Hero of the Mountains

**Hero of the Mountains** is the sixth episode of the second season and the sixteenth overall.

## Plot

Thomas, Ashima, Annie and Clarabel are climbing the last pieces of track up to Coonoor station, where Noor Jehan is scheduled to take the coaches onwards to the top. Being exhausted after the trip, Thomas goes to full up on water. Ashima backs in alongside him, and Sir Topham Hatt tells Thomas that steam engines cannot travel to the very top of the mountain. Thomas wonders why and asks Ashima, who explains that it wasn't always like that.

Ashima used to work on the mountain railway, and took both passengers and goods up and down the line, but mainly the former. Although the job was easy during good weather, it was even more challenging when bad weather arrived, notably storms, which sometimes would cause obstacles to land on the tracks. Over time, the railway was struggling financially and Ashima began to fear that a diesel would replace her.

One day, as she was taking a passenger train down the line, the coaches bumped her and she started picking up speed. Despite her driver's efforts to brake, Ashima derails. Shankar arrives and pulls her back onto the line, and she praises him her hero. Upon returning to Coonoor, Ashima is placed in the works awaiting further repairs. But as time went on with no sign of her safety repairs, she began to fear that she would be scrapped. Until one day, an engine named Rajiv arrived, giving her a sense of hope. Charubala has him introduced to her. He tells her that he is to participate in The Great Railway Show, and Ashima felt inspired to join him. Charubala agrees with her proposal and has her repainted. Despite this, Ashima felt that she wouldn't like to participate in the Best Decorated Engine contest, but rather the Shunting Challenge. After telling Charubala about her feelings, she eventually agrees.

Following the events of the Shunting Challenge, and the conclusion of the Great Railway Show, Ashima and Rajiv return to India, where the residents of Coonoor dub her the *Hero of the Mountains* for her victory. The money earned from her participation was spent on her safety repairs and repairing the railway. Ashima continued to take passengers up and down the line, but the railway felt it would be safer for a diesel to take the passengers onwards to the top.

Back in the present, the Coonoor stationmaster comes over to the two engines and informs that Noor Jehan needs help further up the line. And since they're the only engines who can help, they will be allowed to travel further up the line. Thomas asks Ashima if she would want to help the railway again, which she happily agrees to do. As the two depart, the stationmaster explains that the line is not only powered by steam and diesel engines, but also with love and devotion. The camera lifts up and reveals a bronze statue of Ashima at the beginning of the incline.

## Characters

* Thomas
* Ashima
* Rajiv
* Shankar
* Annie & Clarabel
* Sir Topham Hatt
* Charubala
* The Great Railway Show Judge
* The Coonoor Stationmaster
* Raul (*cameo*)
* Gina (*cameo*)
* Noor Jehan (*mentioned*)

## Cast

* PieceOfJayVA as Thomas
* LizProductions6 as Ashima
* TramEngineStudios as Rajiv
* Jonathan Asiamah as Shankar and the Coonoor Stationmaster
* Emily Elizabeth Queen as Annie
* Spo0derGlen as Clarabel
* Trainz4Days as Sir Topham Hatt
* Viola Rose as Charubala
* Papi Petey James
* TheChattyEngine
* Tom Marshall

## Trivia

* Scenes from the *Thomas & Friends* special, *The Great Race*, are re-created.
* The episode's title is similar to the 2009 special, *Hero of the Rails*.
* This is Ashima's first lead role in the series.