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Background Information
In 1995, Stepney was introduced for the fourth series of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends. Stepney's introduction in the television series greatly contrasts his introduction in The Railway Series and the history of the real Stepney. Instead of Bluebell Representatives saving him, it was Rusty who rescued him from scrap with the intention of getting him restored to run the Bluebell Branch Line. This branch line, although based in concept on the Bluebell Railway in West Sussex in England, is located on the Island of Sodor - most likely due to Britt Allcroft's desires not to reference real locations in the television series. Nonetheless, Stepney still reprised his roles from the final three stories from his introductory book Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine and has been recognized as a major character in the Thomas franchise.
Stepney's home was still referred to as the Bluebell Railway regardless of the inaccuracy from what happened in real life. His last official speaking role in the television series was in the fifth series episode, Stepney Gets Lost. In the sixth series, he appeared primarily as a non-speaking character and his appearances in the seventh series were primarily stock-footage cameos.
Between the eighth and the eleventh series, Stepney was absent along with many other characters as the stories were more primarily focused on the Steam Team and a more constrained selection of secondary characters. Stepney did however have a minor role in the twelfth series episode, Rosie's Funfair Special, in which he was hit by a runaway truck of sugar that broke away from Rosie's train.
Stepney has not appeared in the Thomas & Friends television series since 2008 and did not make the switch to full CGI.
Behind the Scenes
Gauge 1 model
Stepney's model was custom built to run on gauge 1 track for the fourth series. The model was built from brass. It was painted using glossy car body paint and lined with red and gold automotive pinstripe tape. The model was built to a 1:32 scale.[1]
The chassis was constructed from scratch (CNC). It had a motor powered by electricity from the track via the pickups on the metal wheels.
The eye mechanism had two servos, one for up and down movement and one for left and right movement. The up/down servo was attached to the body. The left/right servo had a rod attached to the arm, which connected to a bracket. The eye balls were coupled to the bracket and locked in by the face-plate, so whenever the servos were powered, the eye balls would move however the crew member desired.
In the fourth series episodes, Rusty to the Rescue, and Thomas and Stepney, and the fifth series episode, Stepney Gets Lost, Stepney was seen with one or two lamps. These were powered by a hidden battery pack.
Reference Sheets
Series 4
Series 8
Faces
Ten different facial expressions were sculpted for Stepney and used on-screen.[2] The faces were first sculpted in clay and from that resin casts were made using a silicone mould. Some of Stepney's faces were duplicated in case the crew needed a face to look dirty and clean on the same day of shooting.
Reference Sheets
Usage and Evolution
Present Day
After production of the model series ended in 2008, most of Stepney's faces were put into storage. They were paired into two groups with the first group being listed as "TF00192".
The first set of Stepney's faces are currently owned by X user TomsProps.
A production-made cast of Stepney's happy face was also put on display at the 'History of Thomas & Friends' exhibition at the Midland Railway Centre in May 2019.
In 2025, as part of Propstore's Thomas & Friends Online Charity Auction 2025, some of Stepney's faces would be put up for auction.
CGI Face
The twelfth series marked the beginning of the show's transition into CGI and the characters' faces were animated through CGI with the aid of motion-capture animation. The physical models' moulded faces were replaced by white targets with triangles to fix a computer-animated face in post-production. Stepney's resin faces were only used in background shots.
Modifications
Stepney has had modifications throughout the television series. These include:
- Series 4:
- Series 5:
- His whistle sound changed again and reused Skarloey's whistle sound.
- Series 6:
- His livery was given a matte finish.
- His smokebox saddle was painted yellow.
- Series 12:
Fonts
The following fonts were used on Stepney's Gauge 1 model:
- Transport Heavy (name; "modified "S"; fourth and fifth series)
- Coolvetica (name; sixth-twelfth series)
- Clarendon Medium (number)
Present Day
After production of the model series wrapped in 2008, most of the models and sets would be put into storage, with some being put on display at Drayton Manor Theme Park. All other models would be logged and referenced from 2010 until early 2011 by HiT Entertainment. From this HiT would decide on which models were to enter storage once again, which would be given to crew members and which would be disposed off. Due to only having one model made in gauge 1 scale, Stepney's model would stay under HiT and later Mattel's ownership.
Stepney's model used to be on display at the Discover Thomas & Friends Exhibition at Drayton Manor but was removed from the layout in December 2018. Despite this, several of his wheels remain on the layout (and two were on a flatcar in the current layout), although these are spares and not the originals.
A set of spare unused number and nameplate decals for Stepney's model, as well as several lining sheets for his cab, side tanks and wheel arches, from the production of the ninth series, are also currently owned by X user TomsProps.
Close-up model
Close-up shots of Stepney's cab was required for scenes where he had to interact with close-up scale figures. It was also used for close-up whistle shots; smoke would emit from the whistle when required. The model was not complete and only the back half of Stepney was built.
It appeared in the fourth, fifth and twelfth series.
Reference Sheets
Fonts
• Clarendon Medium (number)
Voice Actors
- Bin Shimada (Japan)