History Recap / ThomasTheTankEngineS2E22WrongRoad

'''Air date''': December 3rd, 1986

'''Adapted from''': ''[[Recap/TheRailwaySeriesB21MainLineEngines Main Line Engines]]'', "Wrong Road"

[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/280px-wrongroad12_5.png]]

Thomas and Edward's branch lines are important to the railway, but their tracks and bridges aren't as strong as those on the main line. The Fat Controller restricts the larger engines to run on them. Although this is for safety of the engines, Gordon thinks the rule is for a entirely different reason. He complains to Edward about [=BoCo=] being allowed to take main line trains when he's supposed to work on the branch line. Edward jokingly suggests that Gordon ask if he can take [=BoCo=]'s trucks sometime around, but Gordon finds the idea abhorrent. Edward notes that it might be a nice change, but Gordon claims the Fat Controller would never approve of this and states that branch lines are vulgar.

Every evening, Gordon and Edward take late-night trains. Gordon takes an Express along the main line, while Edward leaves five minutes later for the branch line. Everything is going well until a lady with a large green floppy hat says goodbye to a friend on the platform. When it's nearly time for Gordon to leave, his fireman looks back and sees something large and green waving, assuming the guard is waving the flag. This results in Gordon setting off while the passengers, the luggage and the guard are left behind. Eventually, when Gordon is stopped, told of the mishap and brought back, he's embarrassed of this mistake. Unfortunately, Edward is late, so he sets off instead. There's worse to come as the signalman at the junction wasn't told about the change and sends Edward down the main line. When Gordon follows, he's sent down the branch and is later forced to sleep in a siding near the harbour.

The next morning, Bill and Ben arrive to pick up trucks from [=BoCo=], but neither him nor the trucks are in sight, so they amuse themselves in teasing Gordon. They joke that the big blue engine near them can't be Gordon, as Gordon would never go on branch lines as he thinks them vulgar. The twins consider throwing the pile of old iron and dump it into the sea, which put Gordon in a serious panic. [=BoCo=] then arrives and Gordon begs the diesel to save him from the mischievous Bill and Ben. [=BoCo=] soon knows what's happening and threatens to take the trucks away if Bill and Ben don't behave. As the twins scatter, Gordon thanks [=BoCo=] for saving his life. Then again, we do know the twins were only teasing.

!!Tropes featured in the episode:
* BerserkButton: Gordon loses it when Edward says [=BoCo=] will let him pull his trucks.
-->'''Edward''': "Nevermind, Gordon, I'm sure [=BoCo=] will let you pull his trucks sometime."\\
'''Gordon''': [spluttering] "I won't pull [=BoCo=]'s dirty trucks! I won't run on branch lines!"
* {{Bratty Half Pint}}s: Bill and Ben towards Gordon. [=BoCo=] soon straightens them out.
* {{Disneyfication}}: The episode omits a bit of BlackComedy in which the twins continue arguing about whether to have mortified Gordon cut up into scrap or hurtled into the sea in increasingly graphic detail.
* FantasticRacism: Gordon's opinion on diesels. That all soon changed.
* GossipyHens: Bill and Ben.
* JustIgnoreIt: Gordon tries to ignore Bill and Ben's teasing, but it didn't work when they mention dumping him in the sea.
* JustJokingJustification: The narrator mentions in the end that Bill and Ben were only teasing Gordon.
* LuminescentBlush: Gordon is bright red when they bring him back to the station after the mix-up with the hat.
* ATragedyOfImpulsiveness: All this starts because Gordon's fireman mistakes a woman's green floppy hat for the Guard's flag.
* TraumaButton: Gordon gets shocked after Bill and Ben say they were going to dump him in the sea.
-->'''Gordon''': I am Gordon! Stop! Stop!
----

* TraumaButton: The beginning has Gordon and Edward talking about branch line diesels pulling main line trains:
-->'''Edward''': "Nevermind, Gordon, I'm sure [=BoCo=] will let you pull his trucks sometime."
-->'''Gordon''': (spluttering) "I won't pull [=BoCo=]'s dirty trucks. I won't run on branch lines."
** Also, there's Bill and Ben teasing Gordon stating they would take him to the harbor and dump him in the sea.

'''Air date''': December 3rd, 1986 (UK), May 31st, 1993 (US)

Thomas and Edward's branch lines are important to the railway, but their tracks and bridges aren't as strong as those on the main line. The Fat Controller restricts the larger engines to run on them. Although this is for safety of the engines, Gordon thinks the rule is for a entirely different reason. He complains to Edward about BoCo being allowed to take main line trains when he's supposed to work on the branch line. Edward jokingly suggests that Gordon ask if he can take BoCo's trucks sometime around, but Gordon finds the idea abhorrent. Edward notes that it might be a nice change, but Gordon claims the Fat Controller would never approve of this and states that branch lines are vulgar.

The next morning, Bill and Ben arrive to pick up trucks from BoCo, but neither him nor the trucks are in sight, so they amuse themselves in teasing Gordon. They joke that the big blue engine near them can't be Gordon, as Gordon would never go on branch lines as he thinks them vulgar. The twins consider throwing the pile of old iron and dump it into the sea, which put Gordon in a serious panic. BoCo then arrives and Gordon begs the diesel to save him from the mischievous Bill and Ben. BoCo soon knows what's happening and threatens to take the trucks away if Bill and Ben don't behave. As the twins scatter, Gordon thanks BoCo for saving his life. Then again, we do know the twins were only teasing.

-->'''Edward''': "Nevermind, Gordon, I'm sure BoCo will let you pull his trucks sometime."
-->'''Gordon''': (spluttering) "I won't pull BoCo's dirty trucks. I won't run on branch lines."

'''Air date''': December 11th, 1986 (UK), May 31st, 1993 (US)

Thomas and Edward's branch lines are important to the railway, but their tracks and bridges are not as strong as those on the main line. The Fat Controller restricts the larger engines to run on them. Although this is for safety of the engines, Gordon thinks the rule is for a entirely different reason. He complains to Edward about [=BoCo=] being allowed to take main line trains when he is supposed to work on the branch line. Edward jokingly suggests that Gordon ask if he can take [=BoCo=]'s trucks sometime around, but Gordon finds the idea abhorrent. Edward notes that it might be a nice change, but Gordon claims the Fat Controller would never approve of this and states that branch lines are vulgar.

Every evening, Gordon and Edward take late-night trains. Gordon takes the Express along the main line, while Edward leaves a few minutes later to the branch line. Everything was going well until a lady with a large green floppy hat says goodbye to a friend on the platform. When it is nearly time for Gordon to leave, his fireman looks back and sees something large and green waving, assuming the guard is waving the flag. This resulted in Gordon setting off while the passengers, the luggage, and the guard are left behind. Eventually, Gordon is embarrassed of this mistake and is brought back. Unfortunately, Edward is late, so he sets off instead. There was worse to come as the signalman at the junction wasn't told about the change and sends Edward down the main line. When Gordon follows, he is sent down the branch line and is later being forced to sleep in a siding near the harbour.

The next morning, Bill and Ben arrive to pick up trucks from [=BoCo=], but neither him nor the trucks were in sight, so they amuse themselves in teasing Gordon. They joked that the big blue engine near them cannot be Gordon, as Gordon would never go on branch lines as he thinks them vulgar. The twins consider throwing the pile of old iron and dump it into the sea, which put Gordon in a serious panic. [=BoCo=] then arrives and Gordon begs the diesel to save him from the mischievous Bill and Ben. [=BoCo=] soon knows what's happening and threatens to take the trucks away if Bill and Ben don't behave. As the twins scatter, Gordon thanks [=BoCo=] for saving his life. Then again, we do know the twins were only teasing.

* LuminescentBlush: Gordon is bright red when they bring him back to the station after the mix-up with the signal flag.
* ATragedyOfImpulsiveness: All this starts because one of Gordon's crewmen mistakes a woman's green floppy hat for the conductor's flag.

-->'''Edward''': "Nevermind, Gordon, I'm sure [=BoCo=] will let you pull his trucks sometime."
-->'''Gordon''': (spluttering) "I won't pull [=BoCo=]'s dirty trucks! I won't run on branch lines!"

* {{Trigger}}: The beginning has Gordon and Edward talking about branch line diesels pulling main line trains:

* TragedyOfImpulsiveness: All this starts because one of Gordon's crewmen mistakes a woman's green floppy hat for the conductor's flag.

* NeverMyFault: It wasn't stated (at least not like the book ''[[Recap/TheRailwaySeriesB21MainLineEngines Main Line Engines]]''), but The Fat Controller puts Gordon into a siding as punishment for starting too early even though it really was the fireman who started the train before everything was ready.

* NeverMyFault: It wasn't stated (at least not like the book ''Literature/MainLineEngines''), but The Fat Controller puts Gordon into a siding as punishment for starting too early even though it really was the fireman who started the train before everything was ready.

'''Air date''': October 21st, 1986 (UK), May 31st, 1993 (US)

* FantasticRacism: Gordon's opinion on branch line diesels. That all soon changed.

* NeverMyFault: It wasn't stated (at least not like the novels), but The Fat Controller puts Gordon into a siding as punishment for starting too early even though it really was the fireman who started the train before everything was ready.

'''Air date''': November 1st, 1986 (UK)

* NeverMyFault: It wasn't stated (at least not in the novels), but The Fat Controller puts Gordon into a siding as punishment for starting too early even though it really was the fireman who started the train before everything was ready.

* NeverMyFault: The Fat Controller blames Gordon for starting too early even though it really was the fireman who started the train before everything was ready.

* FantasticRacism: Gordon's opinion on branchline diesels. That all soon changed.

* {{Trigger}}: The beginning has Gordon and Edward talking about branchline diesels pulling main line trains:

* {{Bratty Half Pint}}s: Bill and Ben towards Gordon. [=BoCo=] soon straighten them out.

Every evening, Gordon and Edward take late-night trains. Gordon takes the Express along the main line, while Edward leaves a few minutes later to the branch line. Everything was going well until a lady with a large green floppy hat says goodbye to a friend on the platform. When it is nearly time for Gordon to leave, his fireman looks back and sees something large and green waving, assuming the guard is waving the flag. This resulted in Gordon setting off while the passengers, the luggage, and the guard stranded are left behind. Eventually, Gordon is embarrassed of this mistake and is brought back. Unfortunately, Edward is late, so he sets off instead. There was worse to come as the signalman at the junction wasn't told about the change and sends Edward down the main line. When Gordon follows, he is sent down the branch line and is later being forced to sleep in a siding near the harbour.

The next morning, Bill and Ben arrive to pick up trucks from [=BoCo=], but neither him nor the trucks were in sight, so they amuse themselves in teasing Gordon. They joked that the big blue engine near them cannot be Gordon, as Gordon would never go on branch lines as he thinks them vulgar. The twins consider throwing the pile of old iron and dump it into the sea, which caused Gordon seriously panicking. [=BoCo=] then arrives and Gordon begs the diesel to save him from the mischievous Bill and Ben. [=BoCo=] soon knows what's happening and threatens to take the trucks away if Bill and Ben don't behave. As the twins scatter, Gordon thanks [=BoCo=] for saving his life. Then again, we know the twins were only teasing.

-->'''Gordon''': "I won't pull [=BoCo=]'s dirty trucks! I won't run on branchlines!"