Thomas & Friends (series 2) facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Thomas & Friends
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 popular children's television series about talking trains and other characters. They all work on the railways of the Island of Sodor. The show is based on The Railway Series books, written by Reverend W. Awdry.

This article tells you all about the second season of the show. It first aired in 1986. For viewers in the United Kingdom, Ringo Starr was the narrator. Later, he narrated 17 episodes again for the United States on Shining Time Station. For all US audiences, George Carlin narrated the entire season.

Making the Second Season of Thomas & Friends
- New Stories for the Engines
- Filming the Episodes
Episodes in Season Two
Characters in Season Two
- New Friends and Engines Introduced
- Engines and Friends You Already Know

Making the Second Season of Thomas & Friends

New Stories for the Engines

To create the second season, Christopher Awdry was asked to write a new Railway Series book. This book, called More About Thomas the Tank Engine, gave new roles to characters like Bertie the Bus, Terence the Tractor, and Harold the Helicopter.

Two special episodes, "Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree" and "Thomas and Trevor", were written just for the show by Christopher. After this season, the show started using new stories written by the production team. Some of the older Railway Series stories were thought to be too similar or too much like a storybook.

Filming the Episodes

During the making of the season, there was a plan to film an episode based on the story "The Missing Coach". This episode was supposed to introduce the Scottish twin engines, Donald and Douglas. The team even filmed some scenes, like Thomas arriving at Tidmouth Station.

However, Britt Allcroft, who helped create the show, decided the episode didn't have enough action. She also thought the story might be too hard for younger viewers to understand. So, the episode was cancelled. Instead, the twins were introduced in the episode "Break Van".

In 2020, information leaked online that showed the crew had filmed almost the whole "Missing Coach" episode. This included the scene where Donald and Douglas pretend to be each other, which Britt Allcroft thought was too confusing. Only the sound was missing from these leaked clips. Pictures from the filming of "The Missing Coach" have appeared in Thomas books over the years. It's believed that the show's original director, David Mitton, still has the original film footage.

Episodes in Season Two

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 about his blue paint. Later, he gets stuck under a coal hopper, which makes him dirty. He blames Percy, but Percy also has 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 when cows cause problems for his train. But Edward gets the last laugh when a cow stops Gordon and Henry 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 can't come to work. Bertie agrees to take his passengers. Edward leaves early, so Bertie has to chase after him to deliver the passengers.
30	4	"Saved From Scrap"	David Mitton	Edward the Blue Engine by Rev. W. Awdry	1 October 1986 (1986-10-01)
Edward meets Trevor, a traction engine, at the scrapyard. Trevor is set to be broken up, even though he works perfectly. Edward tries to save him.
31	5	"Old Iron"	David Mitton	Edward the Blue Engine by Rev. W. Awdry	8 October 1986 (1986-10-08)
James calls Edward slow. But when two boys make James speed out of control, 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. Edward takes him to help Thomas at the new harbor. Thomas is unsure at first, but soon learns to respect Trevor.
33	7	"Percy & the Signal"	David Mitton	Percy the Small Engine by Rev. W. Awdry	15 October 1986 (1986-10-15)
Percy plays tricks on the bigger engines. He annoys Gordon and tricks James. But James and Gordon get back at Percy by tricking him with a 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 new engine named Duck to help Percy. The big engines try to boss Duck around, so Duck and Percy decide to take action.
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 harbor. He challenges Harold the helicopter 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 sick and goes to the works for repairs. He comes back with a problem in his brakes. A temporary fireman forgets to tighten them, and Thomas runs away.
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 him. He gets curious about a "Danger" sign on the quay. The trucks push him into the sea, and he regrets his boast.
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 named Diesel arrives. Duck is told to show him around. Diesel brags he knows everything, so Duck leaves him to shunt old trucks alone, with bad 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 mistake with the trucks. To get revenge, Diesel tells lies about Duck to the big engines. They believe him and turn against Duck.
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 faces runaway trucks while working with Edward. He manages to stop them, but crashes into a barbershop. The Fat Controller sends Diesel away and welcomes Duck back.
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 delayed by the big engines. The main line viaduct is being repaired. Bertie gives him a hard time, until Bertie breaks down.
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 from Scotland. The Fat Controller only expected one. He plans to send one back. A mean brake van makes things worse.
43	17	"The Deputation"	David Mitton	The Twin Engines by Rev. W. Awdry	19 November 1986 (1986-11-19)
Heavy snow falls on Sodor. Donald and Douglas are good at clearing the lines. After they free Henry from a snowdrift, the other engines try to help both twins stay.
44	18	"Thomas Comes to Breakfast"	David Mitton	Branch Line Engines by Rev. W. Awdry	19 November 1986 (1986-11-19)
Thomas' driver jokes that Thomas could run the branch line alone. Thomas believes him. When he tries to move by himself, he crashes 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, comes to help Percy and Toby while Thomas is being fixed. But she is very stubborn and causes trouble by 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. Percy has never worked at the quarry. He bosses the trucks around until they push him into a goods train.
47	21	"The Diseasel"	David Mitton	Main Line Engines by Rev. W. Awdry	3 December 1986 (1986-12-03)
Bill and Ben are twin tank engines at the China Clay Pits. One day, their trucks go missing. They think a "diseasel" magically took them and go looking.
48	22	"Wrong Road"	David Mitton	Main Line Engines by Rev. W. Awdry	3 December 1986 (1986-12-03)
Gordon says branch lines are not important. But because of a mix-up with 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)
Tourists visit Sodor, and Edward takes them to see Bill and Ben. On the way back, one of Edward's parts breaks. Despite this, Edward keeps going and gets the tourists home 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 silly for talking about a ghost train. The next night, Percy crashes into lime powder, turning white. He 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 still teases Thomas about the ghost. Thomas calls Percy a "green caterpillar". Percy leaves the harbor early, gets covered in treacle, then hay. Thomas finds it funny.
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 Christmas Eve, and the engines are getting ready for a party. Thomas goes to get the Christmas tree but gets stuck in a snowdrift. Donald and Douglas rescue him.

Characters in Season Two

New Friends and Engines 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")