#ttte series 3

[megthetrain]

Series 3 Explained through memes

[the-time-lord-oracle]

Thomas the Tank Engine series 3 UK VHS release observations

Following on from previous posts covering Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends series 1 and 2 VHS releases, I thought I'd cover series 3's releases.

Compared to the first two series, which were both produced in a single block of 26 episodes, series 3 was filmed in two blocks; series 3A, which comprised of the first 16 episodes (A Scarf for Percy to Edward, Trevor & the Really Useful Party), and series 3B, comprising the remaining 10 episodes (Buzz, Buzz to Thomas & Percy's Christmas Adventure). The reason for this split production was likely to met a deadline for American TV networks, as TTTE was being made for international audiences by that time. Series 3A was filmed in 1991 and it was decided to wait until all 26 episodes were ready before broadcasting on television. Instead, the 16 episodes of series 3A were released direct to video on the 11th of November 1991, with two video releases containing eight episodes each; Time for Trouble & Other Stories, containing A Scarf for Percy to Diesel Does it Again and Trust Thomas & Other Stories, containing Henry's Forest to Edward, Trevor & the Really Useful Party. These two releases were the first to feature this cover design, designed by Britten Ellis McKean, and they featured the so-called "early narrations", which were Michael Angelis' first narrations for the series. These early narrations differ from the later televised versions of the episode in that Angelis' narration is considerably softer and the episodes often lack music cues heard in the televised versions. Incidentally, the cover image of Time for Trouble & Other Stories is a deleted scene from Thomas, Percy & the Dragon, while the cover image of Trust Thomas & Other Stories comes from Trust Thomas.

Series 3B was filmed in early 1992 and broadcasting of the whole series on television began with A Scarf for Percy on the 25th of February that year. Once again, the episodes were broadcast on CITV, though they seemed to alternate between single episode broadcasts and double-bills. Prior to the CITV broadcasts, the 16 episodes of series 3A had their narrations re-recorded, with Angelis now sounding considerably more enthusiastic and the missing music cues added. The Video Collection decided to re-release the two VHS releases with the updated narrations and so Time for Trouble & Other Stories and Trust Thomas & Other Stories were both reissued on the 25th of May 1992, both now featuring the later narrations for the episodes. The re-release of Trust Thomas & Other Stories can be readily distinguished from the early release by the addition of an "as seen on ITV" label on the cover. Strangely, this distinction was not applied to Time for Trouble & Other Stories, so the re-release shares the same cover as the early release. I had the later release of Trust Thomas & Other Stories and it was one of my favourite videos when I was little.

Unlike series 3A, the 10 episodes of series 3B were broadcast on television first, with no early narration variants. The broadcast of series on CITV concluded with Thomas & Percy's Christmas Adventure on the 14th of July 1992. The 10 episodes of series 3B received a home video release two months later on the 14th of September, being released on Escape & Other Stories. It's worth noting that this video was released on the same day as the re-releases of series 2 mentioned in my series 2 post. Compared to the other two series 3 videos, Escape & Other Stories is the only one of the three to not feature an image on the cover that's from an episode on the video, as the image of Thomas is taken from Trust Thomas. A final note before moving on, all three series 3 releases were reissued on the 22nd of November 1993 with the addition of a promo at the beginning for various children's videos narrated by Ace herself, Sophie Aldred, though the covers remained the same.

As mentioned in the series 2 video post, The Video Collection released Ghost Train & Other Stories/Time for Trouble & Other Stories on the 29th of May 1995. This was a compilation of Time for Trouble & Other Stories and the 1992 series 2 re-release Ghost Train & Other Stories. The packaging for the video is misleading as it claims that Ghost Train & Other Stories comes first on the video, but in actuality, Time for Trouble & Other Stories comes first. Also worth noting that during this period, The Video Collection/VCI releases numerous compilation videos combining episodes from all series of TTTE. Series 3 featured quite prominently on many of those videos, but they're a story for another post. 1995 also saw The Video Collection rebrand as VCI, so all subsequent videos come under the VCI name.

In 1998, VCI released all of series 1 in one VHS boxset and series 2 followed suit in 1999. Continuing this trend, VCI released Thomas & Friends: The Complete 3rd Series on the 29th of May 2000. This was a a two-video box set containing all 26 episodes of series 3. The first tape contained the first 13 episodes (A Scarf for Percy to Trust Thomas), while the second tape contained the remaining 13 episodes (Mavis to Thomas & Percy's Christmas Adventure).

On the 6th of November 2000, VCI decided to re-release Time for Trouble & Other Stories. Quite why they did this I don't know, but the festive cover design causes me to think that it might've been intended as a Christmas stocking filler. The new cover image comes from Thomas Gets Bumped.

On the 3rd of September 2001, VCI re-released Escape & Other Stories and on the 5th of November, they re-released Time for Trouble & Other Stories yet again. Quite why this was done I don't know. These re-releases share the same cover images as their original 1991/92 releases, but with a new cover design. The episodes remained the same as before. These would be the last VHS releases of series 3. Series 3 would receive it's first DVD release in 2004 and would be released again in 2010 and 2012.

That concludes my look at Thomas the Tank & Friends series 3 UK VHS releases. Not as simple as series 2, but not as complex as series 1. Series 4 is where it gets very complex to explain.

[mean-scarlet-deceiver]

I could write a whole post explaining how Edward and James are ADHD (similar to my autistic Gordon post) but ironically enough I can never build up enough attention to write up the argument.

So just, like, trust me on this. James displays the impulsive/hyperactive type and Edward displays the inattentive/distractible type.

Obviously both are so much more than an ADHD subtype and therefore they are not poster children (especially James — I see James as also NPD rep and that muddies the ADHD presentation. And Edward's masking skills are heavy-duty.)

But they are both really wonderful examples and they bring me such comfort. They're so true to real life in so many little ways. Long before I understood them through this lens they made me feel so, so, so seen.

[ladychandraofthemoone]

more Hilda creatures, the pooka and woodman are the favorites, theyre just silly guys-

[tummy-troubles-tourney]

[lord-of-snack-falcons]

[1961]

Despite the track having been repaired, Percy was still needed at the harbour. Sir Topham Hatt had informed Thomas and Toby that another engine was on order to assist them until Percy could return from the harbour.

Thomas was at the junction when the “assistance” arrived.

“So,” he scowled, “you’re that “Devious Diesel” Percy was talking about, aren’t you?”

“Whatever do you mean?” Diesel raised an eyebrow, and to his credit, sounded sincerely confused.

“Don’t play dumb with me.” Thomas snapped. “You know what you did. As do both Duck and Henry.”

Diesel tried not to flinch at the Pannier Tank’s name. “You must have me mistaken for someone else. I know nothing of this “Duck” or “Henry”, only that I was sent to help you and another engine out.”

“Well, do what you can to stay out of the way.” The tank engine continued, firmly. “And any of your tricks, and I’ll ensure you’re on the next train home. And if you do anything to jeopardize the running of my branch line, I may just put you in a barge bound for the Mainland.”

“Why don’t we dial it back a bit?” Diesel prompted, trying not to sound frightened. “There really is no need for hostility. All I want is to help.”

Thomas scoffed, clearly unconvinced, and set off with his coaches. None of them seemed to have been even remotely swayed by Diesel either.

[deviousdiesel]

Hey, wanna hear some unnecessary thoughts about Lemon from someone who’s watched Thomas?

Lemon mentions that the Momomon anime airs every Thursday at 9 AM after Thomas airs. But what specific Thomas show and season? I wonder. The short answer? Well, my closest guess is probably Thomas and Friends: Big World Big Adventures (aka “BWBA”) which is the 22nd - 24th seasons of Thomas. But more specifically, it may have been in its 23rd season airing in Japan during 2020.

From what I gather from the film’s adaptation of Lemon, he strikes me as someone who was a fan of the classic series of the model era (early season stuff, series 1-5) and grew up with it.  The CGI era however is complex with its history and he seems more of an on-and-off watcher of it, he still appreciates the Thomas series even if he doesn’t watch the newer series as much as he did as he was younger (and BWBA doesn’t have the same caliber and direction as the previous Thomas series)

In the novel, it’s very clear that Lemon has watched up until s7 of Thomas, which was in its model era in the 2000s. 

I think it tracks because even if it’s the CGI series, which is more modern and has a LOT of differences, I think Lemon would still be interested in watching it to some extent even if the newer stuff doesn’t hit as hard as the classic series he watched.

The long answer? If you’re a fuckin nerd and want to read I can indulge you.

A lot of this is just purely from my observation and my own take (and this is just silly so I really hope you know that).

Bullet Train started its production in October of 2020 - which I’m going to assume is when and where the movie takes place in because the majority was shot during that time - and incidentally, that same month Mattel had announced that Thomas was getting a brand new reboot called All Engines Go, which is a 2D animated production.

Thomas has a few distinctive mediums on television and it’s divided into the model series, CGI series and AEG, which is its own thing. Lemon obviously is shown to have grown up watching Thomas so he’s more versed in the model series and its characters.

Fun fact: In the novel, he mentions a few more characters who appear not only in early seasons but also season 7.

[jobey-wan-kenobi]

The Engines as Mentors

Okay but I'm eternally salty that TVS in particular—though it was RIGHT to expand the NWR fleet—failed to use the dynamic of the OG characters from the books all functioning as Mentors and Elder Statesmen to the newer and more obscure and younger engines.

It would have been THE way to effectively integrate the newbies (looking especially hard at you, HIT era). Like, some of the best use of the new characters already are when they fall into a mentee dynamic with one of the established characters. But the TVS writers really only ever let this happen with, like, Thomas? To a degree? And Edward? A bit? And then the best and most beloved BWBA episodes (BWBA!) are when Gordon and, again, Edward get more of this sort of material. And then again, in fuckin' AEG, the most popular thing so far seems to be Gordon's whole Grumpy Dad shtick.

But I think canon and fan writers should have done this with all the classic characters. After decades as The Famous Eight—erm, Ten—(but not Eleven—to me Oliver is in that category of newbie that needs looking after. which is what the rest of the Little Western spends most of his one book doing!) they are all  kinda old af and well-qualified and honestly just should be mentoring the diesels and younger steam engines and whatever wide-eyed newcomers are brought to the Island Where Fever Dreams Come True and Culture Shock Is Probably One Hell of a Bitch.

LIKE. Percy. Yes, absolutely Percy! He's inconsistent about standing up for himself or making good decisions in his own working life but honestly his instincts when it comes to others have always been completely on-point. And he never has any hesitation about acting on his instincts so there is a recipe here for big-brother success. He must be so wonderful with uncertain new engines. I think he would have been much better for taking Molly under his wing than Thomas, and he must be a god among many of the newer tank engines. Like the dynamic I tried to paint in my headcanon post about Harvey—Percy gives whiplash as your mentor because he will always support you 100% but sometimes he will suddenly make the most baffling decisions and if you are not, yourself, a natural chaos gremlin, you are just along for the ride and possibly dying of secondhand embarrassment. But again, you also get over it because no one will ever show up for you more consistently than Percy the Caterpillar Engine.

The BWBA era thing where Gordon winds up mentoring Rebecca is... like, fine, I guess. I don't have any complaints about it, but—as I tried to show in my ficlet with him and Derek—I think Gordon's most typical mentorships have two unmistakable characteristics:

it is insanely arbitrary as to whether or not he decides to take you on. if you wind up in his circle of trust you probably weren't trying or even remotely expecting. it is also hard for anyone else to understand why Gordon looked at a new engine and said to himself "Yes. That one." Because the way Gordon makes emotional decisions is utterly impenetrable—this is RWS canon. Why did Gordon one day go from being Pure Unadulterated Jackass Whose Only Thought So Far In His Life Has Been "Me! Me! Meeeee!" to the engine who (evidently? without?? snark???) suggested the Fat Controller let Henry out of the tunnel to take a turn on his train? Honestly we don't know but it remains Gordon's signature style. Why did Gordon do an about-face after James took the express and graciously decide James was his new buddy? Well, to save face of course, but Gordon is also not above a good grudge so it feels like a coin toss. Why did Gordon decide to be super gracious when he rescued Percy and Thomas from their RWS scrapes? No one knows but somehow these moments are so quintessentially him (even though showing up moaning and scolding would have also been quintessentially him). And—most relevantly of all—there is what I regard as his archetypal moment with BoCo. 'My dear engine! You SAVED MY LIFE.' 'I mean, you're welcome for getting rid of them but they were never actually going to kill you.' 'YES THEY WERE. THEY HAD MURDER IN THEIR HEARTS. YOU ARE A GOD AMONG DIESELS, STANDING STRONG AGAINST THE FORCES OF DARKNESS.' '... Sure.' Gordon logic is not the same as earth logic and his reasons for rejecting or accepting others seldom make much sense.

If he does take you on, you may not even notice. Gordon is very stuffy and kind of... emotionally remote. His mentorship style consists of long rambling bouts of relating/boasting about his own experiences and/or advising you, without you able to get much of a word in edgewise—but then, he does this with everyone who is ever stuck with him—and doing extraordinarily nice things for you such as pulling strings to get you the best assignments or upgrades but he'll do it all behind your back, so it might take a while before you realize. (But you'd better, because even though he deliberately decides to do these things in secret, he will also privately feel hurt and hard-done-by if you don't figure it out and thank him. Or at least exclaim happily in his presence and sing the praises of your unknown fairy godfather.)

So yes, mentor!Gordon is a lot like friend!Gordon and worker!Gordon. He is pretty damn high-maintenance but he is also genuinely quite worth it. What his relationships lack in... comprehensibility they make up for in loyalty and generosity. ALTHOUGH. It's worth laughing because I think most of the engines he takes on are decent, polite engines who perhaps have some self-confidence issues. Basically it's like any engine he meets afterwards who is in the Edward mould he is actually magnificent to, which is hysterical considering that one of the keynotes in early canon was Gordon bullying the shit out of Edward. (I still think that wasn't malicious though, and more Gordon did not yet have the remotest understanding of Himself, Theory of Mind, or How to Be a Friend.)

If you have self-confidence issues but you do not win Gordon's capricious favor, never fear! You have James. Who is even more capricious, but that's not to say he's never been the most faaaaaabulous mentor in the world, c'est ne pas? Look. I want to see James as the catalyst for shy newcomers having a glow up. In appearance and attitude. I don't think he does he often but it has definitely happened around twice. I somehow have never actually watched "Rosie is Red" or "The Fastest Red Engine on Sodor" while paying attention but I've been assuming that's exactly how Rosie's Confident Girl Arc went down. Maybe he could be a similar idol for Neville or Flora. Another thing that has happened twice is James just flat-out corrupting a couple of the Good, Buttoned-Down Boys and Girls. I still want to see James take, like, Porter or Arthur and teach 'em anger. Introduce them to the world of (tiny) rebellions. By the time James is done with them, they are starting to Display Behaviors, and Act In Certain Ways.

Henry, I firmly believe (sticking out my tongue at most of the TVS and magazine writing for him), is actually regarded very intimidating. Like Gordon and James are intimidating too, but they are also known jackasses and the universe is known to have slapped them around reliably when they get too far up their own tenders. Also Gordon usually puts on an air of affability—in RWS it's Henry who is the Grumpy One (and meanwhile James, though he has a foul temper, is just too ADHD to be properly intimidating). I suspect Henry's actually always had the reputation for being extremely snobbish. Which is silly because he's only mildly to moderately snobbish, but there you are. He also doesn't put himself out there socially, but of course if you put yourself out there to him he's perfectly friendly. Anyway newcomers and young engines wouldn't know this right away. I think Henry's specialty is mentees in the mold of Bear and my OC Laura and even Rebecca—extroverted, expressive engines who show him respect. In those cases you see his best side, all kindliness and unstinting support. And Henry's support is really valuable, for the usual reasons that all the OGs have a lot of pull on the railway but also because Henry is surprisingly sage and sensible. He doesn't have the reputation for it the way Edward does, due to some of his notoriously poor decision-making in his earlier years and the way he can still sometimes be a bit literal or naive. But even if he's had to learn most things the hard way, he hasn't lied to himself about it and therefore he's developed a very clear-eyed view on things. Refreshingly simple and sound. We see this already in the RWS Super Rescue—he's got Bear and Spamcan pretty well-pegged long before the story ends. He also values engine solidarity in a really consistent, utterly unpretentious way that shows you he doesn't even think about it, it's just become a part of who he is. I love it. And, of course, he's bold as brass. He once hissed steam at his boss and essentially told him to fuck off for no better reason than it was raining and he just wasn't feelin' it. He had the most horrid wreck in the series and after being rebuilt he just got right back on that horse, pulling Flying Kippers again for the next century without the slightest sign of trauma. So if you need him for something, he won't hesitate to move earth and heaven for a friend. He may be a bit of a hypochondriac and likes to predict doom and gloom but he is fundamentally pretty fearless when it comes time for action. (Cut him a break with the elephant thing—he's allowed to have tunnel-related trauma, okay?)

Of course there was one extroverted engine inclined to hero-worship that Henry rejected in canon as a mentee, and that was Philip. Which brings us to Edward, and I fully agree with the fandom consensus that he is the mentor ever, capable of and inclined to look out for, like, everyone. All I'm saying is that I think the others can also step up in this way... Anyway, Edward's specialty of course is engines who are in the mould of Thomas, engines who are excited and eager to work but who talk a lot and might have a streak of mischief and who are definitely considered Too Much by everyone else. Edward likes energetic gremlins. They've always kept him young at heart. And, more importantly, they trust him so completely. Probably because they can tell he's one of the few who genuinely doesn't mind them at what everyone else considers their Most Annoying. He never tells them to hold still or quiet down or make themselves smaller in any way, so they are incredibly receptive to whatever he does tell them.

But what if you're Too Much and you are not eager? If you are not susceptible to admiring Edward's stellar work ethic? I think this is where Thomas shines. Like I think HIT abbreviated and simplified the conflicts with Dennis and Billy too much but it was such a gold mine. Because Thomas, see. You get these little sneaky rotters who don't want to listen to anyone—and at first Thomas seems like the most out-of-touch engine on the rails. Coz Thomas is a tryhard. He also has that whole "corporate positivity" thing going on. Like, the way I resolve the way TVS massacring my boy is by supposing that, after all, Thomas might have really tried to adopt that persona, especially in the '80s when he was inducted into the National Collection and the, well, television series got underway and Thomas becomes damn near the most famous locomotive in the world, certainly he knows he is an icon for children, and he might have figured that, well, this means I have to be a Good Role Model and Teach Children Valuable Lessons. And so he really did try to do this whole pep-talk, moralizing, sugary sweet encouragement thing (and he has a Word of the Day calendar, lol).

And the Dennises and Billies of the world look at that and—understandably, I think—retch a little. But then they double down. And the thing is, when they push Thomas too far, Thomas forgets to be sweetness and light, and just becomes himself. First of all, a foul-mouthed little drill-sergeant wannabe ("Cinders and ashes!!!!" "Who's been late every afternoon this week?!" "You're too fat—you need exercise!" "IF YOU DIE? IF YOU DIE, MOTHERFUCKER? SO WHAT?! I WOULDN'T GIVE A SHIT COZ I'D BE TOO BUSY FINALLY RUNNING MY GODDAMN TRAIN TO TIME." - all direct quotes from Thomas the Tank Engine, ladies and gents) Secondly, an extremely experienced engine who really has done a bit of everything by this point (he even hitched a ride on the Wild Nor'wester that one time, lol) and who is pretty skeptical so he's hard to fool (Percy was the last engine to really ever get one over on him, during the Ghost Train incident, and that's ancient history by this point). If you try to get away with doing a shitty job he's bound to notice and he will be quite acid-tongued if you've pierced his PR Persona. Third, although he can be kinda self-involved and the last to "get" what's going on with newcomers, he is surrounded by his old friends, who are all pretty good about either clocking an engine's whole Deal, getting all the tea like the gossips they are, or both. So while he was still in his amiable-idiot stage of your acquaintance, you, poor rebellious fool, thought you had the run of things but all the while he was getting up to speed on your whole deal. Which means you won't be prepared, should you really commit to ongoing antisocial behavior, for Thomas the Beacon of Children Everywhere to abruptly cast up your entire life story to you and to read it for filth, telling you the merciless truth about yourself in a way that the other engines pieced together but with which they probably never hit you deadass between the eyes.

Of course, this doesn't mean the would-be punks and malcontents who get onto Sodor are instantly cured, lol (though it has gone down that way a few times—my alternate version of Billy's intro story would feature an end where he's just gobsmacked into submission). Sometimes it just means you are going to decide Thomas is your Hated Enemy for Life, but you know what? You will have to step up your game in order to compete with him or even to gain enough clout to try and sabotage him so you're still playing into his hand (if we accept TVS's idea that 'Devious Diesel' did become a part of the Sodor family, I think this is how he was successfully integrated. At some point Thomas unexpectedly read him the riot act and Diesel was like 'who the FUCK are you?? like i know i already had beef with all the main line engines but where the hell did YOU come from???' but then after decades of competition they are essentially frenemies). But mostly the thing is, you are shell-shocked for just long enough, and you'd probably shift to being a bigger asshole than before... but, during that period where you're still burned, you are also looking at all of Sodor and every engine on it with fresh eyes (because if Thomas the Merchandise Engine could ream you out like that, perhaps you underestimated everything about this place). And you are noticing something else. Once Thomas has scalded you with his bitchery, he's also your friend. It's almost his version of sharing his lunch with you on the playground. (Something something salt and vinegar.) For all he rode Henry so hard from some of the earliest days of canon, I bet you he also beat down any 'outsiders' who took shots at him. For all he and Percy squabble, they are the closest of friends (and they weren't! for decades! but the more they squabbled, the closer they got). Getting into a knock-down fistfight is alarmingly close to Thomas's love language, and by the time he's savaged you verbally he is also invested in you. Once he's told you what he really thinks of you, he's also going to start showing up for you genuinely.

And that's when the little shits see the final side of Thomas. The genuine good humor. Obviously it doesn't win over everyone but there is a real groundedness and humility that I am sure Thomas can show (I tried to show this in the fic I made with @shinygoku based off their artwork of Thomas and Daisy) that is hard to resist. He's also fucked up along the way in every way imaginable so even when he side-eyes you, he's not looking down at you. I can just see him showing screw-ups a lot of grace so long as they let down their guard even somewhat because he's been there. Hoo boy, has he been there. That's why kids actually love him (it's not your vocabulary lessons and beaming smile, Thom, though the effort is appreciated), and it's why young engines can wind up loving him too. He doesn't hold what you've done in the past against you; he genuinely believes in second chances (and third, and...). Plus he knows every engine needs some excitement and responsibility in their lives. He has never forgotten the insanity-inducing frustration of being tethered to Vicarstown station.

Basically, once you cut past Thomas's earnest (and bullshit) attempt to be Perfect Kids' Role Model, he's actually always been great at keeping it real. And that's where a genuine respect can often grow.

[verypsbfan019]

Happy 3/3 day!!! 💚🚂🥺🥺🥺🥺

Happy day to the engine that I've loved since I was a little kid 🥺💚

[lightning-studios]

Emerald Queen

[drballinator]

I love how its canon that sir topham hatt was so pissed when he got Henry he’s one of the only characters who has cursed in a story, AND WE SEE THE ILLUSTRATION HE DOES IT IN

(Also an early draft of whistles and sneezes had the n word in it but were not gonna talk abt it)

[shinygoku]

Important context: Mysteron Replicants are near flawless recreations of a destroyed object or person, the main tells being to refer to people as "Earthman" or smirking about a lucky near miss they allegedly had, having enhanced toughness with one of the only weaknesses being strong voltage, and being opaque on X-Rays.

Henry was famously rebuilt, but his new body is notably different to the old one, not to mention it's much healthier without the design flaw.

Gordon boasts about having NEVER had an accident, even though burst safety valves and busted whistles were noted as having happened before.

James has a habit of getting in accidents, most notably on his first day, before he got to know any of the other engines well, but there was also the easily avoided Tar Tankers.

Just keeping it at these three for this poll, what with them being such a delightful unit of disasters ^^

[the-time-lord-oracle]

Thomas the Tank Engine series 3 Buzz Books.

Who else remembers the Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends Buzz Books from the early 1990's? The ones for series 3 were the best, as they featured deleted scenes and specially shot photos.

[mean-scarlet-deceiver]

Hmm… have I asked for Thomas and Henry, or just thought about it hard a couple of times? XD;;

Ooh, a fun pair. 

“You’re too fat, you need exercise! 😤” 

“Oh, I can’t wait for dawdling tank engines like you; good-bye! 😇”

“Run my train on time for one thing 😡” 

“You’re the only danger on the rails, Thomas 🙄” 

‘Oh, I guess you can go to York… some of us are still too useful to become museum-pieces… 👿’ (paraphrasing Henry’s copium here) 

All right, maybe it’s more “fun” like the one in “dysfunctional.” But still! 

The thing about this is that it’s a “minor” relationship in that, for most of their lives, they’re in each other’s periphery. Then again, they’ve been in each other’s lives sooooo long. So it’s a very sibling-y sort of relationship. They’ve been on different life paths as long as they can remember… but ohh, the embarrassing shit they remember about each other…

Birds’-Eye View 

This relationship has an eternal tug-of-war quality.

Of course, Thomas by instinct plays tug-of-war with all the “big engines”! This is who he is! 

But the relationship with Henry is different because there’s a sort of long-term… equality? Like, with Thomas and Gordon, like, Thomas is cheeky, but the one time he ever got really out-of-line with Gordon (i.e. THOMAS’ FIRST APPEARANCE?) Gordon pretty much put him in his place, and overall the whole point of their relationship is that Thomas acknowledges Gordon’s superiority in at least certain key points, it’s precisely WHY he likes to measure himself against him! (I’m thinking a lot here of many, many TVS-only incidents… but even in RWS there’s “Hurry hurry hurry,” he puffed, pretending to be like Gordon.) Thomas can’t look upon Henry the same way, for “Henry I”-related reasons not least of all (see section below). But with Gordon, the whole fun of the relationship for Thomas is to tease him in a way that only works if Gordon is on a pedestal. Thomas doesn’t try to knock him off… he just likes to shake things up, freak Gordon out, then do a campy little victory dance and make his exit with a shit-eating grin. 

Then there’s Thomas and James, and in RWS… post-strike, James is never again seen to give Thomas any shit for being a tank engine? (Actual gold star, I can’t believe we’ve found an avenue of insult that even RWS!James has left untrod.) So a key feature of his tension with Gordon and Henry is, apparently, removed. Of course they do clash, if you go by TVS they clash a LOT. But in this relationship Thomas kind of has the upper hand, when you take the long view. (Thomas is more famous and favored, and James just gets so consistently shut down by the whole universe the moment he tries any shit. Plus, their foundational moment was Thomas getting him cleaned up after his first Sodor accident, and I think that colours the relationship forever – even after James is no longer prepared to just take Thomas’s patronizing airs (“Hullo James! Feeling better? That’s right! Oh, I must go, I don’t know what the Fat Controller etc. etc…” Betcha James shut down that shit before too much longer, lol.)

If Gordon has the dominant role in that relationship, and if Thomas has the dominant role in the one with James… then the fun thing about Thomas and Henry is that the scale never permanently settles one way or another. Whenever they have a lil’ flare-up, they feel like they’re on equal footing, and perhaps that’s why the barbs they trade feel ‘specially vicious! The field is wide open, no one comes in with the advantage, and they are both in it to WIN it!

But why are they like this? 

Early Years 

The thing I envision about their early acquaintance is the mutual bafflement. It’s a similar vibe to the one hilariously (and accurately) depicted here with Thomas and Gordon, except it’s not about different autisms, and it’s less confusion and dislike and more confusion and annoyance. 

My headcanon for Henry is that Thomas was the first time he set eyes on a tank engine. So his initial reaction is like “what is this deformed… creature? (and why is he so mouthy?) (and what does he do here?) (what is ‘shunting’? oh nvm it’s not like i’ll ever need to know, i’m a proper engine)” Even if my headcanon is discarded, however, Thomas sure is Himself and the sheer force of his fussy, self-important Main Character Energy would have had a similar effect on young Henry, fresh from the shop and still dazzled by the wide world. 

Thomas, though he has a fair bit more worldly experience under his boiler bands, still isn’t nearly as worldly as he thinks he is! — and he finds Henry just as baffling as Henry does him. Henry’s not like any other engine he’s ever met. He’s the biggest for one thing. He’s also far and away the un-reliable-est. I accentuate this in QLIR because part of the “scam” is that Henry is presented to Hatt as, not perhaps the engine he envisioned, but still an engine with some on-the-job experience. Total lies, of course. Far from “hitting the ground running,” Henry is a babe in the woods, constantly stumbling and fumbling his way around the rails. He knows nothing of railway operations, yard etiquette, or shed culture. Someone like Edward can take this in stride and just be like, All right, new chap needs a little extra looking after. It’s just a thing. No biggie. (Topham Hatt of course is in his office spitting nails, but this ain’t about him.) Thomas, however, is at just that childish stage where a) he knows all this stuff and b) he can’t fathom anyone not knowing it. So he’s constantly having the reaction of “What is he doing???” And, since he has no filter, drawing everyone’s attention to New Guy’s odd behaviors, every time (which does nothing to help Henry build confidence!) 

(Then again, of course, sometimes New Guy legitimately does some very strange stuff – Once an engine attached to a train/Was afraid of a few drops of rain… That, erm. That Doesn’t Help.) 

Then you add on Henry’s… mis-build, and Thomas’s befuddlement is cemented. He’s a cast-off on the Island Railway of Cast-Offs, of course, so the idea of mechanical issues aren’t new, but Henry’s are at a whole new level and they regularly disable him. Thomas is definitely 100% on board with the idea that you can manage to at least finish any job if you just try hard enough… and certainly you can at least get out of the shed in the mornings, yeah? Henry is the first time he encounters an engine for whom this just isn’t true. Same childish point of view: Henry is weird. 

Again, I cannot emphasize that “Henry is weird” is an attitude coming from Thomas… who in his own unique way is one of the weirdest little engines ever built (affectionate). 

None of this amounts, on either side, to anything like hatred. Annoyance on both sides, to be sure, but even then I don’t think it’s their dominant attitude towards each other. We see in “Thomas’ Train” that Thomas is… intrigued by the potential of his getting to fulfill his long-term Train-Taking Goals. But he doesn’t gloat over Henry’s misfortune, and I think TVS was so correct in giving him a worried face mask even as he slowly goes off to get the train ready… He can’t even be properly excited until he’s out of Henry’s vicinity, and, mind you, Henry’s too ill to be intimidating just then – Thomas refrains only because he really does feel bad for Henry, and doesn’t want him to feel worse! 

We also have, later in the same story, Thomas thinking “Henry says it’s hard to pull trains, but…” So, you know, they’ve talked before. (At minimum, Thomas has listened to Henry fretting to other big engines!) Henry is a real person for him, so to speak, by now a consistent presence in his life. 

As they settle in to their early-canon dynamic, I reckon it’s now characterised by mutual envy. Thomas would LOVE to take trains regularly like Henry – and can’t fully comprehend why Henry treats it like a burden! Like, he knows Henry gets ill, but at a gut level I don’t think Thomas could truly “get it,” because there’s nothing more he wants in the world than to have what Henry has!

Conversely, Thomas himself is always complaining, too (They’re both so good at having a good grumble!) and I think it would kinda drive Henry nuts that Thomas acts like he has it soooooo hard for *checks notes* having a job that he can actually perform to everyone’s satisfaction?... Vicarstown pilot Thomas may feel ignored by their manager, but that’s a million times preferable to being an eighty-ton disappointment to a manager who now has buyer’s remorse and a consequently short temper with you… :/

Keeping Each Other Grounded

I have no doubt that in the early years Henry leaned as far into the “big engine” identity as he could, largely to ensure that he wasn’t dead last in the pecking order. But I don’t know that this worked… especially after Thomas is promoted to branch line, and now Henry and the others don’t have a station pilot to kick around for a while…! 

I don’t know for sure how I come down on about the TVS notion that Henry really grows out the big-engine trio vs. RWS, where the big-engine trio more slowly dissolves with everyone’s mutual consent. But if Henry did sort of lose interest in this identity when the other two didn’t, it makes sense precisely because the big-engine thing never let him rise higher than oh let’s say Thomas, and keeping a few paces ahead of that mouthy little tank engine (who always fails upward!!) was a big part of his motive for adopting it to begin with. 

Similarly, Henry is so practiced at seeing the down side of anything. This makes him great at poking a hole in Thomas's balloon, any time Thomas gets too proud and puffed-up.

The Good Times 

Right, I started off focusing on the tensions just because whenever one of these fellas takes a potshot at the other it’s always a classic! And because I think mutual befuddlement is the keynote of their early relationship. 

As we get even in a little into canon, however, I want to emphasize that they usually rub along comfortably. They’re kind of on each other’s periphery, always, but they’ve lived and worked together for so long. And they’re both good-hearted sort of lads really. So it’s impossible that they don’t care about each other, even if it’s almost always at a bit of a distance. We are more likely to see them when they’re shooting a poisoned arrow at each other, but we know that what they’re usually doing when they see each other at the junction is pleasantly exchanging news.

This means that I approve of (virtually all) the little TVS moments that point to this kind of bond. Usually it’s one of them looking concerned when the other is jumpy (Henry) or missing (Thomas… dude, you sure do go missing a lot in TVS). I likewise enjoy getting to see them happy for each other at the appropriate moments (usually this is Henry for Thomas, most memorable for me is “That’s my boy!” <- cheering on Thomas when he’s kicking ass in the Shunting Challenge).

This is basic, background sort of stuff. But it’s also, I think, the most accurate representation of them. The zingers are incredible but they are a small part of their relationship. A basic, background sort of quasi-siblinghood is what constitutes the lion’s share of that bond. 

I don’t like the TAB notion that Thomas went out of his way to say a few encouraging words to Henry and thereby cured Henry’s rain-related anxiety wtfffff… but I do approve of the general idea that, even (especially?) in the early days, there was certainly a time or two when Thomas hung back in the sheds to encourage Henry, just the two of them. It’s only that I think his brand of encouragement would be more like… Gordon or one of the BBBs had said something shitty to Henry, and (after getting into it with them, because Thomas is not one to back down from a fight!) actually remembering (for a change?) that this was all about Henry to begin with, and hanging around for a bit until Henry was cheered up. Although unlike Percy’s very frank, open attempt to cheer Henry in “Gordon’s Whistle,” I think Thomas’s approach would be more like “what a wanker…” Like, he wouldn’t show any pity, he’d just open the door for him and Henry to both talk shit about the guy for a few minutes. This is, indeed, Henry’s preferred method of being supported, well above being shown any overt pity! And Thomas would get it! (You wouldn’t usually find me doing an emotional-intelligence point-for-point comparison between Thomas and Percy where Thomas comes out on top, lol. But in this case Thomas’s nature – which includes being a casual shit-talker – would really shine!) 

Not So Different?

Indeed, I wonder sometimes if these two aren’t the two most similar personalities on the cast — they’ve just been shaped by very different external factors! 

They’re both fussy, both self-important, and neither is one to suffer in silence. They’re both good steady everyday grumblers, not aggressively, but in a very normal, perhaps even very English way. They both have good hearts and are quite willing to work hard… though they have both been known to throw a tantrum that sooner (tunnel & rain) or a wee bit later (banged-up snowplough) brings operations to a halt. None of which is unique to these two, by any means! All these traits are pretty common among the RWS cast(s?) especially. But Thomas and Henry’s traits match up point-for-point. They’re just living different lives, but underneath the externals they’re awfully alike. 

Now, of course, there is a key difference — Henry is a follower, and Thomas would make a terrible follower; he can’t handle cliques (he’s rather too rough-around-the-edges to ever fit in one, methinks!) Then, too, when Henry thinks he doesn’t get enough respect (often), he just grumbles but has to wait for someone to present to him an opportunity (Gordon and James re: the strike, Duck re: six lovely tenders). When Thomas thinks he doesn’t get enough respect (again — often), he’s soon off doing something — usually something that ranges from foolish to catastrophic, but the point is that he’s more active and Henry’s more passive. 

Those are real differences and not just down to circumstance. However, apart from these two points, if Thomas were a large ill-built tender engine, I think a lot of his behavior would be Henryesque. Same but inverted if Henry were a hale and healthy tank engine. Their natures were cut from similar cloth, even if they underwent different treatments and design. They’re not as irritable as James, as even-tempered as Edward, as bubbly as Percy, nor (even if they had been built to his design) would they be quite as proud, nor nearly so dignified, as Gordon. They’re both Just Guys, in a way. 

What are YOU looking at?

I guess there’s one other way they differ… in TVS, Thomas is so proactive about going out and introducing himself and making seven bajillion merchandise deals friends. 

I favor RWS for Thomas’s essential nature, though – and he’s notably absent in the nationalisation era, when the others are constantly bumping against B.R. engines. “He’s on his branch line!” Yeah, but, man – Percy somehow has a circle of B.R. admirers. Thomas could be mixing it up more at Tidmouth if he were inclined to. I think he likes staying on his home base. I think Thomas is a quite a bit more of a homebody than Andrew Brenner seems to, in short. 

This also means that I think Thomas and Henry are alike in this way, too. They’re happy in the lives they’ve carved out for themselves, new acquaintances can approach them if they like – but watch out! (“What ugly wheels you’ve got.”) Newcomers to the book version of the North-Western can expect Duck to give you guidance, Percy to peer upon you with frank curiosity, James to self-importantly shove himself into your personal space and try to put you in your place, Gordon to officiously introduce himself if he thinks you’re important enough to merit such an honor, the Caledonians to maybe break you in with a practical joke if you stick around long enough, Edward to extract your entire life story if you stay longer than about 48 hours. Thomas and Henry? They’re hangin’ back. Not on account of shyness! And they’re not excessively proud I don’t think – but they’re both just self-important enough that they’re automatically suspicious of anyone with the nerve to approach them. 

(That said, annoying Thomas is just a first step in befriending him. Annoying Henry doesn’t work out the same way! He’ll just tell you to get off his siding, lol.) 

It’s like Ariel Wanting to Walk on the Beach… with Legs… 

A final and very important similarity: Thomas and Henry both distinguish themselves by indulging in some notably un-engine-like behavior. 

Thomas is discontent in early canon in a way I certainly don’t think is true for all shunters (hence part of my characterization of my OC Poppet, who would never dream of pining to be anything but a station pilot. She has a grand job! What more could an engine want than an important job? Variety? Society? Scenery? Pah. Because Poppet's a normie, is why.) Even early in his branch line days, we see him taking up a yen to fish like the anglers he sees at the Els river – and is apparently called out for it by every engine to whom he announces this desire. (“Engines don’t go fishing??? *mutters aside* Loony…”) 

Henry, too, is given the trait in TVS canon of liking to sit ‘round on mysterious sidings in the middle of a peaceful forest and take in the beauty of it all. Now engines often want to be a part of things – it seems they have a social drive – but to want to do all this slow, solitary, un-useful nature hobby stuff, that’s really something else. This is such un-engine-like behavior that it’s downright impractical! RULE 55 But it puts Henry into what is (for the Classic and New Series, at least) a pretty exclusive club, pretty much just him, Thomas, and – later in the same TV season – Duck. And, like, I accept this as canon because it feels right. Yeah, they’re our weirdos (affectionate). 

In Our Lanes. Thriving. 

So, yeah. Two nifty dudes, with a sibling relationship that’s so basic and understated that it’s almost dangerous to write them, because you could very easy press your thumb a little too hard and ruin their balance! 

There’s a little crop of fics that give them the shared spotlight in a story, usually in the Vicarstown days, when Thomas does something nice for a struggling Henry. That idea tends to work quite well. I can’t think of many other times when trying to put the focus on their dynamic wouldn’t foil their dynamic. As I say for the last time – a keyword here is “peripheral.” 

Their connection is strong mostly because of time and shared history, strengthened by a similar temperament, and spiced up by their chronic squabbling. You could too easily try to give them a nice Moment and overdo it, because they’re in the same tight family-like circle, but it’s like they’re each on one of the polar caps – just waving at (or snarling at) each other every so often as their shared world keeps chuggin’ on.

[ladychandraofthemoone]

Some old narrow gauge Nia doodles I’ve done over the past month, Nia’s livery was inspired by 🌺mrterrier673🌺 on Twitter

Saw some edits of Nia with glasses and I fell in love we need more engines with accessories

Some pannier shaped siblings, they met pre-msr days (they didn’t come in the same time)but were very happy to reunite with one another in the msr then in the Skarloey Railway 😊☺️

Their sibling friendship/relationship is like alastor and Rosie or Mary and jack, Nia didn’t care about Stanley’s “jinx” and defended him whenever he got bullied, she’s one of the very few folks who can make Stanley genuinely happy and do things like singing much to his colleagues surprise (also livery inspiration for one another♥️❤️🧡💜💛🖤)

[imitation-steamroller]

Ulfstead Railway Museum

Sir Robert’s railway museum is a concept that was set up in S20 but never went anywhere, presumably because Big World Big Adventures happened. So as I rewatched the series, I worked on my idea of what the Ulfstead Railway Museum would be like. I also did one for the Vicarstown Railway Museum if you want to check that out.

The way I see it, Sir Robert just suddenly decided he wanted to build a museum, kinda like the dinosaur park. It’s a fair bit bigger than the Vicarstown museum and has a roundhouse for its engines. But unlike the VRM, most of Ulfstead’s stock has little to do with Sodor’s railways. All but one of them are from the mainland or further beyond.

Everyday, two of the museum’s engines bring visitors from the mainland, while Sudrian visitors are usually brought by Thomas, James, and whoever else is a available.

On the subject of engines, the museum currently doesn’t have many yet. Even if you were to count Millie, Stephen, and Glynn, the museum’s roster doesn’t hit double digits. Among them are:

Kana - Ooh, an All Engines Go character, how scandalous! Kana was the first engine brought to the museum, and very quickly made friends with several of the island’s tank engines. While Kana truly means well, she can sometimes become too big for her wheels and get into scrapes. Lucky for her, Rosie and Percy always ready to bring her back down to earth.

Bruno - I promise they’re not all AEG characters. Bruno is a young and sturdy caboose who usually gives rides around the castle with Glynn, but he is often borrowed by the NWR to help keep the troublesome trucks and more easily distracted engines in line. Bruno generally prefers things slow and steady, but he can keep up with whatever shenanigans of Thomas and his friends if need be.

Gator - Didn’t expect to see him, did you? Before he left Sodor again, Gator and Percy became pen pals. So when Gator was being withdrawn some years later, he told Percy, who told the Earl, who bought Gator. Nowadays, he spends his time talking to visitors or collecting stone for the castle.

Smudger - The VRM are seething because they didn’t get to him first. Smudger was dug up from the ruins of the sheds around the time Duke was found and as you could probably expect, he was in pretty rough shape. Luckily, the Earl wouldn’t stop until Smudger had been completely repaired. Unluckily, at least for Smudger, Duke is a stone’s throw away from him now, and Smudger isn’t too keen on seeing him again.

Duchess - Duchess is the newest engine in the museum’s fleet and is very eager to please. After she was withdrawn from service, the Earl snatched her up for the museum. Like Kana, Duchess usually brings visitors to and from the castle, but tourists wanting to see the former royal engine have made her job a little harder than it needs to be.