Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree

Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree is the twenty-sixth episode of the second season and the fifty-second episode of the series. In the US, this episode was first released on the VHS release of Shining Time Station's 1990 Christmas special 'Tis a Gift.

Plot
It was the twenty-third of December and the final preparations are being made for a carol party to be held at Tidmouth.

Thomas is sent to collect the Christmas tree, but on the way back runs into a snowdrift and was covered by an avalanche. The engines grow angry waiting for Thomas to return, but soon the word spreads and the engines feel sorry for him.

Donald and Douglas go to the rescue and save Thomas and the precious cargo. The tree arrives on time and everyone was delighted when Harold arrives with the guest of honour, Father Christmas.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Donald and Douglas
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Percy (does not speak)
 * Toby (does not speak)
 * Duck (does not speak)
 * Harold (does not speak)
 * Annie and Clarabel (do not speak)
 * Edward (cameo)
 * Henry (cameo)
 * Gordon (cameo)
 * James (cameo)
 * Bill and Ben (cameo)
 * BoCo (cameo)
 * Diesel (cameo)
 * Bertie (cameo)
 * Terence (cameo)
 * Trevor (cameo)
 * Jem Cole (cameo)

Locations

 * Tidmouth
 * Ffarquhar Sheds
 * Rolf's Castle
 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * The Watermill
 * Shunting Yards
 * Wellsworth (deleted scene)

Errors

 * As Thomas crashes into the snow, he looks more annoyed than surprised.
 * When the narrator says "Then they set off once more to finish their long journey", on the left side of the screen the space between the leaves and the tree was green.
 * When the engines whistle loudly, Henry and Gordon are smiling and Donald has Edward's cross face.
 * If Thomas returns with the Christmas tree, then the twins should've come up in front of him.
 * In the aerial shot of the station when the lights come on, Bertie is stationary, at the back of the shot and missing a Christmas hat. Not long after there is a close-up of him with Trevor and Terence, now wearing a hat.
 * In the aerial shot of the station, Annie and Clarabel don't have hats on, but later gain them.
 * Daisy and Henrietta weren't present at the Christmas party. Diesel, for some reason, was.
 * A wire was used to hold Harold when he was landing.
 * BoCo's left eye was scratched.
 * When the narrator says "Everyone cheered and the party began", Thomas was now next to Harold instead of in front of the station. Then, at the end of the episode, he was in his original position again. Edward was also seen in the station instead of in front of the station and Henry, Gordon, and BoCo have disappeared.
 * Something can be seen in the shed when Thomas says "Happy Christmas everyone!"
 * Donald and Douglas' nameplates are missing in several scenes.
 * A camera tripod was seen when Donald and Douglas set off to find Thomas.
 * When the engines head to the Christmas party, Thomas' head lamp isn't on and the other engines aren't wearing head lamps at all.
 * In the restored version, in the shot of Thomas and Percy towards the end, a blue light behind them was covered up. This is likely to be a crew member standing in the background.
 * Thomas' eyes are wonky throughout the episode.
 * In the shot of Bill and Ben with Diesel, Ben's nameplate is loose.
 * While Ringo Starr's US narration has all lines mentioning the Fat Controller omitted, the footage remains unchanged.  As a result, some of the scenes of the Fat Controller appear to be longer than necessary, and one shot of him is shown with no accompanying dialogue.
 * In the overhead shot of the station, Terence's eyes are wonky.
 * In the overhead shot of the station, none of the trucks next to Annie and Clarabel have faces, and when we see the shot of Trevor, Terence, Bertie, Annie and Clarabel, a truck next to Annie gains a face.
 * When Donald and Douglas set off to rescue Thomas, the Fat Controller was standing by the track opposite them. In the next shot, the Fat Controller has already gotten back to his car on the other side of the turntable long before the twins run round it which could be impossible.
 * Thomas' face moves when he says "Happy Christmas, Percy."