Tram Trouble

*“I wanted to tell you, Thomas, that I was too scared to lead the parade all by myself, but now, Flora and I will lead it together”*

―Toby

**Tram Trouble** is the thirteenth episode of the twelfth series.

## Plot

It is the first Great Waterton parade and Thomas is excited that Toby is to lead it. However, Thomas has to go to Great Waterton where the Fat Controller is waiting for him to give him three important jobs to do. When Thomas arrives at Great Waterton, he is surprised to meet a new steam tram called Flora, who is to lead the parade with Toby. Thomas thinks that Toby would prefer to lead the parade alone and would be upset if he met another steam tram.

When they arrive at a junction, Thomas has an idea; if he takes Flora to do his jobs with him before going to meet Toby at Arlesdale End, that way Toby would leave to lead the parade while they're gone. Thomas suggests going to the Lumber Mill first and Flora tells him it sounds exciting. They arrive at the Lumber Mill for Thomas to collect a flatbed of logs and Thomas says they can meet Toby much to Flora's excitement, but really Thomas wants to go to Arlesdale End to see if Toby has gone.

When they arrive at Arlesdale End, the shed looks empty, until Thomas sees steam coming out of the shed. Knowing that Toby is still there, Thomas leads Flora to the Shunting Yards to collect trucks of stone for Toby not to see her. After collecting the trucks, they go back to Arlesdale End. But when they get to Arlesdale End, Toby still has not left yet when Thomas hears Toby's bell, so he takes Flora to the docks to pick up a special load. Thomas delivers all his trucks to the docks and picks up the special load. Thomas is sure that Toby has left to lead the parade, while Flora’s axles ache after all that chuffing around.

When they stop near Arlesdale End, Flora eventually runs out of coal after the long journey. Suddenly, Toby comes out of his shed explaining to Thomas that he had been waiting for him and is surprised to see Flora. Thomas introduces the tram engines to each other, but is surprised to see that Toby is happy. Toby tells Thomas that he was too scared to lead the parade by himself, but now he and Flora can lead it together. Thomas then lets Flora borrow some of his coal for her and Toby to go to Great Waterton.

Thomas arrives at Great Waterton with his special cargo. After the workmen unwrap the cargo, Flora is amazed to see that it is a new tram car for her. Thomas watches the engines lead the parade and is happy to have Flora as his new friend.

## Characters

* Thomas
* Toby
* Flora
* Sir Topham Hatt
* Sodor Brass Band (*do not speak*)
* Edward (*cameo*)
* Henry (*cameo*)
* Gordon *cameo*)
* James (*cameo*)
* Percy (*cameo*)
* Annie and Clarabel (*stock footage cameos*)
* Henrietta (*cameo*)
* Cranky (*cameo*)
* Sir Topham Hatt's Assistants (*cameos*)
* The Ginger-haired Boy (*cameo*)
* The Female Puppet Show Entertainer (*cameo*)
* Big Mickey (*faceless, cameo*)

## Locations

* Knapford Yards
* Great Waterton
	+ The Water Works
* Arlesdale End
	+ Toby's Shed
* Brendam Docks
* The Lumber Mill
* Sodor Slate Quarry (*mentioned*)

## Trivia

* Stock footage from the eleventh series episode Thomas in Trouble is used, as is edited stock footage from Saved You!
* This episode aired before The Great Discovery came out in the UK, so the audience may have not known what Great Waterton was.
* This episode marks a few of two things:
	+ Flora's first and only appearance until The Hacker steal's Caillou. as well as her only appearance in the model series.
	+ James (excluding a stock footage cameo in Percy and the Bandstand) and Toby's last appearances in the model era.
* Emily is the only member of the Steam Team that is not seen at the Great Waterton parade.

## Goofs

* The narrator says that Flora peeped prettily, but she rings her bell.
* In the US dub, Thomas says hello to Flora twice, but his mouth only moves to say hello once.
* Thomas tells Flora that they have to go to the quarry, but in the next scene, Thomas collects his stone trucks from the shunting yard.
* Toby takes Henrietta to Great Waterton, but when they are there, she is nowhere to be seen.
* When the narrator says, "It looked empty," part of Toby's body is visible.
* At some points, Thomas' face is angled differently from his smokebox.
* When Thomas and Flora arrived at a junction, Thomas' steam platform is visible in an aerial shot.
* A crew is never seen on board Flora, even though she has an open cab.
* Toby's CGI face is off-centre when the narrator says, "Toby was pleased."

## Merchandise

* My Thomas Story Library - Flora (*discontinued*)
* Magazine Stories - Tram Trouble
* Take-n-Play - Toby and Flora