King of the Railway

King of the Railway is a special that was released in September 2013.

Plot
Thomas is over the moon when the Earl of Sodor chooses him and friends Percy and James to rebuild Ulfstead Castle. During their latest adventure, the Steam Team meets Millie, a bubbly French engine, and Stephen, an older steam locomotive with fascinating stories to tell. Meanwhile, Spencer and Gordon are stunned when they encounter two new engines, Connor and Caitlin, who are even faster than they are! But disaster strikes when Stephen goes missing.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Edward
 * Henry
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Toby
 * Emily
 * Spencer
 * Hiro
 * Belle
 * Stephen
 * Caitlin
 * Connor
 * Skarloey
 * Rheneas
 * Luke
 * Victor
 * Diesel
 * Paxton
 * Millie
 * Annie and Clarabel
 * Jack
 * Kevin
 * Cranky
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Sir Robert Norramby
 * Stephen's Friends (do not speak)
 * King Godred (does not speak)
 * Rosie (cameo)
 * Salty (cameo)
 * Stafford (cameo)
 * Peter Sam (cameo)
 * Rusty (cameo)
 * Winston (cameo)
 * Henrietta (cameo)
 * Owen (cameo)
 * Merrick (cameo)
 * Harold (cameo)
 * Captain (cameo)
 * Lady Hatt (cameo)
 * Sodor Brass Band (cameo)
 * Old Bailey (cameo)
 * The Engineer (cameo)
 * The Fireman (cameo)
 * The Bird Watcher (cameo)
 * Dowager Hatt's Friends (cameo)
 * The Duke and Duchess of Boxford (mentioned)

Locations

 * Knapford
 * Sodor Steamworks
 * Sodor Search and Rescue Centre
 * Brendam Docks
 * Ulfstead Castle
 * Ulfstead Mine
 * Vicarstown Bridge
 * Blue Mountain Quarry
 * Maron
 * Gordon's Hill
 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * Shunting Yards
 * Sodor Suspension Bridge
 * Misty Island Tunnel

USA

 * Mark Moraghan as the narrator
 * Martin Sherman as Thomas, Percy, and Diesel
 * William Hope as Edward and Toby
 * Kerry Shale as Henry, Gordon, James, Kevin and Sir Topham Hatt
 * David Bedella as Victor
 * Keith Wickham as Skarloey
 * Glenn Wrage as Spencer and Cranky
 * Jules de Jongh as Emily
 * David Menkin as Jack
 * Togo Igawa as Hiro
 * Teresa Gallagher as Belle, Annie and Clarabel
 * Ben Small as Rheneas
 * Steven Kynman as Paxton
 * Michael Legge as Luke
 * Bob Golding as Stephen
 * Mike Grady as Sir Robert Norramby
 * Miranda Raison as Millie
 * Jonathan Forbes as Connor
 * Rebecca O'Mara as Caitlin

UK and AUS

 * Mark Moraghan as the narrator
 * Ben Small as Thomas, Toby and Rheneas
 * Keith Wickham as Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy, Skarloey and Sir Topham Hatt
 * Matt Wilkinson as Spencer, Kevin and Cranky
 * Steven Kynman as Paxton and Jack
 * Michael Legge as Luke
 * David Bedella as Victor
 * Bob Golding as Stephen
 * Mike Grady as Sir Robert Norramby
 * Miranda Raison as Millie
 * Jonathan Forbes as Connor
 * Teresa Gallagher as Emily, Belle, Annie, and Clarabel
 * Rebecca O'Mara as Caitlin
 * Togo Igawa as Hiro
 * Kerry Shale as Diesel

US

 * The Search for the Lost Crown game
 * It's Gonna be a Great Day sing-a-long
 * Searching Everywhere sing-a-long
 * Working Together sing-a-long
 * Guess Who? puzzles

UK

 * Guess Who? puzzles
 * Working Together Again sing-a-long
 * Searching Everywhere sing-a-long
 * It's Gonna be a Great Day sing-a-long

Trivia

 * In Poland the special is known as "Secret of the Lost Crown". It is titled "King of the Railway: Thomas and the Lost Crown" in Japan. In Mexico/Latin America it is titled "The King of the Rails".
 * This was the first special to be animated by Arc Productions, who took over from Nitrogen Studios.
 * This is the first special to be narrated by Mark Moraghan.
 * This special was shown in select Australian theatres in late July, UK theatres in late August and Norwegian theatres in early October.
 * When the Earl first arrives at Knapford, the Sodor Brass Band plays the Engine Roll Call as fanfare.  Later, as Stephen is traveling along the main line, he is heard humming the song.
 * When Toby says that Henry has broken down, Gordon says "Don't tell me he needs special coal again!"  To which Toby replies, "No Gordon!  That was fixed years ago!"  This is a reference to Henry's rebuild after the the Flying Kipper accident, and is likely an ammendment to the instances in later seasons where Henry was said to have needed special coal despite being in his new shape.
 * This special aired on the Polish TV channel MiniMini on June 29th, 2013.
 * This special aired on the Mexican TV channel Canal 5 on November 25th, 26th, and 27th, 2013.
 * This special aired on PBS on November 18th and 19th, 2013 in the US. During the airings, some scenes were edited.
 * Stephen's lines "Hello! Can anybody hear me out there? Help! Help!" and "Calling all engines! Calling all engines!" are present in the US dub, however they are omitted in the UK version.
 * This special marks Jack's first appearance since the twelfth season and the Troublesome Trucks' first speaking role since the same season.
 * Martin Sherman takes over the role of Diesel in this special.
 * David Menkin and Bob Golding join the voice cast. Also, Rebecca O'Mara,Jonathan Forbes, Miranda Raison, and Mike Grady officially join the voice cast.
 * During its first week of release in the UK, this special was the number one Best Selling DVD in Children's Animation on Amazon.co.uk.
 * In the Blu-ray & DVD combo pack, it comes with a digital copy.
 * There are some differences in the UK trailer than in the actual film:
 * Thomas and Percy are clean when they are being pulled down the hill in the trailer, but in the special they are covered in dust.
 * There is no lighting in the Steamworks in the trailer, but there is in the special.
 * The scene of Sir Robert Norramby waving from Millie's Cab doesn't appear in the special.
 * The dialogue of Thomas, Percy and James saying "Together?" is different in the trailer and in the special.
 * Thomas' line "Don't worry Stephen, I'm coming to rescue you!" is different.

Goofs

 * David Menkin is not credited for voicing Jack in the US version.
 * When Spencer returns to Sodor, his wheels are black and his nameplate is blank.
 * During the scene of Gordon and Spencer starting a race at Knapford, James can be seen departing the station with a train of trucks at the start of the scene. A few shots later, when Spencer passes Gordon, James' tender can be right on the edge of the shot.
 * In the overhead shot of Gordon waiting at Knapford for Spencer, the bushes on the far left track are not rendered properly as they appear to overlap the tracks.
 * The Earl said he promised Millie he would be at the estate by 2:00, but the station clock reads 4:25.
 * During the shots of Gordon and Spencer racing each other, Gordon's siderods aren't in the same motion as his wheels.
 * When the engines are discussing the Earl's plans, Toby pulls into the station beside Emily, but the track he is on ends at a bookstall behind him, that was empty just before. How did he get there?  Then, after Percy leaves, Toby starts backing up towards the bookstall. Also during this scene, Henrietta disappears and reappears again.
 * During some of the crowd scenes, some of the people are duplicated.
 * When Gordon screeches to a stop behind Stephen, his bogie wheels spark, but bogies are not fitted with brakes.
 * It is stated that nobody knew where Stephen was, but Skarloey knew that Stephen had gone to investigate Ulfstead Mine.
 * When Henry is seen at the shed with James complaining that he can't build steam, his siderods are missing.
 * A brakevan should have been added to Thomas and Percy's train.
 * It is impossible for Gordon, Edward and Toby to puff into the Steamworks at the same time, due to there being only one transfer table.
 * The points are frequently not set for the lines the engines take.
 * When Caitlin goes across Vicarstown Bridge, she is not coupled to her coaches.
 * During one of the shots of Connor and Caitlin going across Vicarstown Bridge, their tenders have no wheels.
 * When the Steam Team go to see Stephen, Thomas and Percy somehow end up behind Stephen, but the tracks behind them end at buffers.
 * When Connor first passes Gordon and Spencer, his brake coach becomes a regular express brake coach.
 * When Caitlin first passes Gordon and Spencer, her coaches disappear.
 * When Stephen first arrives at the Blue Mountain Quarry, Rusty can be seen pulling some trucks away from Owen, but in the next shot, he is pushing some trucks onto Owen's platform.
 * How does Rheneas get down from the upper terrace of the quarry so quickly?
 * How were the stone trucks pushed up behind Stephen?  The track ends at buffers behind him and the trucks would be far too heavy for the quarry workers to push.
 * Emily starts pulling Henry out of the shed, but there isn't any track on the other end, and the turntable isn't big enough for both of them.
 * While Percy talks to Stephen, Thomas reverses down the track he arrived on, and then stops.  Then when Percy leaves, Thomas has somehow disappeared.  The track Thomas was on ends at bufffers behind him, and leads to the turntable in front of him, which was set to Percy's line.
 * As Hiro crosses the Vicarstown Bridge, Connor and Caitlin race by on the track next to him.  At the speeds they were going, it would be very dangerous for Connor to be following so close behind Caitlin.
 * Stephen's driver should not have let him wander away from the Steamworks until his job was known, and an engine as small and slow as Stephen definitely should not have been allowed on the main line.
 * In the close-up of Spencer at the Ulfstead Castle ceremony, his front bogie wheels clip through his cylinders.
 * The term 'trucks' is used sporadically in the US version.

Merchandise
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Books

 * King of the Railway
 * The Secret of the Mine
 * Treasure on the Tracks
 * Quest for the Golden Crown
 * The Lost Crown of Sodor
 * King of the Railway: The Movie Storybook
 * King of the Railway: Sticker Activity Book
 * Keep Looking, Thomas!
 * King of the Railway

Wooden Railway

 * Caitlin
 * Stephen
 * Millie
 * Connor
 * King of the Railway Thomas
 * Castle Crane
 * Toby's Royal Cargo two-pack
 * Stephen Comes to Sodor
 * Stephen with Passenger Coach
 * Stephen's Castle Coaches
 * Adventures of the Mine
 * King of the Railway deluxe set

TrackMaster

 * Stephen "The Rocket"
 * Caitlin's Passenger Express
 * Connor's Race to the Castle
 * Millie
 * Thomas' Castle Quest Set
 * Castle Cargo Delivery

Take-n-Play
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 * Stephen
 * Connor
 * Caitlin
 * Millie
 * Stephen the Original Steamie
 * Stephen and the Treasure
 * Percy's Catapult Cargo
 * Talking James with Castle Crest
 * Treasure Tracks
 * Thomas' Adventure Castle