GEARJAMMER Posted October 24, 2018 Share Posted October 24, 2018 I seen one of the currant Thomas the Tank Engine episodes the other day (dont ask why), the CGi version, was'nt overly impressed, although i did like the way 'Duck' (the G.W.R pannier) had a west country accent. Anyway, so I wasn't left with this modern image of Thomas left on my brain I watched a few of the original series, which got me wondering, somewhere in the recesses of my brain I recall being told that Thomas and Friends were 'Gauge 1' models? Quite a few scenes were filmed at the main station, where I counted 5 platforms, overhead station canopy, yard, signal box etc etc.... It got me thinking that it must of been one hell of a big layout, add on all the other scenes, some of which looked just as big, and im guessing it must have been a massive modelling project for the programme makers? It got me wondering, with Thomas the Tank engine now being CGI.... where are the original models, what happened to Thomas and co? And what happened to the original 'Island of Sodor' ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Kris Posted October 24, 2018 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 24, 2018 Multiple boards capturing small scenes were used, so not a whole layout. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted October 24, 2018 Share Posted October 24, 2018 There was an article in Model Railway Constructor about it, back in the early 1980s. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Geep7 Posted October 24, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 24, 2018 I believe the original models are still on display in Thomas Land at Drayton Manor theme park. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwealleans Posted October 24, 2018 Share Posted October 24, 2018 At least one of the modelmakers has posted on here telling how it was made. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Corbs Posted October 24, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 24, 2018 A lot of them were auctioned off to private owners and many are at Drayton Manor as mentioned above. I believe the sets were dismantled for the most part. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HonestTom Posted October 24, 2018 Share Posted October 24, 2018 There wasn't really one layout per se. It was set out more like a tabletop railway. They'd lay the track out, along with buildings, scenery etc, film every shot that needed that particular setting, then they'd dismantle it all and set up for a different scene. They had some clever tricks, like using a sort of grass effect like greengrocer's turf laid over formers to represent hills and embankments. If you look closely, you can see certain buildings and props pop up in several different settings. Some of the sets were larger than gauge 1. They had problems with getting the narrow gauge engines to work reliably, so they rebuilt them to a larger scale, plus a couple of standard gauge characters to interact with them. To be honest, I'm not a fan of the larger models, I think they somehow lack the charm of the smaller ones. They went larger still around series 6, when they introduced a group of construction machines known as 'Jack and the Pack.' This was planned to be a spin-off, and the models were larger and more intricate than anything that had gone before. Larger versions of Thomas and Percy were built to interact with them. A few episodes of the spin-off were filmed, but the whole project was scrapped when HIT took the series over (they owned Bob the Builder and so didn't much like the idea of a series that would compete with that particular cash cow). The episodes are worth a watch for the model work. The level of detail was always very impressive, particularly in the early series. I thought it reached its peak around series 4, when they introduced the narrow gauge railway. Some of those sets were positively idyllic. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeTrice Posted October 24, 2018 Share Posted October 24, 2018 Just found this: 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Johnster Posted October 25, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 25, 2018 My panniers have South Wales accents, as do all my engines... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Claude_Dreyfus Posted October 25, 2018 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 25, 2018 I seem to recall all of the TTE characters having a varying degree of Liverpudlian accent... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steamport Southport Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 My panniers have South Wales accents, as do all my engines... I'll see you Jimmy! At least one of mine is a Glaswegian. Jason Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkC Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 I seem to recall all of the TTE characters having a varying degree of Liverpudlian accent... Dere's a good reason for that, la! Ringo has a lot to answer for... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steamport Southport Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 Then Michael Angelis. Then Mark Moraghan apparantly. Jason Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium njee20 Posted October 25, 2018 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 25, 2018 I’ve got a DVD of the original 2 series which my son loves, I’ve really enjoyed rewatching them, one thing which surprised me is that the track looks quite crude - they look like insulfrog points! The modelling is generally superb though, the CGI ones are dire in comparison! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HonestTom Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 Interestingly, a lot of the rolling stock, at least in the early days, was off-the-shelf kits from Tenmille. There were even a few 16mm NG wagons that were used to represent older trucks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium John M Upton Posted October 26, 2018 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 26, 2018 (edited) My two and a half year old basically watches series one through seven on a continuous loop it feels like sometimes. After Season Seven they went downhill alarmingly. A lot of rolling stock does look very Southern Region BR and predecessors in design! Edited October 26, 2018 by John M Upton Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium OnTheBranchline Posted October 26, 2018 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 26, 2018 (edited) There wasn't really one layout per se. It was set out more like a tabletop railway. They'd lay the track out, along with buildings, scenery etc, film every shot that needed that particular setting, then they'd dismantle it all and set up for a different scene. They had some clever tricks, like using a sort of grass effect like greengrocer's turf laid over formers to represent hills and embankments. If you look closely, you can see certain buildings and props pop up in several different settings. Some of the sets were larger than gauge 1. They had problems with getting the narrow gauge engines to work reliably, so they rebuilt them to a larger scale, plus a couple of standard gauge characters to interact with them. To be honest, I'm not a fan of the larger models, I think they somehow lack the charm of the smaller ones. They went larger still around series 6, when they introduced a group of construction machines known as 'Jack and the Pack.' This was planned to be a spin-off, and the models were larger and more intricate than anything that had gone before. Larger versions of Thomas and Percy were built to interact with them. A few episodes of the spin-off were filmed, but the whole project was scrapped when HIT took the series over (they owned Bob the Builder and so didn't much like the idea of a series that would compete with that particular cash cow). The episodes are worth a watch for the model work. The level of detail was always very impressive, particularly in the early series. I thought it reached its peak around series 4, when they introduced the narrow gauge railway. Some of those sets were positively idyllic. It's a pity that the level of detail was only undercut by the non realistic operations for a kids TV show. Edited October 26, 2018 by OnTheBranchline Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eldomtom2 Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 Some of the sets were larger than gauge 1. They had problems with getting the narrow gauge engines to work reliably, so they rebuilt them to a larger scale, plus a couple of standard gauge characters to interact with them. To be honest, I'm not a fan of the larger models, I think they somehow lack the charm of the smaller ones. I believe this was around Gauge 3, with the narrow gauge engines themselves definitely running on O gauge track - as they did when originally built to Gauge 1 scale. The primary reliability issue, from what I've heard, was that there was not enough room in the small-scale engines for the battery for the eyes, so they had to be pulilng a van or carriage with the battery concealed inside at all times. The servos for moving the eyes also proved uncomfortably cramped. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HonestTom Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 I believe this was around Gauge 3, with the narrow gauge engines themselves definitely running on O gauge track - as they did when originally built to Gauge 1 scale. The primary reliability issue, from what I've heard, was that there was not enough room in the small-scale engines for the battery for the eyes, so they had to be pulilng a van or carriage with the battery concealed inside at all times. The servos for moving the eyes also proved uncomfortably cramped. Yep, that's right - either they had to couple it to a van, or the engine had to be stationary, or its eyes couldn't move. They also had issues with the motion (which was taken from Triang Halls and Princesses) binding. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewartingram Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 I remember the originals being on display at a MRC exhibition at London Wembley. Stewart Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAF96 Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 So if Thomas was number 1 who is this guy... Rob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevejjjexcov Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 (edited) So if Thomas was number 1 who is this guy... Possible Winton? I realy have no idea. Thomas lost the plot after he was sold and became all american. The Reverand must be spinning in his grave!!! IMG_0536.JPG Rob Edited October 30, 2018 by stevejjjexcov Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eldomtom2 Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 So if Thomas was number 1 who is this guy... IMG_0536.JPG Rob The engine that Thomas replaced. This is actually taken from the books. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinnylinny Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 The Rev. Awdry did mention some "coffee-pot" locomotives in "The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways" - they were ostensibly a Topham Hatt design. Not made up by HiT Entertainment at all, but real Railway Series material! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eldomtom2 Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 This blog post on restoring the now privately-owned Duke model may be of interest to those interested in the modelling of the series. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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