U.S. Title: Thomas and the Jet Engine
Air date: October 5th, 2002
Gordon is boasting about how fast he can go, when Thomas is given the job of delivering a jet engine to Dryaw Airfield. Thomas eagerly accepts, but now wishes he could go faster than Gordon.
Thomas is very excited when he arrives at the docks and sees the jet engine on its truck and is soon ready to leave, but Cranky is taking his time. Thomas tells him to hurry up, which just aggravates Cranky; so much so that in his frustration, Cranky winds up catching the jet engine's power lever with his hook, switching it on. The engine is soon rocketing Thomas along the track. Thomas' driver tries to apply the brakes, but the jet engine's thrust is too powerful.
Signals are changed and points are switched for the runaway Thomas. Thomas is very excited and soon flies by James, then Henry, and finally Percy, who are all very amazed. When Bertie spots Thomas at a crossing, he proposes a race, but when Thomas rockets past him, he quickly changes his mind. Soon enough, Thomas reaches Gordon, who is pulling the express on an adjacent track. Thomas whooshes past with only enough time to give a quick "Hi" and "Bye" to Gordon, who is very surprised.
Eventually, the jet engine burns off all its fuel and Thomas is back to his normal speed. He steams gently into Knapford and jokingly apologizes to Gordon for out-speeding him. Gordon tries to save face by claiming he didn't notice, prompting Henry to tease him about Thomas being the actual fastest engine on the island. Percy feels sorry for Gordon and tells him that a steam engine doesn't have to go as fast as a jet engine. James retorts that either way, Gordon is still full of hot air, as the Big Engine fumes away.
Tropes featured in the episode:
- Just Train Wrong: The situation that Thomas has in the episode would not happen in real life for a number of reasons: Jet engines can't be transported carrying fuel, and Thomas would've derailed at those speeds he went. Furthermore, even if he didn't derail, the friction from the speed he was going would've disintegrated his wheels, and the windspeed and air resistance would've ripped him apart.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Had Cranky not lost his temper with Thomas over urging him to speed up, Thomas' journey would have been much more straightforward.
- Oh, Crap!: Cranky says "Uh-oh!" when he realizes his bad attitude has led him to accidentally turn on the jet engine with his hook.
- Public Domain Soundtrack: A mix of the Runaway theme and the finale of Gioachino Rossini's "William Tell Overture" plays throughout the majority of the episode.
- Runaway Train: Thomas goes at breakneck speeds thanks to having the jet engine switched on with his driver and fireman unable to do anything to slow him down despite still being onboard.
- Series Continuity Error: In this episode, Thomas said that he wants to go as fast as Gordon, although in "Thomas and Gordon", he did go as fast as him, but found out it wasn't a pleasant experience.
- Too Fast to Stop: Thanks to the jet engine, Thomas goes at speeds so fast that his brakes can't stop him. It's only when the jet engine runs out of fuel that Thomas returns to his normal speeds.
