Air date: July 31st, 1995 (UK), October 21st, 1996 (US)
Adapted from: Gallant Old Engines, "Special Funnel"
It is wintertime and Peter Sam is still awaiting his new funnel, which, in his words, will be "something special". The other engines make fun of his talk about the new funnel. The weather soon becomes bad and there is a washout near the tunnel, so Rusty brings workmen to fix the bridge. As days go by, the weather changes and becomes frosty and cold. A few days later, the bridge is mended and Peter Sam is chuffing down the line with a passenger train. As he puffs through a tunnel, his cracked funnel is knocked off by an icicle in the tunnel and he has to use a discarded drainpipe for a funnel. Peter Sam's funnel eventually arrives and he discovers it makes his work easier. The engines do not make fun of Peter Sam's funnel anymore, because they wish they had one like it.
Tropes featured in the episode:
- Adaptation-Induced Plot Hole:
- In the original book, the base of Peter Sam's funnel remains after his funnel is knocked off, giving his crew something they can sit the pipe onto. Here his funnel is knocked clean off, but the way his crew tie the pipe to his smokebox is not changed. Additionally, when Peter Sam is shown the new funnel, the broken base of his old one is on his smokebox like in the original book.
- Peter Sam thinks something squashed his new funnel when he first sees it, but since the show changes it from flat to a box, his comment doesn't make sense anymore.
- All of the Other Reindeer: Peter Sam's funnel was the butt of jokes to the other engines.
- Butt-Monkey: Peter Sam until he got his new funnel.
- Break the Haughty: The other engines eat their words when they see Peter Sam's new Giesl ejector funnel.
- Green-Eyed Monster: The other engines in the end of the episode become this. No one laughs at Peter Sam's new funnel anymore. They want one just like it.
- "The Hero Sucks" Song: Sir Handel sings about Peter Sam's funnel, much to the amusement of the other engines."Peter Sam's said again and again
his new funnel will put ours to shame
Went into the tunnel
and lost his old funnel.
Now his famous new funnel's a drain!" - Not So Above It All: Even Skarloey and Rheneas are shown laughing at Peter Sam's funnel, and consequently getting jealous of it afterwards.
- Stock Footage: Footage from "Granpuff" is used.
