 Thomas the Tank Engine Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends (Recently shortened to just Thomas & Friends) is an children's television series which debuted in 1984, which technically is not "animated", but is shot by taking closeups of functional toy trains moving about and emitting smoke while a narrator describes the details of the action.
The series was based on The Railway Series, a series of books created by the Reverend W.V. Awdry. The books, which told of the adventures of a group of living, talking trains, who lived on the fictional Island of Sodor and were based on stories which Awdry told his son Christopher to entertain him during Christopher's recovery from measles. During the 1970s, the television rights were sold to Britt Allcroft and she began producing the series. Many of the stories are based on true events Awdry experienced in his life about railways. In 1987, the Rev W. Awdry and his brother George published 'The Island of Sodor', a book detailing the full history of the railways of Sodor.
Characters from the series
Characters marked with a * appeared in the TV series only.
Other characters
Many of the characters are based on actual British locomotives (steam engines and diesels) and vehicles from the late 19th century onwards.
Coaches
- Annie
- Clarabel
- Henrietta
- Isabel
- Dulcie
- Toad
- Alice
- Mirabel
- Old Slow Coach*
- Emily's New Coaches* (2)
Rolling Stock
- Troublesome Trucks
- S.C. Ruffey
- NW Brakevan AKA Spiteful Brake Van
- Tidmouth Milk Tanker*
- Tar Tanker*
- Sodor Fuel Tanker*
- Fred Pelhay
Skarloey Railway
- 1 Skarloey
- 2 Rheneas
- 3 Sir Handel (Falcon)
- 4 Peter Sam (Stuart)
- 5 Rusty the diesel
- 6 Duncan
- 7 Ivo Hugh
- 8 Duke the lost engine (although he was on the Skarloey Railway before Ivo Hugh, the reason for his number is not explained)
- 9 Fred the diesel
- Coaches: Agnes, Ruth, Lucy, Jemima, Beatrice, Ada, Jane, Mabel, Gertrude, Millicent, Cora
Culdee Fell Mountain Railway
- 1 Godred
- 2 Ernest
- 3 Wilfred
- 4 Culdee
- 5 Shane Dooiney
- 6 Lord Harry (AKA Patrick or No 6)
- 7 Alaric
- 8 Eric
Coaches: Gwen, Nora, Willa, Catherine, Sally Dorothy, Lady Helen (AKA Patricia), Amy and Ellie
Arlesdale (Small) Railway
- Rex
- Mike
- Bert
- Jock
- Frank
- Blister I, Blister II, Sigrid of Arlesdale (diesels who never actually appeared in the books, but are mentioned in 'The Island of Sodor'
Mid-Sodor Railway
- 1 Duke (later moved to the Skarloey Railway)
- 2 Smudger/Stanley (the former being the name given to him in the TV series, the latter originating in the books)
- 3 Falcon (Sir Handel)
- 4 Stuart (Peter Sam)
- Bertram
- Tim, Jim, Jerry, the Mines Engine, Albert (only appearing on the Rev W Awdry's model of the railway)
British "Other" Railway
- "Foreign Engine" AKA "Big City Engine".
- Jinty
- Pug
- "Devious" Diesel
- Pippa and Emma
- The Diesel (aka D361)
- 'Old Stuck-Up'
- D199
- Various guest engines, both steam and diesel, appear in illustrations and as "extras" in the books.
Bluebell Railway
- Stepney (Known as the "Bluebell Engine")
- Bluebell and Primrose, twins
- Captain Baxter
- Adams
- Cromford
N.B. The Bluebell Railway is a real railway in Sussex, England. All of these engines may be seen there, along with a number of others.
National Railway Museum
Other Engines
- Sixteen
- Ballast Spreader
- Neil
Sodor Construction Company (The Pack)
Note: The following characters were created by Phile Ferle for a spin-off television series, entitled Jack and the Pack. However, when Gullane Entertainment was taken over by Hit Entertainment, the show was scrapped. So far the characters have only appeared in the two pilot episodes, Jack Jumps In and A Friend In Need
- 11 Jack (Front Loader)
- 12 Alfie (Excavator\Compactor)
- 14 Byron (Bulldozer)
- 15 Max (40-ton dump truck)
- 16 Oliver (Excavator)
- 19 Ned
- 22 Isabella
- Kelly (Crane lorry)
People
- Cyril (The Fogman)*
- Jem Cole (Trevor's Driver)
- Sir Topham Hatt, The Fat Controller
- Lady Hatt (Wife of Topham Hatt )
- Bridget Hatt (grand-daughter of Sir Topham and Lady Hatt)
- Stephen Hatt (grand-son of Sir Topham and Lady Hatt)
- The Vicar
- Mrs. Kyndley
- Lord Callan*
- The Policeman
- Sir Topham's butler
- Tom Tipper (The Postman)
- Miss Jenny*
- Thin Controller
- Small Controller
Road Vehicles
- Bertie the Bus
- Bulgy the Double Decker Bus
- Elizabeth the Sentinel Lorry (Topham's first lorry)*
- George the Steamroller
- Terence the Tractor
- Trevor the Traction Engine
- Lorry 1*, Lorry 2*, Lorry 3* (the Horrid Lorries)
- Butch Breakdown* (the Sodor Heavy Recovery Unit)
- Thumper*
- Caroline the car
Air Vehicles
- Harold the Helicopter
- Tiger Moth (a biplane)*
Miscellaneous Characters
- Cranky (a crane)*
- Bulstrode (a barge)
Movie Characters (Engines)
- Diesel 10, an evil diesel
- Splatter and Dodge, his sidekicks
- Lady, a magical lost engine
Note that of the engine characters appearing in the TV series, Thomas, Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy, Toby, Duck, Donald & Douglas, Oliver, Terence, Bertie and Harold were in the film.
Movie Characters (Humans & Animals)
- Burnett Stone
- Lily
- Mr Conductor
- C Junior
- Patch
- Stacey Jones
- Billy Twofeathers
- Mut the Dog
Thomas on TV & Film
 Gordon the Big Engine The series debuted in 1984 on ITV in the United Kingdom and was distributed by Columbia Pictures Television. In 1989, Thomas & Friends was shown in North America, with the television series called Shining Time Station which aired on PBS. Today, Thomas & Friends is broadcast in more than 20 languages around the globe. In 2000, Thomas moved to the big screen, with the release of Thomas and the Magic Railroad. The film was not a success.
Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends was produced by The Britt Allcroft Company which was changed to Gullane Entertainment in 2000. Hit Entertainment now owns the Thomas licences for broadcast and merchandising. The Thomas & Friends stories were 5 minutes long. The first two series showed two episodes at a time, with a show of the characters in the middle. It changed to one at a time in series three. In each series until series eight, the number of trains on the railway increases as the railway expands.
In 2004, the series began using computer animated "special effects" and the story length changed to 7 minutes instead of the earlier 5 minutes. A half hour show format (aired on PBS and Treehouse TV in North America from 2004-) was also adopted showing three episodes plus puzzles, songs and mini stories. The new series made many drastic changes, from changing the famous theme tune, made of the episodes recycled plots from older episodes (such as Thomas refusing to wear his snow plow, a race with Bertie the bus, Gordon getting stuck up the hill and Percy running away.).
Narrators
- Ringo Starr – (UK Narrator:1984–1986, US Narrator:1989). Starr was the first narrator of the series; in the American series, Starr narrated half of the second season because it was out of production due to "Shining Time Station"; he left the series to persue his music career.
- George Carlin – (US Narrator: 1991–1994). Carlin was the first American to narrate the series; he replaced Starr in 1991 for the American series; in the American series, Carlin re-narrated the first two seasons due to "Shining Time Station" and in 1998, he left the series to further pursue his career in comedy.
- Alec Baldwin – (US Narrator: 1998–2003). Baldwin replaced Carlin in 1998 for the US series; he left the series to pursue motion picture roles.
- Michael Angelis – (UK Narrator: 1991-, US Narrator 2004). Angelis replaced Starr for the British series as narrator in 1991; he wasn't mentioned in the credits in the 5th season of the British series. Angelis also replaced Baldwin for the beginning of the 7th season of the US version for one DVD entitled, "New Friends For Thomas".
- Michael Brandon – (US Narrator: 2004—). Brandon renarrated the seventh season and continues to narrate the American series today.
Thomas on DVD and Video
See Thomas the Tank Engine home video.
Thomas video games
There was also a game written for the Commodore 64 and the PC.
Thomas Models
Hornby Railways produce a range of OO scale Thomas Models. Full details can be found at their website ([1] (http://www.hornbyrailways.com)). The models are not particularly detailed, but suitable in their role of toys. In the United States, Lionel offers a range of Thomas models in the larger O scale. Ertl produces a range of die cast and plastic models. Learning Curve of Chicago produces and distibutes the Thomas Wooden Railway System, which includes most characters, wooden track, stations, bridges, tunnels and buildings designed as educational and learning tools for young children.
Day Out with Thomas
Preserved Railways in Britain regularly run "Friends of Thomas" weekends. A "Thomas" locomotive is brought in, and the resident locomotives have faces attached to them. The Mid Hants Railway even went so far as to rebuild one of their engines completely in order to produce an exact replica of Thomas.
External links
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Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends
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