Thomas and the Magic Railroad

Thomas and the Magic Railroad is a theatrical film based on the television series Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends and its American spinoff Shining Time Station. The film was produced by Gullane Entertainment and distributed by ABC Films in Australia, Destination Films in the US and Icon Productions in the UK. It was released to theatres in 2000.

Plot
The film begins with Mr. Conductor introducing Thomas and Sodor.

Gordon complains to Thomas, who is late. Thomas retorts that Gordon is being bossy and says that he has to find Mr. Conductor, who is looking after the North Western Railway while Sir Topham Hatt is taking a holiday. Gordon claims Mr. Conductor is not needed, but changes his mind after an evil Diesel named Diesel 10 speeds by, kicking up dust and dirt, and leaving Gordon physically rattling in fear.

Mr. Conductor then introduces Shining Time.

Thomas is later talking to James at Tidmouth Sheds when Diesel 10 shows up and voices his plan to destroy a lost engine and thus the remaining steam engines. James is confused, but Thomas is worried and goes to find Mr. Conductor.

After seeing Billy Twofeathers' map and noticing some strange lines on it, Patch heads off to Muffle Mountain to see Burnett Stone.

There is something on Muffle Mountain, a secret that Burnett only shared with his childhood friend and future wife Tasha: he promised he would drive an engine and take her with him. When Patch sees the engine, Burnett reveals the engine's past - her name is Lady, and she has been sealed inside Muffle Mountain since Diesel 10 nearly destroyed her long ago. Burnett has fixed her up, but she still needs coal to fully run again.

Diesel 10 tells his cronies Splatter and Dodge of his plan. The 2 bumbling diesels report that Mr. Conductor is coming to Sodor, so Diesel 10 decides to destroy him too, only to humiliate himself in from of Splatter and Dodge when his claw whacks him on the nose.

Mr. Conductor prepares to leave Shining Time. Despite difficulty with his gold dust, he soon meets Thomas on Sodor. Thomas reports on Diesel 10; Mr. Conductor decides to use his gold dust to keep Diesel 10 in order.

Burnett looks at a painting of Lady and starts to have doubts in his belief of magic due to his failure to guard her. Meanwhile, faraway, Burnett's granddaughter, Lily, prepares to visit him.

Thomas, James, and Gordon begin arguing about who should have taken Mr. Conductor, unaware Splatter and Dodge are spying on them. Over in the yard, Splatter and Dodge are laughing at the steam engines. Henry tells the other engines about why Diesel 10 wants to find the lost engine. Splatter and Dodge continue to laugh at Thomas until Harold flies by, spreading sneezing powder, set up by Diesel 10, overall 3.

At Knapford, Mr. Conductor reads the note Sir Topham Hatt left him. After trying on his top hat (and returning it after he notices the portrait of the Controller appears angry) he receives a phone call from Sir Topham Hatt and receives his instructions.

That night, Diesel 10 creeps up and demolishes the side of the Tidmouth Sheds with his powerful claw. Mr. Conductor reprimands Diesel 10, but then he discovers that he has run out of gold dust. Diesel 10, delighted, tries to get Mr. Conductor to confess to the lost engine's whereabouts, but Mr. Conductor frightens Diesel 10 away with a bag of sugar and threatening to dump the sugar in his tanks to seize him up permanently. Mr. Conductor voices his concern about his gold dust, but tells the engines to go back to sleep.

Later that night, Mr. Conductor has a nightmare of Shining Time in ruins and realises that his universe is in danger and that he needs more gold dust.

The next morning, Mutt goes to Lily's hometown with Billy, as he knows that Lily can help Mr. Conductor, but only if she meets someone special at Shining Time first. To reach that end, he directs her onto the wrong train, placing her on the train bound for Shining Time instead of Muffle Mountain. Meanwhile, Burnett Stone hears the sound of Lady's magic echoing through the mountain.

Back on Sodor, Mr. Conductor is helping make James's itch go away. James notices that Mr. Conductor looks so tired and asks if it's because he's red, but Mr. Conductor happily says that red is bright and cheerful just like his gold dust. He then sends James of to work while he departs to deal with his own problems.

Mr. Conductor goes to the windmill in search of more gold dust, but gets lost. Meanwhile, the engines gather for a meeting. Bertie passes by and tells them to smile, but all have their individual concerns. Thomas heads off to look for Mr. Conductor, apologizing to Bertie when he is unable to accept Bertie's offer for a race.

Mr. Conductor finds a note left by Rabbit and tries a carrot and a stick of celery to make him think properly and has the idea of his beach-loving cousin Junior, who has used up most of his gold dust too. He tells Junior to go to Shining Time Station first and get his emergency whistle, then go to Sodor, and warns him not to talk to anyone about the buffers. Before he can say anything else, the phone line goes dead.

Lily arrives at Shining Time and Mutt barks at her to get off the train. Lily finds the station empty and meets Junior. After a talk, Lily picks up the gold dust Junior leaves behind. At Sodor, Mr. Conductor is sleeping by a bush when he has another nightmare, and wakes up hearing Thomas calling his name. Mr. Conductor tries to reply, but Thomas cannot hear him as he chuffs away.

Lily meets Stacy, who takes her to Burnett. That night, Burnett and Lily hear Lady's whistle coming from the mountains. Patch, who is outside with his horse, hears it too.

As Percy arrives at Knapford with the Mail Train, he and Thomas talk about Mr. Conductor and conclude that he travels to Sodor on a magic railroad. Diesel 10 overhears them and goes to the scrapyards to tell Splatter and Dodge his plan. Toby interrupts them by ringing his bell; Diesel 10, trying to catch him, causes the shed to crash down on him, Splatter and Dodge, much to his own annoyance.

Thomas finds Henry with a bad cold and offers to get some special Island of Sodor coal to make him better, but while collecting them, fails to notice the 6th truck rolling away into some magic buffers. Bertie passes and greets Thomas and his 5 trucks; Thomas is confused.

Thomas tells Percy about the missing truck, and they realise that the buffers where the truck disappeared are the buffers leading to the Magic Railroad. Thomas tells Percy to guard the buffers while he goes to find Mr. Conductor, citing that Percy is a brave engine.

Meanwhile, Mr. Conductor is wandering aimlessly when Diesel 10 appears. Mr Conductor is captured by Diesel 10's claw and is dangled over the viaduct. Diesel 10 reveals he knows about the buffers, and threatens to drop Mr. Conductor if he doesn't reveal their whereabouts. Mr Conductor notices the viaduct has begun to collapse, just like in his dream, and realises the world is beginning to fall apart without the gold dust. Mr. Conductor cuts a hydralic tube to Diesel 10's claw, catapulting him to the windmill. There, he sees the words "Stoke up the magic in the mountain and the Lady will smile, then watch the swirls that spin so well". Splatter and Dodge ask Diesel 10 how come he let Mr. Conductor escape, he replys that he just did it on purpose and was testing to see if he could escape. Splatter and Dodge do not believe him and Diesel 10 decides to attempt to teach them "how to stop being stupid", but knocks coal all over him. James, Gordon and Henry laugh at Diesel 10.

Lily is introduced to Patch, who offers her a horse ride to Shining Time. There she meets Junior again, who takes her to Sodor via the magic buffers. They meet Thomas, who agrees to help, and together they find Mr. Conductor at the windmill. Mr. Conductor tells Junior about his clue to the gold dust, and Lily is introduced to Mr. Conductor. Junior then climbs onto the sail, and is flung onto Diesel 10. Meanwhile Patch tells Burnett that he has no idea where Lily is and that she was not at the station when he went back for her. Despite Lily having apparently vanished, Burnett is confident she will turn up again.

That night, Percy finds Splatter and Dodge at the magic buffers and races to warn Thomas.

Mr. Conductor and Lily camp out with Thomas. After a conversation, they realise that Burnett may hold the key to the clue of the gold dust.

Burnett reveals to Patch that Lady is magic and they realise that the railroad is vanishing.

Thomas and Percy decide they must get Lily back to Muffle Mountain before Diesel 10 destroys the magic railroad. Thomas wonders how Lily can get home without gold dust, Mr. Conductor reveals that only the lost engine could do so now. Then he has the idea and asks Thomas if he'll take Lily to Muffle Mountain. Thomas is not sure but decides that he will try and he and Lily set off. While journeying through the magic railroad, they discover the missing truck. Lily realises the connection between the truck and the clue so Thomas decides to go back for it before setting off again. They soon arrive on Muffle Mountain. Lily leaves to find Burnett, but a gust of wind blows Thomas down the hill and back into the magic railroad through another portal at the bottom.

Lily finds Patch, who takes her to Burnett's workshop. Lily figures out only special Island of Sodor coal can make Lady steam, so she sends Patch to collect the coal from the truck.

Diesel 10, with Junior still on his back, races into the Smelters where he encounters James. Junior tries to whistle both of them out, only to discover that he too, is out of gold dust. Diesel 10 tries to force the 2 into a melting pit, but Junior uses the last of his extra gold dust to teleport himself and James away to safety. The 2 arrive near the buffers, where Mr. Conductor is there waiting. James departs, while Mr. Conductor and Junior, both out of gold dust, refuse to give up hope. Lily asks Burnett Stone if Tasha took a ride on Lady and if she loved her as much as Burnett did. Burnett says that she loved it because he loved it, but couldn't fix her in time for Tasha to take a ride on her before she passed away.

By now Burnett Stone has finally got Lady to steam, and along with Lily, Patch and Mutt, they set off into the magic railroad. The magic railroad, receiving energy from Lady, comes back to life, while Lady's face appears. The team encounter Thomas before appearing on Sodor, where they reunite with the 2 conductors.

Diesel 10 starts to give chase, but Splatter and Dodge, fed up with Diesel 10's ways, abandon him. Thomas offers to help Lady, with Burnett driving Lady. Mr. Conductor warns them about the collapsing viaduct. Just as the engines run away, the conductors realise that Lady is part of the clue to the gold dust.

The chase finally approaches The Big Dipper. As Lady and Burnett pass, a gap appears on the viaduct. Thomas manages to make it across the gap before it worsens, but Diesel 10 cannot stop in time and falls off into a sludge barge (He looks on the bright side by saying it is a nice time of the year for a cruise).

Thomas, Lady and Burnett return, where they and the rest of the team work out the answer to the riddle. Lily mixes water from the well with golden shavings from the magic railroad, and, with a little encouragement, tosses them into the air, where they form into gold dust. The conductors, delighted, re-supply their whistles, while Thomas thanks Lady.

Patch and Mutt go to look around, while Junior gives Lily some gold dust. Junior tells Mr. Conductor that he wants to work now, so Mr. Conductor gives him his hat and sends him to a railroad with "palm trees and sunny spells". After Junior leaves, Sir Topham Hatt calls and says that he is on his way back, so Mr. Conductor sets off to welcome him, letting Sir Topham Hatt know that everything is under control before he hangs up. Lily offers her gold dust to Burnett, who sprinkles it on her bluebird toy and whispers that they will "always remember their Shining Time together".

With Lady and the Magic Railroad back to life, Shining Time is restored to its former glory. Thomas happily puffs into the sunset, and the end credits roll.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Percy
 * James
 * Gordon
 * Henry
 * Bertie
 * Toby
 * Lady
 * Diesel 10
 * Splatter and Dodge
 * Annie and Clarabel
 * Harold
 * Mr. Conductor
 * Junior
 * Lily
 * Stacy Jones
 * Burnett Stone
 * Billy Twofeathers
 * Patch
 * PT Boomer (cameo)
 * Sir Topham Hatt (not seen; portrait cameo)
 * Lady Hatt (mentioned; portrait cameo)

Locations

 * Island of Sodor
 * The Watermill
 * Knapford
 * Diesel 10's Shed
 * Bulgy's Bridge
 * Killaban
 * The Big Dipper
 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * The Works
 * Henry's Tunnel
 * Diesel 10's Mountain
 * Rainbow Ridge
 * Sodor Ironworks
 * Sodor Grain Windmill
 * The Coaling Plant
 * Single Track Siding and Bridge Runby
 * Rail Under Road Bridge and Signalbox
 * The Magic Buffers
 * Sodor Wishing Well
 * Rail and Road Under Rail Bridges
 * Wellsworth (portrait)
 * Tidmouth (portrait)
 * Tidmouth Yards (portrait)
 * Tidmouth Hault Sheds (portrait)
 * Shining Time
 * Muffle Mountain
 * Burnett Stone's Workshop
 * The Magic Railroad

Live-action actors

 * Alec Baldwin as Mr. Conductor
 * Peter Fonda as Burnett Stone
 * Mara Wilson as Lily
 * Cody McMains as Patch
 * Russell Means as Billy Twofeathers
 * Didi Conn as Stacy Jones
 * Michael E. Rodgers as Junior
 * Lori Hallier as Lily's mother
 * Shelley-Elizabeth Skinner as a station customer
 * Hugo Murray as goldfish boy
 * Keith W. Strandberg as a passenger

Voice actors

 * Eddie Glen as Thomas
 * Linda Ballantyne as Percy
 * Susan Roman as James
 * Neil Crone as Gordon, Diesel 10 and Splatter
 * Kevin Frank as Henry, Bertie and Dodge
 * Colm Feore as Toby
 * Britt Allcroft as Lady

Original voice actors

 * John Bellis as Thomas
 * Gary Barlow as Percy
 * Michael Angelis as James
 * Ringo Starr as Gordon
 * Timothy Dalton as Henry
 * Shayne Ward as Bertie
 * Richard Coyle as Toby
 * Alice Eve as Lady
 * Keith Scott as Diesel 10
 * Christian Bale as Splatter
 * Russell Brand as Dodge

Uncredited Cast

 * Kevin Frank as Harold
 * Shelley-Elizabeth Skinner as Annie and Clarabel

Songs including 4 from Jimmy's Great Adventure

 * Shining Time - Neil Donell
 * Shining Time (Reprise) - Robyne Dunn & Geoff Robertson
 * I Know How The Moon Must Feel - Disgust & ToeJam
 * The Locomotion - Atomic Kitten
 * He's A Really Useful Engine - Steven Page
 * Some Things Never Leave You - Joe Henry
 * Summer Sunday - Dominic Gibbison, Dominic Goundar, Rob Jenkins, Gerald Mclachlan & Ben Wright

Trivia

 * Voice clips and sound effects from the film are featured at the start and end of He's A Really Useful Engine by Steven Page.


 * Shining Time features a male singer & a female singer together as opposed to the other male featured in the main film & soundtrack, It was also heard at Bright Howitt Park in the movie Jimmy's Great Adventure.
 * I Know How The Moon Must Feel was also heard at Mrytleford Holiday Park and Bright Howitt Park in the movie Jimmy's Great Adventure.
 * The Locomotion was also heard at Bright Howitt Park in the movie Jimmy's Great Adventure.
 * Jimmy Wakley also recorded his version of Some Things Never Leave You from his first debut album of the same name

Patrick Breen Cast

 * Patrick Breen as Gary Taubin (From: For Love or Money), Resident Doctor (From: Get Shorty), Mr. Redgick (From: Men in Black), San Diego Vinnie (From: Just the Ticket), Quellek (From: Galaxy Quest), Peter (From: Just a Kiss) & Aubie (From: Christmas with the Kranks)