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- “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, who he loves dearly. They are a pair of orange-brown 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]
When Emily first came to Sodor, she accidentally took the pair not knowing they were Thomas' coaches. A similar incident happened with Neville when he first arrived a few years later.
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.[3]
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.[4]
Personalities[]
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 them and Henrietta. They show a kind and caring side to everyone on the railway. However, despite their kindness and sweetness, they can be stern when needed, 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. Despite this, they 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. Furthering their morals, though, they do have a sense of humour, and did not hesitate to laugh at Gordon when he told them and Thomas about his trousers mishap.
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.
Liveries[]
Annie and Clarabel painted in a bright orange livery with their names painted on their sides in white. In some scenes of the first series, they did not have their names painted. In the fifth series, they were refurbished, repainted and their buffer shanks became red at the request of Lady Hatt.
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 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.
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” |
| “ | 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.
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” |
| “ | 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.
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” |
| “ | 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 |
||
Whistles[]
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 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 model series, Annie and Clarabel were known as Annette and Claudette.
- 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.
Quotes[]
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See also[]
References[]
- ↑ T&F S5 #20 "Sir Topham Hatt's Holiday"
- ↑ T&F "The Adventure Begins"
- ↑ T&F S18 #2 "Not So Slow Coaches"
- ↑ T&F S20 #13 "The Railcar and the Coaches"
| 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 | |