The Reverend Wilbert Awdry is known for criticizing this episode for the lack of realism. The major flaws he found were Henry's driver letting him stop in the forest without alerting a signalman (Rule 55), paving the way with a severe crash with an unaware locomotive, and the number of trees so close to the line that could catch fire from a spark from an engine's funnel. Britt Allcroft, the episode's adapter, defended the latter flaw by claiming to have seeing other railways do the same thing.