Thomas, Percy and Old Slow Coach

## Episode Overview

### Writer

Andrew Brenner (original story)Britt Allcroft and David Mitton (part adaptation)

## Episode Guide

### Next Episode

Thomas and the Rumours

**Thomas, Percy and Old Slow Coach** is the seventh episode of the fifth season and the 116th episode overall. It is partially based on the magazine story, Fire.

## Plot

Thomas, James and Percy look up at the early morning sky. Thomas says that all the villagers of Sodor are happier when springtime comes, but James complains about the hard work he has been given especially the coastal runs he has been running on lately. Percy however tells him that the Fat Controller wants everything to be ready for the holidays and the salty air makes him feel good. James scoffs and prefers being in the countryside instead, before leaving the shed to collect his goods train from the Brendam Docks.

Thomas and Percy then leave the sheds to take some empty trucks to the Cronk’s Scrap Yard. When they finish their job, they discover an old coach in the yard. She looks very dirty and sad and says that she is not useful any more and only has mice to ride in her despite being in good condition. The yard manager arrives and is asked by Percy's driver about the coach, whose name is Old Slow Coach and is due to be broken up soon. Thomas and Percy are very upset and though he is unsure how yet, Thomas offers to help her.

Meanwhile, James is enjoying his journey with a few fuel tankers when there is trouble; one in his train is leaking fuel, causing all the tankers to ignite from the sparks billowing from James' funnel. His driver immediately pulls the train into a siding and notifies the fire brigade. Thomas and Percy then arrive near the siding and the guard reveals what happened. Although it is quite a mess, the fire is soon extinguished. Percy teases James about being fired up in the countryside, rather than being in the literal way, but James states that he blames the tankers that caused the fire. Thomas and Percy are now given the all-clear signal by a firefighter to proceed with their journey at a reduced speed, while they feel sorry for James.

Later that day, Thomas and Percy take on water when they find out that there is another fire at the workmen's hut near them, so they decide to go see how they can help. The fire engines arrive, but there is a bigger problem; they are completely out of water from the previous fire and cannot use seawater as it would clog their pumping apparatus, so the firefighters are forced to let the hut burn. Thomas suggests that they use the water from his and Percy's tanks. The plan works well and the fire is soon put out, but the workmen's hut is destroyed. A foreman arrives and worries about housing for the men and says that they cannot sleep on the beach, so Percy then comes up with the idea of using Old Slow Coach as the workmen's new temporary hut. Percy's crew then phones the Fat Controller, who agrees to the idea.

Old Slow Coach is cleaned up, repainted and restored and feels splendid. Thomas and Percy collect her and she sets off happily enjoying her new life with the workmen. They all agree there is nothing old or slow about her and she will always be Really Useful.

## Characters

* Thomas
* James
* Percy
* Old Slow Coach
* The Fat Controller

## Locations

* Tidmouth Sheds
* Crock’s Scrap Yard
* The Flour Mill
* Wellsworth
* Tidmouth Hault
	+ Tidmouth Hault Sheds
* Sir Topham Hatt's Office
* Sodor Steamworks
* Brendam Docks (mentioned)

## Trivia

* This episode marks the first appearance of Old Slow Coach in the series.
* The working title of this episode appears to have been called "Fire Engines." This may have been dropped because of its similarity to the story "Fire-Engine" in the 28th Railway Series book James and the Diesel Engines.

## Transcript

Thomas, Percy and Old Slow Coach Transcript