Peace and Quiet

Peace and Quiet is the seventeenth episode of the seventh series.

Plot
At the docks, goods are arriving night and day, causing the engines to work so hard that their axles ache. So the Fat Controller brings in a new engine called Murdoch to help. He has ten driving wheels and looks very strong. The engines all welcome him, but Murdoch thinks they are all very chatty.

Later, Murdoch has a very long train to pull. He looks forward to some peace and quiet, but everywhere he goes is noisy. Murdoch looks forward to a nice rest at the sheds that night.

But as he arrives, Salty and Harvey begin to ask him lots of questions about his past. Murdoch becomes annoyed and tells them both that he wants peace and quiet, and that he does not want to share a shed with chatterboxes. Salty tells him that they are only being friendly.

The next day, Murdoch has another long train to pull. This time, he travels through the countryside. He is happy to finally have some peace and quiet. But he comes across some sheep strayed on the line, who have escaped through a broken fence. His driver and fireman fail to move the sheep, but to no avail so Toby is sent to help by bringing the farmer. The sheep are so noisy that Murdoch wishes he was back with Salty and Harvey. Toby finally arrives and the farmer and his two dogs move the sheep off the line. Murdoch continues on his way.

Later that evening, Murdoch arrives back at the sheds with Harvey and Salty. He apologises for being rude to them, and Harvey tells him that they are happy to share the shed with him. Salty proceeds to tell a story, which makes Murdoch smile. The constant bleating of sheep would keep him awake, but he would gladly fall asleep after a story from Salty.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Harvey
 * Murdoch
 * Salty
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Henry (stock footage)
 * Toby (does not speak)
 * Farmer Trotter (not named; does not speak)
 * Percy (cameo)
 * Duck (cameo)
 * Douglas (cameo)
 * Emily (cameo)
 * Arthur (cameo)
 * Cranky (cameo)
 * Big Mickey (cameo)
 * Gordon (deleted scene)
 * Donald (deleted scene)
 * Annie and Clarabel (deleted scene)
 * Cyril the Fogman (deleted scene cameo)

Locations

 * Brendam Docks
 * Sodor Shipping Company
 * Knapford Sheds
 * The Coaling Plant
 * Henry's Tunnel
 * Suddery Castle
 * Sir Topham Hatt's Office
 * Tidmouth Harbour (stock footage)
 * Wellsworth (deleted scene)
 * The Cement Works (deleted scene)
 * Marseille (mentioned)

Trivia

 * Going by production order, this is the twenty-first episode of the seventh series.
 * Stock footage from Fish is used.
 * This was the first of twenty-six episodes from the sixth and seventh series to be used in a PBS Kids, Treehouse TV and Nick Jr. airing of Thomas.
 * In Nick Jr. and PBS airings, the New Series Music at the end is played during the transition and the stock footage of Fish is the widescreen version as every side of the scene is cropped to fullscreen.
 * This is one of the only episodes to have its first line spoken by an engine rather than the narrator.
 * In Michael Brandon’s narration, Murdoch says "Thanks, Toby!" at the end of the penultimate scene.
 * In a still picture, Arthur is not seen in the shed next to Harvey, Salty, and Murdoch.
 * A faceless Bulstrode model can be seen in the second scene of the episode.
 * A rare picture shows Harvey with an angry face mask, which is the only time it has been seen to date.
 * The deleted scene when Murdoch passes Gordon at Wellsworth was possibly filmed during the filming of Gordon and Spencer as the passengers and vehicles at the station are in the same place and Thomas Annie and Clarabel are also there.
 * Salty says, "Have you worked Marseille?" Marseille is a city in southern France known for its large harbour.
 * This episode marks Duck's last appearance until the twelfth series episode Excellent Emily, excluding a stock footage cameo in Not So Hasty Puddings.
 * Michael Brandon's narration of this episode only aired on television. It was later released for digital download on Amazon.

Goofs

 * The two shots of Murdoch at the coaling plant appear to have been filmed separately. The first shot shows Duck under the hopper and a track on either side of Murdoch. Additionally, Murdoch is pulling the train he left with. In the second shot, there's only one track next to Murdoch, Duck is puffing in the opposite direction, and Murdoch is pulling the train he is supposed to pull the next day.
 * When Murdoch is about to depart from Brendam for the second time, his eyes are wonky.
 * During Harvey's first line, the end of the track is clearly visible.
 * The narrator says "The farmer and his dog went to work," but the farmer has two dogs.
 * When Murdoch tells Harvey and Salty off, Harvey does not have a face.
 * For a brief second in the final shot, Murdoch's eyes do move in alignment with each other.
 * The number of the few black sheep amongst the flock keeps changing.
 * When Murdoch returns to the shed in the last scene Emily is there too, but in the last two shots she has disappeared.

Merchandise

 * Books - A Little Rest for Murdoch (Germany only)
 * My Thomas Story Library - Murdoch (discontinued)