Thomas and Friends (series 2)

Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends Series 2
DVD cover art
Country of origin	UK
No. of episodes	26
Broadcast
Original channel	ITV
Original run	2 September 1986 – 23 December 1986
Season chronology
← Previous Series 1 (1984) Next → Series 3 (1991-92)

Thomas and 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.

This article lists and details episodes from the second series of the show, which was first broadcast in 1986. Most episodes in this series have two titles: the original titles from the UK broadcasts are shown in bold text, while the American-adapted titles are shown underneath.

Season 2 was narrated by Ringo Starr, who dubbed 16 of the episodes for American audiences, and George Carlin, who narrated every episode for the American dub. It was the last season to be narrated by Ringo Starr. It was also the last season to be produced by Robert D. Cardona.

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 Awdry. 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".^[1]

Series 2 introduced what would become a recurring conflict on the show: steam engines against diesel engines.

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." The model crew had gone as far as filming scenes on the Tidmouth Station set before Britt Allcroft decided the episode had too little action and it's storyline would be too difficult to understand by younger viewers.^[2] Five promotional stills have surfaced in various Thomas publications, One of Douglas shunting Thomas' Special Coach at the coal depot is "seen in the 1989 Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends Annual", A Close Up of Douglas From the Start of the Episode , A Very Small One of the Twins Confronting Gordon and Henry in the Sheds is "seen in a Japanese Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends Book", A Forth of Duck and either Donald or Douglas at Tidmouth and The Fith from the End of the Episode.

Episodes

#	Total	Title (Top) US Title (Bottom)	Source	Original air date
1	27	"Thomas, Percy And The Coal" "Double Trouble"	More About Thomas the Tank Engine By Christopher Awdry	2 September 1986
Thomas brags to Percy and Toby about how blue is the only proper colour for a really useful engine. He soon gets into a spot of bother when a coal hopper empties its load right beside him and covers him in coal dust.
2	28	"Cows" "A Cow On The Line"	Edward the Blue Engine By Rev. W. Awdry	5 September 1986
Gordon and Henry tease Edward after some cows break part of his train away. However, it's Edward who has the last laugh when the two run into Bluebell the cow.
3	29	"Bertie's Chase"	Edward the Blue Engine By Rev. W. Awdry	7 September 1986
Thomas' fireman isn't able to come in to work one day and Bertie agrees to take his passengers. Edward, unaware of the change of plan, leaves before Bertie arrives.
4	30	"Saved From Scrap"	Edward the Blue Engine By Rev. W. Awdry	9 September 1986
At the scrapyard, Edward meets a traction engine called Trevor, who is due to be broken up, despite being in good condition. Edward is determined to save him, and finds the perfect person to do so.
5	31	"Old Iron"	Edward the Blue Engine By Rev. W. Awdry	11 September 1986
After Edward makes him late, James makes rude comments about him, claiming him to be nothing but a load of "Old Iron". Not long afterwards, however, two boys meddle with his controls and render him a runaway, until Edward saves him.
6	32	"Thomas And Trevor" "A New Friend For Thomas"	1988 Thomas Annual By Christopher Awdry	14 September 1986
Trevor is bored of working in the vicarige orchard, so Edward agrees to take him to help Thomas at the harbour. Slowly but surely, Thomas gains a respect for the traction engine, and eventually promises Trevor that he can help him again when the time comes.
7	33	"Percy And The Signal"	Percy the Small Engine By Rev. W. Awdry	17 September 1986
Percy enjoys playing tricks on the other engines, but goes too far one day, getting James into trouble with the Fat Controller. He and Gordon decide to pay Percy out with the help of a signal...
8	34	"Duck Takes Charge"	Percy the Small Engine By Rev. W. Awdry	18 September 1986
The Fat Controller buys an engine named Montague (nicknamed Duck) to help out an overworked Percy. The big engines are rude to him, and start ordering him about. Duck and Percy decide to take matters into their own hands (or wheels) and deal with the engines themselves.
9	35	"Percy And Harold" "Percy Proves A Point"	Percy the Small Engine By Rev. W. Awdry	20 September 1986
While at work on the new harbour, Percy meets Harold, a helicopter who calls the railway "slow, not much use, and quite out of date". Percy is determined to prove him wrong, and his chance comes on the way to the Wharf.
10	36	"The Runaway"	More About Thomas the Tank Engine By Christopher Awdry	22 September 1986
Thomas isn't feeling well and has to go to the works. Soon, he comes back, but with a small problem: his brakes aren't always working properly. This proves disastrous when the fireman forgets to tighten them properly while waiting for Henry's train, and Thomas puffs away.
11	37	"Percy Takes The Plunge"	The Eight Famous Engines By Rev. W. Awdry	24 September 1986
One day at the Harbour, Percy is speaking to some engines when Henry comes in and is rude. Percy retorts by teasing Henry about being afraid of water referring to the time he refused to come out of the tunnel in case the rain ruined his paint. However, on another day at the Harbour, Percy gets what he deserves when he ends up chin first in the water after foolishly persuading some trucks to push him past the same Danger sign Thomas ignored.
12	38	"Pop Goes The Diesel"	Duck and the Diesel Engine By Rev. W. Awdry	26 September 1986
A diesel engine named Diesel arrives on the island and Duck is given the task of showing him what to do. Diesel boasts that his kind know everything, so Duck leaves him to shunt some trucks alone, with disastrous results...
13	39	"Dirty Work" "Diesel's Devious Deed"	Duck and the Diesel Engine By Rev. W. Awdry	28 September 1986
Diesel is still cross with Duck, believing that he was to blame for the trucks being rude to him. In order to get revenge he decides to tell lies about Duck to the trucks, which insult the big engines at the same time.
14	40	"A Close Shave" "A Close Shave For Duck"	Duck and the Diesel Engine By Rev. W. Awdry	1 October 1986
During his stay with Edward, Duck finds himself of the receiving end of a runaway, but bravely manages to control them, despite crashing into a barber's shop.
15	41	"Better Late Than Never"	More About Thomas the Tank Engine By Christopher Awdry	4 October 1986
The viaduct across the main line is being repaired. This makes Thomas cross with the other engines, and Bertie cross with Thomas. But when Thomas comes to the rescue after Bertie breaks down, the two decide being late isn't such a bad thing.
16	42	"Break Van" "Donald & Douglas"	The Twin Engines By Rev. W. Awdry	7 October 1986
Donald and Douglas are twin tender engines whom the Fat Controller had bought from Scotland to help with the railway, although he had only ordered one engine. He intends to send one of them back, and a spiteful brake van doesn't help the twins at all.
17	43	"The Deputation"	The Twin Engines By Rev. W. Awdry	9 October 1986
Heavy snow has fallen on Sodor, but Donald and Douglas are used to it, using their snowploughs to clear the line. After they help Henry from a snowdrift, the other engines are determined to help them out.
18	44	"Thomas Comes To Breakfast"	Branch Line Engines By Rev. W. Awdry	11 October 1986
Thomas's driver tells him that he could almost manage running the branch line without him. He is only joking, but Thomas doesn't realise this, and pays the price dearly after trying to move by himself the next day and crashing straight into the stationmaster's house at the end of the line. The accident leaves him severely damaged, and the Fat Controller Tells him that a diesel will replace him while he is away.
19	45	"Daisy"	Branch Line Engines By Rev. W. Awdry	14 October 1986
Daisy, a diesel railcar, has been bought to help Percy and Toby whilst Thomas is at the works. However, she proves to be very stubborn and even refuses to do the chores she hates.
20	46	"Percy's Predicament"	Branch Line Engines By Rev. W. Awdry	19 October 1986
Toby offers to swap jobs with Percy so he can have a rest from taking the milk Daisy keeps leaving behind. Unfortunately, Percy has never worked at the quarry before, and the trucks are quick to take advantage of this.
21	47	"The Diseasel"	Main Line Engines By Rev. W. Awdry	24 October 1986
Bill & Ben are twin brothers who work at the China Clay Pits. One day, they are aghast when they discover that their trucks have gone missing. Down the line, they cause great problems and difficulty with a diesel called Boco, who they believe stole the trucks. Confusion regains until Edward explains everything.
22	48	"Wrong Road"	Main Line Engines By Rev. W. Awdry	1 November 1986
Gordon believes that branch lines, such as Edward's, are vulgar, and that the Fat Controller would never approve of him running it. However, he ends up there due to a case of mistaken identity involving a lady's hat, and Bill and Ben are waiting...
23	49	"Edward's Exploit"	Main Line Engines By Rev. W. Awdry	8 November 1986
Some tourists are visiting the Island of Sodor, and Edward is due to take them to meet Bill and Ben. On the journey back, however, one of his crank pins, which hold his side rods on, breaks off. Despite this, Edward presses on, and gets the tourists back safely.
24	50	"Ghost Train" "Percy's Ghostly Trick"	Tramway Engines By Rev. W. Awdry	10 November 1986
Thomas doesn't believe Percy when the little engine tells him about a ghost his driver saw the previous night (which turns out to be a pretend one on TV). Percy wants to pay Thomas out, and a cartful of lime left on the track just might be able to help...
25	51	"Woolly Bear"	Tramway Engines By Rev. W. Awdry	16 November 1986
Percy is still teasing Thomas about the ghost incident. Thomas hits back by calling him a "Green caterpillar with red stripes". Things go wrong for the little engine soon afterwards after getting hit by a crate of treacle, then getting stuck on a hill, windswept with hay.
26	52	"Thomas And The Missing Christmas Tree"	Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree By Christopher Awdry	23 December 1986
It's Christmas time and all the engines are hard at work getting ready for the Christmas Party. Thomas is sent to collect the Christmas tree, but gets stuck in a huge snowdrift on the way back. After the engines complain of Thomas being late, the Fat Controller explains what has happened. Donald and Douglas help him out, and as a reward, all the engines enjoy a huge Christmas Party, with Father Christmas as a special guest.

Characters Introduced

Characters introduced include the first diesels, Diesel, Daisy who's also the first female engine and Boco.

• Bluebell the Cow (Cows)
• Trevor (Saved From Scrap)
• The Vicar (Saved from Scrap)
• Jem Cole (Saved from Scrap)
• Duck (Duck Takes Charge)
• Harold (Percy and Harold)
• Diesel (Percy Takes The Plunge, Cameo) (Pop Goes The Diesel)
• Donald and Douglas (Break Van)
• Spiteful Brakevan (Break Van)
• Daisy (Daisy)
• Bill and Ben (Percy Takes The Plunge, Improperly) (The Diseasel, Properly)
• Boco (The Diseasel)

Returning Characters

• Thomas
• Edward
• Henry
• Gordon
• James
• Percy
• Toby
• Bertie
• Terence
• Henrietta
• Annie & Clarabel
• Troublesome Trucks
• Sir Topham Hatt

References

1. ^ http://www.sodor-island.net/steveasquithinterview.html
2. ^ http://www.sodor-island.net/interviews.html