I was rather devastated when I heard that Oliver Postgate had died, this time last year. He remains a constant inspiration to my work. Ivor The Engine was of course an early childhood favourite, and it shared time equally with Thomas on many occasions. His beautiful storytelling, and wonderful narration is something I wish I had even a modicum of. I dedicated this episode to him because I felt I had no other way of expressing my grief at his passing. It seems strange to grieve someone you have never met, but - and this is true perhaps of all performers and literary figures - his work was such an inspiration, and so magical, that it has, thankfully, remained with us in nostalgia, but still in public mind and spirit.

The first episode for many months, and this time filmed on an entirely new set, covered in snow! The episode was intended to introduce Arthur the A2 Pacific (A.H Peppercorn in real life), reintroduce the series and continue from where things left off in Episode 11.

Suffice to say, this episode was much more enjoyable to film than the previous snow episode, on the grounds that here, the engines worked properly! The set was built from scratch and especially for the three episodes (12, 13 and 14). Props, buildings and track work will be re-used, but on a new and specially prepared baseboard for the next installments of the series.

This episode, and the two immediately following it, were filmed back to back in the weeks leading up to December 10th, and were released within a few days of each other to a larger, and wonderfully receptive audience. These episodes were the last episodes to be filmed using DC technology from Episode Fifteen onwards, and to the end of the series, the episodes will be made using DCC.

This means that every locomotive would be specially chipped for use on the new set, and some other modifications would be made in a complete series revamp that will last to the very end of the final episode of the series. Several eagle eyed (or perhaps more appropriately, Hawk eyed!!!) viewers will notice several characters in the series reappear, or make a first cameo appearance. There are also a few engines as yet unnamed that appear, from other regions.

One engine that has a very famous name makes an impossible cameo appearance: it was built in 2008, and the episode is set in 1953!!!