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This article is about the coaches. You may be looking for the 1997 magazine story, the 1999 magazine story or the Story Library book. |
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 and traveled with Percy through bad weather. 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 apologised 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 realising 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 have 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 after his accident, 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.
Although the two respect Gordon, both Annie and Clarabel do not tolerate his arrogance more than other engines and like others they seek to teach him a lesson, as Annie was shocked by Gordon's rude comments about Edward. Additionally, when Gordon begged Thomas to speed up on Gordon's Hill, Clarabel smiled smugly at the express engine both before and after he got stuck on the hill.
Technical Details
Basis
In The Railway Series, Annie and Clarabel 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 LMS Suburban Coaches. 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. Sometime after being brought to Sodor, their bodies were lengthened, placed on bogie frames and upgraded with electric lighting.
In the television series, Annie and Clarabel are based on LBSC Stroudley Coaches built 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 a bright orange 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
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Thomas & Friends
- Series 1 - Thomas and Gordon (Clarabel only; cameo), Thomas and the Breakdown Train (not named; do not speak), James and the Coaches (not named), Thomas and the Guard, Thomas Goes Fishing (do not speak), Thomas, Terence and the Snow, Thomas and Bertie, Tenders and Turntables (do not speak), Trouble in the Shed (do not speak), Percy Runs Away (do not speak), Coal (do not speak), Thomas in Trouble (cameo), Down the Mine and Thomas' Christmas Party
- Series 2 - Thomas, Percy and the Coal (Clarabel does not speak), Thomas and Trevor, Percy and the Signal (deleted scene), The Runaway, Better Late Than Never (do not speak), The Missing Coach (episode cancelled), Break Van (cameo), Thomas Comes to Breakfast (cameo), Daisy, Percy's Predicament (do not speak), Ghost Train (do not speak), Woolly Bear (cameo) and Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree (do not speak)
- Series 3 - Percy's Promise (do not speak), Time for Trouble (cameo), Thomas Gets Bumped (do not speak), Trust Thomas (cameo), Tender Engines (cameo), Oliver Owns Up (deleted scene cameo), Bulgy (cameo), Percy, James and the Fruitful Day and Thomas and Percy's Christmas Adventure (cameo)
- Series 4 - Four Little Engines (cameo), Peter Sam and the Refreshment Lady (cameo), Rusty to the Rescue (cameo), Thomas and Stepney (cameo), Bowled Out (cameo), Henry and the Elephant, Thomas and the Special Letter and Mind that Bike (cameo)
- Series 5 - Horrid Lorry (cameo), Gordon and the Gremlin (cameo), Baa! (cameo), Put Upon Percy, Haunted Henry (cameo), Thomas and the Rumours (cameo), Happy Ever After (cameo), Sir Topham Hatt's Holiday, Make Someone Happy (cameo) and Busy Going Backwards (cameo)
- Series 6 - Elizabeth the Vintage Lorry (Clarabel is not seen; cameo), The Fogman (do not speak), It's Only Snow (cameo), Twin Trouble (do not speak), The World's Strongest Engine (cameo), Scaredy Engines (cameo), Middle Engine (cameo), James and the Red Balloon (cameo), Jack Frost (cameo), Gordon Takes a Tumble (cameo), Percy's Chocolate Crunch (cameo), Thomas, Percy and the Squeak (do not speak) and Edward the Very Useful Engine (cameo)
- Series 7 - Emily's New Coaches, Percy Gets it Right (stock footage cameo), Bill, Ben and Fergus (cameo), What's the Matter with Henry? (cameo), James and the Queen of Sodor (cameo), Toby's Windmill (cameo), Something Fishy (cameo), Peace and Quiet (deleted scene; Annie is not seen), Bulgy Rides Again (cameo), Harold and the Flying Horse (cameo), The Grand Opening (Clarabel is not seen; cameo), Best Dressed Engine (cameo), Gordon and Spencer (cameo), Not So Hasty Puddings (cameo) and Three Cheers for Thomas (do not speak)
- Jack and the Sodor Construction Company - A Visit from Thomas (cameo)
- Series 8 - Thomas and the Tuba (do not speak), Percy's New Whistle (cameo), Henry and the Wishing Tree (cameo), James Gets a New Coat (cameo), Thomas Saves the Day, Thomas, Emily and the Snowplough (do not speak), Don't Tell Thomas (cameo), Emily's New Route (cameo), Thomas and the Firework Display (stock footage cameo), Gordon Takes Charge (cameo), Spic and Span (cameo), Thomas and the Circus (do not speak), As Good as Gordon (cameo), Emily's Adventure (cameo), You Can Do it, Toby! (deleted scene cameo) and Chickens to School (do not speak)
- Series 9 - Percy and the Oil Painting (cameo), Thomas and the Rainbow (do not speak), Thomas and the Birthday Picnic (do not speak), Thomas and the Toy Shop, Thomas and the New Engine (do not speak), Toby Feels Left Out (do not speak), Henry and the Flagpole (Annie only; cameo & Clarabel; deleted scene), Emily Knows Best (cameo), Thomas' Day Off (cameo) and Bold and Brave (cameo)
- Series 10 - Percy and the Funfair (cameo), Thomas and the Jet Plane (do not speak), Toby's Afternoon Off (cameo), Seeing the Sights (do not speak), Toby's New Shed (do not speak), Sticky Toffee Thomas (cameo), Thomas and the Shooting Star (cameo), Topped Off Thomas (mentioned), Thomas and the Colours (do not speak), Thomas and the Treasure (cameo) and Thomas and Skarloey's Big Day Out (cameo)
- Series 11 - Emily's Rubbish (cameo), Dream On (cameo), Gordon and the Engineer (cameo), Edward and the Mail (cameo), Thomas in Trouble, Percy and the Left Luggage (cameo) and Duncan Does it All (cameo)
- Series 12 - Thomas and the Billboard (cameo), Steady Eddie (cameo), Henry Gets it Wrong (cameo), Heave Ho Thomas! (cameo), Toby's Special Surprise (cameo), Excellent Emily (Annie only; cameo), Saved You! (do not speak), Tram Trouble (cameo), Percy and the Bandstand (cameo) and Best Friends (do not speak)
- Series 13 - Double Trouble (do not speak), The Early Bird (cameo), Play Time (do not speak), Time for a Story (do not speak), Toby's New Whistle (cameo), Splish Splash Splosh (mentioned), Henry's Good Deeds (do not speak) and Hiro Helps Out (cameo)
- Series 14 - James in the Dark (cameo), Pingy Pongy Pick Up (do not speak), Thomas and the Snowman Party (do not speak), Thomas and Scruff (cameo), Jitters and Japes (cameo) and Henry's Magic Box (cameo)
- Series 15 - Gordon and Ferdinand (cameo), Percy's New Friends (cameo), Edward the Hero (cameo) and Percy the Snowman (cameo)
- Series 16 - Ol' Wheezy Wobbles (Clarabel is not seen; cameo), Express Coming Through (do not speak), Percy and the Monster of Brendam (Clarabel is not seen; cameo), Thomas and the Sounds of Sodor (cameo), Salty's Surprise (stock footage cameo) and Welcome Stafford! (cameo)
- Series 17 - Scruff's Makeover, Wayward Winston, Gordon Runs Dry (do not speak), Steamie Stafford (cameo), Not Now, Charlie!, The Lost Puff (cameo), Percy's Lucky Day (cameo), Too Many Fire Engines, No Snow for Thomas, Santa's Little Engine, The Missing Christmas Decorations (cameo), Gone Fishing (cameo), The Afternoon Tea Express (cameo), No More Mr. Nice Engine (cameo) and Thomas' Shortcut
- Series 18 - Old Reliable Edward, Not So Slow Coaches, Disappearing Diesels (cameo), Duck and the Slip Coaches (cameo), Thomas and the Emergency Cable, Missing Gator (cameo), Spencer's VIP, Long Lost Friend (cameo), Duncan the Humbug (cameo), Emily Saves the World, Millie and the Volcano (cameo) and Samson at Your Service
- Series 19 - Who's Geoffrey?, The Truth About Toby, Lost Property, A Cranky Christmas (cameo), Toad and the Whale (cameo), Very Important Sheep, Salty All at Sea (cameo), Slow Stephen, Two Wheels Good (Clarabel does not speak), Reds vs. Blues, The Little Engine Who Raced Ahead (cameo), Philip to the Rescue, Diesel's Ghostly Christmas (cameo), Thomas the Babysitter, The Other Side of the Mountain, No Help at All (cameo) and Goodbye Fat Controller (cameo)
- Series 20 - Sidney Sings, Toby's New Friend (cameo), Bradford the Brake Van (mentioned), Ryan and Daisy (cameo), Pouty James (cameo), Blown Away (cameo), The Way She Does It, Letters to Santa (cameo), Love Me Tender (cameo), The Railcar and the Coaches, Cautious Connor, All in Vain (cameo), Buckled Tracks and Bumpy Trucks (cameo), Tit for Tat, Useful Railway (cameo), Three Steam Engines Gruff, Hugo and the Airship, The Christmas Coffeepot and Over the Hill (cameo)
- Series 21 - Dowager Hatt's Busy Day (Clarabel cameo), P.A. Problems (cameo), Hasty Hannah (cameo), Unscheduled Stops, Philip's Number (cameo), The Fastest Red Engine on Sodor (cameo), The Big Freeze, Terence Breaks the Ice and Daisy's Perfect Christmas (cameo)
- Series 22 - Number One Engine (fantasy), Forever and Ever, What Rebecca Does, An Engine of Many Colours (cameo; fantasy), School of Duck (cameo), Seeing is Believing (fantasy), Apology Impossible, The Water Wheel (cameo), Samson and the Fireworks, Rosie is Red, Banjo and the Bushfire (fantasy), Counting on Nia and Hunt the Truck
- Series 23 - Free the Roads, Chucklesome Trucks, Panicky Percy (do not speak) and Out of Site (cameo; fantasy) and Steam Team to the Rescue
- Series 24 - Thomas' Fuzzy Friend, Emily to the Rescue (cameo), A New Arrival, World of Tomorrow (cameo), Cleo's First Snow (cameo) and Thomas and the Inventor's Workshop
- Other - Thomas & Friends in 4-D: Bubbling Boilers (cameo)
Specials
- 1992 - Thomas and the U.K. Trip (cameo)
- 2000 - Thomas and the Magic Railroad
- 2005 - Calling All Engines! (do not speak)
- 2008 - The Great Discovery (do not speak)
- 2009 - Hero of the Rails (cameo)
- 2012 - Blue Mountain Mystery
- 2013 - King of the Railway
- 2014 - Tale of the Brave
- 2015 - The Adventure Begins and Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure
- 2016 - The Great Race
- 2017 - Journey Beyond Sodor
- 2018 - Big World! Big Adventures!
Music Videos
- Series 3 - Thomas' Anthem and I'm Thomas the Tank Engine
- Series 4 - Thomas' Anthem Grand Finale, Let's Have a Race, Gone Fishing, Toby, Don't Judge a Book By its Cover, The Island Song, Really Useful Engine and Thomas' Christmas Song
- Series 5 - It's Great to be an Engine, Sir Topham Hatt, Accidents Will Happen, The Snow Song, Harold the Helicopter, Percy's Seaside Trip, Every Cloud has a Silver Lining and Come for the Ride
- Thomas and the Magic Railroad - Really Useful Engine
- Series 6 - James the Really Splendid Engine, Little Engines, Down by the Docks, Winter Wonderland, Boo! Boo! Choo-Choo and Never, Never, Never Give Up
- Jack and the Sodor Construction Company - The Work Song and One Friendly Family
- Series 7 - Five New Engines in the Shed, The Red Balloon and The Whistle Song
- Series 8 - Sounds, Surprises, A World Around You, Patience and Engine Roll Call
- Calling All Engines! - Busy, Trying and Together
- Series 9 - Buffer Up and Share, Brave, Day and Night, Party Time, Pride, Every Day's a Special Day on Sodor and Togetherness
- Series 10 - Doing it Right, Favorite Place, H is for Harold, Navigation, There's Always Something New, Responsibility, Jingle Bells and Engine Roll Call (Rock 'n' Roll version)
- Series 11 - The Narrow Gauge Engines
- The Great Discovery - Thomas, You're the Leader
- Hero of the Rails - Go, Go Thomas
- Series 13 - Roll Along, Thomas, You're the Leader, Sounds, Determination and Engine Roll Call
- Series 15 - Hear the Engines Coming
- Blue Mountain Mystery - Blue Mountain Mystery
- Series 16 - Thomas and Percy (Clarabel is not seen) and Go, Go Thomas
- King of the Railway - Working Together Again, Searching Everywhere and It's Gonna be a Great Day
- Series 17 - Hey, Hey Thomas! and On a Journey Today
- Tale of the Brave - Tale of the Brave and Let's Be Brave
- Series 18 - It's Christmas Time and The Best Friends Express
- Thomas' YouTube World Tour - A World Around You, Navigation, Never, Never, Never Give Up, It's Great to be an Engine, Thomas' Anthem, The Island Song, The Whistle Song, Ode to Gordon (Clarabel is not seen), Rules and Regulations and That's What Friends are For
- The Adventure Begins - Really Useful Engine
- Series 19 - There's Snow Place Like Home, Let's Go!, Race with You, Spring is Here! and Engine Roll Call
- Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure - Never Overlook a Little Engine and We Make a Team Together
- Series 20 - Glynn's Christmas Wish, James the Really Splendid Engine and Accidents Will Happen
- The Great Race - Will You Won't You (cameo), Streamlining and You Can Only Be You (cameo)
- Journey Beyond Sodor - Somebody Has to Be the Favourite (cameo) and I Want To Go Home (do not speak)
- Series 21 - Set Friendship in Motion, Doing it Right, Trying and Little Engines
- Series 22 - Engine Roll Call, All the Girls Around the World, The Steam Team and Let's Dream
- Series 23 - Don't Stop
- Series 24 - Party Train, How Does it Work?, Fall is So Much Fun, The Little Engine Who Believed and New Year's Day with Thomas
Learning Segments
- Series 8 - Sounds (cameo), Steamies and Diesels Sounds (cameo), How Does Emily Get to Cronk Station? (cameo), The Children Wait for Gordon (does not speak), What Thomas Needs to do in the Winter (cameo) & Helping One Another (does not speak)
- Calling All Engines! - Which Engine for Which Job? {{Does not speak}
- Series 9 - Same Colour (stock footage cameo), Getting to Bluff's Cove (cameo), What Makes Thomas Happy? (does not speak), Knowing What To Do (cameo), Cool Down Delivery (stock footage cameo) & What Goes Where? (cameo)
- Series 10 - Who Can Take Them? (cameo), Which Outfit for Which Occasion? (cameo) & Diesels and Steamers (cameo)
Videos
- 2014 - Welcome to the Island of Sodor Logan! (cameo) and Welcome to the Island of Sodor Sam! (stock footage cameo)
- 2015 - A Friendly Farewell (cameo)
- 2016 - Meet the Contenders: Thomas of Sodor (do not speak)
- 2018 - Meet the New Steam Team (cameo), Still the Best of Friends (cameo), Animals Around the World (cameo), Different Ways to See the World (cameo) and Meet Ashima of India! (cameo)
Annual Stories
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Audio Files
Whistles In the LeapPad book Thomas and the School Trip, Annie and Clarabel are incorrectly portrayed with whistles.
First used | Last used | Sound Effect |
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[Thomas and the School Trip | Thomas and the School Trip |
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 both the only coaches and the only female characters to appear in every series.
- They are the first characters in the series without grey 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 series, 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 series of the television series. Henrietta had appeared in every series as well, but her streak ended when she was absent in the twenty-third series.
- A real coach based on the 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 Model 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.
- Clarabel's eyes are slightly further apart than Annie's - her nose is slightly broader as well.
- Henry and Rebecca are the only members of the Steam Team - current or former - who were not seen pulling or being coupled up to Annie and Clarabel.
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
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References