| This article is about the PC game. You may be looking for the DVD or the book. |
Railway Adventures is a PC game developed by Minds Eye Productions and published by Smoby Players and Infogrames in Europe and only Infogrames in North America. The game was released in 2001. It came with a control console that could be placed over the keyboard, though it can also be played using the keyboard itself.
Plot
This game gives players the chance to drive Thomas and help with important jobs around the Island of Sodor. The game starts when the player learns to drive Thomas. The player then helps out with four adventures on Sodor and earns certificates. There are also four mini games that can be played while exploring the Island.
Characters
- Thomas
- Edward
- Henry
- Gordon
- James
- Percy
- Toby
- Diesel
- Annie and Clarabel
- Bertie
- Trevor
- Harold
- Caroline
- Cranky
- The Horrid Lorries
- Sir Topham Hatt
- Tom Tipper
- Duck (surprise clip signs only)
- Bulstrode (cameo)
- Tiger Moth (cameo)
Locations
- Tidmouth Sheds
- Sir Topham Hatt's Office
- Brendam
- Wellsworth
- Elsbridge
- Culdee Fell
- Dryaw Airfield
- Ffarquhar (Surprise clip signs only)
Cast
UK
- Michael Angelis as Thomas, Harold and Sir Topham Hatt
- Simon Hepworth as Edward, Henry, Trevor, the Horrid Lorry and Tom Tipper
- Stephen Donald as Gordon, James, Percy, Toby, Diesel, the Troublesome Trucks, Bertie, Cranky, Annie, Clarabel, Caroline, most Other Human Characters and the Announcer
- Unknown voice actors as two Female Passengers
US
- Robin Smith as all the characters
Levels
- All Aboard (also known as Thomas Helps Bertie) - Help Thomas take Bertie's passengers around the Island.
- It's a Landslide - Help to place the foundations of the Viaduct. Then help Cranky load tracks and then place them on the bridge so Percy can cross.
- The Missing Mail Truck - Help Thomas find the mail van that Diesel has taken. Then help Percy, Edward and James to load the mail for the correct destination.
- Important Supplies (also known as Shunting at the Airport) - Percy, Caroline, Harold, Tom Tipper, Bertie and the Horrid Lorry need special deliveries; help Thomas pick up the right ones and deliver them. Pickups include a mechanic, fuel tankers, coal trucks and mail trucks (characters and loads vary in every replay).
Mini Games
- Great Race - Race Thomas and beat Bertie to the station.
- Mail Bag Snag - Collect all the mailbags that Diesel is throwing out.
- Toby's Maze - Go round a maze and help Toby find his way back to the station.
- Troublesome Trucks Roundup - Round up the naughty trucks.
Trivia
- Michael Angelis, Stephen Donald, Simon Hepworth and two other unknown members voice various characters in the British version while Robin Smith voices all of the characters in the American version.
- Footage from the first series episodes, Thomas and Bertie and Tenders and Turntables and the fifth series episodes, Cranky Bugs and Put Upon Percy are used on the surprise clip signs.
- Television series music from Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell is featured in the game. Several new themes were also composed for the game.
- The maze minigame features a remixed version of Toby's theme from the first series.
- To play the game without the driving console, the game's controls can be used on the bottom right side of the screen using the mouse.
- The keyboard itself is also useable but it has to be aligned to the ~ key; in this case, the up and down keys correspond to the throttle, the left and right keys correspond to the action lever, the 1 key corresponds to the whistle, and the 7 key corresponds to Thomas' face.
- It is possible that the game was originally going to be released by Hasbro Interactive's name prior to Infogrames purchase, as they are known for creating PC games using the keyboard playset.
- In the Landslide minigame, Percy asks why the Fat Controller did not send a bigger engine than Thomas, to which Thomas replies, "Little engines can do big things, Percy." This is a reference to the movie, Thomas and the Magic Railroad, which makes this the first production to reference it, with the only other time being in the double-length series finale, Thomas and the Royal Engine.
- The US box is the only version to have a window to see the controller, the UK box just has printing on the outside showing pictures of the controller.
- In the UK version, the opening video instructing players on how to set up the playset is narrated by Stephen Donald, while in the US version, it is narrated by Sir Topham Hatt.
Goofs
- Sometimes, either the engines' wheels do not move or their side rods are missing.
- Tidmouth Sheds, as in the previous PC games, has doors at the back. The doors at the back also have inverted faces.
- In the first level, when Thomas is taking Bertie's passengers, some of his lines repeat when he is driven around the Island.
- Percy is seen shunting the mail truck when Thomas finds it, but is later seen waiting at the mail depot for Thomas.
- James' voice clip for the end of "It's a Landslide" plays at the end of Edward and Percy's end scene for "The Missing Mail Car."
- In almost every scene, Thomas is missing his eyebrows.
- Caroline and The Mail Van's roofs are red instead of white and black, respectively.
- In the Landslide game, Percy's voice sometimes echos and sometimes does not in the US version.
- Trevor has Thomas' face and is slightly bigger than Thomas.
- Elsbridge is inaccurately called the Airfield Station. The airfield is actually located at Dryaw.
- Culdee Fell is depicted as a station on the North Western Railway, as well as being at the base of the mountain in place of Kirk Machan.
- Both Annie and Clarabel are depicted as brake coaches outside of the close ups.
- During The Missing Mail Truck the steam from Thomas' whistle comes out from his funnel instead of his actual whistle.
- If Percy is given the wrong mail bag in The Missing Mail Truck, Edward's voice clip will sometimes play.