20x20 - Useful Railway

[bunniefuu]

[bouncy music]

♪ ♪

children:

♪ They're two, they're four ♪

♪ They're six, they're eight ♪

♪ Shunting trucks

and hauling freight ♪

♪ Red and green

and brown and blue ♪

♪ They're the really

useful crew ♪

♪ All with different roles

to play ♪

♪ Round Tidmouth Sheds

or far away ♪

♪ Down the hills

and round the bends ♪

♪ Thomas and his friends ♪

♪ ♪

[whistle toots]

[steam hisses]

[soft music]

male narrator: Useful Railway.

[whistle toots]

male narrator: Sometimes,

Thomas brings passengers

up to Arlesburgh Junction,

where they can ride

on the mini engines

of the miniature railway.

[whistle toots]

- Hello, Bert.

Hello, Mike.

[whistles tooting]

Oh, hello, Rex.

[whistle toots]

- Hello, Thomas!

narrator: Thomas likes

the miniature engines,

his passengers do too,

but they don't take

the little railway

very seriously.

- [giggles]

- Oh, they're so cute.

- And so tiny!

- Oh, look, Daddy!

Look at them!

- I know!

It's just like a toy railway,

isn't it?

- "A toy railway," indeed.

We're not a toy railway.

We may be small,

but we do a lot of heavy work

and are really useful.

- Of course we are, Mike,

Keep your steam in.

They're only human.

[chuckles]

- Rex is right, Mike,

the passengers didn't mean

to insult you.

♪ ♪

narrator:

Mike is often grumpy.

He loses his temper

much too easily.

[brakes hissing]

- Oh, shoo! Shoo!

[sheep bleating]

[horn toots]

[horn blaring]

What is the matter

with you silly animals?

Get out of the way!

[sheep bleating]

Oh! Some of us

have work to do, ya know?

[sheep bleating]

narrator: That night

in the sheds,

Mike complained

to Rex and Bert

about the sheep.

- Sheep are nothing

but trouble.

Oh, I don't see the point

of them silly things.

[both laughing]

- They're silly,

but they're useful too, Mike.

- Useful?

[scoffs]

Don't talk nonsense, Rex.

- It's true!

Farmers sell their wool

for people

to make clothes from.

You know, those things they wear

instead of paint.

[footsteps approaching]

- Quite right, Rex.

narrator: The engines

were surprised

to see that Mr. Duncan,

the Small Controller,

had come to their shed.

- The farmers have asked us

to take their wool to market.

If we do it well,

it will show everyone

that we're

a really useful railway!

So you must all do your best.

- I don't understand, sir.

We can't drive sheep

along the line.

They wouldn't go straight!

It's like what happened

to Mike today.

- Don't be silly, Bert.

We don't drive the sheep.

We take their wool in bales

on our cars.

This is an easy job.

- Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho!

Easy?

I don't know how easy

it will be, Rex,

but seeing as you seem to know

all about it,

you can take the first train.

- Thank you, sir!

I'm telling you,

it'll be easy-peasy.

- I bet it won't be easy.

narrator: The next morning,

Rex took some cars

and set out to collect the wool

from the farmers.

[whistle toots]

♪ ♪

They started loading

at the far end of the line.

The wool from the sheep

had been made

into big bales that could be

stacked on Rex's cars.

The farmers

helped to tie them down.

♪ ♪

Rex stopped to load wool

from each farm along the way.

♪ ♪

[whistle toots]

♪ ♪

- Nearly finished!

- I knew it would be easy.

That's what I told Mike and Bert

last night.

Easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy!

- That's right!

[both chuckling]

Only one more load,

and we're away!

[whistle toots]

narrator: But Rex's driver

didn't know

that the last load

belonged to Willie.

Willie was one of the farmers,

but he was often dawdling

and always ended up

running late.

- Oh!

[bell ringing]

- Oh, Willie!

Your load's slipping!

- Oh, dear!

Uh...

Oh, but I can't stop now.

I'm already late.

I hope it'll hold.

narrator: The load did hold

but not quite long enough.

- [shouts]

[metal creaking]

Whoa!

[crashing]

Oh, crumbs!

That's torn it!

[whistle toots]

[gasps] It's Rex!

[dramatic music]

Oh! Oh!

- I said it was easy!

[laughs]

I said it was easy!

narrator: Then everything

happened at once.

- Rex!

Rex! Watch out!

Slow down!

- [gasps]

Stop! Stop!

[brakes squeal]

♪ ♪

- [slow-motion yelling]

Whoa!

- [slow-motion] No!

♪ ♪

- [slow-motion] Rex!

♪ ♪

[brakes hissing]

- [slow-motion] No!

[crashing]

- [gasps] Oh, no!

- Oh, no...

narrator: The Small Controller

came to see

what had happened.

- I'm sorry, sir.

I tried to slow down,

but I didn't realize

the line was blocked

until I passed under

the bridge.

- Uh, I lost control

of the load.

I-I took the corner

too quickly, and, well,

heh, oh, I'm very sorry,

Mr. Duncan.

- Don't tell me.

Tell Rex.

- Sorry, Rex.

narrator: Soon,

they sorted out Rex's cars.

Bert lost no time

in taking them away

to deliver the wool

to market.

- I guess maybe pulling

wool trains isn't as easy

as it looks, eh, Rex?

[whistle toots]

[chuckles]

- [sighs]

narrator: Poor Rex

had to stay where he was.

He didn't like it one bit.

[whistle toots]

- That looks like an easy job,

all right,

lying there on the bank.

- [sighs]

[whistle toots]

- I say,

what happened here?

[indistinct chatter]

- Oh!

narrator: Eventually,

they managed

to hoist Rex

back onto the rails,

and Bert and Mike

helped bring him home.

[whistles tooting]

♪ ♪

- I suppose that accident

served me right

for being so full of myself.

- No, it wasn't really

your fault at all.

- It was that farmer Willie.

♪ ♪

narrator: The Small Controller

was in the yard

when they arrived back

at Arlesburgh Junction.

[steam hisses]

- Ah, Rex, you're back!

Glad to see you.

I'm proud of you, Rex.

Indeed, I'm proud of you all.

Thanks to Rex managing

to slow down when he did,

the accident

caused little harm,

and you, Bert and Mike,

have worked like heroes.

I think our customers

all admire the way we managed.

- Well done!

- Oh, thank you!

- Great job!

- Good for you!

- You've done a splendid job.

- Never overlook

a little engine, eh?

- They may have thought

we were a toy railway before,

but now, everyone says

we're really useful,

and when we finish

with the wool,

they've promised us

plenty more work.

- Ah, extra work won't be

a problem for us, sir.

Just ask Rex.

[together] It'll be

easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy!

[both laughing]

[all laughing]

♪ ♪

[steam hisses]

[gentle woodwind music]

♪ ♪

[children singing]

[whistle blasts]

[upbeat music]

♪ ♪