ThomasNATION Classic Reviews - Thomas' New Trucks

March 21, 2026


Something very exclusive to the original Thomas & Friends series is the dynamic between Thomas and James.  I mean, when you really think about it, Thomas and James barely interact in the Railway Series books since Thomas had already left the yard for his branch line for having rescued James by the time that the latter was an established character.  In the television series, James and Thomas pair up very well and it's easy to see why because these two are so similar.  When Thomas is actually in character, he's also a hothead and patient and not very bright and it makes me find episodes like Season 5's "James And The Trouble With Trees" and even later ones like Season 10's "Follow That Flour" or Season 9's "Thomas' New Trucks" actually quite enjoyable because you're basically just watching two hot-headed meatheads try to one-up each other which makes it funny to watch as a result.  Season 6's "James And The Red Balloon" is a pretty funny episode too because these two idiots actually somehow convince each other that a hot air balloon of all things could actually replace them.  It's a story that could only work with them.  Thomas and James really do bring out the worst in each other when they're paired up.  It's always a guaranteed fun time. The later model seasons loved playing with Thomas and James together.  And for how many different character dynamics and unique stories that he had during this period of the television series, it's easy to see why so many fans view the Model Series version of James as the definitive version of the guy.

But speaking of Thomas and James, let's take a look at one of those times in the later model seasons where they did butt heads and just brought out the worst in each other through their antics; that being "Thomas' New Trucks".  Now, there may have been a time when I had enjoyed this episode when I was younger.  In fact, I remember arranging however many green or blue colored TOMY seven-plank trucks I could find in order to recreate this episode with my trains.  But now as an adult and now that it's been twenty years since this episode first aired...

...I have to say that I straight up don't even get this one anymore.  Don't get me wrong, Thomas and James trying to one-up each other is always fun to see and it is some of the better parts of the episode.  And yes, I know that there are engines like Thomas and Toby or Duck and Oliver who have their own coaches in both the books and the television series.  But why would an engine have their own trucks? Many engines use the same kind of trucks all the time no matter who owns them and no matter what condition they're in.  Also, if the trucks were that old and rusty, why didn't Sir Topham Hatt either have them repaired or scrapped like what he did with S.C. Ruffey?  On top of that, why would Thomas and James be bothered about getting them clean? Trucks get dirty all the time, and they even say that trucks would rather be useful than clean anyway.  So, this ends up being another case of the moral being that getting dirty is part of the job.  I will say though, the new trucks were really colorful as well as loving all of the rotten wood and rusty frames detail on the old trucks.  On top of that, it was great seeing Bill and Ben again considering how underutilized they were in the HIT Era.

So overall, "Thomas' New Trucks" just ends up being an episode that's both really entertaining and yet really confusing at the same time.  It has its good moments, but the questionable moments will definitely make you scratch your head and ask "why are they doing this?" Then again, this is the HIT Era we're talking about here where any form of logic or common sense was usually thrown out the window.  So, while this episode did make a mess, it just manages to get out somewhat clean in the end and that's why I'm giving "Thomas' New Trucks" a rating of a 3/5.

Final Rating: 3/5

About the Author: True Blue

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