ThomasNATION Classic Reviews - Toby and the Whistling Woods
October 18, 2025
Anyone who has ever traveled along Thomas' Branch Line and met Toby the Tram Engine knows that he is one of the most unique and special engines on The Island of Sodor. He is a steam engine, but his wooden boxy outline and covered wheels make him look more like a garden shed than an engine. Toby is indeed old-fashioned and looks outdated but looks are deceiving. Anyone who's ever met Toby knows he's as wise, brave and energetic as he ever was with a contagious sense of humor. An engine that doesn't feel his age, he's essentially Sodor's Dick Van Dyke. Wise he may be, Toby is also prone to worry. Sometimes a little too much for his own good, but of course, that depends on the season you're watching which is unfortunately a lot of them. A hard and sensible worker, Toby works the tramway to Ffarquhar with his faithful coach Henrietta. But with that said, I think it goes without saying that his character journey has been turbulent because Toby's definitely had more bad seasons in the original series than good unfortunately. But in those seasons where they get Toby right, boy do they get him right. Toby is a character that over the years has sort of faded away from the spotlight. He's kinda schlubby, old-fashioned, a little weird looking, kind of a square and may be somewhat forgettable. But that's the point, Toby's true character never craves the spotlight. In the modern world we live in where everyone is obsessed with their image, Toby's humbleness is something worth championing. He is absolutely content in his little corner of the world and completely fine with who he is and I think all of us should strive to be more like him.
Now, when it comes to today's episode about Toby titled "Toby And The Whistling Woods", and with a title like that, tell me you don't know where this is going, all I can say is...man, what happened to Toby? He was a great character to look up to during the Golden Era of Thomas & Friends, and yet over time became a shell of his former self as nothing more than a wimpy character who can be scared of anything or is always doubting his self-worth. I think I speak for all adult Thomas fans when I say we really hoped the new writing staff and production team that came on to work for the series after the Nitrogen Era ended would bring back the old personality of Toby. On top of that, the way that Toby bashed into the trucks for the last time being derailed was highly unrealistic since Toby's real-life basis could never go at that speed to do something like that. It's honestly said when the only positive thing that I have for this episode is how the CGI created that beautiful waterfall and the snowy owl gliding past. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that Hedwig was on his way to drop off a letter from Hogwarts for Harry Potter. Things like these show the wonders of the CGI from Nitrogen Studios, or rather the CGI Era in general.
But despite the great animation bits of the wonderfully created waterfall and snowy owl, this episode's writing went downhill fast as soon as Sir Topham Hatt uttered the words "whistling woods" to Toby about his coal delivery. "Toby And The Whistling Woods" is just another reminder of how bad Toby had it during this time of the original series and how he still continues to be mistreated in the franchise to this day. I'll give Toby this when it comes to his later years, he got more screentime than Edward and Henry did in All Engines Go!. But when it comes to this episode, do yourself a favor and whistle as far away from these woods as possible as I'm going to give this episode a rating of a 1.5/5.
Final Rating: 1.5/5
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