Hello everyone! 🙂

Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!

It’s Day 8 of ‘Bradley’s Basement’s Advent Calendar 2025.

Shall we have another James-focused episode in the ‘Thomas the Tank Engine’ TV series?

‘TROUBLESOME TRUCKS’

I’m not sure if this is accurate, but I’m pretty sure that ‘Troublesome Trucks’ was the first ‘Thomas the Tank Engine’ episode I saw as a little kid when growing up in the 1990s. I recall seeing the ‘Troublesome Trucks and Other Stories’ VHS tape very early in my life.

‘Troublesome Trucks’ is the ninth episode in Season 1 of ‘Thomas’ and it’s based on the third story of the same name in the third ‘Railway Series’ book called ‘James the Red Engine’. I have fond memories of seeing this episode as a young kid when getting into ‘Thomas’.

In the episode, James has been shut up in the shed for several days for being naughty in the previous episode ‘James and the Coaches’. The Fat Controller goes to see him and agrees to let him out, telling him to pull a train of trucks. James is very eager to do just that.

On the journey in taking the trucks from the station, James finds it a struggle when the trucks become very ‘troublesome’. He takes them up Gordon’s Hill, but a coupling snaps and some trucks roll back down the hill. Fortunately, James goes back to pick them up. 🙂

I enjoyed the incidental music by Mike O’Donnell and Junior Campbell being played when James goes up Gordon’s Hill twice, pulling the trucks with him and on the second attempt managing to succeed. The Fat Controller is very impressed with James’ efforts by the end.

Thanks for reading and watching!

Check out what Day 8 of my ‘Bradley’s Basement’s Advent Calendars for 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 were about!

Bye for now!

Tim 🙂