Series 2

The second season of the television series aired in 1986. Ringo Starr narrated all twenty-six episodes in the UK as well as seventeen of them in the US, with George Carlin later re-narrating all of the episodes for the US on Shining Time Station.

Production
Many of the stories were originally written by the Rev. W. Awdry. However, Christopher Awdry was commissioned to write a new Railway Series book as source material for the second series. Three stories [originally only two] from More About Thomas the Tank Engine provided additional roles for Bertie the Bus, Terence the Tractor, and Harold the Helicopter. The episodes Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree and Thomas and Trevor were both one-off stories written by Christopher Awdry.

Early in production, a third episode based on The Twin Engines was due to be filmed, based largely on the story The Missing Coach. The model crew had gone as far as filming scenes on the Tidmouth Station set with Thomas arriving at the station, before Britt Allcroft decided the episode had too little action and its storyline would be too difficult to understand by younger viewers. Therefore one of the episodes based on More About Thomas the Tank Engine based on the story Thomas, Percy and The Coal was filmed to replace it.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Edward
 * Henry
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Toby
 * Annie and Clarabel
 * Henrietta
 * Terence
 * Bertie
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Jeremiah Jobling (not named; named in Japanese dub)
 * Mrs. Kyndley (not named)
 * Stephen Hatt (cameo)
 * Bridget Hatt (cameo)
 * Farmer Finney (cameo)
 * The Policeman (cameo)
 * The Storyteller (cameo)

Characters introduced

 * Duck
 * Donald and Douglas
 * Bill and Ben
 * Diesel
 * Daisy
 * BoCo
 * The Spiteful Brake Van
 * Trevor
 * Harold
 * Jem Cole
 * The Vicar of Wellsworth
 * The Barber
 * Daisy's Filter
 * Father Christmas (does not speak)
 * Percy's Ghost Engine (does not speak)
 * The Naughty Boys (do not speak)
 * The Careless Cleaner (does not speak)
 * The Lady with the Floppy Green Hat (does not speak)
 * The Enthusiasts (do not speak)
 * Two Engine Inspectors (one; does not speak)
 * The Ffarquhar Stationmaster and his family (The Ffarquhar Stationmaster's children; cameo)
 * The Firelighter (mentioned)
 * Sam the Farmer (deleted scene; mentioned)

Trivia

 * This was the first of a few things:
 * The first season filmed at Shepperton Studios.
 * The first season where trucks have clay faces.
 * The first season to use stories by Christopher Awdry.
 * The first season to have an episode not based off of a story from the Railway Series.
 * This was the final season of several things:
 * Ringo Starr's last season as narrator.
 * Robert D. Cardona's last season as producer.
 * Britt Allcroft's last season as executive producer until the sixth season.
 * The last season made by Clearwater Features.
 * The last season in which music was composed using the Roland Jupiter 6 synthesiser.
 * The last season until Season 17 to feature the same narrator for both the UK and US for the majority of the season, excluding episodes selected for New Friends for Thomas and Other Adventures which were narrated by Michael Angelis and the original recordings for the twelfth season which were narrated by Pierce Brosnan.
 * The Missing Coach was originally going to be an episode in this season, but it was cancelled and replaced by Thomas, Percy and the Coal/Double Trouble.
 * This is the only season where a character says "Shut Up!"
 * Starting from the episode, Pop Goes the Diesel, the laughing sound effect from the trucks was heard. That sound effect was later reused in the following seasons.
 * Henry regains his wheel arches, which were removed when he received his new shape after his accident with The Flying Kipper.
 * The biggest space of time between two seasons airing is between this season, which aired in 1986, and Season 3, which did not air until 1992.
 * When first broadcast on ITV, two episodes were compiled into one ten minute block with the nameboard sequence featured in between. For subsequent broadcasts, the stories were shown individually.
 * In the Ukrainian narration, Ringo Starr's voice can still be heard in the background.
 * The Norwegian/Finnish versions credit Ringo Starr as the narrator, even though they were re-dubbed in Norwegian and Finnish respectively.