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Annie and Clarabel are Thomas' faithful coaches, whom he loves dearly and would never dream of being separated from them.
Annie and Clarabel both have seating accommodation for carrying passengers; Clarabel also has a brake compartment for luggage and a guard. The two coaches are nearly always seen coupled together, with Annie usually facing Thomas and Clarabel facing backwards.
Biography
The Railway Series
Annie and Clarabel were given to Thomas in 1925 when he was given his branch line. They operate as a push-pull set. They have had several adventures, such as losing their guard and becoming runaways. Clarabel once derailed on a set of trap points when Thomas slipped on some oily rails and had to be helped by Diesel.
Thomas & Friends
Thomas met Annie and Clarabel for the first time when he thought they were the Express Coaches. He apologized and introduced himself, leaving Annie and Clarabel impressed. At that time, they were often pulled by James. When Thomas received his branch line after rescuing James, the two coaches were given to him to use.
At times when Thomas is away, James, Percy, Toby, Duck, Stanley, Emily, Rosie (unseen) and Ryan have all taken his place to pull them. Emily and Neville have both taken them not knowing they were Thomas' coaches and Caitlin has once taken them without realizing they were coupled to her own coaches and Hiro saved them. Gordon also pulled them once, when Samson took his Express Coaches by mistake. Ashima, Daisy, Diesel, and Nia have also pulled them.
Thomas and the Magic Railroad
In the film, after Thomas met Junior and Lily the two agreed to help and together to find Mr. Conductor at the Windmill, he told Annie and Clarabel that Percy will pick them up, leaving Annie and Clarabel behind stating that they've heard that before.
Personalities
Annie and Clarabel are respectful to all of the engines, but most of all Gordon and Thomas, whilst they respect Daisy least of all for insulting them and Henrietta. They show a kind and caring side to everyone on the whole railway. However, despite their kindness and sweetness, when needed they can be stern, especially Annie. For instance, they scolded Thomas for teasing Gordon, although they are no saints themselves. Once when Daisy was rude to them, they naughtily tricked her into thinking there was something wrong with her which caused confusion and delay. When the Fat Controller found out he told them that two wrongs do not make a right and that he expected better from both of them. Annie and Clarabel are best friends, but like all friends, sometimes they fall out but always try to make things right in the end.
Technical Details
Basis
In the Railway Series, they are a pair of bogie coaches (i.e. each coach is supported on a pair of four-wheeled bogies or "trucks"). As currently illustrated, they appear similar to non-corridor suburban coaches operated by the LMS. In the 1987 annual, Christopher Awdry implies the pair were likely built in the early twentieth century on the Mainland and that they were possibly six-wheeled designs. Some time after being brought to Sodor, their bodies were lengthened, placed on bogie frames and upgraded with electric lighting.
Add a photo to this galleryIn the television series, Annie and Clarabel are based on LB&SCR four-wheeled coaches built to a design by Stroudley between the early 1870s and late 1880s. Several coaches of this type are preserved on the Bluebell Railway and the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. An An and Yin-Long share the same basis.
In the first series, several other coaches share the same basis as Annie and Clarabel.
Livery
In the Railway Series, Annie and Clarabel were originally painted orange-brown and were later painted brown with a yellow stripe.
In the television series, they were painted in an orange-tan livery with their names painted on their sides in white. In the fifth series, they were refurbished, repainted and their buffer shank housings became red at the request of Lady Hatt.
In the CGI Series, their liveries are a more vibrant orange. In Thomas' imagination where he gets streamlined in The Great Race, Annie and Clarabel are repainted in NWR blue with a white stripe near the bottom and a thicker white stripe with red borders near the top.
In the magazine story, Thomas, Terence and the Snow, Annie and Clarabel were coloured greenish grey.
Appearances
Magazine Stories
Annie and Clarabel also appeared in the magazine stories, An Old Friend, Bulgy's Dream, Catch!, Christmas Puddings, Clever Carriages, Clever Clarabel!, Clowning Around, Daisy and the Troublesome Trucks, Diesel Causes Delay, Dressing Up, Fast Food!, Feeding Time, Holiday Havoc!, Lights On, Looking Splendid, Night Lights, Party Time!, Percy gets Wet!, Picnic Surprise, Pot Luck!, Problem Passenger, Really Important Luggage, Road and Rails, Santa Special, Slick Trick!, Special Passengers, The Best Bridge, The Brown Bear, The Craft Show!, The Flying Broomstick, The Hallowe'en Special, The Huge Horses!, The Open Top Bus, The Posh Coaches, The Trainspotters and Thomas Gets Delayed. Annual Stories
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Trivia
- Annie and Clarabel were the first official female characters created by the Rev W. Awdry, and as such, are the first female characters of the entire series.
- They are the only coaches to appear in every series.
- They are the first characters in the series to be seen without gray faces.
- The Hero of the Rails intro shows Annie and Clarabel with bogie wheels as seen in the Railway Series.
- Annie and Clarabel's models used to be on display at Nitrogen Studios but are now on display at Hara Model Railway Museum in Japan.
- Early illustrations of Annie show her shocked face and this was carried on to later illustrations and most merchandise. This is likely intentional for easier identification. Even Hornby both had Annie and Clarabel models with smiling faces originally. This phased out in 2018, though it only applies to Mattel-produced items.
- As of the twenty-second season, Annie and Clarabel are the only non-human twin characters who are both still voiced by the same actress.
- Annie and Clarabel are the only sentient rolling stock to appear in every season of the television series. Henrietta had appeared in every season as well, but her streak ended when she was absent in the twenty-third series.
- A real television series version of Clarabel (a former LNER "Sunshine" coach) has been put into service at the Llangollen Railway in North Wales.
- Originally, there were plans to give Annie and Clarabel 3D grey faces similar to the engines in the twelfth series, as it would be easier to animate. During the production of said series, they were referred to as Annabel and Clarabelle.
- Their original television series models were built from Tenmille Stroudley coach kits.
- Bachmann HO models of Annie and Clarabel appeared in the 2015 Marvel film "Ant-Man", along with models of Thomas and Emily's Coaches.
- In the French version of the Classic Series, Annie and Clarabel were known as Annette and Claudette.
- Several merchandise items and CGI promos of Clarabel lack her guard compartment.
- Up until the debut of the Slip Coaches in the eighteenth series, Harold, Annie and Clarabel were the only characters with embedded faces ever since that practice had phased out.
Quotes
- “Oh come along, we're rather late! Oh come along, we're rather late!"
"We're coming along! We're coming along!” - ―Thomas, Annie and Clarabel singing, Thomas and the Guard, first series
- “He's dreadfully rude, I feel quite ashamed. I feel quite ashamed, he's dreadfully rude. You mustn't be rude, you make us ashamed”
- ―Annie and Clarabel telling Thomas off for teasing Gordon, Down the Mine, first series
- “My! What splendid coaches! So much better than those beach huts on wheels!”
- ―Lady Hatt, Sir Topham Hatt's Holiday, fifth series
- “I'll never complain about Thomas again!"
"Nor will I!” - ―Annie and Clarabel after being pulled by Caitlin, Not So Slow Coaches, eighteenth series
- “Those are my coaches! Give them back!”
- ―Thomas telling Emily to bring Annie and Clarabel back, Emily's New Coaches, seventh series
- “Clarabel: Come on, Thomas!
Annie: It's time to go!” - ―lines in every twenty-second series end segment onwards
Merchandise
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References
