The Great Discovery - Plot

Plot

Sodor Day is coming to the Island of Sodor. The engines are preparing for the celebration of the Sodor Day holiday, and Thomas and James are racing to the wharf to be given a special job by Mr. Percival.

Thomas wins, and is sent into the hills to collect lumber with Duncan. Thomas teases the little engine, who decides to pay Thomas out by sending him on a fool's errand - telling him that an old, disused line will lead him back to the wharf faster. After avoiding going on Rolling River Bridge, an old, collapsing bridge, Thomas takes another route at the old junction, and as he journeys farther down the line, he comes across an old overgrown town.

The news of Thomas' discovery spreads, and eventually reaches The Fat Controller. He tells Thomas that the town is Great Waterton, which was Sodor's largest town when steam engines first arrived on the island. The Fat Controller decides that the restoration of the legendary town would be perfect for the celebration of Sodor Day, and calls Miss Jenny Packard's construction crew to help with the process.

Thomas is told to take charge of the engines working on the lines around the town. Meanwhile, a shiny new tank engine named Stanley is brought to the railway to perform Thomas' regular jobs. All of the engines take to Stanley, who does a good job and has fun as well. When Thomas sees Stanley doing his jobs and fraternizing with his friends, he becomes jealous. Thomas is furious when Stanley takes his place at Tidmouth Sheds, and the final straw comes when Thomas has a bad accident and Stanley takes his place as the leader of the Great Waterton operation.

When Thomas is mended, he is shunting trucks of stone for Stanley to take away. He decides to make Stanley look foolish by shunting too many trucks, hoping that Stanley would not be able to climb the hill out of the town, in sight of the other engines. The plan backfires, however - as Stanley climbs the hill, a coupling snaps, and the trucks race down the hill. They veer into a siding and crash into the newly-finished tower, which then collapses.

The Fat Controller is cross with Thomas for giving Stanley too many trucks to pull, and the engines are angry when they realize Thomas set up Stanley on purpose. However, Stanley feels terrible when he realizes that Thomas misses his friends all because of him and wants to set things right. The Fat Controller states that this will likely set back the restoration past Sodor Day. Thomas is miserable, thinking he is no longer wanted.

That night, all the engines are asleep in Tidmouth Sheds, but not Thomas. He decides to clear the trucks of rubble out of the way at Great Waterton so the engines will like him again. Thomas is almost finished shunting when he accidentally bumps a truck into an old mine. Racing in after it, Thomas races into the shaft. The ride is fun and exciting and Thomas enjoys it, until he crashes through some boards, onto a wooden platform and floats down an underground waterway.

The engines arrive at Great Waterton the next day, ready for work. They realize that Thomas is missing, and The Fat Controller organizes a search effort. Stanley goes off to be alone for a while and thinks about when Thomas saw him pulling Annie and Clarabelle, that evening in Tidmouth Sheds and Thomas' sad face after the collapsed tower accident. Stanley thinks Thomas has run away because he thinks no one likes him anymore, so he goes to find him all by himself. Meanwhile, Thomas continues floating in the dark tunnel, and the river is moving very fast. Suddenly, he reaches an opening to the mine, is flung across a canyon, and sent rolling down a hill.

Stanley decides to make another search effort before he has to return to work. He whistles very loudly, and Thomas hears it! With his last bit of steam, Thomas sounds a loud, long whistle. Stanley hears it and hurries to where Thomas is stranded beside the track. The two make up for their quarrel and Stanley pulls Thomas back onto the rails. The strain is too much for Stanley, and a valve in his cab bursts. In an effort to return, Stanley's coal is transferred to Thomas and his fire is started.

Thomas pushes Stanley back to Great Waterton, and the word travels across the island that Thomas has been found. As a sign of friendship, Thomas offers Stanley his last job - to bring the mayor to the Sodor Day festivities at Great Waterton. The engines gather at the town for the celebration, and Thomas realizes just how important his friends are.