Down the Mine (Unaired Pilot)

"The Unaired Pilot" refers to the pre-production test episode of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends that was made but never aired on television. It was in made the early 1980's 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 appear.

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 a clip of the pilot used in the official version of Down the Mine.
 * According to Robert Gauld-Galliers, it is 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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