Lofty and the Bullies

**Lofty and the Bullies** is the eighteenth episode of Season 1 of Thomas' Friendship Tales. It premiered on August 21, 2020.

### Writer

LittleBlueTrain67Brandon Polley Josh Ball

## Plot

Bob and his team are busily at work repairing the rails on the Main Line while Muck loads the ballast when Thomas arrives with wood for the railway ties. Muck rolls forwards to greet Thomas when his caterpillar treads snap. Bob examines them and says they may have to close the line until Muck is repaired. Thomas gets an idea and heads off to the Sodor Construction Company Yard.

When he arrives, Thomas asks Jack where he can find Max and Monty, who promptly roll into the yard. Thomas explains the situation to the dump trucks who rudely set off to be loaded onto the flatbeds. After arriving at Bob's yard, Thomas gives a warning about how naughty Max and Monty can be before setting off. Bob explains to the dump trucks about the job they have to do, but is quickly called away to answer a phone call. While he is out of earshot, Max and Monty start mocking and teasing the machines and have great fun in making Lofty feel down. After Bob returns, Scoop leads the other machines off to repair the railway line, but Max and Monty begin their tricks as Max bumps Lofty, nearly making him have a collision with Toby.

Lofty tries to defend himself from the bullying dump trucks, after they proclaim he's nothing but a useless coward, but they soon block him from either side, threatening him not to tell Bob what they've been doing. Feeling scared and unsure what to do, Lofty starts crying, leading Dizzy to try and comfort her friend, but nothing works as Lofty decides he's not useful to anyone and heads off, unaware that Percy witnessed the entire thing. Back at the yard, Muck feels worried about what Max and Monty might be doing, as Bob finishes up replacing his treads, when Lofty arrives. Bob asks what's going on, but poor Lofty feels like he can't say anything and drives off. It's not long after when Percy rushes into the yard and tells Bob everything he saw.

At the engine yard, Edward sees Lofty coming up to him and asks what's wrong. After some persuasion, Lofty explains how Max and Monty have been picking on him and the machines, to which Edward gives him advice on how to stand up for himself and to stop the two dump trucks from pushing him around. With some new found courage, Lofty makes him way back to the site when he sees Dizzy trying to stick up to Max and Monty for their bullying, only for Max to bump into her hard! He's about to do it again, when Lofty blocks his way and defends Dizzy. Max and Monty decide to have a go at Lofty too, only to their surprise, Lofty grabs them by their bumpers and lifts them up in the air. The tables have turned as Max and Monty beg Lofty to let them go, to which Lofty does after making them promise to never bother him again and that he'll throw them in the air if he catches them trying to hurt Dizzy. After he lets them down, Max and Monty run away in fright leading to the other machines praising Lofty for his bravery. But then, Bob arrives, making Lofty think he's in trouble, only for Bob to say he's proud of Lofty for sticking up for Dizzy and that Muck is fully repaired.

Soon, in no time at all, the line is repaired, just as James arrives to congratulate everyone on a good job. That night, Bob and the other machines give a big cheer for Lofty, calling him brave and a really useful crane. Meanwhile, Max and Monty are on their way home, only to bump into Thomas, who has brought Ms. Jenny. She scolds the two dump trucks for their behavior sending them back to the yard. Thomas takes Ms. Jenny home, but not before noticing Lofty from afar and quietly being proud of his little blue friend and sets off into the night.

## Characters

* Thomas
* Edward
* James
* Percy
* Toby
* Jack
* Max and Monty
* Scoop
* Muck
* Dizzy
* Roley
* Lofty
* Bob
* Jenny Packard
* Duck (cameo)
* Donald and Douglas (cameo)
* Emily (cameo)
* Diesel (cameo)
* Alfie (cameo)
* Oliver the Excavator (cameo)
* Kelly (cameo)
* Ned (cameo)
* Sir Topham Hatt (mentioned)

## Cast

* LittleBlueTrain67 as Thomas and Lofty
* Shunting Yard Studios as Edward and Scoop
* TheGermanofSodor as James
* Jacob Hayes as Percy
* Mr.MerlinFan02 as Toby
* Electro Gamer as Jack
* Luca Dollar as Max
* Holden Stafford as Monty
* Brandon Polley as Muck, Roley, and Bob
* Serena Leo-Harper as Dizzy
* Taylor Z. as Jenny Packard

## Trivia

* This marks Jack, Max and Monty's first speaking roles in Thomas’ Friendship Tales. This episode also marks the debut of Jenny Packard in the series.
* This episode was written around 2018, but was pushed back due to the original script being lost, as well as adding in a few additions such as Toby.
* Jacob Hayes and Taylor Z. join the cast, but the latter only joined for this episode, before retiring from voice acting shortly afterwards.
* The episode itself was proclaimed to be one of LittleBlueTrain67's favorites in the series.
* This is the first episode where Jacob Hayes voices Percy.
* This is the final episode of two things:
	+ The final episode where TheGermanofSodor voices James, before he retired from the role in 2021.
	+ The final episode where Shunting Yard Studios voices Edward and Scoop.
* This is the only episode in which Electro Gamer voices Jack.