Shining Time Station

Overview
Shining Time Station is a train station that resides on the Indian Valley Railroad and is located in the fictional town of Shining Time. The station is managed by Stacy Jones, the station master whose grandmother Gracie ran the station when she was Stacy's age. The station's workshop is run by railroad engineer and mechanic Harry Cupper. In the second season, Harry is transferred to a new station in Fort Farley and is replaced by Billy Twofeathers starting in the second season.

A local named Horace Schemer (simply called Schemer by his friends) runs the station's arcade and is always finding new ways to make more money or to protect his arcade. He serves as the series' comic relief. Schemer thinks that strange goings-on in the station happen because the station is haunted. His catch phrases include "Genius time" (for when he has an idea), "Schemer's system of success" (for when he wants to impress his friends) and "This place is haunted". Starting in the second season, Schemer would sometimes be aided in his schemes by his nephew, Schemee.

Harry's granddaughter, Tanya and Stacy's nephew, Matt also visit the station occasionally. In the second season, three new children visit the station: Harry's granddaughter, Kara; Stacy's nephew, Dan; and a new girl named Becky.

Other visitors to the station include various townspeople, such as socialite and gossip Midge Smoot, farmer Ginny Johnson, general store proprietor Barton Winslow, bus driver Felix Perez, Shining Time's mayor Osgood Bob Flopdinger (referred to as the mayor of East Shemp in his initial appearance), and J.B. King, Esq., the superintendent of the Indian Valley Railroad.

There is a jukebox inside the arcade that houses a band that perform for the nickels that are dropped inside. The band consists of Didi the drummer, cowboy twin brothers Tex and Rex who together play between them one guitar larger than them, Grace who plays bass guitar, and Tito the leader who plays the piano and collects the nickels they accumulate.

Mr. Conductor is a tiny man who lives in a switch house inside the mural and tells stories of the Island of Sodor to the kids. He can teleport in a cloud of his magic gold dust.

Cast
Series Regulars
 * Didi Conn - Stacy Jones
 * Brian O'Connor - Horace Schemer

Series 1 Regulars
 * Ringo Starr - Mr. Conductor
 * Leonard Jackson - Henry "Harry" Cupper
 * Jason Woliner - Matthew "Matt" Jones
 * Nicole Leach - Tanya Cupper

Christmas Special Characters
 * Ardon Bess - Tucker Cupper
 * Llyoyd Bridges - Mr. Nicholas
 * Judy Marshak - Claire
 * Rachael Miner - Vickie

Seasons 2-3 Regulars
 * George Carlin - Mr. Conductor
 * Erica Latrell - Kara Cupper
 * Eri Magder - Dan Jones
 * Danielle Marcot - Becky
 * Tom Jackson - Billy Twofeathers

Recurring Characters (Full Series)
 * Jerome Dempsey - Mayor Osgood Bob Flopdinger
 * Mart Hulswit - J.B. King, Esq.
 * Bobo Lewis - Midge Smoot

Recurring Characters (Season 2-3)
 * Barbara Hamilton - Ginny
 * Johnathan Shapiro - Schemee
 * Gerald Parkes - Barton Winslow
 * Aurelio Padro`n - Felix Perez

The Jukebox Puppet Band
 * Olga Marin - Didi
 * Alan Semok - Tex
 * Craig Marin - Rex
 * Johnathan Freeman - Tito Swing
 * Peter Baird/Vanesse Thomas - Grace the Bass (1989-1990)
 * Peter Baird/Kenny Miele - Grace the Bass (1991-1995)

Episodes
See here for the Shining Time Station Episode List

The Jukebox Band Songs
See here for The Jukebox Band Songs

Thomas and Friends Episodes
See here for the Shining Time Station Thomas and Friends Episode List

Behind the Scenes
Here is an interview between Sodor Island Fansite and Rick Siggelkow, the producer of Shining Time Station. http://www.sodor-island.net/interviews.html Some valuable information about behind the scenes are included. Now for some facts...


 * Shining Time Station was created to introduce Thomas and Friends to the American audience.


 * Each Thomas and Friends Episode of Seasons 1-4 was shown at least once throughout the series.


 * Kevin Roth sang the theme song played during the opening and closing credits


 * All of the Shining Time Station episodes only ever have three sets: the main room of the station, the workshop, and the interior of the station's jukebox, where the Jukebox Band resided. This changed in the specials, in which scenes took place outside, in the signal house, and in a large basement-type room that may or may not be part of the station building.


 * Didi, the female drummer of the Jukebox Band, is shown to have a crush on Mr. Conductor in the TV specials. Mr. Conductor may or may not know this.


 * Mr. Conductor has various forms of his magic gold dust,including some for teleportation, forgetfulness, love, sleep, and pranks. (Mainly on Schemer!) It also has life giving qualities, and can make inanimate objects, such as pictures, come alive. His whistle also has some magic, and is used to start a Thomas Story by means of blowing.


 * In the TV specials, Mr. Conductor shows that he can appear and interact with the Jukebox Band Characters.


 * The first Mr. Conductor (Ringo Starr) disappears after the Christmas Special, and goes to the North Pole to assist Santa. In the second and third series, his cousin (George Carlin) replaces him at the station.


 * The train seen in both the opening and closing credits is the real locomotive, the Union Pacific 844.


 * The episode "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not" is the first episode to feature one Thomas story, as opposed to two.


 * The "Rainbow Sun" mentioned in the theme song is the name of Billy Twofeathers' train.

and Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales, except for "Terence the Tractor", "Thomas' Christmas Party" and "Thomas And The Missing Christmas Tree".
 * Every episode of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends from seasons 1 through 4 was told by George Carlin over the course of seasons 2 and 3 as well as the family specials


 * In the episode "Washout" when Mr. Conductor tells the story "Bertie's Chase" the beginning (Edward waiting for Thomas) was omitted. This scene was also omitted from the James In A Mess picturebook. But in the Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales Episode "Splish, Splash, Splosh" the episode is in it's entirety.


 * Shining Time Station was aired on Nickelodeon to promote Thomas and the Magic Railroad.


 * When the show aired on Fox Family, it used the credits from the TV Specials but episodes were edited significantly so they could fit the time slot.


 * The Indian Valley Railroad (where the station is located)is an actual defunct short line in California. It was constructed to serve the Engals Copper Mine, the largest copper mine in California, and was a branch connection of The Union Pacific Railroad at Paxton, California. Indian Valley is where the mine was located.


 * Shining Time is seen in the movie Thomas and the Magic Railroad. Didi Conn plays Stacy again, but Tom Jackson's role as Billy was handed over to Russell Means. The new Mr. Conductor is played by Alec Baldwin.

Links

 * http://www.sodor-island.net/interviews.html: The Sodor Island Fansite Interview with Rick Siggelkow.


 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shining_Time_Station: The Wikipedia article, where most of this information came from.


 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Valley_Railroad: More information about the actual Indian Valley Railroad.


 * http://www.angelfire.com/nc/shiningtime/: A popular Shining Time Station Fansite, where I found the episode summaries for this article.

Caledonian812 -Editor in Chief of this Page.