Thomas & 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 Reverend W. Awdry. It was produced by Clearwater Features Ltd. for Britt Allcroft (Thomas) Ltd. and Central Independent Television.

Thomas & Friends
Series 2
DVD cover art
No. of episodes	26
Release
Original network	ITV (Central) (via Children's ITV)
Original release	24 September (1986-09-24) – 17 December 1986 (1986-12-17)
Series chronology

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. 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 'storybook' 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. In December 2022, the dialogue and visual script for "The Missing Coach" episode leaked on Twitter. Scripts for three Railway Series stories, Percy's Promise, Gordon Goes Foreign, and Double Header, were leaked the same month. "Percy's Promise" and "Double Header" (renamed Time for Trouble) were later adapted in the third series. Gordon Goes Foreign was never adapted due to budgetary restraints. These were likely the episodes replaced by the Christopher Awdry written stories.

This season began production in September 1985 and completed filming in June 1986.

Episodes

No. overall	No. in series	UK title (top) US title (bottom)	Directed by	Source	Original air date
27	1	"Thomas, Percy & the Coal"	David Mitton	More About Thomas the Tank Engine by Christopher Awdry	24 September 1986 (1986-09-24)
		"Double Trouble"
Thomas brags to Percy and Toby about how he thinks 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"	David Mitton	Edward the Blue Engine by Rev. W. Awdry	24 September 1986 (1986-09-24)
		"A Cow on the Line"
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 obstructed 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. Oblivious 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 named 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 is the only engine available to rescue him.
32	6	"Thomas & Trevor"	David Mitton	1988 Thomas Annual story by Christopher Awdry	8 October 1986 (1986-10-08)
		"A New Friend for Thomas"
Trevor is bored of working in the vicarage orchard, so Edward takes him to meet Thomas and help him at the new harbour. Slowly but surely, a skeptical Thomas gains respect for 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 a Great Western Railway tank 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"	David Mitton	Percy the Small Engine by Rev. W. Awdry	22 October 1986 (1986-10-22)
		"Percy Proves a Point"
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 with 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"	David Mitton	Duck and the Diesel Engine by Rev. W. Awdry	5 November 1986 (1986-11-05)
		"Diesel's Devious Deed"
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"	David Mitton	Duck and the Diesel Engine by Rev. W. Awdry	5 November 1986 (1986-11-05)
		"A Close Shave for Duck"
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"	David Mitton	The Twin Engines by Rev. W. Awdry	12 November 1986 (1986-11-12)
		"Donald and Douglas"
Donald and Douglas are twin tender 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 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 she refuses 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, but he gives her a second chance after hearing from Toby how hard she worked after Percy's accident and Daisy promises to change her ways with Toby's help. 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 saddle 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 to Edward 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, Edward ends up on the main line, while 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. During the journey home, A bad storm hits and Edward's wheels start to slip on the wet rails. As a result, one of his crank pins, which hold his side rods on, breaks off. Despite this, Edward presses on and gets the tourists back safely.
50	24	"Ghost Train"	David Mitton	Tramway Engines by Rev. W. Awdry	10 December 1986 (1986-12-10)
		"Percy's Ghostly Trick"
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 television 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 is two days before Christmas, and the engines are hard at work getting ready for Sodor's annual Christmas carol party. Thomas is sent to collect the Christmas tree for the party, but he ends up getting 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. Note: Due to Starr's departure before he had a chance to re-narrate certain lines, all lines mentioning the Fat Controller were omitted but were not re-narrated with "Sir Topham Hatt" in their place, leaving some large sections of pauses in some places. This version can only be found on the VHS release of Shining Time Station's Christmas Special "Tis a Gift", which was first released on 27 October 1992.

Characters

Main article: List of Thomas & Friends characters

Introduced

• Duck
• Donald and Douglas
• Bill and Ben
• Diesel
• Daisy
• BoCo
• The Spiteful Brake Van
• Trevor
• Harold
• Jem Cole
• The Vicar of Wellsworth

Recurring cast

• Thomas
• Edward
• Henry
• Gordon
• James
• Percy
• Toby
• Troublesome Trucks
• Annie and Clarabel
• Henrietta
• Terence
• Bertie
• The Fat Controller
• Mrs. Kyndley
• Stephen Hatt (cameo)
• Bridget Hatt (cameo)
• Farmer Finney (cameo)

Home media

United Kingdom

Series 2 was first released as three separate VHS volumes by Pickwick's Screen Legends imprint in 1986. The Video Collection later re-released them in the 1990s, and have seen numerous re-releases over the years.

Video Collection International released a complete series VHS set in 1999, available as either a single-VHS or double-VHS release. It was soon released on DVD in 2004 as part of the "Classic Collection Boxset" before being released on its own the following year. The 2012 re-release by HIT Entertainment utilised the 2003 restoration of the series.

Episodes from the series have also made it to various compilation releases with other series.