Hero of the Rails [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

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Entertainment to Grow Up With* | Two Thomas Adventures* | Thomas' Sodor Stories* | Fun with Thomas | Thomas' Trainyard Adventures* | Starting This Fall on PBS* | Thomas to the Rescue | Quarry Adventures on Sodor | The Story of Thomas and the Jet Engine | Thomas Tries His Best | Thomas' Birthday Sampler | Thomas & Friends 2008 Sampler DVD | Go, Go Thomas! | Thomas' Railway Adventures! | Disappearing Diesels In the first UK trailer, Thomas and Spencer have different UK voices than their current ones. This is because both characters were meant to be voiced by Kerry Shale during the original cut. Also, Toby has his US voice.

Hiro, now in a very "patchwork" design, is feeling much better. Hiro mentions that James will be coming tomorrow, Percy comments on how he feels about James, sending Hiro laughing for the first time in years. In the first trailer, there is a scene where Victor says, "You've come to the right place, my friend." This was not present in the special; it is from the thirteenth series episode, Creaky Cranky. Thomas' Useful Stories* | Thomas' Fan Favorite Adventures* | Thomas' Magical Musical Ride* | Great Destinations! | Double Features | HiT FavoritesThe only CGI special that does not mention the name of the writer in the opening credits (Sharon Miller is credited in the end). One summer on the Island of Sodor, Spencer arrives to help the Duke and Duchess of Boxford with the construction of their new summer house. After being an absolute nuisance to all of the other engines by teasing and bossing them around, Thomas accepts Spencer's challenge to a contest of strength, taking heavy cargo around the island. Thomas' brakes fail after climbing a tall hill, and he runs out of control through an overgrown, abandoned line. There, Thomas finds an old abandoned Japanese tender engine named Hiro, said to be one of Sodor's first engines. Hiro does not want Sir Topham Hatt to find out, fearing he will be scrapped, so Thomas promises to keep his secret and work to make Hiro "Master of the Railway" once again. Later, he's taken to the Sodor Steamworks for repairs, where he finds old parts for Hiro. He takes them with permission from Victor (the Steamworks engine), only to discover that Hiro's hiding place is dangerously close to the Duke and Duchess's new summer house. But that night, the Fat Controller is furious. The summer house is nowhere near done, Spencer has been wandering around the island, the mail coaches still have not been found and Thomas is not working on his branch line. All Hiro needs is one more part before he is completed, so the other engines promise to guard Hiro until Percy delivers the last part. The first special narrated by Óscar Gómez in Latin America. It is also the second film dubbed in Mexico with a full voice cast, with the first being Thomas and the Magic Railroad. Note: The first UK trailer uses different voices for Thomas and Spencer, as the footage used in the trailer was from the original version of the film, which would have featured Kerry Shale as the voice of Thomas and Spencer; his parts were recast for the released version. Toby's US voice is also heard in said trailer.

The Sodor Oil Tankers' logo of the word OIL was replaced with a picture of an oil rig with oil coming out of it starting from this special onwards.In Poland, this special premiered after the thirteenth series, so the audience would not know about Hiro, Victor and Kevin. In the scene where Spencer is staring at Emily, Thomas and Percy pass on the bridge with nothing behind them. In the trailers, however, the same scene is shown, but Thomas and Percy are pulling flatbeds full of engine parts. It can be assumed that the trailer showed an altered version of the scene. The Duke and Duchess and the Fat Controller scolded Spencer for wandering around, taking advantage of Thomas Calling All Engines! | The Great Discovery | Cancelled 2009 Special | Hero of the Rails | Misty Island Rescue | Day of the Diesels | Blue Mountain Mystery | King of the Railway | Tale of the Brave | The Adventure Begins | Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure | The Great Race | Journey Beyond Sodor | Big World! Big Adventures! To cut costs and maximise profits (because of government tax breaks for UK animation in 2007), HiT Entertainment decided to retire the models and have the show be turned into a CGI product. They enlisted Nitrogen Studios to provide the visuals. Nitrogen had already created CGI elements for the twelfth series. Christopher Skala added that it was to also include more emotion and flexibility through the stories. Previously Skala claimed that, of his focus group, even those who felt that Thomas, as an institution, should not be changed in this way but ultimately responded positively to the demonstration of the new animation techniques. Hero of the Rails also sees the installation of a permanent voice cast, which would continue throughout the franchise.

Thomas is taking on water when an engine rushes past. The rest of the Steam Team soon have similar experiences and gather at Knapford to figure out what is going on. Halfway through their conversation, Spencer arrives. It turns out that he is staying for the summer to help the Duke and Duchess build their summer house. Needless to say, nobody is pleased with the news, especially when Spencer rushes around with his work, teasing the other engines. That night, all of the engines are tired and cross because they have all been teased by Spencer. Hiro states that he was the first engine on Sodor, but this is untrue, as Hiro's basis was not built until 1935, in which several engines had already arrived on Sodor. In the US trailer, Sir Topham Hatt says "We must help Hiro at once" while standing on the gantry of a signalbox, a scene that was never present in the special.Thomas the Tank Engine Volume 1 | Thomas the Tank Engine Volume 2 | Thomas the Tank Engine Volume 3 | Thomas the Tank Engine Volume 4 | Thomas the Tank Engine Volume 5 | Thomas the Tank Engine Volume 6 | Thomas the Tank Engine Volume 7 | Thomas the Tank Engine Vol.8 | Thomas the Tank Engine Vol.9 | Thomas the Tank Engine Vol.10 | Thomas the Tank Engine Vol.11 | Thomas the Tank Engine Vol.12 | Thomas the Tank Engine Vol.13 | Thomas the Tank Engine Vol.14 | Thomas the Tank Engine Vol.15 | Thomas the Tank Engine Vol.16 | Thomas the Tank Engine Vol.17 | New Thomas the Tank Engine Vol.1 | New Thomas the Tank Engine Vol.2 | New Thomas the Tank Engine Vol.3 | New Thomas the Tank Engine Vol.4 | New Thomas the Tank Engine Vol.5 | New Thomas the Tank Engine Vol.6 | Hello Thomas and James | Best of Thomas | Best of James and Edward | Best of Henry | Best of Gordon | Best of Percy | Sing-Along and Stories | New Thomas the Tank Engine 2 Vol.1 | New Thomas the Tank Engine 2 Vol.2 | New Thomas the Tank Engine 2 Vol.3 | New Thomas the Tank Engine 2 Vol.4 | New Thomas the Tank Engine 2 Vol.5 | New Thomas the Tank Engine 2 Vol.6 | Sing-Along and Stories 2 | Sing-Along and Stories 3 | Let's Sing Thomas Songs Together Vol.1 | Let's Sing Thomas Songs Together Vol.2 | Let's Sing Thomas Songs Together Vol.3 | Thomas and Connie's Wonderful American Journey | Thomas and the Magic Railroad | The Complete Works of Thomas the Tank Engine 1 Vol.1* | The Complete Works of Thomas the Tank Engine 1 Vol.2* | The Complete Works of Thomas the Tank Engine 1 Vol.3* | The Complete Works of Thomas the Tank Engine 1 Vol.4* | The Complete Works of Thomas the Tank Engine 1 Vol.5* | The Complete Works of Thomas the Tank Engine 1 Vol.6* | The Complete Works of Thomas the Tank Engine 1 Vol.7* | The Complete Works of Thomas the Tank Engine 1 Vol.8* | Thomas the Tank Engine Series 6 Vol.1 | Thomas the Tank Engine Series 6 Vol.2 | Thomas the Tank Engine Series 6 Vol.3 | Thomas the Tank Engine Series 6 Vol.4 | Thomas the Tank Engine Series 6 Vol.5 | Thomas the Tank Engine Series 6 Vol.6 | Thomas the Tank Engine Series 7 Vol.1 | Thomas the Tank Engine Series 7 Vol.2 | Thomas the Tank Engine Series 7 Vol.3 | Thomas the Tank Engine Series 7 Vol.4 | Thomas the Tank Engine Series 7 Vol.5 | Thomas the Tank Engine Series 7 Vol.6 This special entered pre-production in September 2008, was produced alongside the thirteenth series starting with January 2009 and was delivered in May 2009. [1] Development Victor's assistant Kevin then drives clumsily over to Thomas and Victor. Victor scolds him for rushing around, while Thomas notices some engine parts on a flatbed. Thomas finishes his day's work and then comes by later to see if the parts are still there. Victor says it is only taking up space anyway, so Thomas rushes off with it.

The first special to have its own stylised opening sequence instead of using the Thomas & Friends opening. This film features a drastically reduced cast of characters due to the crew not having enough time to create models for every character from scratch. Near the end of the special during Thomas and Spencer's final race, the points were not switched, but Spencer was still able to change lines. The next morning, Thomas is taking machines to Farmer McColl, but he wants to help Hiro. Percy shows up and Thomas tells him everything. He asks Percy to deliver the machines for him while he goes to help Hiro. Percy does so, shunting his mail coaches into a siding in the meantime.In the film, Thomas discovers an old, dilapidated engine in the woods, and tries to repair him in secret, without the villainous Spencer finding out. Selected items are only available for delivery via the Royal Mail 48® service and other items are available for delivery using this service for a charge. When Thomas visits Hiro after he leaves the summerhouse, Hiro has his dome, but it fell off during the chase he had with Spencer. An early prototype cover for the DVD included Percy and James on the top layer, taking Spencer's place (who was moved behind Victor). Thomas and Percy are later getting coal and Emily is puffing off to give Hiro more parts. Edward and Henry pass with Spencer in tow, bringing him to the Steamworks. While Spencer is being taken care of, Thomas arrives. Kevin starts dropping things, which causes Spencer to wince and shut his eyes. As he does so, Thomas sneaks away with more parts.