Series 3/Behind the Scenes

Behind the Scenes

This is a behind the scenes subpage for Series 3. This subpage contains all behind the scenes material relating to said article.

1 Scripts And Documents
2 Concept Art by Robert Gauld-Galliers
- 2.1 Vehicles and Set Dressing
- 2.2 Landmarks and Storyboards
3 Modelling
4 Episode Production
5 Behind the Scenes Footage
- 5.1 TVS Coast to Coast News (October 1991)
- 5.2 CBS This Morning (23 April 1992)
6 Promotional Material (Edited from the Reference Sheets)
7 Promotion and Marketing
- 7.1 Model Railroader (April 1993)
8 Character/Building Models and Faces
9 List of Sets
- 9.1 Gauge 1 sets
  - 9.1.1 Episodes 1-16
  - 9.1.2 Episodes 17-26
- 9.2 Close-up sets
  - 9.2.1 Episodes 1-16
  - 9.2.2 Episodes 17-26
10 See Also

Scripts And Documents

Early draft scripts from 6 episodes from the series can be viewed in PDF form on here. (Courtesy of Twitter user NothernStarCA)

Concept Art by Robert Gauld-Galliers

Vehicles and Set Dressing

Caterpillar Crane

Soft-Side Lorry, Lady Claire and the Dock Manager's house

The Chinese Dragon

Dilly (Close-up scale)

Bulgy's Hens

Snowman (Small and close-up scale)

Landmarks and Storyboards

Suddery Coastal Village

Tidmouth Beach

'New Quarry'

Dryaw Canal Runby

'Bridge over Deep Cutting'

Tidmouth Hault

Dilly's Pond

Henry's Forest (for the episode of the same name)

The Old Ferry Pond (for Trust Thomas)

Ffarquhar River Bridge (for Toby's Tightrope)

The Three Bridges

Brendam Docks (for All at Sea)

Brendam Warehouse Area and Docks

Brendam Warehouse (would eventually become the Sodor Trading Co. building)

The Scrapyards (for Escape - would end up being moved from Brendam to Vicarstown)

Tidmouth Sheds (for Thomas and Percy's Christmas Adventure)

Map of Sodor for Series 3 by David Mitton

Modelling

Thomas

Nine of Thomas' faces

Robert Gauld-Galliers dusting Edward on the Quarry set

Another angle taken at the same time

Toby

Toby and Mavis

Mark Dorsett placing Diesel down on the Quarry set

James, Donald, Douglas and Gordon's tender being refurbished

Henry and the Scottish twins being refurbished and James' bodyshell fully repainted (Note: Gordon, Donald, Douglas and James' chassis in the foreground and Puffa and Little Owl's models from TUGS can be seen on the left)

Gordon's model being refurbished

Gordon's model getting its dome milled off by Jeremy King

Mavis' model under construction by Jeremy King

Harold

All the figures

Episode Production

Percy's Promise

Gordon and the Famous Visitor

Donald's Duck

Thomas Gets Bumped

Henry's Forest

The Trouble with Mud

No Joke for James

Thomas, Percy and the Post Train

Edward, Trevor and the Really Useful Party

David Mitton at Wellsworth Station

The bee's animation cel (for Buzz, Buzz)

All at Sea

David Mitton with Duck and Oliver (filming Escape)

Bulgy

Stephen Asquith with Thomas and Percy at Brendam Docks

David Mitton with Crew Members and Duck

Behind the Scenes Footage

TVS Coast to Coast News (October 1991)

James' close-up model

Edward, Donald, Douglas and Trevor's faces

Percy and Gordon

Outtake

Diesel

CBS This Morning (23 April 1992)

One Good Turn

Bill

Ben

Editing Diesel Does It Again

Editing Thomas, Percy and the Dragon

Promotional Material (Edited from the Reference Sheets)

Thomas

Edward's model

Henry

Gordon's model

James

Percy

Toby's model

Duck's model

Donald's model

Douglas' model

Oliver's model

Bill and Ben

Diesel's model

Daisy's model

BoCo

Mavis

Annie and Clarabel

Clarabel's model

Troublesome Trucks' models

A Mail Van model

A Milk Tanker model

A Tar Tanker model

The Chinese Dragon model

Part of the Breakdown Train model

Terence's model

Bertie's model

Trevor's model

Bulgy's model

Harold's model

Production measurements for buildings and Gordon

Promotion and Marketing

Model Railroader (April 1993)

The making of Thomas the Tank Engine by Michael Edwards (Note: The standard gauge engines are not O gauge but 1 gauge and O gauge are the Skarloey Railway engines)

Character/Building Models and Faces

Percy's close-up model owned by Twitter user TomsProps

Oliver's model formerly on display at Nitrogen Studios

Oliver's model on display at the Hara Model Railway Museum in Japan

Mavis' model on display at the Hara Model Railway Museum in Japan

One of the models of the old tenders on display in 2021

Another model of the old tenders at Drayton Manor in 2023

Toad's model on display at Drayton Manor in 2023

Toad's scrapped model on display in 2021

The Fuel Tanker's model on display at Nitrogen Studios

Bulgy's model on display at Drayton Manor during the exhibit's construction

Bulgy after the exhibit's construction (Note: He lost the front bumper and still had his "roofbox")

Bulgy lost the "roofbox" above the top deck windows

Bulgy's model on display at Drayton Manor in 2020

Bulgy's model on display at the Uesugi Museum in 2020

Bulgy's model back at Drayton Manor in 2023

Bulgy's model on display at Drayton Manor in 2023

Donald and Douglas' scrapped model as owned by Twitter user SeansModels

City of Truro's scrapped model on display in 2021

S.S. Vienna's model as S.S. Roxstar inside HiT Entertainment storage

S.S. Vienna's model on loan to the Star Tugs Exhibition

A signal box on display at Drayton Manor

A small scale workman figure as owned by Twitter and YouTube user SideKickJason

A second workman as owned by Twitter user FlyingPringle

A third workman as owned by Twitter and Instagram user ThomasTankMerch

Two small scale workmen figures as owned by Twitter user EDsTrainz

Farmer Trotter's figure owned by Twitter and Instagram user ThomasTankMerch

Another figure with a Series 4 cricket player head as owned by Twitter user MachanOfSodor

Mr. Hobson, the Coaling Plant manager's model as owned by Twitter user Machan of Sodor

A small scale dock workman model, owned by Top Props (Note: His left arm is missing)

Another small scale dock workman model, owned by Top Props

Another Dockworker's small scale figure as owned by Twitter user FlyingPringle

A Lumber Yard worker prior to being sold by The Prop Gallery

Jeremiah Jobling's Railway Inspector small scale figure as owned by Twitter user FlyingPringle

A driver body (later used as a passenger body) and a Series 7 workman head as owned by Twitter user BowledOut95

The figure prior to restoration done by Twitter user FlyingPringle

(Note: The blue paint showing underneath hinting at possible past use as a driver body)

The Quarrymaster's head in 2019

The Upper Brendam Yardmaster's small scale figure on display at Drayton Manor

A passenger body as seen in Bulgy (episode), with a Series 4 Cricket Player's head as owned by Twitter user MachanofSodor

The remains of a small scale driver from Donald's Duck as owned by Twitter user TomsProps

A passenger's arm prior to being sold by The Movie Reliquary

The arm as formerly owned by Twitter user The Railway Board

Toad's unused nameboard owned by Twitter user TomsProps

Thomas' sleeping face

Edward's cross face

James' drowsy face

Duck's grinning face

Donald's exhausted face

Duck's exhausted face

Douglas' shocked face

Douglas' surprised face

Diesel's shocked face

Diesel's happy face

Bertie's cross face

Thomas' sleeping face owned by Twitter and Instagram user ThomasTankMerch

(Note: The various coloured putties added over the years to make the face thicker)

Thomas' unused frustrated face owned by Twitter and Instagram user ThomasTankMerch

Edward's cross face owned by Twitter and Instagram user ThomasTankMerch

Edward's duplicate cross face on display in 2021

Edward's duplicate cross face on display in Autumn 2023

James' red-nosed angry face from Buzz, Buzz on display in 2019

Toby's original wider content face in a primered state owned by Twitter and Instagram user ThomasTankMerch

Toby's original wider joyful face in a primered state owned by Twitter and Instagram user ThomasTankMerch

Duck's grinning face on display in 2022

Duck's duplicate grinning face owned by Twitter and Instagram user ThomasTankMerch

Duck's exhausted face on display in 2022

Duck's exhausted face as up for auction on Prop Store in 2025

Oliver's smiling face owned by Twitter and Instagram user ThomasTankMerch

Oliver's angry/cross face owned by Twitter user TomsProps

Oliver's happy face owned by Twitter user TomsProps being worn on a fan-made replica

OIiver's sad face as up for auction on Prop Store in 2025

BoCo's happy face owned by Twitter user TomsProps

BoCo's duplicate happy face on display in 2021

BoCo's unused laughing face owned by Twitter user TomsProps

BoCo's duplicate unused laughing face on display in 2022

BoCo's sleeping face on display in 2022

BoCo's duplicate sleeping face as up for auction on Prop Store in 2025

Mavis' angry/cross face owned by Twitter user TomsProps

Three Troublesome Truck faces owned by Twitter user TomsProps

A Troublesome Truck's square mischievous face owned by Twitter user TomsProps

A Troublesome Truck's rectangular laughing and shocked faces owned by Twitter user TomsProps

A Troublesome Truck's rectangular angry face owned by Twitter user FlyingPringle

A Troublesome Van's angry face owned by Twitter and Instagram user ThomasTankMerch

A production-made cast of Toad's happy face prior to being sold on eBay in 2023

Toad's unused angry face after the model series ended

Bertie's smiling face on display in 2021

Bertie's cross face on display in 2021

Trevor's joyful and current sad faces owned by Twitter and Instagram user ThomasTankMerch

A production-made resin cast of Bulgy's cross face on The Prop Gallery

The cast owned by Twitter user SkarloeyRailwayAdventure

Bulgy's annoyed/cross face on his model at Drayton Manor

Bulgy's duplicate annoyed/cross face as up for auction on Prop Store in 2025

Bulgy's angry face as up for auction on Prop Store in 2025

Bulgy's sad face owned by Twitter and Instagram user ThomasTankMerch

Bulgy's frightened face in a storage bag during construction of Drayton Manor's new prop exhibition

Bulgy's frightened face as up for auction on Prop Store

Bulgy's unused speechless face as up for auction on Prop Store in 2025

List of Sets

Gauge 1 sets

Episodes 1-16

A total of 52 Gauge 1 sets were constructed for filming of the first half of the third series. In order of their first appearance within this half of the series, these are:

1 - Tidmouth Sheds

2 - Dryaw Canal Runby

3 - Dryaw

4 - Knapford Yards (1)

5 - Knapford Yards (2)

6 - The Watermill

7 - Suddery Coastal Village

8 - Tidmouth Beach

9 - Tidmouth Hault

10 - Elsbridge

11 - The Country Line

12 (redressed from 11)

13 - Low Lands

14 - Wellsworth

15 - The Viaduct

16 - Knapford

17 - Lower Tidmouth (1)

18 - Lower Tidmouth (2)

19 - The Valley Bridge

20 - The Headland Line Windmill

21 - Henry's Forest

22 - Lower Suddery

23 - Dily's Pond

24 - Ffarquhar River Bridge

25 - Ffarquhar Quarry (1)

26 - Ffarquhar Quarry (2)

28 - The Goods Station

29 - Hackenbeck (1)

30 - The Buckled Tracks

31 - Hackenbeck (2)

32 - Ffarquhar

33 - Brendam Docks

34 - The Lumber Mill

35 - Gordon's Hill (1)

36 - Gordon's Hill (2)

37 - Gordon's Hill (3)

38 - Wellsworth Vicarage Orchard (1)

39 - The Deep Cutting and Signal Box Runby
(redressed from 19 - The Valley Bridge)

40 - Bridge Over Signal Box and Railway Runby

44 - Old Ferry Barge

45 - Ffarquhar Quarry (3)

46 - The Quarry Tramroad

47 - Ffarquhar Quarry (4)

48 - Ffarquhar Quarry (5)

49 - Crocks Scrap Yard

50 - Trevor's Shed

51 - Wellsworth Vicarage Orchard (2)

Episodes 17-26

A total of 42 Gauge 1 sets were constructed for filming of the second half of the third series. Some of these were reconstructions of sets from the first half of the series, with minor changes. These are marked by an asterisk (*). In order of their first appearance within this half of the series, these are: