In the episode "College", Jack Donaghy (played by Alec Baldwin) notes how his scholarship at Princeton necessitated him recording every word in the dictionary for their Linguistics Department. He laments that his voice has been dragged in various projects, including "Thomas the Tank Engine". This is a reference to how Alec Baldwin did the American narrations for the fifth and sixth series of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends.
In the 5 September 2024 episode, Thomas is used as one of the subjects in the game “Who’s Your Zaddy?”. On Jordan Temple’s podium is a photo of a Day Out with Thomas dummy while the large screen uses a photo from the Oigawa Railway. The hint given is "Kids love him, adults use him to transport coal."
In the episode "Cookie Makes Some Dough", Heather ends up shrinking from Snizzy's zit remover. She complains that at ten inches tall, she will never find a boyfriend. Snizzy quips that she could get together with Mr. Conductor from Shining Time Station.
All About Fast(-Moving) Trains[]
An ERTLThomas & FriendsThomas is seen on a flat car at the Choo Choo Barn layout, as well as HornbyThomas & Friends models of Percy and the Troublesome Trucks made a cameo.
In one scene filmed at Oakworth station on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, a 4-plank truck dressed as S.C. Ruffey appears at the end of a rake of wagons on a siding.
In a Series 9 episode of the show, Thomas is referenced and the Talyllyn Railway appears with "Terry The Tank Engine" (who is actually Sir Haydn). Wilbert Awdry is also mentioned.
In the second place-winning video "Clown Face Catastrophe" from Series 14, Episode 17, a boy wears a Thomas shirt and Thomas & Friends merchandise can be seen on a shelf in the background.
In the third place-winning video "Grade A Mess" from Series 20, Episode 9, a boy wears a Thomas helmet.
In an episode of the show's twenty-second season, a boy can be seen holding a Thomas Wooden Railway Early Engineers Percy toy in one video.
In another episode, Thomas Wooden Railway versions of Thomas and Peter Sam appeared.
In the third-place winning video "Singing Card Smasher" from Series 22, Episode 13, a boy wears a Percy shirt.
In an episode of the show's thirtieth series, a Thomas Ride-On toy appears.
In the first place-winning video "Eye-Rolling Rascal" from Series 34, Episode 13, a baby holds a My First Thomas & Friends Smart Phone.
In the episode "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Station", a MeccanoThe Railway SeriesPercy set is seen carrying a calling card for Emma Peel. Later in the episode, John Steed mentions "Pop goes the Diesel" when the villain is explaining his plan.[1]
Baby Babble 2[]
In the 2007 video Baby Babble 2, a Thomas & Friends Big Big Loader: Post Office Loader set appears in the video.
In the 2002 video "Baby Newton", a TOMYThomas & Friends Wind-up Bulgy appears in the "rectangle" music video, accompanied with "Double Trumpet Concerto in C major, RV. 537, 3rd Movement: Allegro" by Baroque Era composer Antonio Vivaldi playing in the background. Additionally, the footage featuring the toy seems to be mirrored and the "RAILWAY BUS" stickers were removed from the sides of the toy. (YouTube)
At Bryn Y Grog Antiques Centre near Wrexham, a shot of a faceless knock-off Thomas & FriendsTake AlongLady was featured, as it has purple wheels matching the running board instead of the body, unpainted cylinders, and no middle section of the funnel.
In the episode "Red Hat, Green Hat", when the patrons start arguing over Leona's hat being green and red, a monkey on the red side can be seen reading the Thomas & Friends book, Meet Thomas and His Friends.
The Bidding Room[]
A Thomas the Tank Engine pedal car bought for £15 was sold for £120.
In the episode "DinoDinoDinotown", a miniature locomotive resembling Thomas (albeit with Percy's livery and number, as well as a dinosaur head) can be seen at the episode's titular dinosaur theme park. Behind the scenes, the theme park is actually Paradise Wildlife Park, which appears to have had both the miniature engine and a different standard gauge engine masquerading as Thomas throughout the park's history.
In the episode "The Friendship Algorithm", Thomas & FriendsWooden Railway toys of Thomas, Stepney and a dinosaur fossil car are seen on the wooden train table at the bookstore that Sheldon Cooper visits
In the episode "The Irish Pub Formulation", when Sheldon nearly breaks his friendship with Raj, Raj says "I got you a talking Thomas the Tank Engine for Thanksgiving". Sheldon then responds to him by saying "With real puffing smoke?". Raj then responds to him with "Yes", which leads to Sheldon responding with "Alright".
An ERTLThomas the Tank Engine & Friends Pullback Thomas model is seen on the layout of the All Gauge Toy Train Association of San Diego. Later, during the end credits, Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends Wooden Railway toys of Henry, Mavis, Annie and a Troublesome Truck are seen.
In the episode "Structures!", an ERTL sticker face Thomas can be seen crossing a bridge made of drinking straws during the "Nifty Home Experiment" segment. The version shown is specifically the 1987 version with the all red footplate, as opposed to the original 1984 version, which is white with red sides.
A sketch entitled "John Lennon's Dead Day Off" from the episode "Avid Stalks... Michael" features the eponymous Beatle coming back to life and reuniting with different people from his past. At one point, he encounters Ringo Starr, who is depicted as a Thomas-esque tank engine outside of a shed. When questioned by Lennon about why he is not coloured blue, he remarks that copyright reasons dictate that he has to be burgundy.
During the montage of children in the audience, at one point one of them on the bottom left row has a Thomas & Friends shirt.
Bobby Davro's TV Weekly[]
In a 1990 episode, there is a Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends sketch called "Thomas the Tanked Up Engine" featuring a drunken Thomas.
The sketch starts of on "one lovely morning" with a drunken Thomas "crawling" into the engine shed, with Gordon and Percy. While they were happy to see Thomas, he tells them keep it down, as he has a "hangover".
Eventually, Thomas asks a sentient water tower nicknamed "Mr. Water Tank" (a rusty water tower with eyes) to fill him up. He gives Thomas his share, and then says, "unless you don't mind taking Gordon's!" who is said to be on "bitter lemon".
Thomas then heads to "The Sidings", which is a (silly) name for a pub. When Thomas pulls up, he sees "Jeremy the Pink Engine" (a pink repaint of James, predating Tickled Pink).
It has him culminating, vomiting on a police officer and being sent to the Betty Ford scrapyard.
This sketch uses original HornbyThomas the Tank Engine & Friends models of Thomas, Gordon, Percy, James (renamed "Jeremy" and repainted pink), Annie and Clarabel (both with different faces) as well as an unknown brand figure of the Fat Controller for his close-up shot and custom faces for Thomas throughout. At the end, Percy is hauling a Season 1 Troublesome Truck and the bottom half of a brakevan. The majority of the items shown (except for Percy, Gordon and Jeremy.) were from "The World of Thomas the Tank Engine" pack.
In a skit parodying 'Rainbow', an engine who resembles James can be seen in the background.
Questions about The Railway Series and Thomas & Friends have been asked several times on episodes of the British Game-Show series. Amongst them are "In 'Thomas the Tank Engine' what is the Fat Controller's real name?" and "What was the most famous creation of the clergyman Wilbert Awdry?" wrong answers for each of these questions respectively, were "B. Sir Harry Topp; C. Sir Bottom Bratt" and "B. Jimbo and the Jet-Set; C. Ivor the Engine".
A Question regarding the name of the Thomas & Friends character Shane was featured in a 2017 episode.[2]
The Chaser's Election Desk[]
Four Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway toys of Skiff appear in a skit about Australian politician, Peter Dutton, about how he talks about "stopping the boats".
In another sketch, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is said to be the oldest president of the Thomas the Tank Engine fan club.
Cedarmont Kids: Toddler Action Songs[]
During the song I've Been Working on the Railroad a Thomas & Friends Lionel G scale model of Thomas, Annie and Clarabel were seen at the Nashville Garden Railway Society.
Gary Wilmot was seen playing with an Ertl Pullback Motor Thomas while presenting on 18 November 1985, in which he introduced the return of the first series in single repeats.
In an episode of the 2004 series, a parody of Thomas the Tank Engine appears in a sketch, and he is named Teddy the Tank Engine. The sketch is called "7 Ways Security Impacts Teddy the Tank Engine", and is illustrated in a style similar to The Railway Series.
The narrator speaks in a Liverpool accent similar to Ringo Starr and Michael Angelis. The Fat Controller here is called the Chubby Controller. Teddy is drawn as a hybrid of Thomas and Skarloey, he appears alongside a female parody of both James and Rheneas named Janet, and the two engines appear in a shed resembling the Skarloey Engine Sheds.
The sketch was a parody of an upsurge of heightened security measures for train passengers in London, with Teddy and Janet refusing to pick up passengers from there because it is "a security nightmare", with Janet stating she is not picking up any terrorists, and Teddy noting that if she does, she would be arrested for aiding and abetting like Peter, the sketch's parody of both Percy and Sir Handel, (shown pulling the red narrow gauge coaches while getting caught by a SWAT team coming out of a helicopter parodying Harold), who was sent to Guantanamo Bay, where Teddy does not want to end up at. When the Chubby Controller suggests using x-rays and sniffer dogs, Teddy and Janet only insult him and he stomps off, lamenting how he hates talking trains. (YouTube)
In the episode, "A Carton Drink", Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends blackcurrant juice boxes featuring James and Sir Topham Hatt appear in the picnic basket that Auntie Mabel (Lynda Baron) opens and at the juice box factory she visits.
On the February 6, 2020 episode, a skit is shown where Andy Richter tries to guess puzzles on Wheel of Fortune, but fails because he keeps guessing inappropriate answers to all the puzzles. One of the puzzles shown is clearly "Thomas the Tank Engine", but he guesses "Thomas the F*** Engine".
In the episode "Mine Your Own", Tony drops in to see Maria with a gift for baby Liam. The gift that Tony gives is a Thomas the Tank Engine book set, which is briefly seen. Barry then says "Our Liam [baby Liam's father] used to love Thomas the Tank Engine, didn't he Helen?", with "Helen responding with "He did indeed".
A Thomas & FriendsMy First Thomas Bill from a Claim Jumper Arcade Machine appeared on the American CBS show Criminal Minds, in the 2007 episode "Seven Seconds".
In real-life, many other kinds of Arcade Machines like Claim Jumper have also used My First Thomas models of not only Bill, but of James, Edward, Percy and Ben.
During it, Gorman mocked The Fat Controller for his obsession with technology when he bought the new P.A. system in P.A. Problems and the ending of The Sad Story of Henry, which the scene of the workmen building the wall was edited with a clip of American president Donald Trump saying "Build that wall!" (x7). Ringo Starr was also mentioned. Gorman then showed a clip of the song You Can Only Be You from The Great Race which he claimed is "beautiful".
Gorman then performed a 'Found Poem' featuring comments in newspaper articles criticising the show for not being diverse. In it, he mentions that "Thomas the Tank IS British" and then contradicts his point and claimed that the engines are "NOT BRITISH ROLLING STOCK", how they "BELONG TO THE SODOR & MAINLAND RAILWAY" and how it "LATER BECAME THE NORTH WESTERN RAILWAY". He later mentioned in the poem how "MOST OF THE FOREIGN LOCOMOTIVES COULDN'T RUN ON THE ISLAND OF SODOR ANYWAY BECAUSE OF THE GAUGE", as well as mentioning the "COUPLING", and the Flying Scotsman in Australia.(YouTube)
During his visit, he is asked by Damien what can they call him, with The Fat Controller answering that he is quite happy to be called The Fat Controller as it is a term of endearment.
Soky goes on to mention the events of The Sad Story of Henry, and incorrectly stated that Gordon was the one who did not want to leave the tunnel, when it was actually Henry. The Fat Controller continues by saying he bricked up Gordon in the tunnel.
Dustin and goes on to say how him, Soky and Damien are huge fans of Thomas the Tank Engine, but "Thomas can sometimes be that little bit cheeky".
Soky then asked him that he seems to like Mrs Kyndley quite a lot, with The Fat Controller going on to mention the events of Thomas' Christmas Party.
Soky mentions to him that he has some diesel trains, The Fat Controller says that "the diesel trains do cause a little problem, "Devious" Diesel in particular".
The Fat Controller even says to Dustin that he looks like Skarloey.
Damien then tells the viewers you can see The Fat Controller at the RDS in Dublin this weekend (1 and 2 May 1999).
Near the end, Dustin says he has a Thomas the Tank Engine duvet, and Soky says he has a Thomas the Tank Engine scarf.
Damien asks The Fat Controller if he would like to stay and watch Tom & Jerry Kids, which he does.
In the episode "Closing Time", in the background during the scenes in the toy section of the department shop, several Thomas & Friends toys were seen on the shelves.
In the episode "All Aboard the Doodle Train", a modified Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway Battery-Powered James, Annie and Clarabel are seen on a wooden train set.(YouTube)
In some episodes, the original jukebox prop used on Shining Time Station Jukebox could be seen, albeit slightly modified with a different dial to make it fit the setting.
In "Nobody Doesn't Like Amanda Lee", a Thomas toy can be seen on a shelf when Dr. Peter Benton talks to Dr. Lisa Parks about his son Reese's difficulties in daycare.
In the 2019 Purim special (Series 16 Episode 9), host Eyal Kitzis invites the then-Minister of Transport Israel Katz (portrayed by Yaron Berlad) in light of negative reports about the state of his ministry at the time. Katz shows up wearing a Thomas costume modelled after a common design for official ones: a vest-like overgarment in the engine's likeness and a driver's cap for the wearer, albeit with a full smokebox at a lower height than usual. Part of the Engine Roll Call in Hebrew is played when he walks over to his seat. Kitzis recognises the costume and compliments him for it. Katz claims it has light and sound features but fails to activate them, blaming Israel Railways for not announcing its trains are malfunctioning. When Kitzis tells him the ministry has been stagnating and failed to achieve its goals, he retaliates by saying he had already "moved on" to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
An ERTL Thomas & Friends toy of Henry once appeared in an episode.
The Exciting Miniature World of The Choo Choo Barn[]
In the 1998 video The Exciting Miniature World of The Choo Choo Barn an ERTL Thomas is seen on a flat car at the Choo Choo Barn layout, Lionel O scale models of Thomas, and Annie and Clarabel, Thomas the Tank Engine & FriendsWooden Railway models of Mavis, Harold, James, Terence, as well as a HornbyThomas the Tank Engine & Friends models Percy, Troublesome Trucks, Thomas, and Annie and Clarabel.
When an upgraded version that was release in 2006, with new scenes, and some new changes to the layout a Thomas the Tank Engine & FriendsLionel O scale model of Percy, and a Thomas the Tank Engine & FriendsTomix Trains models of Thomas, and Annie and Clarabel appeared as well.
In Series 3 of the Australian sketch series Fast Forward, there was a series of sketches based on Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends such as Thomas dealing with people who think he is sexist because there are no female engines, helping the Fat Controller dump toxic waste, dealing with juvenile delinquents and blowing up a chemical plant, going on strike, and the railway being privatised causing Thomas to end up as a statue in a playground.
This sketch series uses the pullback ERTLThomas the Tank Engine & Friends toys of Thomas and Percy, as well as the Fat Controller (first short featuring him as a LEGO Duplo Figure), including repaints of both engines in either yellow or red and custom made faces and in the final short a repaint of the porter figure.
Other Thomas names like Bertie, Toby, Clarabel, Gordon and Henry are heard, but they do not appear and/or are portrayed by Percy. Other original engines include the unnamed female engine, Alfred (mentioned), Damien the Diesel (not seen), Edgar (mentioned) and Crazy Bartholomew the Loco Locomotive.
One sketch featured on the show was a parody of Thomas & Friends entitled "Grant Thomas the Tank Engine", parodying how former Australian football coach Grant Thomas was fired by the SEN radio station following his constant criticism of umpires in the league. The sketch utilises Hornby models of one of the Ironworks twins [as Dermit the Diesel], and Thomas [as Grant Thomas], a TrackMaster Harold [as Hoddle] and modified Annie and Clarabel, as well as a wooden railway Fat Controller [as the Big Boned Controller] to depict how - following his thoughts on umpires - the eponymous Grant Thomas the Tank Engine is apparently not sacked from the railway by "the Big Boned Controller" for having an opinion but instead for financial reasons and sent to the scrapyard. With tape on his mouth, Grant Thomas muffles his titular line "Cinders and ashes!"
In the 2010 British comedy sketch show, a trippy Thomas & Friends parody was made while none of the regular characters are featured specially made characters are made. This sketch features an engine named Ernie who meets a new engine called Pablo as he tries to lead a revolution against the Fat Controller parody, Mr. Manager, and his actions in his private train shed.
This sketch uses various custom mostly repainted Bachmann Thomas & Friends models of Thomas and James, as well as a Hornby Thomas & Friends Percy on certain characters, and for certain close-ups which have animated faces, the Large Scale Bachmann Thomas & Friends Thomas and Percy were customised too, and instead of grey faces the engines all have faces atone to normal skin tones, as well as hair.
A Comic Relief sketch called "Harry Potter and the Secret Chamberpot of Azerbaijan" features a Hornby Thomas & Friends Thomas as a substitute for the Hogwarts Express.
A framed CGI Thomas & Friends promotional image of Thomas was seen in several shots hanging on the wall. Many other images from shows on ABC Kids, the channel that airs Giggle and Hoot, can be seen on the wall as well.
A UK copy of the Thomas the Tank & Friends VHS Spooks and Surprises is featured among Tom and Linda's collection of videos throughout the second series.
In the episode "Cease and Desist", a character says "You look like Gordon the Train after Percy and Thomas made fun of him for his rattling firebox". This is a reference to the Thomas & Friends episode Respect for Gordon.
Go Jackson Doll! A Gliding Stars Story[]
Jackson Doll is playing the Paint an Engine game on the 2010-2014 website.
Jackson Doll's Dad is opening up Take-n-Play Pull-n-Zoom Percy.
In The episode adaptation of A Shocker on Shock Street, during the scene where Erin and Marty are in their Dad’s workshop full of horror film props he made, one of the tables Has some Wooden Railway Destinations along with the Wooden Railway Model of Thomas.
Nina and the Sproutlets do Thomas' Clock Stretch in "Time and Clocks" and "Thomas' End of the Night Stretch" in "People Who Work at Night" and "Trains".
In the first series' fourth episode "Confessions of a Trainspotter", Michael Palin (in what's also his first travel documentary) mentions "The England of Thomas the Tank Engine and The Railway Children". Flying Scotsman, a replica of the Rocket and the National Railway Museum also appear, while a copy of The Railway Series book Duke the Lost Engine is seen.
In Series 2, Episode 3 the expert subject of contestant Jamie was Thomas the Tank Engine, he ended up winning the episode. The graphic displaying a CGI Thomas & Friends render of Thomas on Jamie's podium had its number removed.
In some of the Sharing Stories segments in the first series of the original Australian version of Hi-5 (most notably the fourteenth and twenty-first episodes), Tim wears overalls with a picture of James on the front of them and Nathan wears overalls with a picture of Percy.
In the Word Play segment in Series 2 Episode 32, the toy train used to travel the map of Australia appears to be an Ertl Skarloey spray painted silver.
In the Sharing Stories segment in Series 2 Episode 39, Charli appears to be wearing overalls with a picture of Percy on the front, albeit with Percy covered by polka dot stickers and a Hi-5 logo sticker.
In the episode "The Drunk Train", Ted and Barney keep riding the late night train to Long Island in the hopes of hooking up with someone. During one of their first rides, Barney makes a bunch of lewd puns around pieces of fiction involving trains and Ted adds to it by saying Thomas the Spank Engine, which Barney disapproves of claiming "Ted, that is a children's book" (only for Barney to say the very same pun later on in the episode and take credit for it).
During the LEGO layout section of the video, a custom LEGO system built Thomas was shown as a mining engine, albeit with no face. He also has several trucks that look similar to most plank trucks seen in The Railway Series and Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends.
Bachmann Thomas & Friends G scale models of Thomas, James, a fuel tanker, an oil tanker and a milk tanker, along with Lionel G scale models of Annie and Clarabel, and Sir Topham Hatt are seen being operated at the Taltree Arboretum in Valparaiso, Indiana. Additionally, a Bachmann Thomas & Friends G scale model of Percy can be seen in the arboretum's maintenance room. (YouTube)
Stock footage of them operating are used in the intro. (YouTube)
According to Dave Simkowski, head of the maintenance room in the depot's lower level,
“
When we first were designing this, one of the modelers did not want Thomas running up on top of the train because we wanted to keep everything historically accurate and historically believable. But the kids just love the Thomas and [Friends] series, so we always have one of those running out there.
In "The Great Train Race", the longest model railway line is set up for a race between British and German model railway enthusiasts. A specially-designed hydrogen fuel cell engine competes as an "alternative energy engine". To disguise the batteries, it is done up to resemble a Hornby Thomas (albeit with Edward's face). Additionally, Oz Clarke is referred to as "The Fat Controller".
In the episode "Environment", as Kim Craig and Sharon Strzlecki walk past a Toyworld shop in Fountain Gate with Epponnee-Rae Craig crying in her pram, a large shelf full of Thomas & FriendsWooden Railway toys are seen in the shop.
During the crossover episode of the two Disney shows, Bree from Lab Rats near the end tells Oliver from Mighty Med "you remind me of someone but, I just can't think of who". Oliver then mistakenly asks "Oh is it Thomas the Tank Engine? I get that a lot... I mean personality-wise, I'm not a train". Bree answers him by saying "No it's not a make believe train..."
At the beginning of the episode Coal, John Oliver refers to coal as "basically cocaine for Thomas the Tank Engine". (YouTube)
An edit of a CGI Thomas & Friends promotional image of Thomas is used.
The Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends episode, The Sad Story of Henry is frequently referenced throughout the episode Freight Trains. Towards the end of the episode, a parody short, The Sad Tale of Henry the Engine, is shown. In the short, Sir Topham Hatt implements Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR) on the North Western Railway, resulting in Henry having to pull excessively long goods trains which result in him blocking traffic at a level crossing, carrying dangerous loads, and becoming a runaway due to the lack of inspections. While Henry runs away, he and his train derail in a large residential area. After the derailment, the tankers in his train explode, obliterating a large portion of Sodor's north-west coast. At the end of the short, Henry is taken out of commission and left inside a tunnel. (YouTube)
The short prominently features a three-rail O gauge model based on Henry's original plastic Gauge 1 model created for the first series of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends. The model includes a working smoke system and eye mechanism similar to that from the model series of Thomas & Friends, as well as several faces based directly upon those worn by Henry in the show. The model's appearance is primarily based on Henry's old shape, though with his external steam pipes and topfeed as seen on his new shape.
In addition to the replica Henry, Lionel Thomas & Friends O gauge models of Annie and Clarabel appear in a few shots.
For a few shots which require extra room on sets, an N scale Tomix TrainsThomas & Friends model of Henry is used.
For close-up shots, human figurines of Sir Topham Hatt, Henry's driver and several pedestrians were used based on those created for the model series of Thomas & Friends.
Various pieces of stock footage from the first series of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends are also used throughout the short, including:
Edited stock footage from Thomas' Train in the middle of the short.
Stock footage from The Sad Story of Henry at the end of the short. This segment also features the final line from the episode: "But I think he deserved his punishment, don't you?"
Background music for the short is loosely based on the original music made for the first to seventh series of Thomas & Friends by Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell, including a remix of Henry's theme of those series.
Gallery[]
Freight Trains- Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
"The Sad Tale of Henry the Engine" segment
Henry's custom O gauge model
Lionel Thomas & Friends models of Annie and Clarabel
The Island of Sodor following Henry's tankers exploding
8 December 2000: Host Pat Kenny shows the Thomas the Tank Engine & Friendsinteractive My First Thomas toys of Edward and James. Kenny brings a microphone near them and presses Edward's dome, and Edward says "I have number 2 on my tender". Kenny then presses James' dome and James says "5 is the best number to be". Kenny says "You know, it's amazing that Ringo Starr made more money out of Thomas the Tank Engine then he did out of The Beatles". (YouTube)
The Ringo Starr mention is incorrect, as Starr left narrating Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends in 1990 during Shining Time Station and Michael Angelis took over for him in the British narrations. Angelis recorded the voices for the Talking Edward and James, not Starr.
27 November 2020: Host Ryan Tubridy introduces a child named Aidan Pinto, an eight-year-old from Midleton, in County Cork, Ireland. Aidan is a massive fan of Thomas & Friends.
Aidan brings his collection of Thomas & Friends toys with him and when Tubridy asks Aidan who is his favourite train (engine), Aidan points at Edward and he says that he is his favourite, with Tubridy responding with "Edward the Tank Engine" (although Edward is a tender engine).
He then asks him "Who was the voice of Thomas?", which leads Aidan to say "Who was the narrator? Ringo Starr".
However, Aidan first claims that Ringo Starr narrated the first season of Thomas, while George Carlin narrated the second season, when in reality, Starr narrated both two series, while Carlin re-narrated them in the US only.
Tubridy then asks Aidan what type of engine is Thomas, with Aidan answering with "An E2 class tank engine".
Tubridy then asks him "Who's the number three engine?", with Aidan answering with "Henry!"
The two of them then play Mastermind, with a short rendition of the original Thomas Theme when they walk over to the chairs.
The questions are in order:
"I'm a little blue tank engine and I wear the number one". Answer: "Thomas".
"When was Thomas the Tank Engine built?" Answer: "1913".
This is incorrect, as while the E2 class locomotives were built between 1913 and 1916, The Railway Series establishes that Thomas was built in 1915, as he is based off the design of the E2 class locomotives built between 1915 and 1916.
"What colour is Rusty?" Answer: "Orange" **** Which is true for him in Thomas & Friends, but untrue for The Railway Series, where he was black.
"What is Percy's main job?" Answer: "To pull the mail".
"How does Mr. Conductor travel Aidan?" Answer: "Gold dust".
"We are twin engines from Scotland and we work..." Answer: "Donald and Douglas".
"Who created Thomas the Tank Engine?" Answer: "Wilbert Awdry".
"What is the fastest train (engine) in Thomas?" Answer: Mallard.
Who is a real-life steam locomotive and appeared in The Railway Series and is a Class A4, the basis for the Thomas & Friends character, Spencer. However, in terms of Thomas & Friends, "the fastest train (engine)" is Etienne.
"What was the greatest band of all time that happened to feature a drummer called Ringo Starr?" Answer: "Beatles".
The 3 March 2006 episode features O'Brien interviewing Alec Baldwin regarding Baldwin's narration of the fifth and sixth series of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends, wherein he tackles a controversial subject that Baldwin's voice given for James sounded gay. A brief clip from "Busy Going Backwards" is shown as an example, with Baldwin jokingly referring to the series as "Brokeback Railroad" in reference to the 2005 gay romance film Brokeback Mountain.
In one episode, Seth Meyers talks about U.S. congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and mentions how she thinks pot had something to do with the train derailment in Ohio. Meyers then says "We all know there's only one train who smokes pot, and it's the one narrated by Ringo Starr. I'm on to you, Thomas". (YouTube)
An image of Thomas from the Thomas & Friends episode Thomas and Gordon is used, along with an image of Ringo Starr as Mr. Conductor.
A parody skit of Thomas & Friends was featured in an episode spoofing the 2023 East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment. The skit is titled "Gimme a Brake", and in the skit, Sir Topham Hatt orders Henry to take a train of murder hornets and smallpox through Vicarstown after lobbying to repeal safety regulations, despite Henry protesting that his brakes are faulty. Resultingly, Henry crashes into another train and releases the hornets, which sting and infect Sir Topham Hatt and his assistants. (YouTube)
One reoccurring segment on this Japanese sketch show featured contestants playing a game of word association while dressed as characters from different franchises. The first four segment was named きかんしゃナーマス and was clearly based on Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends, with the contestants dressed as Thomas, Gordon, Percy, Toby and Mavis. It was narrated by Katsuhiro Higo, known as doing an impression of Leo Morimoto, and aired from 14 October to 4 November 2001. Should one of the contestants fail three times, they end up being launched face first into some mustard, with "Gordon" ending up as the loser and crashing into a mustard truck twice.
In the episode "Game", a Thomas & FriendsStepney magnet can be seen on the refrigerator.
Life Size Toys[]
Stunt group Nitro Circus produced a special episode for this Quibi series where they perform tricks over a life-sized Thomas & Friends Thomas from the Day Out with Thomas event at the Southern California Railway Museum.(YouTube)
The Lingo Show[]
In the episode "Trapeasy Rider", Jargonaise flies into a boy's bedroom to look for an object she can swing onto for her big bug show. She comes across a BigJigs wooden green engine on Trackmaster track.
Lionel Nation 1[]
A picture of the Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends Thomas can be seen in a display case at the California State Railroad Museum, while the basis for the Thomas & Friends character Beau can been seen on display.
Lionel Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends O scale models of Thomas, Annie and Clarabel appear on a layout at the FAO Schwarz toy store, and Macy's.
Lionel Nation 2[]
An ERTL Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends Sir Topham Hatt figure is featured in front of a station on John Potter's layout.
Lots and Lots of Toy Trains Volume 1: Big Trains & Little Trains![]
Lionel Thomas & Friends O scale models of Thomas, James, Diesel, Annie and Clarabel, S.C. Ruffey and the flatcar with Harold, along with G scale models of Thomas, James and Annie and Clarabel are seen during the montages.
Lots and Lots of Wooden Trains Galore[]
An ErtlThomas & Friendsconductor, some BRIOThomas the Tank Engine & Friends red express coaches and some Thomas & FriendsWooden Railway items are seen during the montages.
In Series 7, Episode 7 (27 March 1995), presenter Stuart Littlemore refers to the ABC's personification of fighter jets as akin to not reading past the level of Thomas the Tank Engine.
A 2010 guest appearance by Sesame Street's Elmo on the show has him whistling a snatch of the Engine Roll Call from Thomas & Friends, while host Naomi Wilkinson holds a handmade Thomas & Friends Thomas card. (YouTube)
In another episode, a CGI Thomas & Friends promo is interacted with by the presenter.
MLB Network Showcase[]
In one of the baseball games, a rendition of the Engine Roll Call from Thomas & Friends can be heard playing for the Atlanta Braves.[4]
In some of the show's "Scenes We'd Like to See" sketches concerning "Unlikely lines in a children's book":
The Fat Controller was stated to having gone on a business strategy course and from then on wanted to be called the "Horizontally Gifted Chief Operations Manager".
An exchange took place between a passenger and the Fat Controller over Thomas having been delayed because "that's real life".
An "extract" was taken from The Railway Children which claimed that the children had chucked stones at the engine (similarly to Henry's Sneeze) and spray-painted an insult about Thomas.
In some of the show's "Scenes We'd Like to See" sketches about "Unlikely things to hear on a children's TV programme":
The latest episode of Thomas & Friends was stated as being cancelled and replaced by Ronald the Replacement Bus Service.
Thomas was stated as being happy as he had joined Thameslink and had not been needed to do anything for over a month.
Thomas was stated to have "huffed and puffed as he pulled out of Paddington", who he had run over.
Thomas said "Hello" to the Fat Controller who Thomas had referred to by his nickname which the Fat Controller got angered at.
In one of the show's "Scenes We'd Like to See" sketches about "Things you wouldn't hear on a history documentary", Thomas was said to plot revenge against Henry and Edward due to his anger after learning the two had become king.
In one episode from circa 2007, one of the questions is "What vehicle is Thomas?" (without specifying it refers to a fictional character). The correct answer (Locomotive) is guessed and the original Thomas & Friends theme plays. This was followed by a joke question: "What is Thomas' female friend called?" If taken seriously, it could have likely referred to Lady, Emily or Rosie.
In Episode 323, The Castle of Fu Manchu, as a British passenger train passes, Joel says, "Hey, no. It's Thomas the Tank Engine, man".
In Episode 403, City Limits, when a character says, "I'll meet you later at the station", Joel asks, "At the Shining Time Station?"
In Episode 419, The Rebel Set, as a criminal is chased through a railroad yard, Crow says, "Maybe Thomas the Tank Engine will come to save the day".
In Episode 509, The Girl in Lovers Lane, as someone gets beaten up next to a boxcar, Joel says, "This happened on Thomas the Tank Engine one time".
In Episode 619, Red Zone Cuba, as someone climbs onto a freight train, Crow says, "I'll bet they're gonna pistol-whip Thomas the Tank Engine".
In Episode 808, The She-Creature, as a man wearing a top hat is shown, Mike says, "Sir Topham Hatt's evil brother".
In Episode 812, The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies, as a singer sings, "Choo choo", Tom Servo asks, "Is she singing the Thomas the Tank Engine theme?"
In Episode 819, Invasion of the Neptune Men, as a spacecraft with a dome resembling a face passes, Mike says, "Hey, it's Thomas the Tank Spaceship" while Tom Servo hums the Classic Series theme song.
In Episode 1101, Reptilicus, as Reptilicus destroys a model town, Jonah says, "The Island of Sodor, no!"
In Episode 1109, Yongary - Monster from the Deep, Jonah says, "This must be Shining Time Station's military industrial complex".
In Episode 1114, At the Earth's Core, while two British steam engines shunt a flatbed with a large drill, Crow asks, "I wonder if the conductor is Ringo Starr or George Carlin".
In the episode "Moving Target", Brian Lane (Alun Armstrong) asks "So if Claudia Scott and Peter Collins were two of Darren's partners in crime, who's the other?" to which Gerry Standing (Dennis Waterman) replies: "What about the Fat Controller?"
New Zealand Railscene[]
In Issue 13, scenes from the first series of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends episode, Thomas in Trouble were seen during a segment where Christopher Awdry was interviewed. As well as this, Christopher Awdry is seen wearing a Thomas t-shirt.
In the Australian and New Zealand version of the 2015 Kids' Choice Awards on Nickelodeon, a Thomas & Friends YouTuber named DieselD199 (who would be involved in the Thomas Creator Collective) was nominated under the award for 'Favorite Aussie/Kiwi Internet Sensation', but lost to Troye Sivan. A few clips from DieselD199's videos were included for his nomination on the broadcast. (YouTube)
Nosotros Los Guapos[]
In the episode "Los Santos Reyes Magos", Adventures James and Flynn, A Take-n-Play set and A TrackMaster Thomas' Sky High Bridge Jump set can be seen right next to Vitor and Albertano while at the store.
The NRL Footy Show[]
The promotional photo of the Hornby Thomas & Friends Thomas model is used in a recurring gag, with Paul Gallen's face edited over Thomas.
In the episode "Out for the Count", Thomas & Friends toys of Thomas, James, Percy and a Big Loader motor can be seen hidden behind other toys. (YouTube)[note 1]
Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway toys of Cranky, the Sodor Engine Wash and the Water Tower, a Brio Thomas & Friends Rusty and a Thomas & Friends Take Along Tidmouth Engine Set were seen in the episode, "Donna & Joe".
In one of The Playground Stop episodes from 1994, presenter Dave Benson Phillips brings a group of children to the Nene Valley Railway and their replica of Thomas is featured very heavily in the episode.
During a "Head to Head" round of Pointless, the contestants had to unjumble the letters of five names from their alphabetical order to identify which engines from Thomas & Friends they were.
The category of the Thomas & FriendsMy Thomas Story Library books once came up during an episode.
In Season 7 of the New Zealand comedy sketch series there was a series of sketches that parodied Thomas & Friends. The sketches centred on a walking blue tackle bag with an angry face who always gets rammed at the end of the story called "The Adventures of Thomas the Tackle Bag", the tackle bag is named Thomas and the narrator tells the stories in a similar fashion to the real Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends narrations. The title also follows the style of the show.
A modified Bachmann Thomas & Friends HO Scale model of Thomas, along with Annie and Clarabel, A Tar tanker, a 7-plank truck, and a 4-plank truck, was used in "High Noon-ish", the third episode of the show's fourth season.
In season 2, episode 4, the chef cooking for the ladies is from Darlington, England and Victoria Montano tells him he sounds like Thomas the Tank Engine and mentions she watching Thomas & Friends with her children right now, only to try to do an Ringo Starr impression but fail.
Series 12, episode 8 (an NHS special) sees a hospital kitchen trolley dressed up to look like Thomas the Tank Engine for its children's ward being restored.
In the episode "The Beatles", Jamie Theakston is interviewing Ringo Starr (played by David Walliams), who keeps speaking like he is narrating an episode of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends whenever he finishes a sentence.
When Jamie tries to stop Ringo from doing this, Ringo suddenly claims he is Thomas' representative on Earth and Thomas tells him to do good and bad things.
Later, when Jamie asks Ringo what he meant when he said he was Thomas' representative on Earth, Barbara Bach (played by Matt Lucas) enters the room and explains that Ringo's behaviour was due to him being no longer able to connect with reality after Michael Angelis took over as narrator.
In one of the videos, "For Me, For You, For Later - Learning to Wait", many Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway toys can be seen in their original packaging. (YouTube)
In the video, "Sesame Street and Autism: Nasaiah's Day", Nasaiah is riding on a Thomas & Friends tricycle.
In the 10th episode of its fourth series: Going Back, the scene of Percy plunging intro the sea and the Fat Controller scolding him from the second series of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends episode Percy Takes the Plunge was featured.
In the penultimate episode "The Blue Comet", while Bobby Baccalieri is getting killed in the toy train store, several pieces of Lionel Thomas & Friends merchandise can be seen in the background, including an O Scale train set and an O scale model of Percy.
In the second episode of series 5, one sketch features a caricature of Ringo Starr as Thomas, an alcoholic engine with a big red nose who, despite Gordon's condemnation, ends up completely off the rails.
Another sketch predicts the consequences of the privatisation of British Rails, including Thomas being put up for sale for a group of different contractors.
In "The Harmony Family", a Thomas & Friends leapfrog book is seen at the restaurant during the "Teaches Continues" segment.
In "The Wujcik Family", a Thomas & Friends tub and play table appear.
In "The Moy Family", a Thomas & Friends Play Vehicle box is seen.
In "The Haines Family", lots of Thomas & Friends toys are seen throughout the episode.
In "The Wilson-Knustom Family", a Thomas & Friends Thomas toy can be seen in the garage during the observation.
In "The McKinney Family", a Thomas & Friends rug can be seen in Kaiden's room.
In "The Van Acker Family", several Thomas & Friends toys, along with the play table can be seen in Dylan's room.
In "The Goldberg Family", the children are seen playing with Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway toys.
Tenable[]
In a segment from the eighteenth episode of its third series, the players were asked to name the first ten named engines (specifically, locomotives) and coaches/carriages from The Railway Series. The player made to answer them didn’t get any correct (though he made a guess at Norman), while the answers needed were Edward, Gordon, Henry, James, Annie, Clarabel, Percy, Toby, Henrietta and Skarloey. Thomas and Trevor were also mentioned by the host Warwick Davis, but couldn’t be counted because Thomas was mentioned by name in the question and Trevor is a traction engine. (YouTube)
To the Manor Born[]
In the second episode of the third series Station Closing, Audrey tells Marjory that the Rector takes his passion for the steam so far as to keep a copy of The Railway Series'Thomas the Tank Engine in his pew. Later on in the same episode, during a meeting on the closure of the station, the Rector accidentally refers to the area manager/chairman Lovejoy as the Fat Controller.
On the 16 September 2021 episode, Jimmy Fallon listens to a made-up podcast called "Shining Time Statham" (a reference to Shining Time Station), a podcast where actor Jason Statham reads stories about Thomas the Tank Engine. (YouTube)
The 2 August 2022 episode featured Jamie Campbell Bower being interviewed for his role as Vecna from the American television series Stranger Things. Jimmy Fallon brings up that he found out that Bower was also the voice of Skiff from Thomas & Friends, with a picture from the twentieth series of Thomas & Friends episode Skiff and the Mermaid being used for reference. Fallon then shows a clip from the episode where Skiff's voice is replaced with Vecna's voice. (YouTube)
In Series 3 Episode 4, when Jeremy is summing up his review of the then new Lamborghini Gallardo, he says "there are many great children's stories", he then misnames and mismatches various books and television series including The Famous Five and Secret Seven, he then mixes Bob the Builder and Thomas the Tank Engine to make Bob the Tank Engine and Thomas the Builder. He finishes by saying "but there's only one Harry Potter, there's only one Ferrari, and this isn't it". The idea behind this analogy is that the original of an archetype is the best. (This analogy is ironic because The Railway Series predates Harry Potter by over 50 years.)
In Series 5 Episode 8, during a race to a ski resort hotel in Verbier, Switzerland between Richard and James on a plane and Jeremy in the then-new Ferrari 612 Scaglietti, late into the race, Richard Hammond and James May find themselves waiting for the Saint Bernard Express. Whilst waiting on the platform James phones Jeremy and describes the engine as one "out of the Reverend W. Awdry's stories", referencing the train's cartoon-like appearance.
In the Series 20 Episode 2, when introducing guest star Tom Hiddleston, Clarkson notes how Britain has many great Toms, including "-mas the Tank Engine".
In the first iteration of Top Gear USA, In Season 2, Episode 3, Adam Ferrara tells co-host Tanner Foust "Follow Me, Thomas". Co-host Rutledge Wood chuckles at the reference and proceeds to tell Tanner about Thomas & Friends, naming Thomas, Percy, and Clarabel (although he incorrectly calls her Clara).
Toy Train Christmas Memories[]
A Lionel Thomas & Friends G Scale Thomas model was featured in the DVD operated by Tom Voltaggio.
Bachmann Thomas & Friends G Scale models of Thomas, James, Percy, and a troublesome truck appear in the Morris Arboretum segment in Series 9, Episode 4.
Trains Unlimited[]
In Series 1 Episode 9, Lionel Thomas & Friends O Scale Lionel models of Thomas were featured in "Model Railroads".
In Series 2, Episode 19, a Thomas & Friends question is asked to the contestant Sue, the question being; "Which 'Thomas the Tank Engine' character has a twin called Dennis?" The options being Norman or Thomas. Sue goes with Norman, which is correct, and she gains £100. (video)
In Series 5, Episode 6, Story Time, the main character Tony Woodford sarcastically mentions Thomas the Tank Engine in-relation to site branding for a rail-line, after Rhonda suggests 'all aboard' as a slogan. In addition to this at the end of the episode when a prototype train is supposed to arrive for a press gathering, the band in the background are playing an orchestral rendition of the theme music of Thomas & Friends.
The Fat Controller is mentioned in-passing in an earlier series.
A Thomas & Friends backpack, a Thomas & Friends hat and a Thomas & Friends shirt is seen during the kindergarten segments in some episodes of Series 1.
A Thomas & Friends shirt is seen during the "Can You Point Your Fingers and Do the Twist?" song in The Wiggly Big Show and some episodes of season 2. Another child can be seen wearing Thomas dungarees in The Wiggly Big Show during "Hot Potato".
A Thomas & Friends shirt is seen during the "Dorothy's Dance Party" song in Big Red Car (AUS)/Dance Party (US) video.
In Series 3, Episode 7, during the "Network Wiggles News" segment, when Dorothy the Dinosaur is at the park, A little boy is seen wearing a Thomas The Tank Engine cap.
In Series 3, Episode 10, during the "Network Wiggles News" segment, when Dorothy the Dinosaur and the kids go to the store to get supplies for Captain Feathersword's birthday, some Thomas & Friends wrapping paper can be seen.
In Treehouse Big Day Out 2, a girl with a face painting can be seen wearing a Thomas the Tank Engine sweatshirt.
In the Series 10 episode Enthusiasm, during the concert footage, a child can be seen holding Take-n-Play toys of Thomas, Percy, Salty, and Stanley.
Would I Lie to You?[]
In the seventh episode of the seventeenth series, Ivo Graham stated that after one year at university, he changed his bed linen to that of his old Thomas the Tank Engine bedding from his childhood home, in order to improve his love life. Later on in the programme, Rob Brydon referred back to this story, by doing an impression of Ringo Starr while asking Ivo if Sinitta's statement was true.
In an episode that was broadcast on 21 October 2012, the opening scene from the sixteenth series of Thomas & Friends episode Muddy Matters was featured and re-narrated by judge Gary Barlow.
You've Been Framed![]
In various episodes, a clip of an engine's tender overflowing with water is shown, and Harry Hill dubs the incident as "Thomas embarrasses himself in front of The Fat Controller - the only Thomas book still banned in the UK".
In some other episodes, a clip of a child sleeping on a rideable Thomas toy, before falling off the track, is shown.
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