Heroes

***Heroes*** is the fourteenth episode from the third series.

## Plot

Splatter and Dodge were working at the quarry and are bored of doing the same thing. Dodge asked Splatter if he can hear something different, to which Splatter replies that he cannot. Dodge then states that it is because everything sounds and looks the same and that they need a surprise. Splatter is puzzled but before Dodge can say more, the Quarry-master comes with a message from the Fat Controller that they are to go to the harbour.

Splatter and Dodge hurry to the harbour worried that they did something wrong. When they arrive, the Fat Controller instructs them to shunt trucks at the station while BoCo is taking the children on a trip. Next, Splatter and Dodge meet Diesel 10, who tells them to behave since they are on the main line. Dodge jokingly says the sight of Diesel 10 made them think that the harbour was the scrapyard. Diesel 10 was furious and orders the twins to make sure that the express is ready by tonight.

The twins start shunting, thinking they know all about trucks, when they really do not. The trucks claim that they want to help Splatter and Dodge in organising the yard; the twins accept the offer, unaware that the trucks are playing a trick on them. As a result, when evening falls, the yard has become a mess, causing the twins to be late bringing Diesel 10’s coaches to the station.

The next day, the twins were back in the quarry when a sudden rockslide begins. The alarm is raised and the Quarry-master alerts everyone to evacuate. Splatter and Dodge wait as the workmen board their trucks. As Splatter leaves with his load, one man having been left behind shouts for help. Dodge waits until he is safely aboard his train, and the quarry yard is evacuated in time for the devastation to take its course. Seeing the wreckage shortly afterward, Splatter and Dodge hope that the Fat Controller will understand that it was not their fault. The next day, the Fat Controller arrives on board BoCo and praises the twins as heroes for saving the workmen. Splatter and Dodge think that being called "heroes" is quite a nice surprise.

## Characters

* Diesel 10
* Splatter and Dodge
* Troublesome Trucks
* Sir Topham Hatt
* The Quarry-Master
* BoCo (*does not speak*)
* Jem Cole (*cameo*)
* Farmer Trotter (*cameo*)

## Trivia

* The episode is based off the twenty-fourth episode of the third series from *Thomas & Friends* with the same name.
* The fanfare heard in the climax of the episode is almost identical to the one heard in TUGS.
* A fishing boat, the large brown building, a double berth garage, a scrap steam shovel, the three-berth garage, the steel rig, a small factory, some gears and the coal hopper from TUGS appear at both the harbour and the quarry.
* This episode marks the last appearance of the Sodor China Clay Company until the fifth series episode, Double Teething Troubles.
* Splatter telling Diesel 10 that when they first saw him they thought that the harbour was the scrapyards could slightly be a reference of the second series episode, Wrong Road, due to the fact in said episode, Splatter and Dodge said that Diesel 10 was scrap.
* This was the first time Diesel 10 was pulling Red Express Coaches.