Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure

*“But I wasn't quick enough to save the treasure, Sir."
"Please don't worry about the treasure, Thomas. My engines are much more important to me than any treasure. And you, Thomas, are my number one.”*
―Thomas and the Fat Controller
***Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure*** is the 2015 *Thomas & Friends* film. It is the ninth feature-length special in the series and the second special released in 2015, the first being *The Adventure Begins*. It was written by Andrew Brenner, directed by David Stoten and animated by Arc Productions. The film was released in UK cinemas on 17 July 2015, before receiving a home media release on 28 September.

## Official synopsis

*Shiver me timbers! Surprises await Thomas and his friends as they dig up their most daring adventure yet. Unearthing an old pirate ship, Thomas is on the hunt for Sodor's lost treasure. When Thomas rocks the boat with some new friends, trouble soon rushes in. Will Thomas track down the treasure in time or will Sailor John set sail with it? Join Thomas & Friends in this explosive movie adventure!*

## Plot

Thomas is working on his branch line with Annie and Clarabel, when he sees Bertie ahead of him. Ignoring his coaches' warnings, Thomas catches up to Bertie and challenges him to a race. Thomas does not watch where he is going, almost running into rail work being carried out and narrowly avoiding a head-on collision with Toby. Bertie boasts that he will win, but is forced to come to a stop when he sees Oliver the Excavator ahead of him, allowing Thomas to overtake him and win the race. At Ffarquhar station, Annie and Clarabel scold Thomas for racing. Bertie arrives, complaining that he has been held up by construction vehicles ever since work on the new branch line from Arlesburgh to Harwick began. Annie and Clarabel fear that the Fat Controller might close down their branch line in favour of the new one, but Thomas is positive he will not.

Meanwhile, Marion is on her way to help with the construction of the new branch line. As she passes through a forest, two small engines dart by from behind some bushes. Startled, Marion closes her eyes, but bumps into Oliver and Toad at Arlesburgh Junction. Toad introduces her to Mike, Rex and Bert, three miniature engines. Marion is impressed by their size and asks them if they are real, accidentally offending Mike. They tell her that they haul ballast, wool and passengers. As Oliver and Marion are leaving, two black engines rush by.

At the construction yard, Duck is shunting trucks, when Donald and Douglas arrive. He tells them it has been ages since he has last seen them, but they tell him they only went away to collect more rails and sleepers. Jack and Alfie are helping the workmen blast away the rock when Oliver arrives, telling them that he took a wrong turn. The construction team starts work on the new branch line.

The next morning, Thomas has a hard time waking up and building up steam. The other engines remind him that he needs to fetch Gordon's coaches, but he is in no hurry for that. When Thomas finally arrives at Knapford, he is late for his morning passenger train. Gordon criticises him for being late and reminds him that tender engines do not shunt, remarking that is something "silly little tank engines" do. Offended, Thomas declares he will pull the Express and rushes out of the station with Gordon's coaches, but does not watch where he is going. Thomas brakes to avoid running into the other engines, but bumps the coaches off the rails, blocking all lines.

At the construction site, Marion tries to play "Guess What's in my Shovel" with Donald, but he has no time for games. She turns her attention to Oliver the Excavator, who does not understand what she is trying to do. Realising she does not know him, Marion asks the excavator for his name, and is shocked to find out it is Oliver. Mistaking him for the engine, she believes that he made a wish to turn himself into a digger, and thinks the small engines are responsible.

Later that morning, the Fat Controller arrives at Knapford to examine the accident. Thomas tries to shift the blame onto the other engines, but the Fat Controller already knows he caused it. Thomas is told that as punishment for his cockiness, he will be sent to work at the construction yard. When Thomas asks who will look after his branch line, a new tank engine named Ryan pulls up alongside him. The Fat Controller welcomes Ryan to his railway, while Thomas looks on in shock.

Meanwhile, work on the branch line continues as usual, when the workmen notice that the ground beneath the track is starting to crumble. They flag down Donald before he can go over the track, and engineers are called to inspect the site. They conclude that the area is unsafe, forcing the men to abandon their work and reroute the track.

At Arlesburgh Junction, the small engines are busy working, when Thomas solemnly pulls in and tells them about Ryan and what Gordon had called him. The small engines sympathise with Thomas, noting that big engines look down on them for their size. They burst into song to cheer Thomas up and send him on his way with a train of ballast. When Thomas arrives at the construction yard, he remembers that rails and sleepers come before ballast and hastily shunts a row of flatbeds to the construction site, mistaking the men's warnings as them being excited to see him. He bursts through the barriers and over the unsafe track, which finally caves in and forms a giant sinkhole. Thomas tries to escape, but is pulled down by the heavy trucks and falls into the cavern. As the dust settles, Thomas is shocked to find an old pirate ship in front of him.

At Knapford station, Ryan introduces himself to Annie and Clarabel, who wonder where Thomas has gone. When Thomas is lifted out of the cavern by Rocky, the Fat Controller scolds him for ignoring the danger signs and does not listen to him when he tries to tell him about the pirate ship, ordering Emily to send him to the Sodor Steamworks. Out at sea, a mysterious man watches Thomas being recovered and angrily stomps on his sailboat for bobbing about in the water, who apologises.

Thomas is sent to the Steamworks to be repaired, but is in ho hurry to get back to work, telling Victor about Ryan and his branch line. Victor assures him that the Fat Controller would never replace him. Just then, Edward arrives and tells them that Rocky has found the pirate ship in the cavern, much to Thomas' fury. At the sinkhole, Rocky lifts out the pirate ship, to everyone's amazement. Marion speculates that there must be buried treasure somewhere too and rushes off to make her wish. At Arlesburgh Junction, Rex and Bert flee, but Mike is trapped on the ballast chute by Marion, who makes her wish. Mike escapes and disappears in a cloud of steam, but this only convinces Marion he is magical. Meanwhile, Donald and Douglas take the pirate ship to Arlesburgh Harbour, while the man and his sailboat watch them from the sea.

That night, Henry is pulling *The Flying Kipper*, when he spots a white sailboat coasting down the main line. Frightened, he runs into a siding, but when he looks back, the boat is gone. The next morning, he tells the others what he saw, but most of them just tease him. Salty, however, thinks that he saw "The Lost Pirate", a fierce pirate who, when he was still alive, would attack and sink merchant ships to steal their treasure. When the merchants and the Navy teamed up to stop him, he hid his ship in a cavern and buried the treasure, drawing a map to it that he later lost. He says that to this day, the Lost Pirate continues to search for his buried treasure.

Thomas is repaired and returns to the construction site, but is still left with the dirt and scratches from his accident. As he passes through Arlesburgh, he sees the pirate ship and mutters that he was the one who found it, not noticing the man from before getting onto the ship. At the construction yard, Thomas finds out that Ryan is already working there and asks the Fat Controller if he can return to his branch line, only to be told that Percy is already looking after it and that he still has work at the construction yard he must do. When Thomas arrives at Arlesburgh Junction to collect more ballast, he is emitting sparks and dark smoke. The small engines think he has taken on some bad coal.

Thomas takes on fresh coal that night and heads to the sheds, but refuses to sleep with Ryan and stays on a siding. While he rests, Thomas spots a small sailboat going down the line and goes to investigate. He tries to stay quiet, but bumps into a barrier and gets their attention. The elderly man notices Thomas and questions him, who explains that he was the one who found the pirate ship. The man becomes friendly and introduces himself as Sailor John, and his sailboat, Skiff, tells Thomas they are looking for Captain Calles' lost treasure. Thomas agrees to help them, and lowers Sailor John into the cavern. Skiff explains that Sailor John gave him wheels so they could search for the treasure on land, and that they have been looking for the treasure for years. Sailor John finds the treasure map inside the cavern, and Thomas pulls him out. By this point, the sun is rising, so Sailor John decides to head home. Thomas pushes him and Skiff to Arlesburgh, where they sail away.

When Thomas returns to the construction yard, it is already morning. Ryan asks him if he saw him pushing a sailboat earlier, but Thomas denies this. As Ryan begins taking on coal, Thomas notices he is using the bad coal from the old hopper, but intentionally neglects to tell him this. Meanwhile, Marion tries to work on the next cutting, but the rock is too hard for her to move. Oliver explains that they have run out of dynamite and must wait for a train of it from Brendam Docks. Marion suggests that he turn himself back into a railway engine so he can collect the train, but Oliver is not sure that will work.

By the time Ryan returns with the train of dynamite, he is blowing out dark smoke from his funnel. He assumes he has taken on some bad coal and is uncoupled from his train, when he smells smoke. He and Thomas realize that sparks from his funnel have lit the dynamite in the trucks. Panicking, Ryan pushes the trucks away, but Marion stops them and picks up the crate of lit dynamite. She, Jack and Alfie pass the crate around until it lands back in the trucks. Thomas buffers up to the trucks and races to dispose of it, but Ryan gets in his way, screaming in horror until he is pushed into a siding. Thomas shoves the train into the cavern right before the dynamite explodes and saves everyone, but the Fat Controller, who has seen everything, is furious, assuming that Thomas was trying to harm Ryan. He orders Thomas to go back to the shed immediately, not listening to his side of the story. The diggers try to carry on, but without the dynamite, there is only so much they can do. Marion discovers a wooden chest in the cliffside and tries to tell the other diggers, only to realise they have left. She decides to tell them the next morning.

That night, Thomas stays awake on a siding, and sees Sailor John and Skiff return. Sailor John believes he has pinpointed the location of the treasure and asks Thomas if he would like to help him, which he is happy to do. The three spend all night looking for the treasure, but by the time the sun has come up, they have found nothing. Sailor John immediately becomes suspicious of Thomas, pointing out that only they have seen the map, and he has been with Skiff night and day. He and Skiff depart, but not before he tells Thomas this is not the end. Disappointed, Thomas puffs away, but bumps into Marion. She drops the chest on him, revealing its contents: the treasure. The Fat Controller is delighted with Marion's discovery and announces that the treasure will be put on display in the museum, while Thomas is sent to take some of the construction waste to the rubbish dump.

As Thomas travels along the Coastal Cliffs, Henry rushes by, frightened by "The Lost Pirate". However, he finds out it is actually Sailor John and Skiff. Sailor John demands to know where the treasure is, and is infuriated when he is told the Fat Controller has it and plans on giving it to the museum, but Skiff points out he said that he was going to give it to the museum in the first place. Sailor John angrily proclaims he will get the treasure back, but Thomas crossly tells him that the treasure never belonged to him or the Lost Pirate in the first place and that it will be going to the museum. He pushes Sailor John and Skiff aside, leaving the latter to apologise while the former pouts.

Thomas delivers the waste to the rubbish dump and returns to Knapford, where he overhears the Fat Controller talking to someone at the museum over the phone. The Fat Controller says he will keep the treasure stored in a safe in his office overnight, which worries him. At the construction yard, he meets Ryan, and the two engines make amends for what happened earlier. Ryan once again offers Thomas a place in the shed, but Thomas politely declines the offer and says he will be staying at Knapford for the night, confusing Ryan.

That night, Thomas stays on a siding outside of Knapford station to watch out for Sailor John. While he is sleeping, Sailor John and Skiff arrive. Skiff wants no involvement in his master's scheme, but has no choice. Sailor John destroys the Fat Controller's office with a stick of dynamite, and the explosion wakes up Thomas. Thomas chases after Sailor John, who has rigged the pirate ship as an escape vehicle and races away. At Arlesburgh Junction, Ryan is worried about Thomas, when he sees the pirate ship and panics. Thomas orders the small engines to stop the ship. The three miniature sized engine push a train of ballast hoppers onto the line in front of the pirate ship. Most of the trucks are slammed aside, but one of them gets caught under the flatbed, causing it to lose momentum. As the ship goes around a bend, a loose rope catches onto Ryan's buffer. Ryan hits a buffer stop, and the pirate ship topples over. Thomas congratulates Ryan and races away.

Thomas chases Sailor John and Skiff all the way to Arlesburgh. Sailor John begins throwing objects at Thomas, but this does not stop him. He prepares to throw a bundle of dynamite at him, but Skiff shakes it out of his hand, causing him to lose his aim. Skiff encourages Thomas to derail him, while Sailor John hits him in the face with an oar and threatens to have Skiff in the dry dock if he goes against his orders. Thomas bumps into Skiff, but accidentally sends him down a different track. Just when it seems Sailor John is getting away, Thomas notices his line crosses over Skiff's and bumps into him, only to notice the line runs right into the sea. Thomas runs into the water and comes to rest on top of Skiff's chassis, while Skiff and Sailor John sail away. Skiff wants to go back and help Thomas, but Sailor John threatens to have him reduced to driftwood if he mutinies against him. Suddenly, a huge wave pushes against them. Skiff says the chest is too heavy and orders Sailor John to throw it overboard, but he refuses. A large wave capsizes Skiff, and Sailor John loses the treasure as it sinks to the bottom of the sea.

Sailor John admits defeat, and later that morning, the police arrive on Captain to arrest him. Thomas is lifted out of the sea by Rocky and onto a flatbed, when he sees the Fat Controller. Thomas believes he will be scolded again, but to his surprise, the Fat Controller tells him that he is proud of him, having been told about everything by Ryan. Thomas is still upset that he lost the treasure, but the Fat Controller assures him that his engines are more important to him than any treasure could be and tells him that he is his No. 1 engine. Thomas smiles and looks back on his tanks to see his number show once again.

At last, the Harwick branch line has been completed, and the grand opening is held. Marion is shocked to discover there are indeed two Olivers on Sodor, and Thomas, fully repaired and clean, pulls in with Annie and Clarabel. The Fat Controller announces that for the new branch line, Ryan will be handling the goods traffic, while Daisy will be looking after the passengers. Thomas cuts the ribbon, and he and the other engines go down the new branch line. As they pass through Arlesburgh, Thomas meets up with Skiff, who has been repainted and now gives out tours at the harbour. Meanwhile, a team of scuba divers recover the treasure from the seabed. That night, Thomas and Skiff watch the fireworks in the sky at Arlesburgh harbour.

## Appearances

**Characters**:

* Thomas
* Edward
* Henry
* Gordon
* James
* Percy
* Toby
* Duck
* Donald
* Douglas
* Oliver
* Bill
* Ben
* Emily
* Marion
* Ryan (***introduced***)
* Daisy
* Salty
* Victor
* Rex (***introduced***)
* Bert (***introduced***)
* Mike (***introduced***)
* Sir Topham Hatt
* Sailor John (***introduced***)
* Captain Calles (***introduced***) (*does not speak*)

**Locations**:

**Rolling stock**:

**Miscellaneous**:

## Songs

* Tom Stourton, Keith Wickham and Tim Whitnall - "Never Overlook a Little Engine"
* Sam Blewitt and Westfield Infant School Choir - "We Make a Team Together" (*two editions*)

## Voice cast

### UK

* Mark Moraghan as the Narrator
* John Hasler as Thomas

## Bonus features

### UK/US

* "Never Overlook a Little Engine" music video
* "We Make a Team Together" music video
* Guess Who? puzzles - Ryan, Rex, Mike and Bert, Skiff, Donald and Douglas

## Notes

### Continuity notes

* The opening of the film plays homage to the original *Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends* opening, with Thomas passing a windmill, going under a bridge, and eventually pulling into Ffarquhar station.
* Clarabel tells Thomas that his passengers do not like being bounced about "like peas in a frying pan," a reference to *Thomas and Bertie*.
* Duck tells Donald and Douglas it has felt like they have been gone "for ages." At the time of this film's release, Donald and Douglas had not appeared on-screen since 2008, seven years ago.
* The way the engines try to wake Thomas up is similar to how they woke him up in *The Adventure Begins*. In both instances, Henry tells Thomas that Gordon is waiting for his coaches.

### *Railway Series* references

* Marion believes that the small engines are magical. In *Small Railway Engines*, Henry and James believed the small engines were magical too.

### Real-world references

* In "Never Overlook a Little Engine", a large cake with "70TH" written on it appears; this is a reference to the 70th Anniversary of *The Railway Series*, which occurred in 2015.
* Skiff sings a part of the chorus to "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)" while telling Sailor John it is time for them to go home.

### Trivia

* Before development for this film had commenced, *The Great Race* had been pitched as the 2015 special instead, but was pushed back. Rex, Mike, and Bert's role in this film was rewritten from a plot line for *The Great Race*, which would have introduced the Vicarstown Tramway and three electric tram characters to run it.[*citation needed*]
* The Awdry family was consulted for modelling the Thin Clergyman in full CGI.
* Jamie Campbell Bower and Nathan Clarke join the voice cast, while Eddie Redmayne and John Hurt star as guest actors.
* This film marks the first time that the Mainland has been explicitly shown to be England.
* Drafts of the film's script were featured in the YouTube documentary *70 Years of Friendship*. According to these drafts:
	+ *The Great Treasure Hunt* and *Legend of the Lost Treasure* were both working titles.
	+ The special was to open with Thomas passing the windmill from the original opening.

### Errors

* The digital release is slowed down to 24 frames per second, causing audio distortion.
* On the DVD cover and poster, Ryan's smokebox saddle is purple.
* Mike's valve gear is black when Marion first sees him.
* Rex's pony truck is missing for most of the film. His trailing wheels also disappear in one scene, as does Mike's pony truck in a different shot where they tour Arlesburgh.
* Emily's bogie wheels spark when she brakes, but these are not fitted with brakes. Ryan's trailing wheels also briefly spark when he tries to stop the pirate ship.
* In "Never Overlook a Little Engine":
	+ Just before the song starts, Mike's mouth does not move when he says "Oh."
	+ Before the song begins, Thomas' trucks disappear. When the song ends, the trucks reappear, but are further away.
	+ When the small engines turn into butterflies, Rex and Mike swap liveries.
* The narrator says that Sailor John was arrested the next morning, when it actually happened later that same morning.

## DVD boxsets

UK
US
Australia

## Merchandise

Books
Capsule Plarail
Mega Blox
Minis
Motorized Railway
Motor Road and Rail
TrackMaster
Wood
Wooden Railway