ThomasNATION Classic Reviews - Granpuff

August 24, 2024

 

"Once upon a time, there were three little engines who lived in their own little shed on their own little railway.  Their names were Duke, Stuart and Falcon.  Duke was the oldest, and was named after His Grace, the Duke of Sodor.  He was proud of this and loved to keep the little engines in order."

Ah yes, many Thomas the Tank Engine fans young and old will agree that "Duke the Lost Engine" was the Reverend Wilbert Awdry's magnum opus.  Not only was this the big payoff to years and years of world building and clever setups and cliffhangers, but it was also the payoff to the introduction of the Thin and Fat Clergyman and Small Railway Engines, the old track bed that the Arlesdale Railway was built upon, the explanation for the abandoned harbor rebuilt on The Little Western and the final answer to every question posed in the Skarloey Railway books.  Where did Sir Handel and Peter Sam come from?  What's the deal with their old line that they've mentioned numerous times?  And who is this mysterious Duke?  Now, we all have praised the original Railway Series versions of this saga before, and we will more than likely continue to praise them.  But how did the stories fare out when they were adapted in the fourth season of the original television series?  Let's find out as we journey back to where it all began for where it all ended for the Skarloey Railway as we remember our "Granpuff"!


GRANPUFF: Thomas tells the story of Duke, a narrow-gauge engine who worked with Stuart (also known as Peter Sam) and Falcon (also known as Sir Handel). However, when their railway closed, the young engines were sold, and the old engine was left abandoned in a shed.


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"That's not a happy ending"...that's pretty much my reaction to this story. Well done, Percy, ya read my mind. Now, I grew up with this episode via the "Rusty to the Rescue" home media release before I eventually got to see the Shining Time Station family special that it originally debuted in.  So, I know this story pretty well especially as it was always one that stuck out to me as a kid.  So much so, I used to think that an overgrown shed which was nearby where I used to live back in Maryland was actually Duke's Shed and the old engine was sleeping away inside.  But for this review, let's do this through the eyes of someone who's still new to the world of Thomas in order to keep from saying things that many other fans have already discussed in regard to the episode.  Now with that said, and aside from this story being a two-parter as the drawback, this was a great introduction for the next set of stories to come.  Four seasons in and we are finally taking a shift in focus and looking at another place on Sodor.  We've watched all kinds of stories happen in the last few seasons.  Here though, we have a fresh start of new characters and a cameo from Skarloey and Rheneas.  Duke, Falcon and Stuart are a likeable trio.  At least, from what we have seen so far.  What I think is interesting to see is that even in the narrow-gauge world, the little narrow-gauge engines are just as cheeky and naive as their larger scale counterparts.  Even though Duke is also small, I would assume he's considered wiser not only because of him being an older model, but also because he has a tender which instantly makes him a bigger engine.  Remember that line that Diesel said in "Tender Engines" about how tenders on a steam engine are a mark of distinction?

We also got a quick glimpse of what happens to the narrow-gauge engines who misbehave on this particular railway too; that being the fandom-beloved Smudger as the example who is actually a stand-in for Stanley (a.k.a. No. 2) from the original Railway Series version.  It's also funny that in The Railway Series, Smudger was given an American accent to emphasize the carelessness of the West Coast.  Of course, for the U.S. Dub, they had to change that.  What I'd also like to know is where Thomas' driver heard this story.  He must know some high-end people or was involved with this at some point.  As for Duke, it's just amazing how much he had to cope with.  Losing both everyone and everything he had all to be abandoned in a shed that would later become overgrown is sad, but he didn't feel like crap.  Music and set pieces were a joy to see here.  Yeah, Tidmouth Sheds was shown yet that's not what we're going to focus on.  Locations like Skarloey Station, Glennock Station, the Slate Quarry, Rheneas Viaduct and Arlesdale are all great places.  The best ones that I find to be the most gorgeous were Rheneas Viaduct of course and Arlesdale.  What's more to like about Arlesdale is the fact that there is just so much mountain surrounding the area yet there are so many different sightings.  And aside from "Trust Thomas", when was the last time we got another area of Arlesdale shown? 

As for music, we got one new and one reused theme. The reused musical cue is from "Henry's Forest" when time begins to pass as Duke is in his shed coma.  It's appropriate since it involves growing shrubbery, but I still feel like that should be only for "Henry's Forest".  It's called that for a reason!  The new cue that we got though was for the Skarloey Railway which in itself is recognizable to any fan because of how unique it sounds thanks to Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell.  It just...it emotes a confident innocence, and it will definitely leave any fan of Thomas The Tank Engine young kiddie or old veteran looking forward to more of this and that is why I'm proud to give "Granpuff" a rating of a perfect 5/5.


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