Sodor's first heritage railway is created, with Neil, Clive, and Matthew serving as it's fleet.
Tropes:
- Adaptational Dye-Job: Neil, Clive, and Matthew gain a red livery in this episode.
- Adaptational Jerkass: Played for laughs: while still a friendly and amicable person, this version of Patrick Clifton hates his cat.
- Amicable Exes: Thomas and Kate make up in this episode, but they stay as friends.
- Bloody Hallucinations of Guilt: As Matthew is confronted with the truth about Pat, a puddle of blood forms under the postman's feet, and he begs Matthew not to 'do this to him, not again' before fading away.
- Call-Back: The lawsuit from Avery Halifax's death in "Enthusiasts" leads to an investigation that reveals numerous safety violations at Marston Heights, leading to the coal mine being shut down. Thankfully, Marston Heights is preserved as a heritage railway.
- Thomas and Kate apologise to each other for their words in “Relationships”.
- A much darker callback to the previous episode occurs when Neil starts having more "senior moments", which turn out to be a symptom of Smokebox Syndrome.
- Foil: Smokebox Syndrome is this to Metal Fatigue: Both are the most terrifying diseases to non-faceless vehicles, yet Smokebox Syndrome only affects steam engines, while Metal Fatigue affects all types. Smokebox Syndrome is also rather simple to treat, whereas treatment for Metal Fatigue can, and often will, result in death.
- Foreshadowing: When Matthew is talking to Pat, a workman comes up and asks for Matthew to move out of the way for Kate to come through. In the shot where the workman's back is facing us, Pat is nowhere to be seen. Sure enough, when Kate comes through, she sees Matthew talking to thin air.
- It's All My Fault: Matthew's hallucination of Pat comes from his feelings of guilt for accidentally causing the man's death in 1925.
- Just Friends: After recocilling, Kate and Thomas decide to be this.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: Neil, Clive and Matthew all retired because they were finding their work to be unengaging, overwhelming or both, and decided they'd had enough.
- No OSHA Compliance: As foreshadowed in "Enthusiasts", the numerous safety violations found at the Marston Heights coal mine leads to BR shutting it down.
- Only Sane Man: Clive is a rather tragic version of this, with Matthew talking to a postman that only he can see, and Neil experiences memory loss.
- Sanity Slippage: Neil and Matthew suffer from this temporarily as a result of Smokebox Syndrome.
- Shout-Out:
- A postman named Patrick Clifton.
- An unintentional one with Matt and Pat.
- Wham Line:
- Neil's answer to Kate's questions being "I don't know".
- Matthew being told that Pat died in 1925.
