyeong) should be the correct title.
  • When this episode was released on the Thomas and Friends official Classic Series YouTube channel, the episode is incorrectly called "Rusty Helps Peter And Sam."
  • Rheneas appears even though he was supposed to be at the works. Additionally, he also has Duke's original whistle.
  • When Harold speaks to Rusty, his battery latch is visible underneath him.
  • When Sir Handel shunts trucks, the audio is noticeably out of sync.
  • As Peter Sam puffs away with the trucks and coaches, he has Skarloey's whistle sound.
  • When the rope is connected to the empty trucks, it becomes taut like it is being pulled. But in the next scene, the trucks at the top of the slope are stationary.
  • The trucks' faces are missing when they crash into Peter Sam.
  • During the crash, the truck that breaks the water canal can be seen fading out of the shot.
  • When Sir Handel says, "I didn't think," his left eye sticks and drops back into his head.
  • Before Peter Sam leaves the yard with his coaches and trucks, a small piece of hair can be seen by his wheels.
  • Before Peter Sam is pulled out of the wreckage (which is not shown), his funnel is not cracked like it is later.
  • When the narrator says, "Not long now had encouraged the driver," the top of Rusty's engine is off-screen when it should be in-front of the cylinder above Rusty's number and thus should have been onscreen.
  • When the narrator says, "He did so next morning," Percy quickly passes the little engines. In the next shot, however, he is passing them again.
  • In a few promotional images, Harold's spinning rotors are a transparent disk, unlike in the actual episode.
  • When Peter Sam backs his coaches onto Sir Handel's trucks, his front coach has a face but when he leaves his coaches at the station, its face disappears.
  • When Peter Sam is at the shed after his accident and the workmen are examining him, Sir Handel is tilted to the left because one of the workmen has his foot lodged underneath Sir Handel.
  • Before the crash with Peter Sam, three trucks are shown rolling down from the incline but during the crash there is a fourth truck that hits the water channel that was not with the trucks originally. This truck is also not carrying slate.
  • In the shot of the empty trucks going up the incline, there is a truck right besides Peter Sam but in the shot of Peter Sam shutting his eyes before the crash, the truck is behind him, still on the other track.
  • At the incline, there are three trucks in the line that crash into Peter Sam but in the shot after the water canal is smashed, there appear to now be four or five trucks that would have crashed into him between the time after said shot and before Peter Sam is pulled out of the debris.
  • During the crash sequence, the first shot shows a piece of slate land on the water canal but in the next shot when the second lot of trucks hit, the piece of slate is gone.

Quotes

Harold: [finishing his inspection] All present and correct. Time to return to base.

Harold: I'm Harold. Who are you?
Rusty: I'm Rusty.
Harold: Don't recall seeing you before. What brings you this way?
Rusty: The Fat Controller sent me to help the other engines.
Narrator: This was no time to chat with a helicopter.
Harold: Well done. Cheers and keep up the good work!
Rusty: Cheeky chopper!
Driver: Not long now. We'll soon be at the top station.

Gordon: No one understands our feelings. Now, if you were ill, you couldn't shunt trucks, could you?
Sir Handel: Good idea! I'll try it! [cut to the following day] I don't feel well!

[the loaded trucks on the incline mistake Peter Sam for Sir Handel]
Trucks:
Loaded: Faster! Faster!
Empty: No! No! It's Peter Sam!
Narrator: But it was no use.
[coupling snaps, the loaded trucks hurtle down the incline]
Loaded trucks: Hurrah, hurrah!
Narrator: Peter Sam shut his eyes.
[The loaded trucks crash into Peter Sam, one truck breaking a channel of water]
Peter Sam: Peep, peep!
Narrator: Rusty was working nearby and came to help clear up the mess.
Rusty: [arrives at the scene of the accident] Bust my buffers! Never mind, Peter Sam. We'll get you out.
Narrator: Peter Sam felt battered. His funnel was cracked and his boiler dented.
Peter Sam [heads home] Thank you, Rusty.

Sir Handel: I'm sorry about your accident. I always stand well back. Trucks don't like me. 
Peter Sam: Why didn't you warn me?!
Sir Handel: I didn't think.
The Fat Controller: You never do. You can start thinking now while you're doing Peter Sam's work as well as your own. That'll teach you to pretend you are ill.
Narrator: Sir Handel did start thinking, about Gordon.

Harold: Splendid to you see you again. I'm completing my evening's lookabout.
Rusty: Well done! Keep up the good work!
Narrator: And the little diesel purred back home.
[Rusty heads home]

In Other Languages

View content
Language Title
Albanian Vagonat
Brazilian Portuguese A mentira tem pernas curtas
Chinese Mandarin 货车厢
Danish Busvogne
Dutch Goederenwagons
Finnish Tavaravaunut
German Keine Lust auf Arbeit
Greek Τα βαγόνια του ορυχείου
Hungarian A haszontalan tehervagonok
Italian Carri!
Japanese サー・ハンデルのけびょう
Korean 헨리 경의 꾀병
Latin American Spanish Furgones
Norwegian Gruvearbeid
Polish Wagony
Romanian Vagoane de marfă
Russian Платформы!
Slovenian Tovorni vagoni
Swedish Godsvagnar
Ukrainian Платформи
Welsh Tryciau

Home Video Releases

UK

UK DVD Boxset

WAL

US

CAN

  • Rusty to the Rescue and Other Thomas Stories (Direct-to Home-Video)
  • Thomas' Trackside Tunes and Other Thomas Adventures (Direct-to Home-Video)

US/CAN DVD Packs

AUS

  • Rock 'n' Roll and Other Stories (Direct-to-VHS)
  • Series Four

AUS DVD Packs

NZ

  • Rock 'n' Roll and Other Stories

IND

MYS

PHL

ITA

NL

GER

NOR

DK

SWE

FIN

SVN

GRC

GRC DVD Boxset

THA

JPN

KOR

CHN

HK

TWN

Episode

Reference



Advertisement