Legality

**Legality** is the second episode of the first season of the Stories of Sodor and the second episode overall.

Legality/Transcript

## Plot

The episode starts off with Edward explaining the designated roles of certain engines and how they learn things, including Thomas and Toby training Percy. Six months after Percy had joined the Nor'easters, Mr. Star instructs Thomas to give Percy a tour of the Ffarquhar Branch Line.

At the end of the tour, Thomas takes Percy up to Anopha Quarry, the branch line's economic backbone. The quarry's manager had informed Mr. Star that a large shipment of stone was to go out. When Thomas and Percy arrive at the quarry, Thomas introduces Percy to Clive, the former Sodor and Mainland number 1 who now works at the quarry. The three engines get to work, with Clive organising the trucks while Thomas and Percy take turns delivering a train to Elsbridge, where Henry waits to take the long lines of trucks on to Knapford Harbour.

By afternoon, there is one train left. Thomas decides to take it down to Elsbridge. On his way down, Constable Bentley stops Thomas and asks him where his cowcatchers are. This is because of a law that was passed two years ago that any engine travelling along an unfenced section of track must have cowcatchers and side plates to prevent injuries to any persons or animals that would stray onto the line. Thomas says he did not know of the law, and his driver protests that they have went on the line hundreds of times without a single accident, but the policeman has none of it and tells them he will give them a ticket. Thomas puffs sadly away, anxious about what Mr. Star will say.

Meanwhile, Edward hurries towards Knapford with his passenger train, arriving eight minutes behind schedule and also anxious about what Mr. Star will say. James, who is waiting in the station, banters with Edward about this. Presently, Mr. Star walks up to Edward and asks him why he is late. Edward explains that a lorry had broken down at the level crossing near Carldon. Just then, Knapford stationmaster Willie Hanson explains to Mr. Star about Thomas' predicament.

Soon, Edward brings Mr. Star to Elsbridge, where Thomas is waiting, along with the policeman and Detective Sargent Dennis Copeland, a personal friend of Mr. Star. The three men talk, leading to Copeland voiding the ticket on the grounds of it being a first offense. Mr. Star accepts partial blame and responds by building a fence along the line leading up to the quarry and having the engines sit through several mandatory legal seminars. While the instructor, Mr. Hunt, had all the charisma of a wet carrot, the engines learn plenty of things, both common sense concepts when handling train loads of hazardous materials and lesser known points like blowing whistles when passing a signal box during night runs. Although no harm came from Thomas's actions, the Midis kept on teasing him. At Brendam, Mr. Zorro introduces Colin, Lily, Adam, Diesel and Donald to Mr. Hunt to lecture them on their legal operations and orders his engines to pay attention, much to their annoyance. Only Colin finds this interesting, so when Donald asks him what a simpleton is, and Colin says no, Donald answers "If you ever get the chance, look in a mirror and you'll find out."

Edward then introduces the Mid-Sodor Railway Engines, Duke, Atlas, Falcon, Stuart and Andreas, and mentions that when the Railways Act was passed, it only applied to the standard gauge lines. This year, the Nor'easters got the contract for the produce delivery from the MSR. Edward had been tasked to deliver the first shipment from Duke and Stuart. Stuart is delayed to the point where Edward leaves, unable to wait any longer. Rain starts pouring during Edward's journey, and when he arrives at Knapford Harbour, Mr. Star tells him that Stuart had arrived not long after he had left. Edward can't return to Arlesburgh because he has to take a colliery train in ten minutes. The Captain of the ship was originally going to sail tomorrow, but now he wants to leave before the storm gets worse. Percy, who was nearby, is ordered by Mr. Star to go up to Arlesburgh and pick up Stuart's produce.

Percy makes his way up to Arlesburgh, unaware that after Edward had left there, Adam had arrived and sweet-talked Stuart into letting him take the produce to Brendam. At Tidmouth, a policeman is present when Percy notices Adam with his train. Percy informs the policeman, who goes to the stationmaster's office and telephones Marston Heights to flag down Adam before he can pass through. When Adam stops there, he discovers it is because the train he's pulling is legally the property of the LNER which he had stolen from, but Adam protests that he was only doing them a favour.

Adam returns to Tidmouth where his crew, Percy's crew and the police talk. While no charges were filed against Adam, as the police found it plausible he was simply doing Percy a favour, Percy got to take his train to Knapford. His cargo was loaded on board the ship, which set sail immediately despite the weather. Mr. Star commended Percy for his legal knowledge. For the longest time, Constable Bentley lurked around the Ffarquhar Branch, waiting to hit an engine with an infraction, but before he could get the chance, he had to resign from the force, following a scandal between him and the Mayor of Ffarquhar's wife. Edward closes out the episode saying that life on the Ffarquhar Branch improved dramatically with Bentley gone.

## Characters

* Thomas
* Edward
* James
* Percy
* Donald
* Diesel
* Colin
* Lily
* Adam
* Clive
* Duke
* Stuart
* Terence
* Mr. Star
* Mr. Zorro
* Henry *(does not speak; New version only)*
* Toby *(does not speak)*
* Neil *(does not speak)*
* Matthew *(does not speak)*
* Skarloey *(does not speak)*
* Falcon *(does not speak)*
* Andreas *(does not speak)*
* Atlas *(does not speak)*
* Gordon *(cameo)*
* Rheneas *(cameo)*
* Henrietta *(cameo)*
* Station Master Jeffries *(cameo)*

## Trivia

* The events of this episode take place in the latter half of 1934.
* This is the first Episode based on of a Railway Series Story/Thomas and Friends episode, being Thomas in Trouble.
* An older version of this video can be found on YouTube, but Victor Tanzig remade it (along with several others from Season 1) because he was unhappy with it and embarrassed by the fast narration.
* The old version of the episode ended somewhat differently. In that version, Adam actually was shunted into the nearby sheds, the ship didn't actually set sail, and the entire Sodor board of the LMS had been placed on probation and risked closure if they did not behave. They behaved better towards the Nor'easters, or at least they no longer tried to sabotage their operations. Additionally, Bentley's superior is only named in the old version.