Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends
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Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends (recently shortened to Thomas and Friends) is a children's television series which debuted in 1984.
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, 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, 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.
| Number | Name | Wheel arrangement | Prototype |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thomas the Tank Engine | 0-6-0T | London, Brighton and South Coast Railway E2 Steam Tank Engine. |
| 2 | Edward the Blue Engine | 4-4-0 | Modified Furness Railway 'Larger Seagull' |
| 3 | Henry the Green Engine | 4-6-0 | Prototype London and North Eastern Railway A3 Steam Tender Engine, later London, Midland and Scottish Railway 5MT "Black Five" Steam Tender Engine |
| 4 | Gordon the Big Engine | 4-6-2 (pacific) | London and North Eastern Railway A3 Steam Tender Engine |
| 5 | James the Red Engine | 2-6-0 (mogul) | London, Midland and Scottish Pre-group Steam Tender Engine, most likely a Hughes 2-6-0 of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway |
| 6 | Percy the Small Engine | 0-4-0ST | Avonside Steam Saddle Tank Engine modified beyond recognition (although it should be pointed out that the Rev W. Awdry himself seemed uncertain as to his prototype) |
| 7 | Toby the Tram Engine | 0-6-0T | Wisbech steam tram J70 0-6-0T |
| 8 | Duck the Great Western Engine | 0-6-0PT | Great Western Railway 57xx Steam Pannier Tank Engine |
| 9 | Donald | 0-6-0 | Caledonian Railway 812 Class Steam Tender Engine |
| 10 | Douglas | 0-6-0 | Caledonian Railway 812 Class Steam Tender Engine |
| 11 | Oliver the Western Engine | 0-4-2T | GWR 1400 Class Steam Tank Engine |
| (27) | Harvey the Crane Engine* | 0-4-0T | Dubs Crane Tank Engine |
| 13 | Emily* | 4-2-2 | Great Northern Railway Stirling Single Steam Tender Engine |
| 14 | Fergus the Railway Traction Engine* | 2-2-0WT | Aveling & Porter Steam Well Tank Engine "The Blue Circle" |
| 15 | Arthur* | 2-6-2T | LMS Ivatt Class 2 2-6-2T Steam Tank Engine |
| 16 | Murdoch the Heavy Goods Engine* | 2-10-0 | BR standard class 9F Steam Tender Engine |
| 29 | Spencer* | 4-6-2 | LNER Class A4 Steam Tender Engine |
| N/A | Wilbert* | 0-6-0 | Hunslet WD Steam Tank Engine |
| . | . | . | . |
| D1 | Daisy the Diesel Rail-Car | Bo-Bo | Based on a British Rail Class 101 Metro-Cammell DMU |
| D2 | Boco the Diesel Engine | Co-Bo | British Rail Class 28 Diesel Engine |
| D3 | Bear, AKA D7101 | Bo-Bo | British Rail Class 35 "Hymek" Diesel Engine |
| N/A | Mavis the Quarry Diesel | 0-6-0 | British Rail Class 04 Diesel Shunter |
| N/A | 'Arry the Iron Works Diesel* | 0-6-0 | British Rail Class 08 Diesel Shunter |
| N/A | Bert the Iron Works Diesel* | 0-6-0 | British Rail Class 08 Diesel Shunter |
| (D2991) | Salty the Dockyard Diesel* | 0-6-0 | British Rail Class 07 Dock Shunter Diesel |
| . | . | . | . |
| 1 | Bill the Tank Engine Twin | 0-4-0 | Bagnall Steam Saddle Tank Engine |
| 2 | Ben the Tank Engine Twin | 0-4-0 | Bagnall Steam Saddle Tank Engine |
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
- Slate Trucks
Skarloey Railway
Based on the Talyllyn Railway in Wales.
- 1 Skarloey
- 2 Rheneas
- 3 Sir Handel (Falcon)
- 4 Peter Sam (Stuart)
- 5 Rusty the diesel
- 6 Duncan the Rock 'n' Rolling Engine
- 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)
- Bertram (character from the TV series who works at the old mine, not officially a member of the Skarloey Railway)
- Fred the diesel (mentioned but never seen)
- 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
There are several coaches, but only one is named in the books. This is Culdee's coach, Catherine. There is also a general purpose Truck used for maintenance, goods, and rescue trains.
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)
- Tim, Jim, Jerry, the Mines Engine, Albert (only appearing on the Rev W Awdry's model of the railway)
British "Other" Railway
- Big City Engine (aka Foreign Engine)
- Jinty
- Pug
- "Devious" Diesel
- Pippa and Emma
- The Diesel (aka D261)
- 'Old Stuck-Up'
- D199Spamcan
- Various guest engines, both steam and diesel, appear in illustrations and as "extras" in the books.
Bluebell Railway
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
- Green Arrow
- Iron Duke
- Rocket
- Boxhill
- Mallard
- Duchess of Hamilton
- Flying Scotsman (not at the museum when Thomas visited, but has since been acquired)
- City of Truro
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)
- Mrs. Hatt (Sir Topham Hatt's mother)
- The Vicar
- Mrs. Kyndley
- Lord Callan*
- The Policeman
- Sir Topham's butler
- Tom Tipper (The Postman)
- Miss Jenny*
- Thin Controller
- Small Controller
- Alicia Botti (an opera singer)
- Nancy (A conductor's daughter, who sometimes polishes the Narrow Gauge Engines)
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
Thomas on TV & Film
The series debuted in 1984 on ITV in the United Kingdom. In 1989, Thomas & Friends was shown in North America, with the television series called Shining Time Station which aired on PBS. In 1999, Fox Family Channel (now called ABC Family) aired Thomas on a show called Storytime with Thomas. 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. In 2005, Thomas & Friends will make its Magic Railroad semi-sequel in-direct video/DVD release called, Calling All Engines.
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 licenses 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 major changes such as changing the famous theme tune, and many 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.). View Photo (http://video.google.com/ThumbnailServer?chan=PBSX&year=2005&month=2&day=19&hour=15&minute=50&second=30&millisecond=0&itag=qqvg&urlcreated=1116016158&hv=QqcpGlxMBWLQJLkVfHjmjkKWynM=)
Production history
The series has gone through numerous changes throughout its run. The Producer is in charge of every aspect of the show for the season(s) she or he is currently serving as.
- Season 1-2: Britt Allcroft, David Mitton and Robert D. Cardona
- Season 3-5: Britt Allcroft, David Mitton
- Season 6-7: Phile Ferle
- Season 8-: Simon Spencer
With the exception of the feature film, the show has always been filmed at Shepperton Studios, London, England.
TV Series Trivia
- Stories were adapted from The Railway Series books in the first four series.
- From 1998 onwards stories were written specially for television. First by the then producers of the show Britt Allcroft and David Mitton (series 5) and then by a much larger team of hired writers (series 6 onwards).
- Throughout series 6 and 7, David Mitton continued to provide storylines and wrote his final script during the show's sixth run, entitled Edward the Very Useful Engine.
- The narrator provides the story and the character voices.
- In the Japanese version, voice actors did the characters' voices instead of the narrator.
- Season 7 had the most stock footage
- Season 7 was the last season to use 35mm film.
- In some episodes, old models used in Thomas’s short-lived sister show, TUGS appear.
- Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell composed the show's original theme song and music from the years 1984 to 2003. In 2004, Robert Hartshorne took their place as composer, and wrote a new theme song, while Ed Welch wrote the lyrics of the songs.
- The director was David Mitton until he retired in 2003. However, Steve Asquith replaced him from 2004.
- In the American version of the first two seasons and in other few seasons, the episodes had different titles.
- Season 8 does not introduce any new characters
- The Fat Controller was known as the the Fat Director in Awdry's books.
- The new Thomas & Friends theme song is "Engine Roll Call".
Narrators
- Ringo Starr – (UK Narrator:1984–1986, US Narrator:1989). Starr was the first narrator of the series; in 1989, he portrayed the "Mr. Conductor" character for "Shining Time Station"; in the American series, Starr narrated half of the second season because it was out of production due to Shining Time; he left the series to pursue his music career. Starr did narration because his grandchildren wanted him to.
- George Carlin – (US Narrator: 1991–1994). Carlin was the first American to narrate the series; he replaced Starr in 1991 for the American series and "Shining Time Station" as the "Mr Conductor" character. In the American series, Carlin re-narrated the first two seasons due to Shining Time; 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
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
- Official Website (http://www.thomasandfriends.com)
- The Ultimate Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends Website (http://www.geocities.com/thomaslms2003/)
- Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends on TV Tome (http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/ShowMainServlet/showid-11466/)
- Sodor Island - A Thomas fan page (http://melgarvewarrior.tripod.com/sodorisland/)
- Another Thomas fansite (http://therailwayseries.tripod.com/thomasfansite/)
- Thomas & Friends 60th Anniversary (http://www.hitentertainment.com/thomasandfriends/ca/60th/index.html)
- Toonhound Thomas Page (http://www.toonhound.com/thomas.htm)
- SoDoR iSLaND FoRuMS (http://sodor.hyperboards3.com/)
- The Island of Sodor Home Page (http://thomas-007.tripod.com/theislandofsodor/)fr:Thomas et ses Amis