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Thomas & Friends (series 3) facts for kids
| Thomas & Friends | |
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DVD cover art
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| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Release | |
| Original network | Children's ITV |
| Original release | 17 September 1991 – 4 February 1992 |
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 the Reverend W. Awdry.
This article tells you all about the third season of Thomas & Friends. The first 16 episodes were shown in the UK in September 1991. In the United States, they were part of Shining Time Station in November 1991. Ten more episodes were made in 1992 for the UK, and they came to Shining Time Station in the US a year later. Michael Angelis told the stories for UK viewers, while George Carlin was the narrator for US audiences.
Some episodes in this season have different names in the UK and US. We'll show both titles below. In the US, this season aired from November 18, 1991, to August 20, 1993, on Shining Time Station. For episodes 1–16, the UK TV broadcasts had slightly different narration compared to the VHS tapes.
Contents
Making the Season
How the Episodes Were Filmed
Season 3 of Thomas & Friends was made by The Britt Allcroft Company, working with the Japanese TV station Fuji Television. The season was split into two parts: 16 episodes first, then 10 more. The first 16 episodes aired in the United States in 1991 on Shining Time Station. The last 10 episodes came out on the same show in 1993. Making this season cost about £1,300,000, which was a lot of money!
Before Season 3 started, a company called Clearwater Features closed down. This meant The Britt Allcroft Company became the only producer. The producer Robert D. Cardona left before Season 3 began. Britt Allcroft then became a co-producer with David Mitton.
The Stories in Season 3
The stories in this season came from a few places. Some were from The Railway Series books. Others were from the Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends magazine, written by Andrew Brenner. He later became the show's head writer. A few stories were even brand new, created by Britt Allcroft and David Mitton.
One big reason for making new stories, instead of only using the books, was money. Many unused book stories had lots of new characters, which would have been very expensive to build. Also, the creators wanted more stories about Thomas, since he's the main character. Reverend Awdry, who wrote the original books, sometimes felt the new stories weren't very realistic.
Episodes
| No. overall |
No. in series |
UK title (top)
US title (bottom) |
Directed by | Source | Original air date | |
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| 53 | 1 | "A Scarf for Percy" | David Mitton | Henry the Green Engine by Rev. W. Awdry Based on Percy and the Trousers |
17 September 1991 | |
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Percy hates the cold and wants a scarf. He crashes into a luggage trolley, getting covered in jam and wearing the Fat Controller's trousers on his funnel!
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| 54 | 2 | "Percy's Promise" | David Mitton | Percy the Small Engine by Rev. W. Awdry |
17 September 1991 | |
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Percy promises to take a Sunday school class home. A big storm causes a flood, but Percy keeps going and becomes a hero.
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| 55 | 3 | "Time for Trouble" | David Mitton | The Eight Famous Engines by Rev. W. Awdry Based on Double Header |
24 September 1991 | |
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James gets to pull the express and boasts about it. Toby runs out of water, and James must reluctantly push him while pulling the train.
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| 56 | 4 | "Gordon & the Famous Visitor" | David Mitton | Duck and the Diesel Engine by Rev. W. Awdry Based on Domeless Engines |
24 September 1991 | |
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Gordon is jealous of a fast visiting engine. He tries to go super fast, but his dome can't handle it, making the trucks laugh.
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| 57 | 5 | "Donald's Duck" | David Mitton | Oliver the Western Engine by Rev. W. Awdry |
1 October 1991 | |
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Duck is proud of his new branch line. Donald jokes that Duck might lay an egg. Duck and his crew play a trick on Donald with a real duck.
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| 58 | 6 | "Thomas Gets Bumped" | David Mitton | Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends magazine story by Andrew Brenner |
1 October 1991 | |
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Thomas loves his branch line. He's upset when track repairs make him shunt trucks, and Bertie takes his passengers instead.
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| 59 | 7 | "Thomas, Percy & the Dragon" | David Mitton | Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends magazine story by Andrew Brenner |
8 October 1991 | |
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Percy teases Thomas about a ghost. Thomas takes a paper dragon to a carnival. Percy gets scared by the dragon, but they become friends again.
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| 60 | 8 | "Diesel Does It Again" | David Mitton | Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends magazine story by Andrew Brenner |
8 October 1991 | |
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Duck and Percy are unhappy when Diesel returns to the harbor. Diesel causes trouble with the trucks, so Duck and Percy go on strike.
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| 61 | 9 | "Henry's Forest" | David Mitton | Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends magazine story by Andrew Brenner |
15 October 1991 | |
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Henry loves the forest. A big storm ruins the trees, making him sad. New trees are planted to make Henry happy again.
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| 62 | 10 | "The Trouble with Mud" | David Mitton | Gordon the Big Engine by Rev. W. Awdry Based on Leaves |
15 October 1991 | |
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Gordon is too muddy for the express. James boasts about taking his place but gets stuck because of slippery leaves. Gordon rescues him.
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| 63 | 11 | "No Joke for James" | David Mitton | Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends magazine story by Andrew Brenner |
22 October 1991 | |
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Gordon tells James he's not good enough. James lies to Thomas about pulling the express. When his lie is found out, James tries to fix things.
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| 64 | 12 | "Thomas, Percy & the Post Train"
"Thomas, Percy & the Mail Train" |
David Mitton | Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends magazine story by Andrew Brenner |
22 October 1991 | |
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Thomas and Percy enjoy delivering mail. A delayed boat means Harold gets the job. But the engines soon find another important task.
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| 65 | 13 | "Trust Thomas" | David Mitton | Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends magazine story by Andrew Brenner |
29 October 1991 | |
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Thomas helps Bertie with a mystery. James fakes sickness to avoid work, making Thomas take his trucks. The trucks cause trouble for Thomas.
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| 66 | 14 | "Mavis" | David Mitton | Tramway Engines by Rev. W. Awdry |
29 October 1991 | |
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Mavis, a new diesel, doesn't listen to Toby's advice. She ignores a warning about a frozen crossing and gets stuck with her trucks.
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| 67 | 15 | "Toby's Tightrope" | David Mitton | Tramway Engines by Rev. W. Awdry |
5 November 1991 | |
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Mavis wants to run on Toby's line. She tricks the trucks, but Toby ends up on a collapsing bridge.
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| 68 | 16 | "Edward, Trevor & the Really Useful Party" | David Mitton | Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends magazine story by Andrew Brenner |
5 November 1991 | |
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The Vicar plans a garden party. Edward and Trevor help, even though Bertie teases Trevor for being slow. The party is a success.
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| 69 | 17 | "Buzz, Buzz"
"James Goes Buzz, Buzz" |
David Mitton | Main Line Engines by Rev. W. Awdry |
7 January 1992 | |
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James boasts he's not afraid of bees. A beehive breaks, and bees sting James on his nose, causing chaos.
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| 70 | 18 | "All at Sea" | David Mitton | Original by Britt Allcroft and David Mitton |
7 January 1992 | |
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Duck watches a boat race and wishes to travel overseas. He helps an injured sailor, proving how useful engines are.
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| 71 | 19 | "One Good Turn" | David Mitton | Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends magazine story by Andrew Brenner |
14 January 1992 | |
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Bill and Ben argue after being face-to-face on the turntable. Edward helps them become friends again.
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| 72 | 20 | "Tender Engines" | David Mitton | Enterprising Engines by Rev. W. Awdry Based on Tenders for Henry |
14 January 1992 | |
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A visitor with two tenders causes trouble. Henry wants more than one tender, and his wish comes true in a strange way.
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| 73 | 21 | "Escape!" | David Mitton | Enterprising Engines by Rev. W. Awdry Based on Escape and Little Western |
21 January 1992 | |
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Edward tells Douglas how he saved Trevor. Douglas then rescues Oliver and Toad from the scrapyard.
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| 74 | 22 | "Oliver Owns Up" | David Mitton | Oliver the Western Engine by Rev. W. Awdry Based on Resource and Sagacity |
21 January 1992 | |
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Oliver is new and proud. He ignores Duck's warning about the troublesome trucks, and they push him into the turntable well.
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| 75 | 23 | "Bulgy" | David Mitton | Oliver the Western Engine by Rev. W. Awdry |
28 January 1992 | |
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Duck and Oliver meet Bulgy, a bus who dislikes rails. Bulgy tries to steal passengers, gets stuck, and Duck rescues them.
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| 76 | 24 | "Heroes" | David Mitton | Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends magazine story by Andrew Brenner |
28 January 1992 | |
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The troublesome trucks cause trouble for Bill and Ben. The next day, Bill and Ben become heroes during a rockslide at the quarry.
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| 77 | 25 | "Percy, James & the Fruitful Day" | David Mitton | Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends magazine story by Andrew Brenner |
4 February 1992 | |
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James collects fruit but breaks down. Percy takes over but goes so fast that he squashes all the fruit.
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| 78 | 26 | "Thomas & Percy's Christmas Adventure"
"Thomas & Percy's Mountain Adventure" |
David Mitton | Original by Britt Allcroft and David Mitton |
4 February 1992 | |
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Thomas looks forward to delivering mail to a mountain village. A blizzard delays them, so he, Percy, Terence, and Harold must work together.
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Characters in Season 3
- City of Truro (seen in "Gordon & the Famous Visitor", but has no face or name)
- Dilly the Duck (in "Donald's Duck")
- The Chinese Dragon (in "Thomas, Percy & the Dragon")
- Big Mickey (in "Thomas, Percy & the Dragon")
- Mavis the Quarry Diesel (in "Mavis")
- The Flying Scotsman (Gordon's brother, only his tenders are seen in "Tender Engines", and he is not named)
- Oliver and Toad (in "Escape!")
- Bulgy the Double-Decker Bus (in "Bulgy")
Main Characters Who Appear Often
- Thomas
- Edward
- Henry
- Gordon
- James
- Percy
- Toby
- Duck
- Donald and Douglas
- Bill and Ben
- Diesel
- BoCo
- Annie and Clarabel
- Troublesome Trucks
- Terence
- Bertie
- Trevor
- Harold
- Sir Topham Hatt
- The Vicar
- Jem Cole
- Henrietta
- Lady Hatt