Rangers of the Rails

> It's been a while since I had a big adventure. If only I had a story like Thomas and Nia's to tell.
>
> Emily

***Rangers of the Rails*** is the thirteenth episode of the twenty-third series.

## Plot

One late evening as Emily and Nia head back to Tidmouth Sheds, they notice a large storm is brewing and Nia tells Emily that she hoped it would be over by morning, since she would be taking the Sodor Rangers up to Callan Castle tommorow. Emily tells her that sounded really exciting.

That night, a large storm begins to pick up as the engines sit in their sheds. Percy was worried about the storm, but Thomas reassures him, telling him it was the perfect night to stay indoors and tell stories. Rebbeca eagerly asks Nia to tell them the story of her, Thomas and the collapsing bridge in the Brazillian rainforest and Percy asks to tell them about the different animals in Africa.

Amazed that Nia had been to so many different places, Emily tries to talk about the time she had gone to the mainland as part of the Great Railway Show, but James interjects, annoyedly telling Emily they had heard that same old story a trillion million times.
Apologising, Emily sadly laments that it had been a while since she had a big adventure of her own, and wishes she had a story like Thomas and Nia's to tell.

The next morning, the storm has passed as Rebecca, Nia and Emily leave the sheds. As Nia talks about having to pick up the Rangers camping supplies and the Rangers themselves after she had finished her work in the yards, Rebecca has a idea, suggesting that Emily could take the Rangers to the castle instead, giving Nia more time to finish her jobs and Emily the chance to have a adventure. Nia agrees to the idea and Emily picks up the Rangers at Knapford Station, feeling extremely happy to be going on a adventure.

As Emily heads up to the castle, she encounters a section of bumpy track, forcing her to slow down and eventually stop, much to the Rangers annoyance. She then comes across a flooded section of track and worries she should not go through it. But not wanting to disappoint the Rangers by not carrying on, she puffs through the water anyway and makes it through.

As it grows dark and the fog comes down, Emily comes across a fallen tree branch on the track. Once again not wanting it to stop her and disappoint the Rangers, as by this point she was running late, Emily tries to push past it, but ends up derailing herself as she crashes into it and landing on the branch instead, unable to move as she sadly laments that now she could not make it to the campsite and had let everyone down.

Meanwhile, Nia is heading home to the sheds, wondering if Emily had enjoyed her adventure when she suddenly spots a truck containing the Rangers camping supplies, which Emily had forgotten to bring and had not come back for. Realising that she must be in trouble, Nia sets off to help her.

Nia hurries across the bumpy track and flooded section of line and soon comes across the derailed Emily, only to find to her surprise that even without the camping supplies, she and the Rangers were fine. Emily explains that she had realised that she forgot the camping supplies after she was derailed, but despite this, the Rangers had been practicing their ranger skills by finding clean water, building their own campfire to keep warm, and even building their own shelters and tents out of sticks, to Nia's suprise.

Emily is however happy to see Nia, and was sure that the Rangers were happy to have extra supplies. Nia tells Emily that she could help pull her back onto the line so they could go home, but Emily instead suggests they camp out for the night with the rest of the rangers, which Nia excitedly agrees with. The next morning, Nia and the Rangers work together to pull Emily off the branch and back onto the track.

As Emily and Nia head home with the Rangers, the two laugh about their camp-out, calling it a adventure. Emily was excited to tell the other engines about her adventure, but Nia playfully tells her she wanted to tell it first and Emily challanges her to a race as the two race off laughing.

## Characters

* Thomas
* James
* Percy
* Emily
* Nia
* Rebecca
* Sodor Rangers
* Gordon Template:Cameo
* Ace Template:Note
* The Batucada Players Template:Note
* Captain Template:Note

## Locations

* Island of Sodor
	+ Tidmouth Sheds
	+ Knapford
		- MC BUNN
		- Knapford Yards
	+ Gordon's Hill
	+ The Campgrounds
	+ Callan Castle Template:Mentioned
* Tanzania Template:Note
	+ Dar es Salaam Docks Template:Note
* Kenya Template:Note
* Brazil Template:Note
	+ Amazon Rainforest Template:Note
	+ Rio de Janeiro Template:Note

## Cast

### UK

* John Hasler as Thomas
* Rob Rackstraw as James
* Nigel Pilkington as Percy
* Teresa Gallagher as Emily and the Sodor Rangers
* Yvonne Grundy as Nia
* Rachael Miller as Rebecca

### US

* Joseph May as Thomas
* Rob Rackstraw as James
* Christopher Ragland as Percy
* Jules de Jongh as Emily
* Yvonne Grundy as Nia
* Rachael Miller as Rebecca
* Teresa Gallagher as the Sodor Rangers

## Trivia

* Going by production order, this is the sixteenth episode of the twenty-third series.
* A reference to The Great Race is made.
* Scenes from Big World! Big Adventures! are recreated in the fantasy sequence with Emily replacing Thomas and Nia in certain points.
* Emily's statement of not having any recent adventures is a reference to her lack of starring roles in the previous series.
* This marks Ace's first appearance in an episode (albeit in a fantasy sequence) and his only appearance in the twenty-third series.
* This episode, along with Deep Trouble, were the last episodes to date to air on Nick Jr. in the US before Netflix picked up the series in March 2020.
* This is the first time the show's opening phrase "All aboard for a big adventure!" is said in an episode, as well as the first time said phrase is said by a character other than Thomas.

## Goofs

* Rebecca has Nia's whistle sound when they leave the sheds.