Troublesome Trucks and Other Stories

Troublesome Trucks and other stories (also known as Volume 2 in New Zealand) is a UK/AUS/NZ VHS featuring nine first seriesepisodes narrated by Ringo Starr. It was re-released in the UK in 1993 as Thomas Goes Fishing and other stories. It was released under the title Troublesome Trucks and 8 Other Stories for Welsh audiences.

Description

1986 UK

It's full steam ahead once again for Thomas, the little blue engine with the short stumpy funnel, short stumpy boiler and short stumpy dome. Share 9 exciting new adventures with Thomas and his friends Gordon, Henry, James, Percy, Edward, Toby, Annie and Clarabel the coaches, and of course, the Fat Controller. Thomas' special friend, story-teller Ringo Starr, says "Thomas is a smashing little engine - he's Number One and never lets anyone forget it!"

1988 UK

It's full steam ahead once again for Thomas, the little blue engine with the short stumpy funnel, short stumpy boiler and short stumpy dome. Share 9 exciting adventures with Thomas and his friends, Gordon, Henry, James, Percy, Edward, Toby, Annie and Clarabel the coaches, and of course, the Fat Controller. Thomas's special friend, storyteller Ringo Starr, says "Thomas is a smashing little engine - he's Number One and never lets anyone forget it!"

1987 AUS

It's full steam ahead for Thomas, the little blue engine with the short stumpy funnel, short stumpy boiler and short stumpy dome and his special friends Gordon, Henry, James, Percy, Edward, Toby, Annie and Clarabel the carriages and of course their Boss, the Fat Controller. Now Thomas has a new friend - storyteller Ringo Starr, who says "Thomas is a smashing little engine - he's cheeky and has a mind of his own. Thomas is Number One and never lets anyone forget it!"

1991 AUS

It's full steam ahead for Thomas, the little blue engine with the short stumpy funnel, short stumpy boiler and short stumpy dome and his special friends Gordon, Henry James, Percy, Edward, Toby, Annie and Clarabel the carriages, and of course their Boss, the Fat Controller. His friend, storyteller Ringo Starr, says "Thomas is Number One and never lets anyone forget it!"

Episodes

UK/AUS

1. Troublesome Trucks - James is sent back to pull trucks again. He has a bad time with a long train but with a little help from his friend Edward he wins in the end. The Fat Controller is very pleased.
2. James and the Express - Gordon the big engine looks silly when the signalman forgets and switches him from the main line onto a loop. James has to pull the express instead, and is very proud.
3. Thomas and the Guard - Annie and Clarabel think Thomas is very silly when he starts off fast and leaves his guard behind. The guard isn't very pleased either.
4. Thomas Goes Fishing - Thomas has always wanted to go fishing. One day he gets his chance but it doesn't turn out quite the way he expected.
5. Thomas, Terence and the Snow - Thomas is always cheeky to Terence the Tractor about his caterpillar wheels. But the day comes when Thomas is very glad to have Terence around.
6. Thomas and Bertie - Thomas the Tank Engine and Bertie the Bus decide to stage their own version of the Great Race.
7. Tenders and Turntables - Sometimes things get very busy in the yard and the Fat Controller has to ask the big engines to do shunting. They don't like it and decide to take action.
8. Trouble in the Shed - The big engines go on strike so the Fat Controller decides to leave them to sulk and a new engine arrives in the yard, Percy the Saddle Tank.
9. Percy Runs Away - Henry, James and Gordon decide to go back to work, but Percy is careless on the main line and gets a nasty shock.

Welsh

1. Problem Tricks.
2. James and the Fast Train.
3. Thomas and the Guard.
4. Tomos Fishing.
5. Thomas, Terence and the Snow.
6. Thomas and Bertie.
7. Turning in Circles.
8. Trouble in the Shed.
9. Percy Runs Away.

Trivia

• At the end of the 1986 UK and all other releases, the end credits from Percy Runs Away are from the actual episode while subsequent UK releases used the credits from Coal.
• The front cover of the 1986 UK release and the back cover of the 1987 Australian release feature an image from Thomas' Train.
• The back cover of the 1986 UK release features an image from The Sad Story of Henry.
• The Video Collection release cover featured illustrations by Owen Bell.
• The back cover of the 1988 release features an illustration of Duck and Diesel.
• The back cover of the 1991 Australian release features an image from Thomas and Gordon.
• The cover of the New Zealand release features an image from Thomas, Percy and the Coal.
• The front cover of the Welsh release features an image from Break Van.
• The back cover of the Welsh release features an image from Percy's Predicament.
• The cover of the 1993 UK and 2002 Marks & Spencer releases feature an image from The Trouble with Mud.
• Some of the 1993 releases included a warped audio track with extra music playing over the narration, at times nearly drowning it out.
• The 2002 re-release, which was exclusive to Marks and Spencer store chain, doesn't feature the nameboards, but rather the remastered title cards and end credits.
• In the Welsh VHS at the end of Percy Runs Away, the windmill scene from the opening titles is played, followed by the credits played over an image from Coal.

Goofs

• Some copies of the original 1987 Australian release list Thomas and the Guard as “Thomas the Guard” on the back cover.
• The description for Troublesome Trucks in the 1993 release says that Edward helped James.
• During the nameboard sequence after Tenders and Turntables in the Welsh VHS, Thomas' name is not translated into Welsh.

Gallery