Down the Mine (Unaired Pilot)

In the early 1980s, Thomas The Tank Engine and Friends was being pitches to several networks, a pre-production test pilot episode was made before the official series was greenlighted by ITV. The pilot was based on the Railway Series story Down the Mine and the episode was later refilmed and aired as the twenty-fifth episode of the first season. The pilot version had simpler sets, fewer characters, and flatter lighting. It was only seen in test screenings.

The Lead Mines were most likely to have appeared in this test pilot episode.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Gordon

Trivia

 * According to crew member Christopher Noulton, the Gordon model used in the pilot was rebuilt by him for the second season for use as a stand-by model. It was later cut up and used as scrap set dressing.
 * The models of Thomas and Gordon were scratch built, including the wheels, by Martin Gill. They were never tested before being filmed in front of the camera and proved to be unreliable.
 * Thomas' pilot model was briefly seen in the official version of Down the Mine.
 * According to Robert Gauld-Galliers, it is currently unknown as to where the pilot footage is, he also stated that although he was unsure who watched the first screening of the episode, the response was positive.

Source

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