U.S. Title: The Old Iron Bridge
Air date: October 9th, 2003 (UK), November 7th, 2003 (US)
Skarloey and Rheneas love to puff along the narrow-gauge railway. But an old wooden bridge has been damaged by a storm. One day, Skarloey is enjoying his journey and when he puffs across the bridge he ends up on the broken beam, which he does not see until the last second, and dangles precariously above the river.
A few days later, the Fat Controller tells the engines that the bridge has been mended. He also tells Skarloey to collect the worker's trucks that have been left there. He agrees, but he is afraid to go on the bridge again. Skarloey arrives and sees the trucks on the other side of the bridge. He becomes afraid and remembers what happened before and stops halfway across. His driver tries to tell him that the bridge is safe, but Skarloey is still doubtful, so they leave without the trucks. They arrive back at the sheds and Rheneas' driver decides that he will pick up the trucks instead. Rheneas warns Skarloey that the Fat Controller will be cross if he does not cross the bridge soon.
Now Rheneas has to take Skarloey's trucks as well as his own. He puffs across the bridge with his heavy train. Meanwhile, the Fat Controller punishes Skarloey for disobeying him, telling him to stay and shunt trucks until he will do as told.
The next morning, Rheneas takes his long train as usual and puffs through the countryside towards the old bridge. But while halfway across the bridge, he soon runs out of water. The yard manager tells Skarloey, who sets off to help him immediately. Skarloey arrives and sees Rheneas stranded. He is very scared, but he is determined and bravely chuffs onto the bridge. It creaks and groans underneath him, but he finally reaches Rheneas, gets coupled up to him, and pulls Rheneas to safety.
Rheneas takes on water and tells Skarloey that he was very brave to help him. Now, Skarloey is no longer afraid of crossing the bridge and he loves his journeys more than ever.
Tropes featured in the episode:
- Face Your Fears: Skarloey develops a fear of bridges thanks to an accident where he was caught in the middle of a broken bridge. He ends up braving his fear when Rheneas runs out of water on the same bridge, pushing him to safety.
- Out-of-Character Moment: Skarloey, who was previously a wise and sensible engine from the earlier series, is afraid to cross the bridge.
- Stock Footage: This episode begins with a few scenes from "Dunkin Duncan", including a
Deleted Scene. - Trauma Button: As a result of nearly plummeting off the bridge after it collapses, Skarloey's nerves betray him every time he tries to cross it, even after it is fixed. He finally gets over it after he helps an immobile Rheneas across it.
- Unbuilt Trope: One of the first instances of Skarloey's later fearful persona. However, here it is for the rather justified reason that a bridge he worked on collapsed under him, leaving him with a Trauma Button that betrays his usual levelheaded self.
