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Thomas & Friends (series 2) facts for kids

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Thomas & Friends
Thomas and Friends DVD Cover - Series 2.jpg
DVD cover art
Country of origin United Kingdom
No. of episodes 26
Release
Original network ITV
Original release 24 September (1986-09-24) – 17 December 1986 (1986-12-17)
List of Thomas & Friends episodes

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 Reverend W. Awdry. It was produced by Clearwater Features Ltd. for Britt Allcroft (Thomas) Ltd.

This article lists and details episodes from the second series of the show, which was first broadcast in 1986. This series was initially narrated by Ringo Starr for the United Kingdom audiences, who later re-narrated 17 episodes for the United States on Shining Time Station in 1989. The entire series was narrated by George Carlin for US audiences.

Production

Stories

Christopher Awdry was commissioned to write a new Railway Series book as source material for the second series. Three stories from More About Thomas the Tank Engine provided additional roles for Bertie the Bus, Terence the Tractor, and Harold the Helicopter. The episodes "Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree" and "Thomas and Trevor" were both one-off stories written by Christopher. The following series would begin to use original stories by the production staff, with some of the remaining Railway Series stories deemed "repetitive and too 'story-book' orientated".

Filming

Early in production, a third episode based on The Twin Engines was due to be filmed, based largely on the story "The Missing Coach". This was originally to be the episode Donald and Douglas the Scottish twins were introduced in. It was thought that the model crew had gone as far as filming scenes on the Tidmouth Station set with Thomas arriving at the station, before Britt Allcroft decided the episode had too little action and its storyline would be too difficult to understand by younger viewers. Subsequently, the episode was cancelled and the story’s exposition was instead included in the episode adaptation of the story “Break Van”, which would instead serve as the twin engines’ introductory episode.

In August 2020, there was a leak on Twitter that showed that the crew had filmed virtually the whole episode, including and up to the scene where Donald and Douglas swap tenders to impersonate each other (the scene that made Allcroft deem the story too confusing to air on TV), and the audio is the only thing missing. Several promotional stills from the filming of The Missing Coach have surfaced in various Thomas publications over the years, while the series’ original director David Mitton was believed to be in possession of the original film footage.

Episodes

No.
overall		 No. in
series		 UK title (top)
US title (bottom)		 Directed by Source Original air date
27 1 "Thomas, Percy & the Coal"
"Double Trouble"		 David Mitton More About Thomas the Tank Engine
by Christopher Awdry		 24 September 1986 (1986-09-24)
Thomas brags to Percy and Toby about how "blue is the only proper colour for a really useful engine". Later, he gets trapped under a coal hopper, which ruins his paintwork. He blames an amused Percy for his incident (because Percy inadvertently moved the careless trucks out from under the hopper), until Percy has his own trouble with coal.
28 2 "Cows"
"A Cow on the Line"		 David Mitton Edward the Blue Engine
by Rev. W. Awdry		 24 September 1986 (1986-09-24)
Gordon and Henry tease Edward after some cows break part of his train away. However, Edward has the last laugh when Gordon and Henry end up being stalled by a cow on a bridge.
29 3 "Bertie's Chase" David Mitton Edward the Blue Engine
by Rev. W. Awdry		 1 October 1986 (1986-10-01)
Thomas' fireman is unable to come in to work one day and Bertie agrees to take his passengers. Unaware of the change of plan, Edward leaves before Bertie arrives and so Bertie has to chase after him.
30 4 "Saved From Scrap" David Mitton Edward the Blue Engine
by Rev. W. Awdry		 1 October 1986 (1986-10-01)
At the scrapyard, Edward meets a traction engine called Trevor, who is due to be broken up in a week, despite being in perfect working condition. Edward is determined to save him and finds the man to do so.
31 5 "Old Iron" David Mitton Edward the Blue Engine
by Rev. W. Awdry		 8 October 1986 (1986-10-08)
James calls Edward slow due to him constantly being late. When two boys meddle with James' controls and he speeds down the line, Edward chases him down to rescue him.
32 6 "Thomas & Trevor"
"A New Friend for Thomas"		 David Mitton 1987 Thomas Annual
story by Christopher Awdry		 8 October 1986 (1986-10-08)
Trevor is bored of working in the vicarage orchard, so Edward takes him to meet and help Thomas at the new harbor. Slowly but surely, a skeptical Thomas gains a respect for Trevor the traction engine.
33 7 "Percy & the Signal" David Mitton Percy the Small Engine
by Rev. W. Awdry		 15 October 1986 (1986-10-15)
Percy is playing tricks on the bigger engines, first annoying Gordon and then tricking James to stay in his shed all day. But James and Gordon get revenge by tricking Percy into misreading a signal that goes up, referring to it as a "backing signal".
34 8 "Duck Takes Charge" David Mitton Percy the Small Engine
by Rev. W. Awdry		 15 October 1986 (1986-10-15)
The Fat Controller buys an engine called Montague (known as Duck) to help out an overworked Percy. The big engines start ordering him about, so Duck and Percy decide to take matters into their own wheels.
35 9 "Percy & Harold"
"Percy Proves a Point"		 David Mitton Percy the Small Engine
by Rev. W. Awdry		 22 October 1986 (1986-10-22)
Percy is sent to work at the new harbour and challenges a helicopter called Harold to a race to the wharf.
36 10 "The Runaway" David Mitton More About Thomas the Tank Engine
by Christopher Awdry		 22 October 1986 (1986-10-22)
Thomas is ill and has to go to the works. He soon comes back, but with a problem in his brakes. This proves disastrous when a temporary fireman forgets to tighten them properly and Thomas puffs away uncontrollably.
37 11 "Percy Takes the Plunge" David Mitton The Eight Famous Engines
by Rev. W. Awdry		 29 October 1986 (1986-10-29)
Percy boasts that "water is nothing to an engine with determination", which annoys Henry, but curiosity gets the better of him when he wants to see why he is forbidden to pass the "Danger" board on the quay. Percy asks the trucks for help, but he soon regrets his decision when the trucks push him into the sea.
38 12 "Pop Goes the Diesel" David Mitton Duck and the Diesel Engine
by Rev. W. Awdry		 29 October 1986 (1986-10-29)
A diesel engine, called Diesel, arrives on the island and Duck is given the task of showing him what to do. Diesel boasts that his kind are "revolutionary" and they know everything, so Duck leaves him to shunt some old trucks alone, with disastrous results.
39 13 "Dirty Work"
"Diesel's Devious Deed"		 David Mitton Duck and the Diesel Engine
by Rev. W. Awdry		 5 November 1986 (1986-11-05)
Diesel blames Duck for his incident with the trucks and as revenge, Diesel tells lies about the big engines to them (saying Duck told him) which the bigger engines end up believing and they gang up on Duck. While trying to get to the bottom of the incident, the Fat Controller sends Duck to work with Edward for a while.
40 14 "A Close Shave"
"A Close Shave for Duck"		 David Mitton Duck and the Diesel Engine
by Rev. W. Awdry		 5 November 1986 (1986-11-05)
Duck finds himself on the receiving end of the runaway trucks during his stay with Edward, but he manages to control them, despite crashing into a barbershop. The Fat Controller arrives and tells Duck that he has sent Diesel away and Duck is welcome in the yard again.
41 15 "Better Late Than Never" David Mitton More About Thomas the Tank Engine
by Christopher Awdry		 12 November 1986 (1986-11-12)
Thomas is angry, because his trains are being held up by the big engines due to the viaduct on the main line being under repair. Bertie gives him a hard time, until he breaks down and Thomas must take his passengers.
42 16 "Break Van"
"Donald and Douglas"		 David Mitton The Twin Engines
by Rev. W. Awdry		 12 November 1986 (1986-11-12)
Donald and Douglas are twin engines whom The Fat Controller had bought from Scotland to help out, although only one engine had been expected. He intends to send one of them back and a spiteful unknown brake van only makes things worse.
43 17 "The Deputation" David Mitton The Twin Engines
by Rev. W. Awdry		 19 November 1986 (1986-11-19)
Heavy snow has fallen on Sodor, but Donald and Douglas are used to it, using their snowploughs to clear the line. After they free Henry from a snowdrift, the other engines are determined to help both of them stay on Sodor, as the one returning home will be turned into scrap.
44 18 "Thomas Comes to Breakfast" David Mitton Branch Line Engines
by Rev. W. Awdry		 19 November 1986 (1986-11-19)
Thomas' driver jokingly tells him that he could almost manage running the branch line on his own. Thomas thinks he is being honest, but when he tries to move by himself, he ends up crashing straight into the stationmaster's house.
45 19 "Daisy" David Mitton Branch Line Engines
by Rev. W. Awdry		 26 November 1986 (1986-11-26)
Daisy, a diesel railcar, has been bought to help Percy and Toby while Thomas is being mended. However, she proves to be very stubborn and later she causes trouble at the station when refusing to pull a milk tanker.
46 20 "Percy's Predicament" David Mitton Branch Line Engines
by Rev. W. Awdry		 26 November 1986 (1986-11-26)
Toby offers to swap jobs with Percy, while he takes the milk Daisy keeps leaving behind. Unfortunately, Percy has never worked at the quarry before, and he begins to delight in ordering the trucks about until the trucks get fed up with this and decide to retaliate, by pushing him down the line and into the back of a goods train. Daisy is told off by The Fat Controller for being lazy and promises to change her ways with help from Toby. Thomas soon returns and Percy is sent to be mended.
47 21 "The Diseasel" David Mitton Main Line Engines
by Rev. W. Awdry		 3 December 1986 (1986-12-03)
Bill and Ben are tank engine twins who work at the China Clay Pits. One day, they are aghast when they discover that their China Clay Trucks have gone missing. They mistakenly believe that their trucks were "magicked away" by a "diseasel" and go on a search to find them.
48 22 "Wrong Road" David Mitton Main Line Engines
by Rev. W. Awdry		 3 December 1986 (1986-12-03)
Gordon remarks that branch lines are vulgar and that the Fat Controller would never approve of him running on one. However, due to a case of mistaken identity involving a lady's green hat, Gordon ends up on the branch line, where Bill and Ben are waiting.
49 23 "Edward's Exploit" David Mitton Main Line Engines
by Rev. W. Awdry		 10 December 1986 (1986-12-10)
Some tourists are visiting the Island of Sodor and Edward is due to take them to meet Bill and Ben. One of his crank pins, which hold his side rods on, breaks off on the journey back. Despite this, Edward presses on and gets the tourists back safely.
50 24 "Ghost Train"
"Percy's Ghostly Trick"		 David Mitton Tramway Engines
by Rev. W. Awdry		 10 December 1986 (1986-12-10)
Thomas thinks Percy is being silly when he tells him about a ghost train his driver saw the previous night, which turns out to be a tele story. The next night, Percy crashes into a cart of lime powder, turning him pale white and decides to play a ghostly trick on Thomas.
51 25 "Woolly Bear" David Mitton Tramway Engines
by Rev. W. Awdry		 17 December 1986 (1986-12-17)
Percy is still teasing Thomas about the ghost incident. Thomas retorts by calling Percy a green caterpillar with red stripes and chews him out for being late. Soon afterwards, Percy decides to start home from the harbor early, but gets hit by a crate of treacle. When he leaves still sticky, he then gets stuck on a hill, windswept with hay. Percy arrives back at the station covered in hay, to Thomas' amusement.
52 26 "Thomas & the Missing Christmas Tree" David Mitton Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree
by Christopher Awdry		 17 December 1986 (1986-12-17)
It's the day before Christmas Eve and all the engines are at work getting ready for the Christmas Party. Thomas is sent to collect the Christmas tree, but he gets buried in a huge snowdrift on the way back. Donald and Douglas come to the rescue and bring him back in time for the party.

Characters

Introduced

  • Bluebell the Cow ("Cows")
  • Trevor the Traction Engine ("Saved from Scrap")
  • The Vicar of Wellsworth ("Saved from Scrap")
  • Jem Cole ("Saved from Scrap")
  • Duck the Great Western Engine ("Duck Takes Charge")
  • Harold the Helicopter ("Percy & Harold")
  • Devious Diesel ("Pop Goes the Diesel")
  • Donald and Douglas the Scottish Twins ("Break Van")
  • The Spiteful Brakevan ("Break Van")
  • Daisy the Diesel Railcar ("Daisy")
  • Bill and Ben the Tank Engine Twins ("Percy Takes the Plunge" (not named yet) / "The Diseasel")
  • BoCo the Diesel Engine ("The Diseasel")

Recurring cast