Ghost

**Ghost** is the ninth episode of the first season of the Stories of Sodor and the ninth episode overall. It is of particular note, as it is the most viewed episode in the entire series, with over 2 million views on YouTube.

Ghost/Transcript

## Plot

Edward considers himself a very easy-going engine, but there are things that he hates: One of them is winter. This is because the season brings many problems. Ports shutting down due to ice-covered waters, which makes their railway loose their transportation contracts, many mining-based industries will sometimes close down too and the snow itself. Whenever there's a heavy downpour, sidings get blocked and mainlines obstructed, which often leads to cancelled trains. While Mickey does his best to keep the tracks clear of snow and the other engines help and take up their snowplows, there are two of which two excel at clearing snow: Donald and Douglas.

Before they were part of the LMS, Donald and Douglas had worked for the Caledonian Railway in Scotland, where the snowdrifts were up to thirty feet deep, so it was practically child's play for them to clear the snow on Sodor, even during the bad periods. They worked coupled up back-to-back with a coach between their tenders, moving backwards and forwards patrolling the line. In December of 1937, the pair was called to the scene of a very heavy drift. When they arrive, they hear a whistle. It's Henry, who has been stuck in there for quite a while. It took the rest of the day for the two Midis to dig Henry out of the drift and Mickey commended them for their excellent work. Henry was deemed to be in perfect working order, although Mickey helped him back him to Knapford, when night had fallen and it started snowing.

When he arrives at Knapford, Henry jokingly says he might run into an elephant next. Toby remarks that they've had a lot of snowfall this year. Thomas mentions he doesn't like it either because it always reminds him of Arthur. Percy, Henry and Eric wonder who Arthur is, so Edward decides to tell them about him. Toby isn't so sure, but Edward reminds him that history won't changed if it's ignored.

Arthur was a mixed-traffic engine for the Midis, one of the earliest who arrived on Sodor. He was a very boastful engine, who always kept going on and on and on and on about his Spotless Record, and how he never once was late. To make it worse, it was true. He somehow always delivered his trains on time, without any failures. He also wasn't shy about telling off the engines who were late, even if they were on his own crew. This pride would lead to his downfall late one snowy night in the winter of 1923, when he was taking an express train. Having suffered a delay, he couldn't make it out of Maron Station quick enough until he was finally allowed to leave. Extremely determined to make up for lost time and absolutely desperate to preserve his Spotless Record, he sprinted down the line at a criminally reckless speed. This, combined with the poor visibility, the icy rails and the steep descent of Gordon's Hill, there was little wonder what happened next...

Edward recalls that Arthur crashed right off the rails, and he and his coaches rolled almost 100 yards before coming to a stop, with all of his passengers killed. Toby recalls that Arthur was scrapped, since the impact had instantly killed him and turned his body into a mangled heap of metal that barely resembled an engine. Edward and Thomas disagree on the following part of the story, but it's said that every year on the anniversary of Arthur's death, his ghost appears, hoping to reach its destination so he and the tormented souls of his victims can be at peace. Percy asks just out of curiosity when Arthur's ghost will appear. Thomas answers he will start appearing next week. Edward states he doesn't believe in ghosts and will remain skeptical until he sees one for himself. Edward then goes to sleep, but having told that story, he didn't sleep well, and neither did anyone else.

While winter was a time when various industries closed for the season, coal wasn't affected, because it was needed to keep industry moving. Unfortunately, the Marston Heights Coal Mine on Sodor was very inefficient because the mine didn't have its own shunter and because its owner, Franklin Merve, calculated that was cheaper to pay a shunting fee than keeping a shunter. This was a poor arrangement as the Midis and Nor'easters often argued over who got to use the chutes first and the trucks were left everywhere. Eventually, the board forced Mr. Merve to purchase an engine.

The day she arrived, Thomas and Diesel are arguing over who should use the chutes first. The engine arrives and introduces herself as Kate. She tells off Diesel and forces him to move off. Thomas is impressed by how Kate was able to get Diesel away. She says she's used to dealing with engines like him. Thomas introduces himself to Kate and is relieved to find that the board has finally purchased an engine. As Kate prepares to move the trucks Diesel left behind, Thomas is puzzled to see Kate's nameplate says Lady. It's actually a commemorative plate dedicated to the late wife of the nobleman who built her. As Kate gets to work, Thomas is starting to like her.

Soon, everyone else came to like her as well. Kate had quickly made the mine her own, taking care of all inbound and outbound trains, implementing a very efficient system that appeased both Midis and Nor'easters and thanks to her, every coal shipment was organised and dispatched in a timely manner.

Percy was to make one delivery to Killdane. Setting out late in the afternoon, night came down as he got to Wellsworth. Halfway up Gordon's Hill, he hears an unfamiliar whistle and an unfamiliar looking engine shoots down the hill past Percy towards Wellsworth. When Percy gets to the top, he hears the sound of a train crash at the bottom of the hill and reverses back down to where the train had seemed to have crashed, but is flabbergasted to find nothing. Percy thinks it could be Arthur's ghost, since Thomas said this is around the time when he starts appearing, but Percy's Driver doesn't believe him. The nearby residents had also heard the crash and went out to see it, but like Percy, they were confused when they didn't find anything. A reporter conducted interviews and some research. He then published an article about Arthur's death and the ghost story that went with it. Sightings of Arthur's ghost began to increase too, with Edward remaining skeptical.

At Maron, the stationmaster is telling Edward that his son has just returned from his trip to the United States and he had even went to the premier of an animated picture and can't stop raving about it. He can't remember the title of the film, but it had "seven dwarfs" in it. Presently, they hear the same unfamiliar whistle Percy had heard. A white, faceless tank engine pulling Midi coaches pulls into the platform. The stationmaster goes up to the engine's driver and tries to talk to him, but the other engine's driver doesn't reply and since the engine was faceless, Edward wasn't able to help. Suddenly, Edward, his crew and the stationmaster hear a shriek from a woman who looked inside of one of the coaches and turned as white as the snow. The rest of the passengers jumped back ten feet, none of them daring to get any closer. At that moment, Edward sees Reginald approaching. Edward blows his whistle to alert Reginald, who throws on his brakes, but he was just about to make contact with the train when it suddenly disappears, and Reginald stops just beyond the platform. Edward goes over to check on Reginald. Reginald comes to the realisation that Arthur's ghost haunting the line is true, as does Edward, who admits he owes Thomas an apology.

The incident had made the papers and the woman who screamed was committed to an insane asylum. Business started to drop dramatically for both the Nor'easters and the Midis and their passengers and goods clients avoided them like the plague. Other engines also encountered the ghost train which caused morale to drop dramatically too. Before long, the situation became unbearable and some of them decided to come together to find a solution.

Edward, Thomas, Percy, Toby, Lily, Douglas, Diesel and Peter have gathered at Wellsworth to discuss the situation. Edward knows this is a unique situation, and asks if anyone has any ideas, foolish or not foolish. Thomas' ideas are instantly shot down; the Vicar doesn't do exorcists, and they can't afford to wait for Wilbert to come back to Sodor. Percy suggests they could try talking to it and asking Arthur to leave. Edward asks what the train Percy saw looked like, to which Percy answered it was big, silver, with red stripes and the number "0" on its side tanks. Thomas is puzzled by Percy's description, mentioning it sounds nothing like Arthur to him. Edward tells Percy that Arthur was a big and red engine with the letters, "LMS" on his side tanks, which didn't look like the engine he saw at Maron. Peter wonders if this means there are two ghosts on the island, but Edward tells him there is only one ghost with an unknown origin. Diesel then questions what sense it makes for Arthur to look different as a ghost. Toby reminds him they are dealing with the supernatural, where hardly anything makes sense. Douglas points out that they still haven't thought about how to get rid of the ghost. Toby knows that since Percy heard the crash, Arthur is doomed to repeat this process, unless it could be interrupted if Arthur was sent away, by telling him he doesn't need to take the train and they need to find someone who Arthur would obey. Lily knows that only means one person - all the engines glance at each other in shock.

Later, Lily, Toby and Diesel are at Brendam trying to explain to Mr. Zorro. As Diesel predicted, Mr. Zorro is not wanting to try. Lily reminds Mr. Zorro that Arthur always did his best to make his controller happy, which is why he is so unwilling to speak to Arthur and he may be holding a grudge against him. Diesel tells him to at least try, or else both the Midis and Nor'easters would be out of a job. Mr. Zorro is finally convinced. Toby thanks both Mr. Zorro and Diesel, though the latter tells Toby not to, as he didn't expect it to work.

That night, Edward, Toby, Lily and Diesel are at Maron, with the station empty and Mickey on standby. Edward tells Mr. Zorro they really appreciate what he's doing. Mr. Zorro replies that they shouldn't mention it to Mr. Star to make it seem like he's nice or amiable. Edward then remarks that this occasion is a way to leave Mr. Zorro's mark on history, since this may be the first time a railway facility's station has ever been evacuated because of ghosts. Diesel isn't sure that the ghost will show up, but it does. The ghost arrives at the platform and Mr. Zorro nervously walks up to Arthur. Mr. Zorro tells his deceased engine that he was finally able to purchase an express engine and that Arthur doesn't need to take his train on. Mr. Zorro also tells him he has done well, can have rest and can go. Just like that, Arthur goes away. Mr. Zorro and the engines can't believe it actually worked, and for the longest time afterwards, neither could anyone else. Life gradually returned to normal on Sodor. As time went on, the story of Arthur's ghost was been told over and over again, fading from history into folklore, and into legend. But to the Midis and Nor'easters who were there, the story was always real.

## Characters

* Thomas
* Edward
* Henry
* Percy
* Toby
* Donald and Douglas
* Eric
* Diesel
* Lily
* Reginald
* Peter
* Mickey
* Kate
* Troublesome Trucks
* Angus
* Mr. Zorro
* Percy's Driver (Jerry)
* The Maron Porter
* The Woman who Screamed
* Arthur's Ghost *(does not speak)*
* Franklin Merve *(does not speak)*
* The Reporter *(does not speak)*
* Arthur's Crew's Ghosts *(do not speak)*
* Arthur (Original) *(flashback; does not speak)*
* Gordon *(cameo)*
* James *(cameo)*
* Colin *(cameo)*
* Adam *(cameo)*
* Skarloey *(cameo)*
* Annie and Clarabel *(cameo)*
* Henrietta *(cameo)*
* Mr. Star *(mentioned)*
* Wilbert Awdry *(mentioned)*
* The Vicar *(mentioned)*
* The Maron Porter's Son *(mentioned)*

## Trivia

* This episode is currently the most famous episode in the series, with over 1 million views on YouTube. However, the Sodor Short Zombie beats it out as the most viewed video on Victor Tanzig's channel.
* This episode marks the debut of Arthur (Original), Arthur's Ghost and Kate.
* This is the first episode that has a topic about a movie (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs).
* This episode takes place in 1937.
* The events of Branch Lines are mentioned.

## Goofs

* Remnants of the editing process can be seen at 18:30 in the form of a rectangular outline around Diesel's face.
* At one point, Mr Zarro says that Arthur’s been dead for the better part of 20 years, but this episode takes place in 1937, and Arthur died in 1923.