Topped Off Thomas is the eighteenth episode of the tenth series.

Plot

Thomas' autumn hobby is to "race the wind". Thomas stops at a junction but is surprised to find Spencer who explains he has to pick up the Fat Controller and Lady Hatt, and the Duke and Duchess of Boxford at Kellsthorpe and take them to Callan Castle for tea. Thomas is upset about this since he wants to take them in Annie and Clarabel, but Spencer retorts that small engines like Thomas get small jobs and big engines like him get big jobs. Thomas crossly says that he can go faster than the wind, but Spencer crossly puts it off as nonsense. This infuriates Thomas and challenges Spencer to a race to Kellsthorpe. The signal drops and the engines race off.

At Kellsthorpe, the Fat Controller and Lady Hatt are waiting on the platform with the Duke and Duchess of Boxford, when Spencer screeches to a halt while Thomas flies through the station and ends up blowing the Fat Controller's hat off. Thomas reverses back into the station, worried about what the Fat Controller would say. The Fat Controller is very cross and sternly asks Thomas why he was going so fast, as he should know that engines should go slowly through the stations. Thomas apologises, and the Fat Controller booms that he cannot go to tea without his hat. Thomas promises to find his hat in time, and he chuffs quickly away.

Thomas is sure he will find the hat easily. He looks at the Maithwaite level crossing, to find the Fat Controller's hat on Bertie's roof. Thomas is proud to have found it, but then Gordon rushes past, blowing the top hat away. Thomas chases after the hat.

Thomas then sees the hat on top of Farmer McColl's scarecrow. Thomas is again proud to have found it, but then Harold hovers up from the other side of the hill. The wind from his blades blows the hat far away and Thomas again quickly sets off for the hat.

As Thomas steams along, he gets out of puff, and is out of places to look. Suddenly he sees the hat on a Windmill's sail. Thomas whistles happily, but then a great gust of wind blows the windmill sails around, and the hat flies off. Thomas groans and races after the top hat.

It is now getting late, and Thomas still has not found the hat. Thomas surrenders to the wind and lets out a sad wheesh of steam. Thomas starts back towards Kellsthorpe, and worries if he will ever be Really Useful again. He suddenly sees the hat in front of him, floating on the wind. Thomas says he was silly to think that he was as fast as the wind and hopes it can help him. The wind hears Thomas and the Fat Controller's hat falls gently onto Thomas' funnel. Thomas chuffs slowly towards Kellsthorpe to return the top hat.

When Thomas arrives, everyone is waiting for him. The Fat Controller gasps and sees that his hat is on Thomas' funnel. He praises Thomas for finding it. Thomas blows a happy wheesh of steam out of his funnel, and the hat falls gently onto the platform right in front of the Fat Controller. Thomas learns that going slowly is just as good as going fast, and maybe even better.

Characters

• Thomas
• Spencer
• Sir Topham Hatt
• Bertie (does not speak; speaking role cut)
• Gordon (does not speak)
• Harold (does not speak)
• Lady Hatt (does not speak)
• The Duke and Duchess of Boxford (do not speak)
• Edward (cameo)
• James (cameo)
• Sir Topham Hatt's Assistants (cameos)
• Harold's Pilots (cameos)
• Bulgy (poster cameo)
• Annie and Clarabel (mentioned)
• Farmer McColl (mentioned)

Locations

• Kellsthorpe Road
• Kirk Ronan Junction
• Maithwaite
• Tower Windmill
• Callan Castle (mentioned)

Trivia

• This episode is the tenth episode of the tenth series in official order (outside of its Half-Hour format).
• This episode first aired in Canada in September, ahead of its UK and US premiere.
• This episode bears resemblance to the magazine story Thomas and the Windy Day, written by Andrew Brenner.
• Shigenori Sōya joins the Japanese voice cast.
• From this episode onwards:
  • Spencer has silver paintwork and his wheels remained blue-grey.
  • Harold gains moving eyes.
• An underscore variant of the music of the engines fighting from Calling All Engines! is used when Thomas and Spencer race to Kellsthorpe station.
• Posters of Bulgy and the "Circus" are seen at Kellsthorpe station.
• In one shot at the beginning of the episode, Thomas puffs on what looks like a trap-point on the third track. Bearing an unintentional reference to the 1991 Christopher Awdry annual story, Near Miss.
• The scarecrow is the same one seen in Gordon Takes a Tumble.
• Thomas' gauge 3.5 model is used for when the Fat Controller's hat lands on his funnel.
• This episode marks the only of a few things:
  • The only appearance of Thomas' unused second series outraged face.^[1]
  • The only appearance of Spencer's clenched face.
  • Spencer's only appearance in the tenth series.
• In a Chinese book and a behind the scenes preview, a deleted scene of Thomas and Bertie at a different level crossing shows that Bertie was intended to have a larger role before Thomas' race with Spencer.
• This episode marks the last of three things:
  • The final time the wind is described as a character, the other being the third series episode Gordon and the Famous Visitor.
  • Kellsthorpe Road's final appearance until the seventeenth series episode Wayward Winston, and the station's last appearance in the model series.
  • The last appearance of Thomas' tired face.
• The US dub of this episode was never released on home media.

Goofs

• Spencer's steam platform can be seen during the race to Kellsthorpe.
• Thomas' face is loose at Kellsthorpe.
• In the Thomas' view scene at Maithwaite, a steam platform is visible on his line.
• When the narrator says "but just then a great gust of wind", the leaves were going to the left indicating the wind was blowing to the West, but the windmill blades were going to the right in the next scene as well as the leaves.
• The narrator says that Thomas lets out a small sad wheesh of steam. But no amount of steam was coming out of Thomas despite what was being said, and the wheeshing sound being heard.
• In Thomas' view scene at the countryside, the tracks in front of him lead to the bushes.
• Between the scene of Thomas watching the hat floating above him and the one where the hat lands on his funnel, his siderods change position. This is because his large scale model was used.
• During close-ups of Thomas' funnel, its brim is not as wide as it normally is.
• In the European Spanish dub, Spencer says he'll collect the Fat Controller, Lady Hatt and the Duke and Duchess at Boxford station, when the station he would collect them from was Kellsthorpe. Thomas and the narrator refer to the station correctly as Kellsthorpe for the rest of the episode.

Merchandise

• Books - Oh No! Hat Has Flown Away
• TrackMaster (discontinued)
• Plarail - Thomas and Spencer Racing Set (discontinued)

In Other Languages

Home Media Releases

References