Horrid Lorry

**Horrid Lorry** is the second episode of the fifth season and the 111th episode overall.

## Plot

One morning, Percy is late to collect his train from the docks. Cranky begins to criticize him that the ships cannot be kept waiting and that Percy needs to show some respect for them, while Percy complains there is too much work for the engines. Cranky suggests it would be better if lorries did his work. Percy is shocked by this and later at the sheds, he tells the other engines what Cranky said. James and Henry are dismissive, but Percy worries that lorries might truly come.

Unfortunately, Percy's fear comes true as three lorries do arrive and while Cranky is overjoyed, they also turn out to be incredibly rude and disrespectful; one of them calls Percy a lump of steaming scrap iron, which angers him and puffs away. Later, Percy sees one of the other lorries being rude to Edward and James. He also calls Percy a little green goblin on wheels and says that he will be scrapped. Edward and James are both disgusted at the lorry's behaviour, calling him horrid and despicable.

At the quarry, Toby runs across another lorry who tells him that he belongs in a museum and tells him to toodle off, much to Toby’s ire. Toby's driver tells him to ignore the lorry and they go to the flour mill, only to find yet another lorry who tells Toby that they are doing his jobs now. The foreman tells Toby's driver that he is sorry for Toby's replacement but the times are changing. Toby's driver brushes it off and tells the foreman that even though he's old, he is still reliable and tells him they will head to the farm (who they hope will still be able to use him). Toby heads to the farm, while the lorry grins thinking he has won.

Later, as Toby trundles toward Ffarquhar, he enters a quarry canyon where he watches the lorry he met at the quarry having trouble navigating on a treacherous road above with his load of rocks. The lorry then falls off a cliff and crashes onto the rocks below, much to his mildly injured driver's annoyance and Toby's horror.

The smashed lorry is taken to the docks, where Percy begins to laugh at him and calls him a lump of steaming scrap iron like the lorry called him. The lorry swears vengeance on Percy, but Percy just laughs and wheeshes steam at him. Butch - the Breakdown Vehicle who is also new to Sodor - arrives with the lorry from the flour mill; Butch explains that the lorry was overloaded with flour and broke down at a crossing in front of Donald. Toby teases the lorries as well claiming they are not so useful now, which makes them growl in rage. James whistles excitedly as he watches men bringing the third lorry in on a barge after he had reversed into the sea at the Fishing Village. Thomas arrives, laughing at the disgraced lorries and calls them The Brothers Grim: "Smashed," "Broken" and "Sunk." The lorries vow to return, but the engines commit themselves to their work to ensure the lorries never do.

## Characters

* Thomas
* Edward
* Henry
* James
* Percy
* Toby
* The Horrid Lorries
* Cranky
* Butch
* Duck *(cameo)*
* Donald *(cameo)*
* BoCo *(cameo)*
* The Fat Controller *(cameo)*

## Locations

* Brendam Docks
* Tidmouth Sheds
* Ffarquhar Quarry
* The Flour Mill
* The Quarry Tramroad
* Suddery Junction
* Norramby Fishing Village

## Trivia

* This episode marks the first and only appearances of the Horrid Lorries in the series. Plus, this also marks the first appearance of Butch.
* The scene where Toby is talking with Lorry 2 at the quarry was inspired by a piece of artwork that was in a book called *The Wisbech & Upwell Tramway*.
* Thomas' nickname for the Lorries, "The Brothers Grimm" is a reference to two German scholars best known for publishing many well-known folk and fairy tales.
* The line "times are a-changing" references the Bob Dylan song “The Times They Are a-Changin'”.
* Edward mentions the episode's title when he says, "What a **horrid lorry**!"