| This article is about the characters. You may be looking for the 1997 magazine story, the 1999 magazine story or the Story Library book. |
- “Annie can only take passengers, but Clarabel can take passengers, luggage, and the guard. They are both old and need new paint, but Thomas loves them very much.”
- ― The narrator introducing Annie and Clarabel
Annie and Clarabel are Thomas' faithful coaches, whom he loves dearly. They are a pair of orange four-wheeled coaches who work on the North Western Railway. The pair usually work on the Ffarquhar Branch Line with Thomas or on the Main Line as part of "The Local".
Biography[]
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.[2]
Annie and Clarabel have had several adventures with Thomas, including Thomas leaving behind Clarabel's guard by mistake shortly after he was given the branch line.[3]
Annie and Clarabel briefly worked with Duck while Thomas was at the Works. The pair enjoyed Duck's company, but were happy when Thomas returned.[4]
Once, Percy took the Vicar's Sunday School home in Annie and Clarabel. During the trip, Percy encountered trouble in the Low Lands north of Elsbridge, leading to both coaches being stranded in floodwater until his fire could be re-lit using floorboards from the brake van.[5]
Over time, Annie and Clarabel's paintwork deteriorated, leading Lady Hatt to recommend they be turned into beach huts. Instead, the pair were refurbished and given new coats of paint. Thomas later reassured them that they would be useful no matter what they looked like.[1]
When Emily first came to Sodor, she accidentally took the pair not knowing they were Thomas' coaches.[6] A similar incident happened with Neville when he first arrived some time later.[7]
Once, Annie and Clarabel were accidentally coupled to the back of Caitlin's Coaches by Charlie, leading to them being dragged behind Caitlin from Knapford Yards to Ulfstead Castle, and then from the castle to the Mainland, with Thomas chasing behind. Fortunately for all involved, Hiro was able to save the pair and brought them back to Sodor.[8]
While Thomas was working at the quarry one winter, the Fat Controller asked Daisy to work on his branch line. At first, she insulted Annie and Clarabel, thinking she would not need them; however, as traffic on the branch line picked up, Daisy was asked to take them so she could carry more passengers. While she was pulling the pair, Annie and Clarabel made remarks about her making a terrible noise in order to get revenge. This backfired when Daisy left them at Maithwaite in order to have her fitter check her over. Both of them were later scolded by the Fat Controller for it, and the next day had to work with Diesel while Daisy went away.[9]
Personalities[]
Annie and Clarabel are best friends, and rarely ever disagree. They are kind and caring to everyone on the railway, though can be stern when needed. The pair also have a good sense of humour and are by no means stick-in-the-muds, though have a dislike of high speeds. They are by no means perfect, however, and have had their own instances of misbehaviour, such as once tricking Daisy into thinking something was wrong with her after she was rude to them.
Annie and Clarabel are respectful to all of the engines, but most of all Gordon and Thomas. The only exception to this is Daisy, who they respect least of all for insulting both them and Henrietta when she first arrived on Sodor. Although the two respect Gordon, they do not tolerate his arrogance any more than other engines, having once helped Thomas to teach him a lesson after the big engine was rude to Edward.
Annie and Clarabel are very faithful to Thomas and are his most loyal friends. The three share a very close bond and will often sing songs to each other when Thomas starts from a station. Annie and Clarabel love Thomas very much and know that whenever Thomas is cross, he is not cross with them; he is cross with the engines on the Main Line making him late.[3]
Technical Details[]
Basis[]
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.
In contrast to the real coaches of this design, Annie and Clarabel have different roofs, with vents to either side rather than along the middle. In the first series, several other coaches of the same design as Annie and Clarabel also appear. An An and Yin-Long share the same basis with the same roof modifications.
Liveries[]
Annie and Clarabel are painted in a bright orange livery with grey roofs. Their names are written on their sides in white cursive lettering. Since their refurbishment in the fifth series, they have had red buffer shanks.
During an imagination sequence where Thomas is streamlined in The Great Race, Annie and Clarabel are repainted into a matching blue livery with a white band around the middle of their windows with thin red borders above and below. In this form, they also have fully red chassis with a white stripe above.
In the magazine story, Thomas, Terence and the Snow, Annie and Clarabel are incorrectly coloured jade green.
Appearances[]
Magazine Stories
Annie and Clarabel also appeared in the magazine stories, Catch!, Christmas Puddings, Clowning Around, Holiday Havoc!, Party Time!, Percy Gets Wet!, Really Important Luggage, Santa Special, Slick Trick! and The Open Top Bus. |
Official Description[]
From Official Website:[1]
| “ | Annie & Clarabel: Annie and Clarabel, Thomas' faithful coaches, were given to Thomas as a reward for proving himself to be a Really Useful Engine. They are much loved, but have both seen better days. Annie only carries passengers. She is always pulled by Thomas and travels facing him.
|
” |
| “ | Annie: Annie and her faithful friend Clarabel were given to Thomas as a reward for proving himself to be a Really Useful Engine. Annie carries passengers and is always pulled by Thomas facing him.
|
” |
| “ | Clarabel: Clarabel, along with her friend Annie, was given to Thomas as a reward for proving himself to be a Really Useful Engine. Clarabel is a composite coach, carrying both passengers and luggage, and usually travels behind Annie facing away from Thomas.
|
” |
| “ | Annie: Annie and Clarabel are Thomas' faithful coaches and help him carry passengers around the Island of Sodor. Annie only carries passengers. Clarabel is a 'composite' coach. She has two sections, one for passengers and the other for luggage.
|
” |
| “ | Clarabel: Annie and Clarabel are Thomas' faithful coaches and help him carry passengers around the Island of Sodor. Annie only carries passengers. Clarabel is a 'composite' coach. She has two sections, one for passengers and the other for luggage.
|
” |
Audio Files[]
Theme[]
| Only used | Composers | Theme Song | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Series 1 | Mike O'Donnell Junior Campbell |
||
Whistle[]
From the LeapPad book Thomas and the School Trip to Calling All Engines! (Leapster), Annie and Clarabel are both incorrectly portrayed with whistles, despite them being coaches and not engines, their whistle sound is Gordon's broken whistle from the first series episode, Whistles and Sneezes in a higher pitch and George's Sir Topham Hatt's Helping Hand whistle in an even higher pitch.
| First used | Last used | Sound Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Thomas and the School Trip | Calling All Engines! (Leapster) |
Trivia[]
- Annie and Clarabel are the only coaches and the only female characters to appear in every series. Henrietta had appeared in every series as well, up until her streak ended in the twenty-third series, where she was absent.
- Annie and Clarabel are the only characters to appear in every series and not speak in all of them.
- 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.
- 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 incorrectly referred to as Annabel and Clarabelle.
- Coincidentally one of the Ertl toys from preschool range has them with yellow faces similar to the grey ones on the engines rather than their usual ones.
- 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 some dubs and translations of books, Annie and Clarabel's names were changed:
- In the French dub of the first series, Annie and Clarabel were known as Annie and Claire.
- On early Spanish translations of the Random House books, Annie and Clarabel were known as Anita and Clarita.
- Several merchandise items and CGI promos of Clarabel lack her guard compartment.
- Up until the debut of the Slip Coaches in the eighteenth series, Annie and Clarabel along with Harold were the only characters with embedded faces.
- Clarabel's eyes are slightly further apart than Annie's; her nose is slightly broader as well.
- In the CGI series, the two also have different front window designs: Annie's have curved tops, while the tops of Clarabel's are straight.
- 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.
- The 2013 Writer's Bible[10] and 2015 Trading Card[11] incorrectly suggest that Annie and Clarabel are based on the Ashbury Carriage, Wagon and Iron Co. Ltd. carriages of the Metropolitan Railway.
Quotes[]
|
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 T&F S5 #20 "Sir Topham Hatt's Holiday"
- ↑ T&F "The Adventure Begins"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 T&F S1 #11 "Thomas and the Guard"
- ↑ T&F S2 #10 "The Runaway"
- ↑ T&F S3 #2 "Percy's Promise"
- ↑ T&F S7 #1 "Emily's New Coaches"
- ↑ T&F S9 #11 "Thomas and the New Engine"
- ↑ T&F S18 #2 "Not So Slow Coaches"
- ↑ T&F S20 #13 "The Railcar and the Coaches"
- ↑ 2013.07.02 - THO Character Bios
- ↑ Trading Cards (2015) - Annie and Clarabel
| Locomotives | Steam | Thomas | Henry | Gordon | James | Donald and Douglas | Emily | Murdoch | Molly | Nia | Rebecca |
|---|---|---|
| Diesel | BoCo | |
| Former | Edward | |
| Rolling Stock | Passenger | Annie and Clarabel | Emily's Coaches | Green Express Coaches | Red Express Coaches |
| Former | The Spiteful Brake Van | Slip Coaches | |
| Trains | Passenger | The Express | The Local | The Great Waterton Special |
| Goods | The Flying Kipper | The Midnight Goods | |
| Infrastructure | Stations | Tidmouth | Lower Tidmouth** | Knapford | Crosby | Wellsworth | Maron | Cronk** | Killdane** | Balladrine** | Kellaby** | Whispering Woods Halt** | Kellsthorpe Road** | Crovan's Gate | Great Waterton** | Vicarstown | Barrow-in-Furness** |
| Sheds | Tidmouth Sheds | Tidmouth Yard Sheds | Knapford Sheds | Crovan's Gate Sheds* | Vicarstown Sheds | |
| Tunnels and Bridges | Tidmouth Tunnel (South) | Henry's Tunnel | Crosby Tunnel** | Crosby Bridge* | The Viaduct | Sodor Suspension Bridge** | Maron Bridge* | Standard Gauge and Narrow Gauge Viaduct | Vicarstown Bridge** |
| Locomotives | Steam | Thomas | Percy | Toby |
|---|---|---|
| Diesel | Mavis | |
| Former | Glynn | Coffee Pots | Daisy | |
| Rolling Stock | Passenger | Annie and Clarabel | Henrietta | Hannah |
| Non-Rail Vehicles | Terence | Bertie | Harold | Bulgy | Caroline | Bulstrode | Tiger Moth | Elizabeth | The Hot Air Balloon | Cleo | |
| People | Mrs. Kyndley | Farmer Finney | Farmer McColl | Farmer Trotter | Ruth | |
| Affiliates | Toby's Branch Line | Ffarquhar Quarry Company | |
| Infrastructure | Stations | Knapford | Dryaw | Toryreck** | Sports Field Halt** | Elsbridge | Maithwaite** | Hackenbeck | Ffarquhar | New Harbour* |
| Sheds | Elsbridge Engine Sheds (Carriage Shed) | Hackenbeck Shed | |
| Tunnels and Bridges | The Valley Bridge* | Elsbridge Viaduct | Bulgy's Bridge* | The Watermill | Hackenbeck Tunnel | |