How Diesel 10 Stole Christmas

**How Diesel 10 Stole Christmas** is a special episode included in Season 3. It takes place between Fanning the Flame and Top of the Class.

## Synopsis

Diesel 10 enlists two incredibly unintelligent diesel shunters named Splatter and Dodge to help him steal Christmas decorations from every station on the island, but his sinister plan quickly goes awry when his new minions seem to create more problems for him every step of the way!

## Characters

* Thomas
* Henry
* Gordon
* James
* Percy
* Rosie
* Derek
* Diesel 10/Santa Claws
* Splatter and Dodge
* Dennis
* Paxton
* Norman
* Mr. Renchmore
* Edward (*cameo*)
* Ben (*cameo*)
* Oliver (*cameo*)
* Flying Scotsman (*cameo*)
* Emily (*cameo*)
* Spencer (*cameo*)
* Belle (*cameo*)
* Stephen (*cameo*)
* Connor (*cameo*)
* Logan (*cameo*)
* Samson (*cameo*)
* Glynn (*cameo*)
* Ryan (*cameo*)
* Dustin (*cameo*)
* Theo (*cameo*)
* Nia (*cameo*)
* Rebecca (*cameo*)
* Sonny (*cameo*)
* Diesel (*cameo*)
* Daisy (*cameo*)
* Salty (*cameo*)
* Philip (*cameo*)
* Bear (*cameo*)
* Larry (*cameo*)
* Rheneas (*cameo*)
* Duncan (*cameo*)
* Victor (*cameo*)
* Mike (*cameo*)
* Rex (*cameo*)
* Bert (*cameo*)
* Annie and Clarabel (*cameo*)
* S.C. Ruffey (*cameo*)
* Bradford (*cameo*)
* Dexter (*cameo*)
* Maggie (*cameo*)
* Flynn (*cameo*)
* Angus (*cameo*)
* Harold (*cameo*)
* Bulstrode (*cameo*)
* Cranky (*cameo*)
* Reg (*cameo*)
* Beresford (*cameo*)
* Nancy (*cameo*)
* Farmer McColl (*cameo*)
* Sir Robert Norramby (*cameo*)
* Fergus Duncan (*cameo*)
* Mr. Rayleigh (*cameo*)
* Chef Sabatini (*cameo*)
* Den (*mentioned*)
* Dart (*mentioned*)
* Natalie (*mentioned*)
* Sir Topham Hatt (*mentioned*)
* The Mainland Diesels (*indirectly mentioned*)

## Cast

* EpicLafiteau as Thomas
* OvalFrankie as Henry
* Fantastic Mr. S as Gordon and Derek
* MainlandStudios as James
* Ilovetrains323 as Percy and Mr. Renchmore
* Rosiethecutie1995 as Rosie
* SilverBand7 as Diesel 10
* Chase the Ferroequinologist as Splatter and Norman
* Enterprisingengine93 as Dodge
* TheEngineShed as Dennis
* Jonathan Asiamah as Paxton

## Trivia

* The working title for this episode was **Tis the Season**.
* The title is a parody of **How the Grinch Stole Christmas** by Dr. Seuss.
* Parts from EpicLafiteau's original draft were reworked into Chase's rewrite.
* The script was finished on August 31, 2022.
* Papa Mainland guests narrates this episode.
* SilverBand7 and Enterprisingengine93 join the voice cast.
* Dodge mentions "the fortune teller", alluding to *Thomas and the Fortune Teller* from EnterprisingEngine93's series.
* Dodge also says "woof, meow, moo, whatever" which is taken from *It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown*.
	+ A majority of Splatter and Dodge's lines were ad-libbed during a live reading call.
* This episode was originally intended to be released on December 24th, 2022 but was pushed back to add more things such as extra VFX and animations.
* It was originally written to be the eighth episode before being swapped with Top of the Class based on scheduling.
* The strike sound effect heard when Mr. Renchmore says "You and what army?" is a reference to Enterprisingengine93's series, which can be heard in multiple episodes.
* Happy Hook playing with the light switch was loosely based on the Nosferatu gag from the *SpongeBob SquarePants* episode "Graveyard Shift".
* This episode contains the most animations to date.
* Mr. Snowman can be seen floating in the background of multiple shots.
* Beresford and S.C. Ruffey showing up together at the end is a nod to Chase's series, *Thomas & Friends: Original Episodes* where the ballast truck has been banished from Sodor and is stuck at the canal.
* Anuc Attiwan's cover of "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" can be heard in Vicarstown when Rosie notices the destroyed tree.
* The reveal of Diesel 10 in the Santa Claws costume is based on the introduction of Dark Helmet from the film *Spaceballs,* including a recreated music cue by ThomasSebyMG.
* There is no preview shown due to models for Top of the Class not being ready at the time.
* As of July 2023, it is the highest viewed Sudrian Stories episode sitting at 103k views, and the first to surpass 100k.

## References to the Official Show

* Paxton reminds Diesel 10 of the last time he stole presents, which was in *The Missing Christmas Decorations*.
* As this episode acts as Splatter and Dodge's canon debut, several lines from *Thomas and the Magic Railroad* are reused such as "I don't have time to say both names" and "that's going to ruin my facial".

## Story Impact

* With the inclusion of Splatter and Dodge, the events of **Thomas and the Magic Railroad** from the original series were deemed non-canon and this episode serves as their "televised debut" in this series' canon.
* It is revealed that Splatter and Dodge came from Bridlington.
* Belle can be seen at the Steamworks in the opening sequence, with Flynn and Angus waiting outside, as she is repaired after her derailment in the previous episode.