ThomasNATION Classic Reviews - Tuneful Toots
January 31, 2026
Anyone who has ever traveled along the Skarloey Railway and met Rusty knows that he is trusty, tame and friendly for being so little. He (or she? Where did we land on that? I dunno, that's a different bag of worms) is a dedicated worker, often maintaining the line, while understanding and respecting the importance of his duties. He also has a rather distinctive two-tone horn which annoyed the other engines at first, but we never speak of that episode. Rusty is quick to remind others with regards to proper conduct, particularly Duncan, who was initially very suspicious of the little diesel. But despite their arguments, they both seem to make amends in the end because of how kind and tolerant Rusty is...that is until "Trusty Rusty" in Season 7, but that's a story for another day. Rusty has a good working relationship with both Skarloey and Peter Sam in particular. Caring, calm, and quick-thinking, Rusty is modestly a credit to the Skarloey Railway. And when it comes to today's story, it looks like this little diesel has become quite the talk of the railway...albeit maybe not for the best reasons, but let's see what happened on that day while listening to some "Tuneful Toots"!
TUNEFUL TOOTS: Rusty often gets judged about his horn, and when he takes the Brass Band on a tour of the hills, he proves how special it can be.
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Let me tell ya, if you thought that Duncan's newfound friendship with Rusty from Season 4 getting tossed out the window was bad back in Season 7, then try having the entire fleet of engines on the railway turn against Rusty simply for the special sound of his two-tone horn which carried over into the CGI Era when the narrow gauge engines made their return. Granted, I think it sounds more realistic in the CGI Era than it does in the Model Era which to me sounds like they just lowered the pitch for the second note. But still, it feels weird that everyone would act this way towards Rusty especially those who are already friends with him like Skarloey and Rheneas or even Duncan. But yet, we have shockingly Peter Sam of all characters as the one to make the rude remark to Thomas about how Rusty thinks his horn is special while the other engines don't. I mean...yeah, because all your whistles sound so much better, right? Really loving the friendship here, guys, good job!
However, it's not the sound of the horn that makes me really not like this episode. It's the fact that it is blasted so much over the seven-minute span of the episode that it ends up becoming one of the many sounds that is sure to get under your skin. In fact, I even did a tally count (or in this case, a "Talyllyn" Count) of every single time that Rusty sounds his horn over the course of the episode, and this little diesel sounds his horn a total of 52 times. Yeah, you heard me right. 52. If you and your friends in the fandom made a drinking game where you take shots every time Rusty sounds his horn, you would inebriated, or even dead within the first few minutes (just a disclaimer, I don't encourage this sort of behavior at all whatsoever, but if you're into doing this stuff, then more power to you, yet I ask you all to please drink responsibly if you decide to make this into a game).
But yeah, "Tuneful Toots" is anything but a game in this case as it is one of the defining examples of how far the narrow gauge engines had fallen in terms of their portrayals during the HIT Era as it makes Rusty who used to be a fan favorite among many into one of the biggest annoyances on Sodor. It's no wonder why all your friends turned on you, you made yourself an "annoying orange"! And this was only a couple season before the real "annoying orange", Billy, came to Sodor. But anyway, it's time to end this symphony of suffering as I'm giving "Tuneful Toots" a rating of a 1.5/5.
Final Rating: 2.5/5
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