Series 5

The fifth season of the television series aired in 1998 and had twenty-six episodes narrated by Michael Angelis in the UK and Alec Baldwin in the US.

Production
With Season 5, the decision was made to write a full series of original, staff-written stories, without using the Railway Series' books as a source. One reason for this was producer Britt Allcroft's desire to create a theatrical Thomas the Tank Engine movie, and requested that director David Mitton show off his modelling skills.

Some inspiration for the episodes came from a former LMR manager named David Maidment. In 1997, Maidment met with Steven Wright about the possibility of supporting the Railway Children charity, and while Wright told him the series' staff commonly received such requests, they would consider. During their meeting, Maidment relayed stories about his railway experiences working in South Wales and as the manager at Crewe station. Maidment received a call asking if he would allow some of his stories to be used as material – the stories from The Railway Series were frequently based on true events, and Allcroft and Mitton preferred this. Maidment agreed, and was also asked to review each story to make sure that the railway in the show operated realistically. As a result, Maidment received writing credit alongside Allcroft and Mitton. 10,000 pounds later was donated to the Railway Children for his work.

The design for each new character would be chosen by David Eves, and given to David Mitton for approval. For ease of filming, Season 5 would introduce larger-scale versions of the narrow gauge engines, and from Season 6-12 these larger models were used almost exclusively. Originally, the character Bertram was supposed to be a tank engine, but financial difficulty in building a new model made them repaint Duke's model with Smudger's face.

Music Videos

 * It's Great to be an Engine
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Accidents Will Happen
 * Night Train
 * The Snow Song
 * Harold the Helicopter
 * Donald's Duck
 * Percy's Seaside Trip
 * Every Cloud has a Silver Lining
 * Come for the Ride

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Edward
 * Henry
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Toby
 * Duck
 * Oliver
 * Bill and Ben
 * Stepney
 * BoCo
 * Mavis
 * Skarloey
 * Rheneas
 * Duncan
 * Rusty
 * Annie and Clarabel
 * Toad
 * Terence
 * Bertie
 * George
 * Caroline
 * Harold
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Lady Hatt
 * Stephen Hatt
 * Bridget Hatt
 * Mrs. Kyndley
 * The Firelighter
 * The Little Boys
 * Jem Cole (not named)
 * Farmer Trotter (not named)
 * Peter Sam (does not speak)
 * Henrietta (does not speak)
 * Donald (cameo)
 * Trevor (cameo)
 * Jeremiah Jobling (cameo)
 * The Vicar of Wellsworth (cameo)
 * Refreshment Lady (cameo)
 * Nancy (cameo)
 * Farmer Finney (cameo)
 * The Storyteller (cameo)
 * The Butler (cameo)
 * The Crovan's Gate Policeman (cameo)
 * The Tailor (cameo)
 * Duke (portrait cameo)
 * S.C. Ruffey (possible cameo)
 * Bulstrode (faceless; cameo)
 * Douglas (music video cameo)
 * Diesel (music video cameo)
 * Sir Handel (music video cameo)
 * Tom Tipper (music video cameo)
 * The Barber (music video cameo)
 * The Ffarquhar Stationmaster and his Family (music video cameo)
 * The Quarry-master (music video cameo)
 * The Injured Sailor (music video cameo)

Characters introduced

 * Old Slow Coach
 * The Horrid Lorries
 * Cranky
 * Old Bailey
 * The Special Visitor
 * Mrs. Kyndley's Daughter
 * Tiger Moth's Pilot
 * Derek (not named)
 * 'Arry (not named)
 * Dowager Hatt (not named)
 * The Lighthouse Keeper (not named)
 * Bert (does not speak)
 * Bertram (does not speak)
 * Rusty's Ghost Engine (does not speak)
 * Butch (does not speak)
 * Thumper (does not speak)
 * Tiger Moth (does not speak)
 * Harry Topper (mentioned)

Trivia

 * This was the first season of several things:
 * The first season not to have any episodes based on The Railway Series stories by Wilbert and Christopher Awdry.
 * The first season to introduce non-Awdry characters.
 * Alec Baldwin's first season as narrator.
 * The first season not to air on Shining Time Station due to the show ending, instead Storytime with Thomas took over, but only it lasted two years before the series went on hiatus in 2001 after Storytime with Thomas ended.
 * The first season to use a Proteus 2000 to compose the music.
 * The first season not dubbed in Finnish or Ukrainian.
 * The first season to air in Canada.
 * The first season that Douglas does not appear since his debut in the second season. Although, he does appear in a music video from this season.
 * According to an interview with David Mitton before his death in 2008, this season was supposed to be a showcase of Thomas and the Magic Railroad.
 * Production of this season began in 1997 after Wilbert Awdry died, but ended sometime in either the end of 1997 or 1998, in which it's unknown when production of the season ended.
 * This was also the final season of several things:
 * Britt Allcroft's final season as writer and producer.
 * Angus Wright's last season as executive producer.
 * The last season shown on Cartoon Network UK, besides syndicated episodes that would still be shown on the channel until 2001.
 * The last season to use the original music in Germany. (Also, the final season of the classic series to air in Germany).
 * The last season filmed completely in 4:3 full screen, but only in the UK.
 * The last season of the Classic Series dubbed and shown in Spain.
 * The last season to be released completely on VHS in Australia.
 * The last season to have a railway consultant until the seventeenth season.
 * This was also the only season of several things:
 * The only season not to have Knapford Station as a destination.
 * The only season to have Kirk Ronan as a destination.
 * The only season that Diesel does not appear in since his debut in the second season, though he does appear in a music video from this season.
 * David Maidment's only season as railway consultant and writer.
 * The only season where Donald appears, but without Douglas.
 * The only season where Donald appears, but doesn't speak.
 * Michael Angelis was not credited in the opening titles for the UK narration. However, he is credited as narrator in the Hindi narration, even though it was redubbed.
 * Starting with this season up to Season 12, the brake sound effect from the 1964 film, The Train would be used when an engine puts on the brakes.
 * Thomas and the Rumours and Duncan Gets Spooked were the only episodes seen on VHS before broadcasting to television in the United Kingdom.