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

Product Information

When Hiro pulls Spencer to the Steamworks, Hiro's number stops moving whilst Hiro keeps moving, so it appears to be sliding off. 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.

On some copies of the US DVD releases, they state that the special is in fullscreen, but it is really in widescreen. The Japanese dub of this special is preceded by a four-minute prologue explaining the origins of the Railway Series and the television series. This special states that Hiro was the first engine on the Island of Sodor, despite The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways stating that other engines were there long before. 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 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.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. Nitrogen Studios released the "Patchwork Hiro" chase sequence to the public in their Studio Animation Pipeline collection illustrating the three various stages of animation the film went through before the final cut. Gordon Takes a Tumble | Henry and the Elephant | Percy Takes a Plunge | Thomas and the Special Letter | James and the Trouble with Trees | Spic and Span | Diesel from Thomas to the Rescue | Emily's Adventure

The first time that a location outside of the United Kingdom is shown in the television series, in this case, the location shown is Hiro's homeland, Japan. From the chase with Spencer until Hiro's overhaul at the Steamworks, the golden stripes on Hiro's boiler disappear.

Side guide

Spencer and the Duke and Duchess of Boxford's first appearances in a special as well as their first appearances since the eleventh series episode, Dream On. A mobile app ( Thomas & Friends: Hero of the Rails) was released in May 2011. The DVD was also released in 2019 in "The Heroic Collection" along with Misty Island Rescue, Day of the Diesels, Blue Mountain Mystery, and Tale of the Brave. [4]