When did Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends first air?
Thomas &amp; Friends
Thomas & Friends (originally known as Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends or simply Thomas the Tank Engine; also known as Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures! in the twenty-second series) is a British children's television series. In the United Kingdom, it had its first broadcast on the ITV network in Great Britain in 1984. In the United States, it had its first broadcast on "Shining Time Station" in 1989. It is based on "The Railway Series" of books by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher Awdry.
List of Tugs characters
"Tugs" is a 1988 British children's television series created by the producers of "Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends", Robert D. Cardona and David Mitton, features two groups of anthropomorphized tugboat fleets: the Star Fleet and the Z-Stacks. They compete against each other in the fictional town of Bigg City Port.
List of Thomas &amp; Friends narrow-gauge engines
Mighty Mac made his debut in Season 9 of "Thomas & Friends", in an episode of the same name. He later appeared in seasons 10, 11, and 12, and also in "The Great Discovery".
Thomas &amp; Friends (franchise)
HIT also revealed that its theatrical division would be piloted by a ""Thomas"" film. Originally targeted for late-2010 release, in September 2009 this was revised to "Spring 2011". As of January 2011, the release date had been pushed back further to 2012 and the name of the production had still not been announced. The initial draft of the script was written by Josh Klausner (screenwriter for "Shrek Forever After"), who has also said that the film will be set around the times of World War II, Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi also helped write the script. On 8 June 2011, "Deadline" announced that 9 director Shane Acker will direct the live-action adaptation of "Thomas the Tank Engine", with Weta Digital designing the film's visual effects.
Thomas &amp; Friends (series 16)
Thomas & Friends (previously known as Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends) is a children's television series about the engines and other characters working on the railways of the Island of Sodor, and is based on The Railway Series books written by the Rev. W. Awdry.
Thomas &amp; Friends (series 22)
The 22nd series of the children's television show "Thomas & Friends" began airing on 3 September 2018 in the UK, and on 17 September 2018 in the US. The series follows the adventures of Thomas and his friends on the railways of the Island of Sodor, and is based on "The Railway Series" books written by the Rev. W. Awdry.
Frankie Thomas
The TV series reappeared on DuMont, alternating Saturdays with "Secret Files of Captain Video" for 30 minutes, before going off the air in May 1954. Thomas became a regular on the soap opera "First Love", but in December 1954, "Tom Corbett" began on NBC, running until June 1955. By this time Tom Corbett's rivals Captain Video and Commander Buzz Corry of "Space Patrol" had been off the air for several months. None of the science fiction series was ever revived, though there was talk of doing so in 1957, in the aftermath of Sputnik.
List of people and animals from Thomas &amp; Friends
Farmer Finney is the driver of Terence the Tractor. He owns a battery farm near Hackenbeck. His name was revealed in the 1996 annual story, James Gets Cracking. He mostly made cameos in the Railway Series and TV Series, but his first speaking role was in the Season 21 episode, Terence Breaks the Ice.
Thomas &amp; Friends merchandise
In 2005, LEGO introduced the first sets in their Duplo 'Thomas' series. Four sets were made, featuring: James the Red Engine, Thomas the Tank Engine, a Troublesome Truck, Toby the Tram Engine, and Percy the Small Engine. Subsequently, in line with usual Lego practice, new sets had been released each year, featuring different scenes and characters, until Mega Bloks picked up the license in 2010 and have produced Thomas sets of their own.
Thomas &amp; Friends
"Thomas and the Magic Railroad" was released in July 2000 in the UK, Canada and the US. It featured new characters created by Allcroft, along with characters from the show that introduced "Thomas" to the U.S., "Shining Time Station". Despite high production values and the popularity of the show, the film was criticised by British reviewers who were unfamiliar with "Shining Time Station". The movie was well received by young children on both sides of the Atlantic, but made only $19.7 million at the box office, against a cost of The film was broadcast on BBC1 on 1 January 2004 and again on 29 December 2008.
Britt Allcroft
In 1980, she co-founded Britt Allcroft Railway Productions (internationally known as The Britt Allcroft Company) with her husband, television producer Angus Wright. It took Allcroft four years to raise the funding for, and create, a first series of twenty-six episodes in collaboration with director David Mitton. The first two episodes of "Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends", shot on 35 mm film with narration by Ringo Starr in the U.K./U.S. and music by Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell, were aired together for the first time on British television on 9 October 1984.
List of Thomas &amp; Friends railway engines
He later appeared in the 2016 Thomas & Friends film, "" in which he told Thomas about the Great Railway Show and later raced in the racing competition, and also appears in "Big World, Big Adventures" and Season 22.
Bertie the Bus
Bertie first appeared in "Thomas, Terence and the Snow", a story in "Tank Engine Thomas Again" (published 1949). His first major appearance came in the next story, 'Thomas and Bertie', where he had his famous race with Thomas. The story proved to be very popular, which ensured that Bertie would return. He did eventually return, in Edward the Blue Engine, becoming the only non-rail character to appear in more than one book by the Reverend Awdry. He made one final appearance in More About Thomas the Tank Engine (published in 1986), by Christopher Awdry, though has had numerous mentions under Christopher's name.
James the Red Engine
James the Red Engine is a fictional anthropomorphic tender locomotive from "The Railway Series" children's books by the Reverend Wilbert Vere Awdry, and the spin-off TV series "Thomas & Friends". He is a mixed-traffic engine, which means he is just as capable of pulling coaches as trucks. He has a 2-6-0 ("Mogul") wheel arrangement and is engine number 5 on the North Western Railway, The Fat Controller's railway on the Island of Sodor.
Thomas &amp; Friends annuals
The Big Freeze
Thomas &amp; Friends
Before the airing of the first episode of "Thomas & Friends" in 1984, previous attempts had been made to adapt Awdry's stories for television, but not all attempts were successful. The first was in 1953, when the editor of the "Railway Series" books, Eric Marriott, was approached by the BBC, who wished to use live-action model trains to re-create two stories from Awdry's first book, "The Three Railway Engines".
Thomas and the Magic Railroad
HiT said that its theatrical division would be piloted by a Thomas film. Originally targeted for a late 2010 release, in September 2009 this was revised to Spring 2011. As of January 2011, the release date had been pushed back further, to 2012. The initial draft of the script was written by Josh Klausner, who has also said that the film would be set around the times of World War II; Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi also helped write the script. On 8 June 2011, "Deadline" announced that "9" director Shane Acker would direct the live-action adaptation of "Thomas the Tank Engine", with Weta Digital designing the film's visual effects.
Thomas &amp; Friends (series 19)
Thomas & Friends is a children's television series about the engines and other characters on the railways of the Island of Sodor, and is based on The Railway Series books written by the Rev. W. Awdry.
Thomas the Tank Engine
Thomas has been referenced, featured and parodied in popular culture. In 1988, he was parodied on ITV's "Spitting Image" where he was portrayed as a drunk who went "completely off the rails." In 2009, he appeared in The Official BBC Children in Need Medley where he was voiced by Ringo Starr, who narrated the first two series of "Thomas and Friends". In the British comedy show "Bobby Davro's TV Weekly", a spoof was created titled "Thomas The Tanked Up Engine" involving Jeremy, the pink engine. Bobby Davro provided the narration by impersonating Ringo Starr.
Thomas the Tank Engine
Thomas's personality was originally faithful to the character of the books. As the show branched away from the novels however, modifications were made. Thomas became noticeably less arrogant and self-absorbed, developing a more friendly, altruistic and happy go lucky (if still rather over-excitable) side. He also no longer appears to be limited to his branch line and seems to work all over Sodor. These changes in his personality and duties are a result of his "star" status. He is the most popular character in the series, and therefore he has the largest number of appearances, appearing in all of the DVD specials and the movie Thomas & the Magic Railroad.
Wilbert Awdry
The characters that would make Awdry famous and the first stories featuring them were invented in 1943 to amuse his son Christopher during a bout of measles. After Awdry wrote "The Three Railway Engines", he built Christopher a model of Edward, and some wagons and coaches, out of a broomstick and scraps of wood. Christopher also wanted a model of Gordon; however, as that was too difficult Awdry made a model of a little 0-6-0 tank engine. Awdry said, "The natural name was Thomas – Thomas the Tank Engine." Then Christopher requested stories about Thomas and these duly followed and were published in the famous book "Thomas the Tank Engine", released in 1946.
Thomas &amp; Friends (series 13)
This article lists and details episodes from the thirteenth series of the show, which was first broadcast in 2010. This series was narrated by Michael Angelis for the U.K.audiences, although Michael Brandon narrates the episodes for the U.S. audiences. Mark Moraghan later re-narrated "Snow Tracks" for the "Santa's Little Engine" DVD.
List of American Thomas &amp; Friends video releases
Extraordinary Engines 
Date February 14 2017
Mick Thomas
Another play, "The Tank" (2004), was co-written with his older brother Steve. On 18 March 2006 Thomas appeared on SBS-TV's music series, "RocKwiz", which included his solo performance of "Away Away" and a duet with Mazzella covering The Human League's 1981 single, "Don't You Want Me". On 12 March 2007 he released another album, "Paddock Buddy", on the Liberation Music label.
Toby the Tram Engine
Toby the Tram Engine is a fictional anthropomorphic tram engine in The Railway Series by the Reverend Wilbert Vere Awdry and his son, Christopher; he also appears in the spin-off television series "Thomas & Friends". Toby, a tram engine with cowcatchers and sideplates, carries the North Western Railway running number seven and works on the same Ffarquhar Branch Line as Thomas the Tank Engine.
Thomas &amp; Friends (franchise)
In June and July 2001, the National Autistic Society conducted a survey of 81 parents of children with autism and Asperger syndrome to investigate their putative 'special relationship' with Thomas the Tank Engine. The survey confirmed the organisation's assumption from anecdotal evidence that children with autism spectrum disorders associate far more strongly with Thomas the Tank Engine than with other children's characters.
Thomas and the Magic Railroad
In the early 1990s, the character of Thomas the Tank Engine, adapted from the Rev. W. Awdry's "Railway Series" into the TV series "Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends", created by Britt Allcroft, was at the height of his popularity following three successful series. At the same time, "Shining Time Station", an American series that combined episodes from the previous series with original live-action characters and scenarios, also created by Allcroft along with Rick Siggelkow, was made and was also successful. As early as 1994, prior to the launch of "Thomas"'s fourth series, Britt Allcroft had plans to make a feature film based on both of these series, and would make use of the model trains from "Thomas" and the live-action aesthetic of "Shining Time Station".
Thomas &amp; Friends
For budgetary reasons, the other major changes were a move to production in CGI, rather than using physical models, and the addition of a voice cast to support the established narrator. The DVD feature, "Hero of the Rails", was the first "Thomas & Friends" production to showcase these changes, and Series 13 was the first television series in the new format. The CGI animation for the series was provided by Nitrogen Studios of Vancouver.
Thomas &amp; Friends (series 2)
Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends is a children's television series about the engines and other characters working on the railways of the Island of Sodor, and is based on The Railway Series books written by the Rev. W. Awdry.
Thomas &amp; Friends (series 10)
This article lists episodes from the tenth Series of this show, which was first broadcast in 2006. This series was narrated by Michael Angelis for the UK audiences, while Michael Brandon narrated the episodes for the US audiences. In fact, it was first broadcast in America under Brandon's narration.
Dave Thomas (actor)
He wrote for, produced, and starred in "The Dave Thomas Comedy Show" (1990). In 1991, he starred in the Showtime comedy, "Public Enemy #2". In 1992, he tried his hand at reality TV and co-executive produced ABC's "America's Funniest People" with Vin Di Bona, but left after thirteen weeks to appear in the film "Coneheads". In 1993, he officially co-starred in ABC's "Grace Under Fire" with Brett Butler and Tom Poston and continued with the show for 5 seasons. In 1995 Thomas starred in ABC TV movie "Picture Perfect" with Mary Page Keller and Richard Karn. In 1996, Thomas played the title role in the Fox TV movie "Mr. Foster's Field Trip" aka "Kidz in the Wood" with Julia Duffy. In 1996, he wrote the book "SCTV: Behind the Scenes" (McClelland & Stewart, publishers). From 1999-2002, he voiced various roles on the animated series "Mission Hill". He also voiced Rex Banner in the Simpsons.
Thomas &amp; Friends: The Adventure Begins
2: Troublesome Trucks
List of Thomas &amp; Friends narrow-gauge engines
He was one of many engines to make the transition from The Railway Series to the TV Series in Season 4. When he was painted black in "The Railway Series", he had a similar nameplate to the steam engines.
Thomas &amp; Friends annuals
Timothy and the Rainbow TruckToo Many Wheels
Thomas &amp; Friends (series 17)
During production of the sixteenth series, Sharon Miller stepped down as head writer, and Andrew Brenner, formerly head writer for Fireman Sam, was appointed as her successor. Brenner already had a previous history with the brand, having adapted the first two series and subsequently written several original stories for the "Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends" magazine, published by Marvel Comics from 1987 until the early 1990s. Many of his stories were later adapted by Britt Allcroft and David Mitton for the third series (plus a further one for the fifth) without his knowledge or consent.
Charles Falzon
In 2000, Falzon teamed Catalyst Entertainment up with Britain's Britt Allcroft to make the first feature film involving Thomas the Tank Engine, titled Thomas and the Magic Railroad. Featuring Alec Baldwin, Peter Fonda and Mara Wilson, the film was animated and produced by Catalyst Entertainment, which at the time also produced Shining Time Station, "the half-hour program that introduced Thomas to U.S. audiences." The movie, which cost US$20 million to produce, combined live action and animation. On the success of the Thomas brand, Falzon remarked that "the simplicity and the safeness of Thomas is what makes him so successful," adding that it's "not about being high-tech"; rather, it's "really still about storytelling and characters that [children] can trust and feel good with."
Paul Castiglia
Castiglia is the co-writer of the animated web series, "Thomas & Friends Adventures" which launched on YouTube in early 2017. The series takes the familiar Thomas train engine characters and puts them into fantastical stories where anything can happen.
Thomas &amp; Friends (series 18)
Thomas & Friends (previously known as Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends) is a children's television series about the engines and other characters working on the railways of the Island of Sodor, and is based on The Railway Series books written by the Rev. W. Awdry.
Thomas &amp; Friends merchandise
In 2006 MV Sports made their own self-assembly Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends engines and buildings. The range consists of the following models:In 2009 Mega Bloks made buildable Thomas & Friends models such as Percy, Thomas and Diesel and sets too. This line was ended in 2017.
Thomas the Tank Engine
In which is a retelling of Thomas's early days on Sodor, he is a bluish-green colour when he first arrives on Sodor, his tanks are lettered "LBSC" (for the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway) with the number 70 on his bunker. The 70 is a reference to 2015 being the 70th anniversary for the Railway Series, while the LB&SCR E2 class were actually numbered from 100–109. The real life LBSC no. 70 is an A1 class.Thomas had his genesis, like Winnie-the-Pooh, in a toy for a small child, both coincidentally named Christopher. A wooden push-along toy from the early 1940s is the original Thomas made by the Reverend Awdry out of a piece of broomstick for his son Christopher. This engine looked rather different from the character in the books and television series and was based on an LNER Class J50 with smaller side tanks and splashers. He was painted blue with yellow lining and carried the letters NW on his side tanks.
Thomas &amp; Friends: Journey Beyond Sodor
Journey Beyond Sodor is a CGI-animated musical adventure film based on the television show "Thomas & Friends", based on "The Railway Series" by The Rev. W. Awdry. It was released on 22 August 2017 in the US and on 16 October 2017 in the UK.
Thomas &amp; Friends annuals
Gordon and the Engineer
List of Thomas &amp; Friends railway engines
Diesel 10 first appeared in the movie "Thomas and the Magic Railroad", and had also appeared in "Calling All Engines!", "The Great Discovery", "Misty Island Rescue", "Day of the Diesels" and made his final appearance in season 17.
Danny Thomas
Thomas first reached mass audiences on network radio in the 1940s playing shifty brother-in-law Amos in "The Bickersons", which began as sketches on the music-comedy show "Drene Time", starring Don Ameche and Frances Langford. Thomas also portrayed himself as a scatterbrained Lothario on this show. His other network radio work included a stint as Jerry Dingle the postman on Fanny Brice's "The Baby Snooks Show". In the early 1950s he made several appearances on the popular NBC variety program, "The Big Show", hosted by stage legend Tallulah Bankhead.
Thomas the Tank Engine film characters
"Thomas and the Magic Railroad" was the first theatrical Thomas & Friends movie.
Thomas &amp; Friends (franchise)
In the US the name also refers to "Come Ride the Rails with Thomas" which is a US tour by real trains modelled after Thomas the Tank Engine. The Thomas engine visits various historic railroads across the United States allowing visitors to play games, meet Sir Topham Hatt and to ride on a passenger car pulled by the engine. HiT Entertainment sponsors the event to promote the "Thomas and Friends" brand.
Nene Valley Railway
The Nene Valley Railway has a full-scale "replica" of Thomas the Tank Engine working a passenger and freight service on 'Thomas' events; it was the first railway in the world to possess one. The Nene Valley Railway considers its Thomas to be the "official" Thomas the Tank Engine, because it was named by Thomas' creator, the Rev. W. Awdry, in 1971. The replica engine runs at certain special events, weekends and bank holidays; however, the Nene Valley Railway does not host official 'Day out with Thomas' events as many railways do.
Robert D. Cardona
Cardona has been based in the United Kingdom for much of his career. His best-known work is with his working partner David Mitton; their productions include "Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends", which Cardona produced until 1986 (the second series), and "Tugs", which ran for 13 episodes.
Thomas &amp; Friends (series 1)
This article lists and details episodes from the first series, which was originally broadcast in 1984. This series was initially narrated by Ringo Starr for the U.K. audiences, who re-narrated 25 episodes for U.S. audiences on the American television show "Shining Time Station". The entire series was later re-narrated by George Carlin for the U.S. audiences.
Annie and Clarabel
They first appeared in the first season of the television program Thomas (the Tank Engine) & Friends and have been in every season since. They had no speaking role from Season 12 until "Blue Mountain Mystery". And since then, they again have speaking roles.
Thomas &amp; Friends: The Adventure Begins
1: He's a Really Useful Engine
Thomas &amp; Friends annuals
Cool TruckingThomas in Trouble (S11)
Thomas &amp; Friends
Up until series 12, narration and dialogue were performed by a single storyteller. Starting from series 22 onwards, Thomas the Tank Engine himself takes over as the narrator.
Thomas the Tank Engine
Thomas is a steam engine and has a number 1 painted on his side. All of the locomotives in The Railway Series were based on prototypical engines; Thomas has origins in the E2 Class designed by Lawson Billinton in 1913. Thomas first appeared in 1946 in the second book in the series, "Thomas the Tank Engine", and was the focus of the four short stories contained within. Thomas's best friends are Percy and Toby.
Tugs (TV series)
Tugs (stylized as "TUGS") is a British children's television series first broadcast in 1989. It was created by the then producers of "Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends", Robert D. Cardona and David Mitton. The series deals with the adventures of two anthropomorphized tugboat fleets, the Star Fleet and the Z-Stacks, who compete against each other in the fictional Bigg City Port.
Characters in The Railway Series
Thomas the Tank Engine is an 0-6-0 tank locomotive, based on the LB&SCR E2 Class. He is painted blue with red lining and is No.1 in the North Western Railway fleet. Thomas was given his own branch line, which he operates with his two coaches, Annie and Clarabel. He was built in 1913 and arrived on Sodor in May 1915.
James the Red Engine
James first appeared in "The Railway Series" in 1946, in the book "Thomas the Tank Engine". Two books in the series, no. 3 "James the Red Engine" and no. 28 "James and the Diesel Engines", are dedicated to James.
Thomas &amp; Friends annuals
Thomas, Percy and the Coal
David Mitton
The show became an instant success on British television, and in 1989, Allcroft helped created "Shining Time Station" (1989–1995) in the United States on the Public Broadcasting Service. Because of the sequences that introduced the stories from "Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends" to American audiences, "Shining Time Station" became a successful television show. Merchandise for "Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends" had been available before the television programme, but the programme created a new multimillion-pound industry and became an unstoppable phenomenon which could be seen in 145 countries worldwide.
Thomas &amp; Friends annuals
Dream On
Thomas Sanders (entertainer)
Thomas Sanders made his debut on Vine as "Foster_Dawg", named after his first dog, Foster, on April 14, 2013. An impression of Stewie Griffin, from "Family Guy", in a drive-thru, was his first Vine to go viral, leading to continued success on the app. He later rebranded his channel to "Thomas Sanders". His channel reached 1 million followers on Vine in October 2013. His biggest success on Vine was the "Narrating People's Lives" series, also known as "Storytime", where he approached random strangers, comically narrated what they were doing and showed their reaction. Other Vine series he's known for are "Disney Pranks with Friends", "Pokémon Pranks", "Misleading Compliments", "Musicals in Real Life", "Stewie vs. Herbert" (co-starring Taylor Shrum as Herbert) and "Shoutout Sunday", among others. By April 2015, Sanders' Vine account had over 5 million followers, which made Thomas Sanders the 17th most followed Viner at the time.
Thomas &amp; Friends: King of the Railway
Directed by Rob Silvestri, the film stars Ben Small and Martin Sherman as Thomas the Tank Engine in the UK and the US respectively. Co-stars include Keith Wickham, Kerry Shale, William Hope and Teresa Gallagher.
Thomas &amp; Friends: The Great Race
After beating Gordon the Big Engine in a race to Vicarstown Station, Thomas the Tank Engine is introduced to Gordon's brother, The Flying Scotsman, who is taking part in The Great Railway Show on the Mainland, encouraging Thomas to try and take part as well. Though every engine on Sodor wants to take part ("Will You Won't You"), Sir Topham Hatt has not made up his mind yet, and Thomas fears he won't be picked to go to the competition. But after getting an idea to be streamlined for the competition ("Streamlining"), he passes his idea on to Sir Topham Hatt, who chooses Gordon to be streamlined instead.
Thomas &amp; Friends
The engines were portrayed by 00 gauge Hornby Dublo models and driven on authentic sets in the style of the original illustrations. The first episode, based on "The Sad Story of Henry", was broadcast live on the evening of Sunday 14 June 1953 from Lime Grove Studios. The live broadcast did not fare well. Reportedly, a failure to switch the points caused the model of Henry to derail and viewers of the live broadcast witnessed a human hand, said to be the one of a crew member, picking him up and placing him back on the rails. Models moved jerkily, and all effects and music had to be superimposed.
Thomas &amp; Friends (series 15)
Thomas & Friends (previously known as Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends) is a children's television series about the engines and other characters working on the railways of the Island of Sodor, and is based on The Railway Series books written by the Rev. W. Awdry.
David Mitton
Another commercial for "Ski" yoghurt attracted the attention of television producer Britt Allcroft, who had acquired the television rights to a series of books known as "The Railway Series" from its author, the Reverend Wilbert Awdry. Allcroft approached Mitton to develop a pilot for a television series, and in a joint partnership between her production company (known as The Britt Allcroft Company) and Clearwater Features, they made "Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends" between 1984 and 2003. On 1 January 1991, Clearwater Features became part of The Britt Allcroft Company, and in 2002, HiT Entertainment bought out Allcroft and retitled the programme "Thomas & Friends".
List of American Thomas &amp; Friends video releases
Start Your Engines 
Date: March 1, 2016
List of Thomas &amp; Friends railway engines
Donald and Douglas were introduced in season 2, and have also appeared in seasons 3, 4, 6, 7, 11, 12, 20 and 21. Donald (who's briefly a cameo) appears without Douglas in Season 5 only... unless counting its music videos.
John Hasler
John Hasler (born 21 April 1974) is an English actor and voice actor, who is best known as T-shirt in the children's television series "T-Bag" from 1985–92. Hasler was the only character to remain with the show for its entire television run, starting as a young boy and leaving as a teenager, he's also known for voicing Thomas the Tank Engine in the UK dub of the children's television series "Thomas & Friends".
Day out with Thomas
The Nene Valley Railway at Peterborough in England was the very first railway in the world to possess a full-scale replica of "Thomas". This was an industrial tank engine built by Hudswell Clarke in 1947. It has been nicknamed "Thomas" due to its bright blue livery and resemblance to the famous tank engine. In 1971, the Rev. W. Awdry made the name official. Later HiT Entertainment tried unsuccessfully to sue the Nene Valley Railway claiming that this loco was breaching their trademark. However, as the name was given by the Rev. Awdry, it has been allowed to remain. However, this "Thomas" does not come under or cannot be used for any "Day Out With Thomas" event.
Mark Thomas
Prior to his most renowned vehicle, "The Mark Thomas Comedy Product", Thomas was a frequent guest comic on the BBC Radio 1 show "The Mary Whitehouse Experience", where he would do a routine about a specific topic of the week and involve studio audience members in the discussions. He would also occasionally play parts in sketches written by the show's main performers. He then became the resident stand-up comic on "Saturday Zoo", a Channel 4 comedy series first screened in 1993 and appeared on an episode of "Have I Got News for You". He co-presented the highly successful Radio 1 comedy talk show "Loose Talk" with Kevin Day, and is a founder member of the London Comedy Store's hard hitting "Cutting Edge" show.
Thomas &amp; Friends (series 3)
Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends is a children's television series about the engines and other characters working on the railways of the Island of Sodor, and is based on The Railway Series books written by the Rev. W. Awdry.
List of people and animals from Thomas &amp; Friends
Farmer McColl lives and works on a farm in the countryside with many animals, including cows, chickens, sheep and pigs. Sometimes when there's bad weather on the island, he needs help from engines to keep his animals safe and healthy. Engines like Toby the Tram Engine, Emily and Trevor the Traction Engine have all helped Farmer McColl in some way for his animals. Once, Thomas the Tank Engine left a group of schoolchildren at his farm, and they spent the day learning about the animals.
Tim Follin
Beside contributing the soundtrack with brother Geoff, Follin recorded live sound effects for 1993 SNES title "Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends".
Thomas &amp; Friends (series 9)
Thomas & Friends (previously known as Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends) is a children's television series about the engines and other characters working on the railways of the Island of Sodor, and is based on The Railway Series books written by the Rev. W. Awdry.
Thomas the Tank Engine film characters
Nia (voiced by Yvonne Grundy in the UK and the US) is a Kenyan tank engine who befriends and accompanies Thomas during his journey around the world. She teaches Thomas about friendship. She also becomes a member of the Steam Team and also has a new home on Sodor.
Thomas the Tank Engine
Thomas wasn't originally based on a prototype; rather, the initial stories were an accompaniment to the toy made for Christopher. After Awdry's wife encouraged him to publish the stories, the publisher of the second book in The Railway Series, "Thomas the Tank Engine", hired an illustrator named Reginald Payne. Awdry selected a real locomotive for Payne to work from to create authenticity: a Billinton designed 0-6-0 E2 Class of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway. This may have been chosen simply because Awdry had a photograph to hand.
Thomas &amp; Friends
Just before production of series three, Clearwater closed on 31 December 1990, with The Britt Allcroft Company becoming the sole producer. Series three was broadcast in 1992 for Thames Television. It was made at a cost of £1.3 million (approximately $9.3.million in U.S. dollars at the time). The series was a combination of episodes derived from "The Railway Series", stories in the "Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends" magazine (written by the series' current head writer, Andrew Brenner), and a couple of original stories by Allcroft and Mitton.
Towser
The series was later spawned into an animated television series narrated by Roy Kinnear and made by British animation studios King Rollo Films (best known for making well known animated works for children such as "King Rollo", "Mr Benn", "Spot" and "Horrid Henry") running for one season and 26 episodes. It was made in 1982 and aired on ITV as part of Children's ITV on 11 September 1984 and ending on 16 October on the same year (The episode Towser and the Flight also aired on 9 October 1984 on the same day when the first season of the original series of the British long running children's series "Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends" debuted). The series was also repeated on ITV in 1988 for a short while and aired one last time in August of that year as part of the summer morning programming on Children's ITV. Towser later aired on Channel 4 in 1990 and was later shown as part of their block of classic children's television series "Take 5" in 1994 along with other children's programmes that had previously aired on other networks such as "Paddington", "Mio Mao", "The Magic Roundabout", "Willo the Wisp", "Tales of the Riverbank", "Mr Men", "Fred Basset", "Ivor the Engine" and "Roobarb". It has also been broadcast on cable television on The Children's Channel and was shown there numerous of times since 1985 and kept airing until 1996.
Thomas the Tank Engine film characters
Ace (voiced by Peter Andre in the UK and the US) is a yellow race car who inspires Thomas to become the first engine to travel the world.
Strand Home Video
Strand Home Video was the American division for Video Collection International. They were known for distributing the first three seasons of "Thomas The Tank Engine and Friends" on VHS from 1990 to 1994 and Adventures in Odyssey. The company also distributed other movies and TV programs on VHS, including "Ripley's Believe It or Not! (volume 1 to volume 6, 1991)", the "Sherlock Holmes" movies from Burbank Films, "Kino's Storytime", "The Mouse and the Motorcycle" and its sequel, "Runaway Ralph", as well as "Tina Turner: Girl from Nutbush".
Thomas the Tank Engine
Thomas the Tank Engine is a fictional steam locomotive in "The Railway Series" books by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher, published from 1945 on. He became the most popular character in the series, and is the title character in the accompanying television spin-off series "Thomas & Friends".
Thomas &amp; Friends (series 11)
Thomas & Friends "(previously known as Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends)" is a children's television series about the engines and other characters working on the railways of the Island of Sodor, and is based on The Railway Series books written by the Rev. W. Awdry.
Thomas &amp; Friends annuals
Henry's Hero
Thomas &amp; Friends (series 4)
Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends is a children's television series about the engines and other characters working on the railways of the Island of Sodor, and is based on The Railway Series books written by the Rev. W. Awdry.
Hero of the Rails
Hero of the Rails is a 2009 CGI adventure family special and film of the British children's television series "Thomas & Friends". The film introduces full CGI animation replacing live action models, and the addition of a voice cast for the characters alongside the narration to the TV series. The film features the voice of Ben Small and Martin Sherman as Thomas the Tank Engine for the UK and US respectively. It was first released on DVD and on iTunes on 12 January 2010. To promote the film a "Day Out With Thomas 2010: The Hero of the Rails Tour" was held at locations such as the Illinois Railway Museum, where guests could participate in activities such as arts and crafts or ride on a 15-ton replica of Thomas the Tank Engine. A mobile app, "Thomas & Friends: Hero of the Rails", was released in May 2011. This was also the first feature-length Thomas and Friends special made since 2008.
Thomas the Tank Engine
Awdry claimed that this stood for "No Where", but later works would identify the railway Thomas and his friends worked on as the fictional North Western Railway. Christopher Awdry lost this model when he was in the US, although it was recreated for a sizzle promo for the 70th Anniversary. However, the Reverend was happy to endorse Payne's account that the locomotive was an LBSC E2, although the first Thomas on the Awdry's model railway, from Stuart Reidpath, lacked extended tanks. In the 1979 Thomas Annual, Awdry wrote:
Rheneas
Rheneas was introduced in Season 4 of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. He is a minor character, and he only spoke in one episode of the 1995 series. He played small roles in Seasons 5 and 6, and had two major roles in Season 7.
Thomas &amp; Friends (series 13)
Thomas & Friends is a children's television series about the engines and other characters working on the railways of the Island of Sodor, and is based on The Railway Series books written by the Rev. W. Awdry.
Thomas the Tank Engine
A tank-themed version of Thomas appears as an amusement park prop in the 2015 anime feature "Girls und Panzer der Film".
List of people and animals from Thomas &amp; Friends
The Sodor Brass Band are musicians featured in the Thomas and Friends TV Series. They came to the Island of Sodor to play music around the island. Edward the Blue Engine was sent to collect them, but he had an accident, and Bertie the Bus was going to take them, but he got stuck in mud, so Edward ended up taking them. The engines enjoy their tunes, and they play wherever they are needed. They have had many surprises on Sodor, an example of a time when they were to play at Lady Hatt's birthday party, but Thomas the Tank Engine left the tuba player behind. They also play music for the Sodor Circus, recently visiting Sodor.
Thomas &amp; Friends (franchise)
With the popularity of the "Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends" TV series among children, Thomas-based merchandise has proven very lucrative. At least 5 different categories of trains and tracks exist: "Take Along Thomas" with grey tracks; Trackmaster battery-operated engines with brown tracks (previously Tomy with blue track); Brio-type wooden engines with wooden rails and roads (by ELC and others); electric model railway (produced in OO gauge by Hornby and Bachmann, N gauge by Tomix, O gauge by Lionel, and (from 2010) G-scale from Bachmann); and Lego engines and tracks. Merit Toys also produced some larger scale battery-powered engines with carriages and wagons in the 1980s, which ran on red tracks. Complementary videos, DVDs, books, games, puzzles, stationery, clothing and household items have also been produced.
Thomas &amp; Friends
In the United States, the series had first appeared only as sequences on "Shining Time Station" during the program's run from 1989 to 1995 on PBS. The sequences of the series later aired in 1996 on "Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales". The series aired as "Storytime with Thomas" on Fox Family (now Freeform) from 1999 to 2001. When "Thomas & Friends" premiered as a stand-alone program on PBS Kids, it was first distributed from 2004 to 2007 by Connecticut Public Television, and then by WNET from 2008 to 2017, and Sprout 2005 to 2015. The rights to broadcast the series through PBS expired in December 2017, thus ending a period of almost 30 years of programming related to "Thomas & Friends" on American public television. Now it airs on Nick Jr. and Nickelodeon.
Thomas &amp; Friends (series 8)
This series was also the first series that saw the use of The Steam Team, the centralised cast of eight characters including Thomas the Tank Engine, Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy, Toby and Emily.
Aaron Spelling
Thomas-Spelling Productions was a television production company formed by comedian Danny Thomas and producer Aaron Spelling on April 15, 1966 as a partnership with 24 properties. Thomas continued his existing partnership, T&L Productions, with Sheldon Leonard. The company adapted its name by July 18, 1966 when it announced the financial involvement of ABC with its first show, "Range" (later "Rango"), a half-hour comedy western starring Tim Conway. and its rented space on Desilu Productions' Gower lot. ABC also picked up another show for a pilot, just in an outline treatment, in "The Guns of Will Sonnett". Thomas-Spelling Productions' active operations ended with the last season of "The Mod Squad" in 1972. Spelling formed a new partnership with Leonard Goldberg, Spelling-Goldberg Productions.
Thomas &amp; Friends
Nearly twenty years later, the BBC incorporated Awdry's stories once again. Fourteen years before "Thomas and Friends" was aired, Ted Ray, sitting in a stationmaster's office, read out five "Railway Series" books between 20 September to 2 October 1970 on the popular television story-telling show "Jackanory".
Junior Campbell
Campbell co-wrote the music and lyrics for the internationally successful children's TV series "Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends" and "TUGS" with Mike O'Donnell, composing all music and songs during the classic period of Thomas films from 1984–2003, but when ownership of the production changed hands in 2003, Campbell (and his co-writer) departed the series after a protracted dispute with HIT Entertainment, the new owners.
Thomas &amp; Friends
Series four was first released directly to video between 1994-1995 before its broadcast debut on Cartoon Network. The producers planned to introduce some new female characters, including motor car Caroline, Nancy, and The Refreshment Lady. Some commentators took this as a response to accusations of sexism levelled against the series two years earlier. In reality, these were not "new" characters, but creations of Awdry from the original "Railway Series" books. Series four was almost entirely based on "The Railway Series". The narrow gauge engines were introduced, and were the focus of a number of episodes. Only one original story ("Rusty to the Rescue", written by Allcroft and Mitton) was used, but this took certain elements of plot and dialogue from "Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine".
Thomas &amp; Friends (series 17)
Thomas & Friends (previously known as Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends) is a children's television series about the engines and other characters working on the railways of the Island of Sodor, and is based on The Railway Series books written by the Rev. W. Awdry.
Thomas the Tank Engine
From Hero of the Rails until Series 18, Thomas was voiced by Martin Sherman (US) and Ben Small (UK). From 2015 onwards, Thomas is voiced by John Hasler in the UK, and by Joseph May in the US.
Thomas &amp; Friends
The series started production in 1984 by Allcroft's production company, The Britt Allcroft Company; Clearwater Features Ltd. (Mitton and Cardona's company); and the ITV company Central Independent Television. The series was originally shot and produced with live action models at the Clearwater in house studio in Battersea, a suburb of London, for Series 1. It later relocated to Shepperton Studios, Middlesex, southwest of London for subsequent series. The use of moving models was seen at the time of the series' conception as an effective method of animating the stories. Locomotives and other vehicles were operated by radio control, while humans and animals were static figures. Stop-motion was occasionally employed for instances in which a human or animal character would move. Hand-drawn animation was used in Series 3 to create bees (as seen on James Goes Buzz Buzz).