Buzz, Buzz

**Buzz, Buzz** is the fifteenth episode of the third season and the 75th episode overall. It is based on the story of the same name from the twenty-first Railway Series book, Main Line Engines.

## Plot

Trevor is enjoying his work in the Vicarage Orchard. It is a beautiful day with birds singing and apples ripening. James arrives and compliments how Trevor feels as well as his paint. After Trevor admits that he is bright and cheerful, James asks about a strange noise; Trevor explains that it is the bees that are making honey and that he needs to take the beehives to the station as the Vicar is going to give some of his honey to his friends. When BoCo arrives, he warns the two of them not to make the bees angry or they will sting. However, James ignores him and both engines leave and set off for the docks.

Bill and Ben are busy arranging trucks but they leave when they see BoCo, who tells Duck about the time he first met the twins and how Edward soon put a stop to their games. Duck agrees that Edward is the only one who can keep Bill and Ben in order and then nicknames them "The Bees" and BoCo chuckles, finding it a good nickname as a result of their behaviour. James bustles in after having overheard part of the conversation. He butts in asking Duck if he is ever afraid of bees and boasts that he would make the bees buzz off by blowing smoke at them, much to Duck's amusement.

The next morning, James is preparing to pull the Express. As the passengers prepare to board the train, the porter is in a hurry and accidentally knocks a beehive off the trolley, causing it to break open. Everyone in the station quickly clears out and a swarm of bees buzz around James' crew in hopes they would repair their hive. However, they are more worried that the bees will sting them and so they cling onto James' warm boiler instead. One of them burns itself on a hot spot of James' boiler and in retaliation teaches him a lesson by stinging the red engine right on the nose, leaving it red and swollen. James and his crew cannot take it anymore and run off, leaving the express behind. They try different methods to get the bees off, such as spinning on a turntable, washing them off and smoking them out in a tunnel, but all methods are unsuccessful no matter what. Finally, James' driver says the only thing to do is to go back to the orchard, which allows the bees to fly off when they see a beehive at the Wellsworth vicarage.

Once back at the sheds, the Vicar comes by to see James and gives his crew some jars of honey in gratitude for saving the bees. He also jokingly notes that even though it is not Christmas yet, it would be a great idea to nickname him "James the Red-Nosed Engine", much to James and his crew's amusement. Instead, they prefer to call him "The Bee's Knees," as a sign of just how Really Useful he is.

## Characters

* James
* Duck
* BoCo
* Trevor
* The Vicar of Wellsworth
* Bill and Ben *(do not speak)*
* Jem Cole *(cameo)*
* Edward *(mentioned)*

## Locations

* Wellsworth Vicarage Orchard
* Brendam Docks
* Tidmouth
	+ Tidmouth Yards
	+ Tidmouth Tunnel
	+ Tidmouth Sheds

## Trivia

* This episode is based on a real event in which six bees escaped from a hive at London Bridge Station.
* A reference to the second season episode, The Diseasel is made.
* This episode marks the first appearance of Tidmouth Tunnel in the series.
* Trevor's last speaking role until the sixth season episode, Twin Trouble.

## References to Other Stories

* BoCo talks to Duck of how Bill and Ben nearly made his eyes pop out and Duck says that Edward is the only one who can keep them in line.