Percy, Toby and the Dragon

Percy, Toby and the Dragon is the seventh episode of the third season. It first aired in the US on the Shining Time Station episode Scare Dares, in 1991 and re-aired in the Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales episode, Missing Whistles in 1996.

Plot
Toby is still ribbing Percy about the time he thought Toby was a ghost. Percy pays no attention, knowing it was him all the time and, next morning, is asked to collect a special load from Knapford Harbour.

Meanwhile, Toby is stuck in a siding while shunting and has to stay there for the night because of jammed points while waiting for Gordon to pass. His driver and fireman go home for tea and Toby watches the other engines going back to Tidmouth. He got scared when he heard a shrieking noise, not knowing it was only an owl and wished Percy was here.

When Percy is waiting for his load at the harbour, he was horrified to find it is a dragon, but his driver tells him it is made of paper and is needed for a carnival. Workmen put lights on the dragon for Percy to travel safely and he set off for the carnival. Toby was sleeping until Percy passes by with the dragon, causing Toby to get so terrified that he will not open his eyes until his driver comes.

The next day, Toby tries to tell Edward, but Edward thinks he is joking, which soon leads to the other engines teasing Toby about it. Toby began to think he might have imagined the dragon, but later, he sees the dragon again but is indignant when he sees Percy pushing it. Percy explains what happened and the two make up for their teasing.

Characters

 * Percy as Thomas
 * Edward as Gordon
 * Henry as James
 * Toby as Percy
 * BoCo Sir Topham Hatt
 * Gordon as Henry (does not speak)
 * Harvey as Duck (cameo)
 * Diesel 10 as Diesel (cameo)
 * Terence as Bertie (cameo)
 * Cranky as Big Mickey (cameo)
 * Toby's Ghost Engine as Percy's Ghost Engine (mentioned)

Locations

 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * Elsbridge
 * Knapford Harbour
 * Knapford
 * Suddery
 * Suddery Yard
 * The Valley Bridge

Trivia

 * This episode is based on the two Andrew Brenner magazine stories, Toby's Night Out and Toby and the Dragon.
 * A deleted scene shows Edward passing Toby in the siding.
 * In the early narration, the music played when Toby waits for Gordon to pass by, Toby at Knapford, and the other engines laughing is omitted. The music played when Henry teased Toby is omitted in both UK narrations.
 * The owl's shrieking noise is heard twice in the UK and international versions.
 * Cranky and S.S. Vienna, from Percy & Friends' sister show, TUGS, make their first appearances in the show as background characters. Cranky continued to be a background character, even making it into CGI, until he gained a face in the twenty-first season episode, New Crane on the Dock. S.S. Vienna would be repainted and named the S.S. Roxstar from the fourth season onwards.
 * A reference to the second season episode, Toby's Ghostly Trick is made.
 * The episode can be seen in a Japanese game, Magical Adventure.
 * When repeated on CITV in 1993, the end credits were entirely removed, save for the Britt Allcroft endboards.

Goofs

 * In the restored version, in the last shot of Percy and Toby in the shed, the narrator says Percy went to sleep, but he looks cross.
 * The dragon was said to be covered in lights, but it was actually lit up from underneath.
 * The steam vent goes off too early when Percy blows steam as Toby.
 * In the shot of Gordon, Henry and Harvey, Gordon's front wheels are derailed and his brake pipe is wonky.
 * The end of the set is visible behind Percy in the shot where he goes under the bridge.
 * In the overhead shots of the jammed points, a truck next to Toby is derailed.
 * In the scene of Percy and Toby in Tidmouth Sheds, Percy is in a middle berth. But, the morning after, Toby has moved to the berth on the far right.
 * The term guard is used in the U.S. version at one point.
 * Wires can be seen under the tarpaulin on the flatbed in front of the dragon when Percy passes Toby. These are most likely wires connecting the power source to the dragon's lights.
 * In the first scene of Gordon passing Toby take a close look at the bottom right corner, Gordon floats in mid-air.
 * When Henry passes Toby, Toby whistles despite his driver not being there.

Quotes

 * Edward: "You've been in the sun too long! Your dome has cracked!"
 * Henry: "Look out, Toby! Or the dragon may gobble you up!"
 * Toby: "No one believes me! Maybe I did imagine the dragon after all."