Thomas & Friends (Series 23) (Johnsonverse)

The 23rd series of Thomas & Friends started airing in 2019.

This season introduced the Peel Godred Branchline to the television series, as well as a new cast of electric locomotives. It also saw further Awdry stories adapted, plus obscure Awdry-created characters such as The Red Engine (here given the common fan name Eagle), as well as 98462 and 87546, and introduced the Vicarstown Railway Museum.

In addition, this was the final season with Andrew Brenner (who had joined the series in November 2010) as the head writer. Starting in the next season, Tim Johnson himself replaced him.

Episodes

 * 1) Free The Roads (written by Michael White) - Bulgy thinks that people should travel by bus instead of rail, until he learns that having so many passengers is not easy for the buses on their own.
 * 2) Chucklesome Trucks (written by Davey Moore) - Eagle defies expectations when he works with the Troublesome Trucks and has a very amusing day.
 * 3) Heart of Gold (written by Michael White) - Flora doesn't feel useful working at the Vicarstown Railway Museum but soon proves some rude passengers wrong when she stops scrap thieves from stealing Old Slow Coach.
 * 4) We Need Another Engine (written by Christopher Awdry; adapted by Tim Johnson) - The Arlesdale Railway's diesel, Frank, is angry that the Thin Clergyman didn't put him in the book about the railway, and crashes through the shed wall.
 * 5) Sticking Power (written by Christopher Awdry; adapted by Tim Johnson) - Bert is feeling unwell, but Rex and Mike think he's faking it to get out of work. They're proven wrong when Bert's driver uses glue to fix a broken coupling.
 * 6) Jock (written by Christopher Awdry; adapted by Tim Johnson) - The Arlesdale Railway builds a new yellow engine, who is nameless until Donald and Douglas think up a name for him.
 * 7) Teamwork (written by Christopher Awdry; adapted by Tim Johnson) - Jock and Mike learn the importance of teamwork after their antics cause delay.
 * 8) Diesel Do Right (written by Davey Moore) - Diesel plays a trick on Molly to try to get the other engines in trouble for a change.
 * 9) The Electric Engines (written by Tim Johnson) - Whiff and Scruff notice electrical lines going up over the tracks on the Peel Godred Branchline, and soon meet the new electric engines: Andy, Jeffrey, Sean, and Steve.
 * 10) Dam Busters (written by Tim Johnson) - The Electric Engines and The Pack tackle the construction of a new hydroelectric dam at Peel Godred.
 * 11) Crosspatch (written by the Rev. W. Awdry; adapted by Tim Johnson) - Skarloey tells Nancy the story of when he came to Sodor, and how much of a crosspatch he was.
 * 12) Bucking Bronco (written by the Rev. W. Awdry; adapted by Tim Johnson) - Skarloey's first passenger train doesn't go as planned.
 * 13) Stick-In-The-Mud (written by the Rev. W. Awdry; adapted by Tim Johnson) - Rheneas tells the story of the day he and Skarloey learned sense.
 * 14) Ducks and Dukes (written by the Rev. W. Awdry; adapted by Tim Johnson) - On Skarloey and Rheneas' 100th birthday, Peter Sam and Sir Handel are paranoid that Mr. Percival has scrapped Duke after misinterpreting Duck's words.
 * 15) Duke Comes Home (written by Tim Johnson) - Duke finally returns from Porthmadog after a lengthy overhaul, and is finally ready to start work again. But as he learns, times have changed, and he finds it hard to adjust to the modern world. But Peter Sam and Sir Handel are ready to help their "Grandpuff" fit in.
 * 16) The Original Devious Engines (written by Tim Johnson) - Shortly after Thomas got his branchline, The Fat Controller brought two engines on trial. 98462 and 87546, who give themselves the names Alfred and Cecil, quickly begin a reign of terror against the other engines, while playing the Wounded Gazelle Gambit in The Fat Controller's presence to frame the other engines as bullies. But they're soon found out, and both are sent away in disgrace, never to return.
 * 17) The Strawberry Special (written by Christopher Awdry; adapted by Tim Johnson) - Toby tells Thomas and Percy the time he had to take forty-eight vans of strawberries. Toby was running low on water, so he left the vans at a station and went to refill his tank.
 * 18) Unhappy Landing (written by Christopher Awdry; adapted by Tim Johnson) - Thomas thinks parachutists are silly for jumping out of aeroplanes, but still goes to the rescue when one lands in the river.
 * 19) Old Groaner (written by Christopher Awdry; adapted by Tim Johnson) - James complains about getting old. An inspector tells him people living nearby are complaining about a groaning noise. It turns out James' brake blocks have been rubbing together from shunting. James is pleased to get a rest, but not when he is nicknamed "Old Groaner".
 * 20) Diesel Glows Away (written by Davey Moore) - When Diesel hides from the other engines, his plans backfire and he gets a surprise.
 * 21) Golden Oldies (written by Christopher Awdry; adapted by Tim Johnson) - While on the Ffarquhar Sunday School outing, one of the teachers falls ill. An ambulance would take a long time to arrive, but luckily Bertie is on hand to take her to Wellsworth Hospital. However, this creates another problem: who will take the children home?
 * 22) All Play and No Work (written by Tim Johnson) - Charlie's devil-may-care attitude towards work gets out of hand, to the point The Fat Controller threatens to send him back to the Mainland and replace him with Billy. This ends up causing even more problems when Charlie and Billy butt heads over who can be the lazier engine, only to find they can't out-lazy Dennis.
 * 23) Speedkiller (written by Christopher Awdry; adapted by Tim Johnson) - Rusty tries to get Fred to pull the weedkiller train for once, but Fred seems to be better at being lazy than Dennis. Fred eventually does take the train, but is rather careless where he sprays, causing problems for Rheneas.
 * 24) Sir Handel's Plan (written by Christopher Awdry; adapted by Tim Johnson) - Sir Handel is jealous when Freddie is brought back from the Llanberis Lake Railway especially to help with the engine shortage, and when he is convinced he sees Freddie grinning at him from the shed he is furious and deliberately knocks his firebars loose, resulting in his being sent to the shed.
 * 25) Red is the New Black (written by Tim Johnson) - Mr. Percival desires a more uniform look for his railway, and to that end, has all of the engines repainted the same color as Skarloey, while Rusty is repainted the same color as Fred. Everyone is receptive to the idea, except Duke, who doesn't want to give up his mid-Sodor colors.
 * 26) I Name This Engine... (written by Christopher Awdry; adapted by Tim Johnson) - The Steamworks has built a new locomotive for the Skarloey Railway, and Freddie is deemed surplus and sent to the Vicarstown Railway Museum. But what will this new engine be named?