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Thomas & Friends

Main Page

This page is for the buses that have appeared in Thomas & Friends.

Notable Buses[]

The following buses have their own separate pages:

Leyland Tiger Buses[]

These are half-cab single-decker buses which reside at Knapford Bus Yard. Bertie is one of them.

The buses have been commonly spotted at Tidmouth, Tidmouth Hault and Brendam Docks. Some of these buses have also been seen at special events, such as when City of Truro arrived at Tidmouth Sheds during his visit to Sodor, or when a welcome party was held for Stepney at the Bluebell Valley.

Technical Details[]

Basis[]

These buses are based on the post-war Leyland Motors "Tiger", type PS-1/PS-2. Specifically, the single-decker half-cab front entrance buses were built between 1946 and 1953, with several examples surviving in preservation.

Livery[]

These buses are commonly painted red with silver hubcabs. Like Bertie, their livery is based on the famous red bus livery used by London Transport.

In The Great Race, Thomas briefly envisions himself as one of these buses, maintaining his blue livery with red and yellow lining. In the magazines, a dark green Hospital bus with yellow hubcaps appeared in the story "Important Passengers!", and a red bus with yellow arrows on its sides appeared in the story "Diesels and Steam Engines".

Appearances[]

Audio Files[]

Horns

Only used Sound Effect
Rusty to the Rescue

Trivia[]

  • Two Gauge 1 models of these buses (three including Bertie) were made for Thomas & Friends. The models are distinguishable from Bertie, as they have raised headlights, opaque windows and silver hubcaps. They lack faces, black lining, indicator and tail lights. Their radiators were also a smooth surface and lacked grills.
  • The models had not been seen since the fourth series. It can be assumed that they probably ended up being disposed of since they could had gotten badly damaged or the plastic started to crack on the models.[1]
  • Bertie is the only known bus of this design to be officially named in the Thomas & Friends television series.

Merchandise[]

AEC Regent V Buses[]

These are double-decker buses.

Technical Details[]

Basis[]

These buses are based on the AEC Routemaster double-decker bus. Bulgy, his friend, the Special Bus Service, the Open Top Bus, and the Australian Buses are also members of this class.

Livery[]

These buses are commonly painted red, based on the famous red bus livery used by London Transport.

Appearances[]

Trivia[]

  • Bulgy is the only known bus of this design to be officially named.


AEC Routemaster Buses[]

These are double-decker buses.

One of these buses was once seen at Elsbridge station. It later delivered passengers to the annual church fête at Wellsworth Vicarage Orchard. On the Mainland, they are commonly found in the streets of London. Etienne once saw these double-decker buses during his visit to London.

Technical Details[]

Basis[]

These buses are based on the AEC Routemaster double-decker bus.

Livery[]

One of these buses was painted with a lime green upper-half and a dark green lower-half with silver hubcabs. It had banners advertising "CHANCE & HUNT" on its sides.

In real life, these buses are primarily painted in the famous red bus livery used by London Transport.

Appearances[]

Trivia[]

  • One Gauge 1 model was made for Thomas & Friends. It was sourced from a Rosedale Toys "Routemaster Bus" No. 5488. The grill and radiator were modified to be narrower and taller, and indicators were also added.
  • The bus had Chance & Hunt banners on its sides. This was a British company that handled chemicals, and on railways they used special plank wagons with acid jars.
  • The AEC Routemasters have been used to portray Bulgy at various Days Out with Thomas events.
  • A double-decker bus appeared in concept art of Vicarstown during the production of The Great Race.


Leyland Tiger Full-Cab Buses[]

These are full-cab single-decker buses.

Many buses took passenger traffic away from Toby's Old Tramway. During those days, Toby and Henrietta were unhappy with the buses, as they had little work to do. Eventually, competition from the cars, buses and lorries forced the tramway into bankrupty in 1951.

Technical Details[]

Basis[]

These buses are based on the 1949 Leyland Tiger PS2/3 full-cab type bus.

Livery[]

These buses are painted red and have cream window surrounds along with a curved line on the sides in cream.

Appearances[]

Audio Files[]

Horns

Only used Sound Effect
Read and Play!


Albion Victor FT Buses[]

These are full-cab single-decker buses which reside at the Wellsworth Bus Yard.

Technical Details[]

Basis[]

These buses are based on the 1947–1959 Albion Victor FT. These were once a common sight on the Guernsey Railway. Algy is a member of this class.

Livery[]

These buses are painted light blue with a black stripe on both sides. On the otherhand, Algy has a white stripe.

Appearances[]

Trivia[]

  • Algy is the only known bus of this design to be officially named.

LGOC B-type Bus[]

The LGOC B-type is an early open-top double-decker bus.

Technical Details[]

Basis[]

These buses are based on the LGOC B-type buses that was introduced in London in 1910. It was both built and operated by the London General Omnibus Company (LGOC).

Livery[]

These buses are painted vermilion with cream lining and tan window surrounds.

Appearances[]

Books[]

Magazine Stories[]

The bus also appeared in Issue 224 of the magazines, published in 1996.

Bedford OB Bus[]

These are a type of single-decker bus.

Technical Details[]

Basis[]

These buses are based on the Bedford OB buses.

Livery[]

These buses are painted yellow and have green fenders and a red stripe on either side.

This livery is very similar to those of buses on the island of Malta, with the only difference being the fender colour.

Appearances[]

Trivia[]

  • The illustration of the bus appears to have been lifted from the Corgi 1:76 model, specifically the limited-edition Malta liveried bus.

The School Bus[]

The School Bus is operated by the school district on Sodor. It is regularly used to transport students to and from school.

On one occasion, the school bus broke down near Dryaw Goods Station. Therefore, Thomas had to take the school children home instead.

Technical Details[]

Basis[]

In the magazine stories, it is hard to make out what design the bus is, but it is most likely a British one.

In the American colouring book, Through the Year with Thomas the Tank Engine, the school bus is based on the American International-Harvester S-Series "Schoolmaster".

Livery[]

In the magazines, the school bus was painted light blue.

In the American colouring book Through the Year with Thomas the Tank Engine, the school bus does not have a colour, as it is a colouring book, but it is most likely yellow, as its basis.

Appearances[]

Trivia[]

  • In Through the Year with Thomas the Tank Engine, the school bus is driving on the right side of the road, with the steering wheel on the left-hand side, which is very uncommon to see on Sodor.

Merchandise[]

Other Buses[]

In the 1999 annual story Toby Saves the Day, a new bus driver with a long orange bus is rude to Toby. However, when the bus loses a wheel, Toby comes to the rescue, to the chagrin of the bus driver.

Several buses appear in the animated shorts, Really Useful Around the World, Great Race Friends Near and Far and Thomas' Aussie Football Adventure.

Merchandise[]

See Also[]

References[]


Non-rail vehicles

* Other Media only | --- Dropped
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