Old Iron

**Old Iron** is the fifth episode of the second season and the 35th episode overall. It is based on the story of the same name from the ninth Railway Series book, Edward the Blue Engine.

## Plot

One day, James is forced to wait at Wellsworth for Edward to arrive with his train. James is infuriated by this and grumbles about Edward being late again, though Edward finds it funny. That evening, James is still grumbling when he puffs back to the sheds. He complains to Thomas and Percy that Edward is always making the other engines wait and clanks about like a lot of "old iron". Thomas and Percy are outraged at this remark and tell James that Edward could beat him in a race any day, to which James sarcastically says he would like to see.

The next morning, James' driver suddenly falls ill and is sent home. With only his fireman on duty, James is relegated to shunting for the day to his annoyance. After the fireman uncouples James from his trucks, the signalman spots James leaving with no one in his cab and sets the signals at "danger" to halt traffic down the line, then speaks with the fireman. It turns out that two boys were seen on James' footplate, fiddling with his controls, only to run when he started. The signalman's telephone rings, with an engine inspector on the other end. After finishing the call, the signalman then tells the fireman to get a shunter's pole and a coil of wire rope.

The inspector soon arrives in Edward and the fireman is ready with the pole and the rope. With James' fireman and the inspector riding along with his own crew, Edward sets off. Meanwhile, James happily sails along the line, unaware that anything is wrong and simply glad to be free from shunting. Before long, his mood changes as he finds himself starting to go faster while realizing that his cab is empty, and he starts to panic. By now, Edward is racing out of Knapford and heading down the line as fast as he can to catch up to James. Soon, the two are almost neck and neck, with Edward giving it everything he can to keep up. The driver does his best to keep Edward steadily aligned, while the inspector climbs outside and makes it to Edward's front with a noose of the rope hanging from the shunting pole and tries to slip the noose over James' right buffer. It is difficult for the inspector, but he finally manages to catch the buffer and tie it to Edward's left one. James' fireman scrambles over to his cab and takes control, allowing both engines to finally slow down.

As the two tired engines approach Crosby, James apologises for his earlier insult, which Edward accepts. Waiting for them on the platform is the Fat Director. He congratulates the crew on their rescue and then tells James that he can rest before he takes his next train, while Edward is rewarded with a trip to the Works to get his worn-out parts mended. Edward is delighted, remarking how nice it will be to run without clanking.

## Characters

* Thomas
* Edward
* James
* Percy
* The Fat Director
* Henry *(cameo)*
* Gordon *(cameo)*
* Troublesome Trucks *(cameos)*

## Locations

* Wellsworth
* Tidmouth Sheds
	+ Tidmouth Goods Station
	+ Tidmouth Engine Works
* Knapford
	+ Yards
* Crosby
	+ Tunnel
	+ C&B Barber
	+ Crosby Road Bridge

## Trivia

* In the original story by Wilbert Awdry, the police arrested the boys, who were then "walloped" by their fathers. The scene was omitted in the adaptation to remove references to child abuse.
* This episode is based on a real event that took place when an Alco S2 locomotive ran away from a yard in Alton, Illinois, United States. The incident was nearly identical to the episode.