| Rail Fight! | |
| Season 1, Episode 9 | |
| First Aired (CAN) 2011 | |
| First Aired (USA) 2011 | |
| Episode Guide | |
| previous "Looking Back on Younger Days" |
next "Finding James" |
Rail Fight! is the ninth episode of Sodor High School: Thomas and Friends Tales.
Synopsis[]
James lets his anger take over and he attacks Thomas.
Plot[]
As the train Thomas, Emily, and Henry are on arrives at Knapford Station, they see a large number of engines being moved around and placed in the sidings for the railway show, ranging from steam to first generation diesels. Thomas spots the blue tank engine he and Emily rode in in the past, then they find a small black diesel shunter with hazard stripes, cowcatchers and sideplates being moved beside it. A voive tells them it belongs to the Ffraquhar quarry," said another voice. Thomas and Emily look to see a girl around their age walking up to them: Thomas recognizes her as Mavis, an old friend and Toby's girlfriend, whom he introduces Emily to. Mavis' Father is the driver of the diesel shunter and she mentions Thomas not popping by the quarry for a visit only to be reminded of the policeman who won't let him in. They talk about attending the railway show (which will have a popular singer as a special guest) and after some time, Thomas and Emily separate from Mavis to do their shopping.
On Monday, Thomas and Emily walk side by side to school, when suddenly Thomas felt something hit the back of his head. They turn around and see James looking cross, questioning if he was the one throwing rocks: he neither confirms nor denies it. Remembering what Henry had said about James' jealousy but uncertain if it's true, Thomas turns around and enters the school with Emily as James warns him to watch his back. All day long, the redhead maintains an angry look directed at Thomas until it was time for everyone to go home.
Later that evening, James sulked as he did his homework but he's far too upset to focus because he keeps thinking of Thomas and Emily dancing together. The memories keep playing in his mind, making him crosser. He gets so mad that he slammed his fists on his desk, nearly knocking his lamp onto the floor. His Mother hears and asks if he's alright, and he tells a half-truth about being stressed over a test he has the next day. After she leaves and he finishes his homework, James sat on his bed and looks at the ceiling, feeling more miserable than before and wishing his Father (who passed away when he was five) could help him. Hours later, James is still awake and wondering why Emily spends so much time with Thomas.
Days pass, and James kept looking angrily at Thomas, but never at Emily. Even Gordon was curious about James' attitude and questions him. When he refuses to answer, Henry tells Gordon he's potentially jealous and James admits to it saying if he sees Thomas and Emily at the rail fest tomorrow, he'll take care of things "James style", leaving them feeling concerned.
That night, Emily was tossing and turning in her sleep. She's in the midst of having a terrible dream, and her yelling is enough to make the Brighton siblings wake her up. She bolts awake shouting "NO!" and explains that she was dreaming about Thomas and James fighting in the railyards, James crying as he beat Thomas up: this surprises Thomas as he's never seen James cry in his life. Emily worries her dream is a premonition, but Thomas is skeptical.
The day of the railway show arrives, and the Brighton siblings, Emily, and Percy travel to the big station where they see lots of people walking around, looking at the large gathering of steam and diesel engines. Annie spots the Duke and Duchess' private engine, an A4 pacific engine from the LNER railway, and Emily is surprised that Annie and Clarabel have such knowledge on steam engines. The five teens find Mark Joseph and several students from the Sodor High's music department performing, not knowing of James observing the performances hoping to find Emily without Thomas accompanying her. When he does see Emily, she appears to be by herself near the quarry diesel. He smiles, pleased with this, then heads off to find Gordon and Henry, unaware that Thomas was in the cab with Mavis and her Father.
Twenty minutes later, James spots Emily again, and like before from his vantage point, she was all alone. He walks off and misses Thomas giving Emily some cotton candy. For the rest of the event, this pattern goes on and his anger slowly subsides. He abandons his plan, much to Henry and Gordon's surprise, pointing out that Thomas and Emily don't always have to be together and concluding Thomas is with Rosie. At that moment, he spots Rosie alone near an American tank engine and when he approaches her asking where Thomas is, she tells him she didn't even know he was at the event. James starts to worry and goes to find Percy in hopes Thomas was hanging out with him only to spot Emily giving Thomas some cotton candy he gave her earlier. James gets angry again, and he starts walking down the platform to where they are.
Right as Thomas asks Emily to spend time with James while he goes to find Percy, James finally loses it and attacks Thomas. Gordon tries to restrain the redhead as Rosie begs him to stop, but James breaks free and hits Rosie in the face by accident, sending her into a saddletank's buffers. This angers Thomas and leads to him decking James so hard, he falls onto the train tracks. The boys continue to brawl as Emily witnesses her nightmare coming true until she sees the A3 pacific engine backing up down the line Thomas and James were fighting on. She manages to save them just in time, then chastises James for what he's done before he can continue the fight. Cross that Emily's apparently chosen Thomas, James threatens the blue-hared boy and walks away, leaving everyone shocked and Thomas believing Emily has a sixth sense for predicting the future.
James walks all the way home feeling miserable, lonely, and sore from his injuries. By the time he arrives, it's late and his Mother is shocked from seeing his current state before he plays it off as nothing inportant.
In the Brighton home, Emily treats Thomas' injuries as they discuss James' motive for going berserk; Thomas theorizes that James likes Emily and believes her friendship with Thomas isn't platonic. As Emily decides to talk to James and tell him she's not interested in romance, Thomas gets a call from James' Mother telling him her son ran away, likely due to heartbreak. Thomas informs Henry and Gordon, and all three of them plus Emily agree to help look for James and hurry out the door.
Characters[]
- Thomas
- Emily
- Percy
- Rosie
- James
- Gordon
- Henry
- Annie and Clarabel
- Mavis (Debut)
- The Hughes family
- Mrs. Hughes (Debut)
- Mr. Hughes (James' real Father) (mentioned; deceased)
- Mr. Drewry (Debut)
- Toby (mentioned)
- The Duke and Duchess of Boxford (mentioned)
Cast[]
Trivia[]
- English musician Mark Joseph makes a cameo appearance.