Runaway Engine


 * “Oh dear! I never meant to upset her. What if I've upset her so much that she's run away?”
 * ―Stephen

Runaway Engine is the fifth episode of the twenty-first season.

Plot
Millie is given extra work around the estate, so the Earl tells Glynn and Stephen of the jobs they have to do, despite their constant chatter. Millie gets agitated when Stephen forgets to clear up garden waste, so she dumps it in front of his shed in the estate. Rather than an apology, Stephen makes fun of her, hurting her feelings.

By next day, he tries to apologise to her, but cannot find her, leading him to think that she must have run away. Going out of his way away from the estate to look for Millie, Stephen runs out of water while pulling his passengers.

To Stephen's luck, Millie, with the Earl on board, find him. Millie and the Earl explain that she had gone for a new motor for the estate castle's turntable and that he and Glynn were not listening to his orders yesterday morning. The Earl sorts out the stranded passenger train - soothing an angry passenger - and Millie, Stephen, and Glynn make up again.

Characters

 * Stephen
 * Glynn
 * Skarloey
 * Luke
 * Millie
 * Sir Robert Norramby
 * The Grumpy Passenger
 * Rheneas (cameo)
 * Sir Handel (cameo)
 * Peter Sam (cameo)
 * Owen (cameo)
 * Mr. Bubbles (cameo)
 * The Teacher (cameo)
 * The Ginger-haired Boy (cameo)
 * The Welsh Bird Watcher (cameo)
 * One of Dowager Hatt's Friends (cameo)

Locations

 * The Estate Railway
 * Ulfstead Castle
 * The Dinosaur Park
 * Blue Mountain Quarry
 * Crovan's Gate (mentioned)

UK/US

 * Bob Golding as Stephen
 * Keith Wickham as Glynn, Skarloey and the Grumpy Passenger
 * Michael Legge as Luke
 * Miranda Raison as Millie
 * Mike Grady as Sir Robert Norramby
 * Teresa Gallagher as Some Passengers

Trivia

 * A few references to the seventeenth season episode, The Switch are made, such as when Skarloey asks Millie if she was at the Blue Mountain Quarry to help the narrow gauge engines for the second time.
 * This is the first episode of a few things:
 * Luke's first speaking role since the eighteenth season episode, Duncan the Humbug.
 * The first episode since the eighteenth season episode, Samson Sent for Scrap in which neither Thomas nor any other member of the Steam Team appear at all. This is also the only episode in the twenty-first season in where he does not appear at all..
 * The first episode since the eighteenth season episode, Millie and the Volcano to feature Millie as the main character: this is also the first time since the nineteenth season episode, Snow Place Like Home where a narrow gauge engine appears as the main character.
 * This episode marked the last of a few things:
 * The last episode to date in where Thomas does not appear at all.
 * Glynn, Rheneas and Sir Handel's last appearances to date.
 * Stephen and Luke's last speaking roles to date.
 * The last episode to date to have a narrow gauge engine as a main character.
 * Going by production order, this is the sixth episode of the twenty-first season.
 * This episode's title was also one of the working titles for Blue Mountain Mystery.
 * During the close-up of Mr. Bubbles, he is holding a blue, yellow and red balloon, which represent Millie, Stephen and Glynn respectively. The blue balloon then flies away, symbolising that Millie had gone missing.
 * A picture of Glynn from The Adventure Begins, a promo picture of Stephen and a picture of Ulfstead Castle from King of the Railway can be seen on the brochure that the Grumpy Passenger is holding.
 * This is the fourth episode to have the same cast in both English dubs, after Luke's New Friend, The Switch and Blown Away.
 * In the Nick Jr USA airing of the episode, it is paired with Confused Coaches.
 * A shortened version of the episode, narrated by Joseph May as Thomas, can be found on the official YouTube channel and the Nick Jr website.

Goofs

 * When Stephen and Glynn discover the garden waste, Stephen's shed doors is shut. But when Millie puffs on the turntable, the doors are open.

Merchandise

 * TrackMaster - Runaway Stephen

UK

 * On the Go with Thomas