Thomas and Friends Writers' Bible

Thomas and Friends Writers' Bible
Overview
Author	Phil Fehrle Abi Grant
Publisher(s)	HiT Entertainment
Published	March 2003

The Thomas and Friends Writers' Bible was written in 2003 as a guide for writers on the show. The guide was initially written by Phil Fehrle and later reworked by Abi Grant for the eighth series. The guide features summaries for each character, short descriptions of various notable locations on Sodor and a style guide for writing episodes.

While it is highly likely that further iterations of the writers' bible exist, the 2003 writers' bible is the only one to date that has been shown publicly.

Trivia

• The guide makes several statements about the characters' ages:
  • Toby is said to be the oldest engine of the main-cast, whilst Gordon is one of the oldest.
  • Emily is stated to be roughly Thomas' age, but slightly older, and also older than Percy.
  • It is said that BoCo is the oldest diesel on Sodor.
  • Mavis is stated to be older than Bill and Ben. Furthermore, she is stated to have previously worked at "Ffarquhar Iron Works" (Misspelled as Pfarquahar).
  • Sir Handel is stated to be older than Rusty, Rheneas, and Skarloey.
  • Duke is said to be the oldest of the narrow gauge engines. This was also mentioned in the 1995 Official Website.
• It is revealed that Spencer was originally going to have blue detailing.
• It is mentioned that Salty has worked at docks all across the world, likely a callback to his mentions of working in Bimini in the sixth series episode Salty's Secret and Marseille in the seventh series episode Peace and Quiet.
• The existence of Sir Handel Brown I in Thomas & Friends is confirmed.
• It is said that the bigger engines have respect for Duck because he is Great Western.
• Oliver is described as carrying childlike insecurity, and along with Toad is said to fear the very word “scrap”, much like Douglas in the third series episode Escape.
• It is said that Bill and Ben have a dislike for diesels, except for Mavis, BoCo and a "reluctant admiration" of Salty (most likely also a reference to Salty's Secret).
• Derek is referred to as "The Paxman" instead of his new name that was only used on merchandise lines.
• It is said that Terence works frequently with Toby, although this is never seen in Thomas & Friends.
• It is said that Knapford Harbour was once the main dockyard on Sodor, but was long ago eclipsed by Brendam Docks. Knapford Harbour is now only used for minor goods exports and imports.
• The guide reveals the placement of several locations which were previously unknown:
  • Stepney's Branch Line is said to begin at Crovan's Gate.
  • The Coal Mines are said to be located between Elsbridge and Toby's Branch Line.
  • Maithwaite is said to be "near the mountains".
• Henry is said to frequently believe he has seen ghosts on the branch lines near Wellsworth, likely a callback to the fifth series episode Haunted Henry.
• It is revealed that Godred the Impaler (a presumed Sudrian king) once lived in the Castle at Castle Loch Causeway, which gave him a good overview of the Black Loch region. His ghost is believed to haunt the area to this day, and whenever engines have an accident in this region, they blame it on him.
• Sir Topham Hatt is described as being a traditionalist, who would rather repair and preserve than replace. Lady Hatt will often get on his case about modernising their home.
• Harvey's true home is stated to be the Sodor Water Works, something that would later be referenced in every DVD Character Gallery that features him.
• Fergus is stated to have a cough from working at the cement works, something that would later be referenced in every Character Gallery that features him. It is also said that he is suspicious of diesels, whom he considers "new fangled."
• Sir Topham Hatt is revealed to have 52 hats, one for every week of the year, something that would later be referenced in the 2018 Character Encyclopedia Book and has also been stated in magazine profiles of him.
• ’Arry is referred to by his full name, Harry.
• A direct quote from the sixth series episode Gordon Takes a Tumble is used in Sir Topham Hatt’s character section.
• According to this guide, Edward was meant to have Percy's role in James Gets a New Coat and James was originally collecting trucks from the slate quarry.
• BoCo is said to be Mavis' mentor, most likely referring to how Mavis works with and keeps Bill and Ben in order from the sixth series onwards. He is also said to frequently work with Mavis, Bill and Ben in the quarries.
• Rusty is referred to as being female, this being the first time his gender was referred to until the ninth series (early dubs in the US of which would claim that he was female).
• Future story concepts used in Series 8 are mentioned which include Thomas, Emily, and the Snowplough, Percy and the Big Mistake, and James Gets a New Coat. A snippet of an early draft of Thomas and the Firework Display titled "Fireworks" is used.
• The open wagons are stated to be the ringleaders of the Troublesome Trucks, while the vans are the followers.

Goofs

• It is incorrectly stated that James is the only red engine on Sodor in his character summary.
• Henry's character summary incorrectly states that he still needs special coal, an issue which was previously fixed in the first series episode The Flying Kipper. This would later become a recurring problem in episodes produced under HIT Entertainment before being rectified in the 2013 special King of the Railway.
• Both Henry and Gordon's character summaries incorrectly state that they are identical shapes. This was partially true before Henry's rebuild, but false afterwards.
• It is incorrectly stated that Stepney does not take passenger trains.
• Donald is incorrectly said to have helped save Oliver and Toad with Douglas.
• Duke is erroneously referred to as a mythical character.
• Sir Handel, despite at the time retaining his stubborn and arrogant personality and not having yet undergone his change into a much wiser engine, is described as being friendly and someone who always gives 110%.
• Oliver and Toad's character section incorrectly states that Toad carries a porter as well as his guard.
• Duke is incorrectly stated to be the only narrow gauge engine with a tender, when Bertram also had a tender. Bertram is omitted from the list of narrow gauge engines entirely.
• Strangely, Diesel is given two different write-ups in the characters section, Diesel and Devious Diesel.
  • It is probable Diesel 10 was meant to be referred as Diesel, who was referred to as such in Thomas and the Magic Railroad numerous times.
• It is stated that there are only two stations after Gordon's Hill (Maron and Crovan's Gate), despite Cronk being introduced the year prior to the guide's creation. However, this might be because the station is referred as a branch line station in the sixth series episode A Friend in Need.
• Several station names are misspelled:
  • Dryaw is misspelled as Dryad.
  • Brendam is misspelled as Brendham.
  • Crovan's Gate is misspelled as Crovansgate.
• Lakeside is referred to as Lakeland.
• Maithwaite is said to be a single platform station while it was a two-platform station since the sixth series (before this bible was written) and only a single platform station in the fifth series.
• Upper Brendam is described as being a Main Line station rather than being on Brendam Branch Line.
• The Troublesome Vans are incorrectly referred to as "Boxcars".