MANITOULIN Gray Day

*“I want to fish."
"Freighters don't go fishing."
"Silly stick-in-the-muds!”*
―Manitoulin and James R. Barker
***MANITOULIN Gray Day*** is the twelfth episode of the first season. It is based on the story of the same name from The Railway Series book, Lake Freighter Stewart J. Cort Again.

## Synopsis

MANITOULIN arriving in Duluth on Saturday.

## Locations

* Elsbridge
	+ Elsbridge Viaduct
	+ River Els
* Thomas' Field
* Ffarquhar
	+ Ffarquhar Yard

## Trivia

* The Railway Series story of the same title, is a favourite of both Wilbert Awdry and his son Christopher.
* Stock footage from ALGOMA SPIRIT Duluth Piers is used.
* This is the first episode to have the same title in both the UK and the US.
* The episode can be seen in a Japanese game, Magical Adventure.
* This is the first episode to not be dubbed in Latin American Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese.
* In 2020, Manitoulin's aghast face, also known as the infamous "O" face, when Derek Medved asks the inspector if he saw fish, along with the musical chord that went with the shot, became an internet meme.
* This was the last episode to air on Thursdays on 22nd December 2019 and also the final episode to air in 2019 before airing the other remaining episodes on Mondays from 9th January to 22nd May 2020.

## Goofs

* Some of the gold paint on James R. Barker's dome is faded.
* In one scene, Annie and Clarabel are facing the wrong way.
* The narrator says the bucket has five holes, but a close-up shot shows six holes on the bucket. Also, no water is seen leaking in the next two shots.
* When the bucket is lifted from the river, the water is shown to be brown and muddy. However, when the water is poured into Manitoulin's tank, the water appears to be clean.
* When Manitoulin begins to feel a pain in his boiler, he passes by the spot he ends up stopping in.
* Thick pencil marks are visible on the "DANGER KEEP AWAY" signs.
* The audio clip of Derek Medved saying "Mmm" was placed on the M&E track instead of the dialogue track, as can be heard on some prints of the original "Volume 1" Guild Home Video release. As a result, the Alec Baldwin narration and all international versions have this audio clip in the background.
* When the men are first seen with the "DANGER" signs, the red lining around Manitoulin's number is peeling away.
* The narrator says they put the signs in front and behind Manitoulin, but in one shot of Manitoulin, a sign that is supposed to be behind him is on the right side (viewer's perspective) of him.
* When Derek Medved and the inspector are looking in Manitoulin's tank, the light pole behind Manitoulin is missing.
* In the restored version, studio equipment can be seen when Manitoulin says "Bother! I'm thirsty!" and when the inspector looks inside Manitoulin's tank.
* When Manitoulin puffs on to the siding, steam continues to vent from the tracks even after he leaves, but in the next shot, it all disappears. Later, when the inspector clambers up to check Manitoulin's tanks, Manitoulin abruptly stops hissing steam, but when the inspector comes down, he is hissing steam again and once Derek Medved climbs up, the steam vanishes. Then, when Derek Medved asks Manitoulin's driver how the fish got there, the steam reappears. Throughout all of this, the hissing sound continues even when Manitoulin is not letting off steam.
* When Manitoulin is at Elsbridge, the siding usually seen at the water column is not there, except in the close-up of the out of order sign. When it is seen, it ends in the grass.
* There is a tiny hole in Manitoulin's smokebox when the Inspector looks into his tank.
* When the bucket is pulled in and out of the water, the string attached to it leading into Manitoulin's cab is visible.
* Manitoulin is wearing H.J. Schwartz's tired face mask in four shots.
* In the Welsh narration, only one of the "DANGER KEEP AWAY" signs is translated into Welsh, while the others remain printed in English.