Annie and Clarabel

"Those are my coaches! Give them back!"

- Thomas, Emily's New Coaches, seventh season

   CGI Series= |-|Model Series= |-|Railway Series=   Annie and Clarabel    Annie and Clarabel are Thomas' faithful coaches, whom he loves very much.
 * Class: LB&SCR Stroudley coaches
 * Designer: William Stroudley
 * Builder: Brighton Works
 * Built: 1896

Bio
Annie and Clarabel started life on the North Western Railway, as James's coaches. After 1923, they were given to Thomas when he started working his own branch line. They have had several adventures, such as losing their guard and becoming runaways. Clarabel once derailed on a set of trap points when Thomas slipped on some oily rails, and had to be helped by Diesel.

In The Adventure Begins, before Thomas got his branch line, he met Annie and Clarabel for the first time when he thought they were the express coaches. He apologised and introduced himself, leaving Annie and Clarabel impressed. They were often pulled by James. Edward at one point was also briefly seen with them. When Thomas received his branch line after rescuing James, the two coaches were given to him to use. When Thomas is away, Percy, Toby, Duck, Stanley, Rosie (unseen) and Ryan take his place to pull them. Emily and Neville have both taken them not knowing they were Thomas' coaches, and Caitlin has once taken them without realising they were coupled to her own coaches and Hiro saved them. Gordon also pulled them once, when Samson took his Express Coaches by mistake. Ashima, Daisy and Diesel have also taken them.

Persona
Annie and Clarabel are respectful to all of the engines, but most of all Gordon and Thomas, and Daisy least of all for insulting them and Henrietta. They show a kind and caring side to everyone in the whole railway. However, despite their kindness and sweetness, when needed they can be stern, especially Annie, like when they scolded Thomas for teasing Gordon. Annie and Clarabel are best friends, but like all friends, sometimes they fall out.

Basis
The coach that was to be the basis for Annie was first built by a teenage Wilbert Awdry as part of a model railway layout. Many years later, after a long hiatus from modelling, a brake coach was built to match so that the Reverend's Thomas model would have a complete train.

In the Railway Series, they are a pair of bogie coaches (i.e. each coach is supported on a pair of four-wheeled bogies or "trucks"). As currently illustrated, they appear similar to non-corridor suburban coaches operated by the LMS.

In the television series, Annie and Clarabel are LB&SCR Stroudley four-wheeled coaches. Several coaches of this type are preserved on the Bluebell Railway.

Livery
In the Railway Series, Annie and Clarabel were originally painted orange-brown and were later painted brown with a yellow stripe.

In the television series, they were painted in a tan livery with their names painted on their sides in white, from the first season, to mid-way through the fifth season. Since then, they are repainted in an orange-brown livery, again, with their names painted on their sides in white. In the CGI series they appear to be more orange.

In Thomas' imagination where he gets streamlined in The Great Race, Annie and Clarabel are repainted in NWR blue with a white stripe near the bottom and a thicker white stripe with red borders near the top.

In the magazine story, Thomas, Terence and the Snow, Annie and Clarabel were coloured greenish grey.

Voice Actors
Annie:
 * Shelley-Elizabeth Skinner (Thomas and the Magic Railroad)
 * Teresa Gallagher (UK/US; Blue Mountain Mystery onwards)
 * Tomoko Naka (Japan; first-eighth seasons)
 * Saori Gotō (Japan; ninth - thirteenth seasons)
 * Sakura Yoshioka (Japan; Blue Mountain Mystery onwards)
 * Julia Holmes (Germany)
 * Renate Pichler (Germany; Audio Books only)
 * Marianne Westby (Norway; Blue Mountain Mystery onwards, excluding the seventeenth season)
 * Lena Meieran (Norway; seventeenth season only)
 * Krystyna Kozanecka (Poland; Blue Mountain Mystery - seventeenth season)
 * Zuzanna Galia (Poland; Tale of the Brave only)
 * Agnieszka Kunikowska (Poland; eighteenth season onwards)
 * Blanche Ravalec (France and French speaking Canada; seventh season onwards)
 * Norma Iturbe (Latin America; Blue Mountain Mystery - Not So Slow Coaches)
 * Olga Hnidey (Latin America; Tale of the Brave - Samson at Your Service)
 * Ana Teresa Ávila (Latin America; The Adventure Begins onwards)
 * Mia Kadosh (Israel)
 * Marjolein Algera (The Netherlands)
 * Mariana Zink (Brazil)
 * Olga Kuznetsova (Russia; seventeenth season onwards)
 * Susa Saukko (Finland; Blue Mountain Mystery onwards)
 * Paqui Horcajo (Spain)

Clarabel:
 * Shelley-Elizabeth Skinner (Thomas and the Magic Railroad)
 * Teresa Gallagher (UK/US; Blue Mountain Mystery onwards)
 * Chisato Nakajima (Japan; first - eighth seasons)
 * Saori Gotō (Japan; ninth - eleventh seasons)
 * Sakura Yoshioka (Japan; Blue Mountain Mystery onwards)
 * Margrit Strassburger (Germany; Blue Mountain Mystery only)
 * Monika Hein (Germany; King of the Railway and seventeenth season only)
 * Marion von Stengel (Germany; Tale of the Brave onwards)
 * Marion Martienzen (Germany; Audio Books only)
 * Marianne Westby (Norway; Blue Mountain Mystery onwards, excluding the seventeenth season)
 * Marit Berg (Norway; seventeenth season only)
 * Ewa Serwa (Poland; Blue Mountain Mystery - seventeenth season)
 * Lidia Sadowa (Poland; eighteenth season onwards)
 * Blanche Ravalec (France and French speaking Canada; seventh season onwards)
 * Ruth Toscano (Latin America; Blue Mountain Mystery onwards)
 * Talya Barkay (Israel)
 * Marjolein Algera (The Netherlands)
 * Claudia Victoria (Brazil)
 * Olga Kuznetsova (Russia; seventeenth season onwards, excluding Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure)
 * Susa Saukko (Finland; Blue Mountain Mystery onwards)
 * Paqui Horcajo (Spain)

Trivia

 * Annie is the older of the two.
 * The Hero of the Rails intro shows Annie and Clarabel with bogie wheels.
 * Annie and Clarabel's models used to be on display at Nitrogen Studios but are now on display at Hara Model Railway Museum in Japan.
 * Early illustrations of Annie show her shocked face, and this was carried on to later illustrations and most merchandise. This is likely intentional for easier identification.
 * A real television series version of Clarabel (a former LNER "Sunshine" coach) has recently been put into service at the Llangollen Railway in North Wales.
 * Originally, there were plans to give Annie and Clarabel 3D grey faces, similar to the engines, in the twelfth season, as it would be easier to animate.
 * Their original television series model were built from Tenmille Stroudley coach kits.
 * Annie and Clarabel went through several aesthetic changes in the television series:
 * Season 3
 * Annie's front bufferbeam was raised to the same level as her rear one and Clarabel's; prior to this, it had been lowered down to accommodate Thomas's abnormally low buffers.
 * Season 5:
 * Their original models became significantly weathered.
 * In Sir Topham Hatt's Holiday, they received grey roofs and their buffer housings became red.
 * Hero of the Rails:
 * They increased in height; now being the same with Thomas' cab.
 * Season 13:
 * Annie and Clarabel's eyelashes disappeared.
 * Season 14:
 * Some episodes featured their eyelashes back.
 * Season 15:
 * Their eyelashes returned fully.
 * During the production of the twelfth season, Annie and Clarabel were referred to as "Annabel and Clarabelle".
 * Several merchandise ranges and CGI promos of Clarabel lack her guard compartment.

Quotes

 * "Oh come along, we're rather late! Oh come along, we're rather late!"
 * "We're coming along! We're coming along!"

- Thomas, Annie, and Clarabel singing, "Thomas and the Guard"


 * "He's dreadfully rude, I feel quite ashamed. I feel quite ashamed, he's dreadfully rude. You mustn't be rude, you make us ashamed."

- Annie and Clarabel telling Thomas off for teasing Gordon, "Down the Mine"


 * "My! What splendid coaches! So much better than those beach huts on wheels!"

- Lady Hatt, "Sir Topham Hatt's Holiday"


 * "I'll never complain about Thomas again!"
 * "Nor will I!"

- Annie and Clarabel after being pulled by Caitlin, "Not So Slow Coaches"

Merchandise

 * ERTL (normal, miniatures, and Gold Rail; all discontinued)
 * Wooden Railway (normal, celebration and Light Up and Reveal)
 * Take Along (separately or together; discontinued)
 * Take-n-Play (separately or together)
 * Collectible Railway
 * Minis (classic)
 * Motor Road and Rail (with Thomas; normal; discontinued outside Asia; gold, and metallic only in Asia)
 * TrackMaster
 * Motorized Railway
 * My First Thomas
 * Bachmann (HO and large scale)
 * Hornby (available together in a double pack)
 * My Thomas Story Library (discontinued)
 * Trading Cards (discontinued)
 * Thomas Engine Collection Series(normal, motorized; all discontinued)
 * Mini Die Cast Collection (discontinued)
 * Departing Now (discontinued)
 * Tomica
 * Tomix Trains
 * De Agostini (discontinued)
 * Limited Edition Collection
 * Wind-up (normal and metallic)
 * Mini Mini Plarail (Annie only, discontinued)
 * Puka-Q (Annie only, discontinued)
 * Pocket Fantasy (discontinued)
 * Boss (discontinued)
 * LEGO (discontinued)
 * Brio (discontinued)
 * Mega Bloks (discontinued)
 * Discover Junction
 * Lionel Trains
 * Diablock
 * Nakayoshi (discontinued)
 * Choro-Q
 * New Block
 * Pre-Cut Model Engine Books (Annie with Thomas; Clarabel with Percy; both discontinued; both re-released separately; both re-discontinued)
 * Adventures
 * Waku Waku