The United States of America, or United States, simply known as America, the US or the USA, is a federation in North America consisting of fifty states and several overseas territories (in both the continents of North America and Oceania).
In Thomas & Friends, Thomas visited this country a few times in Really Useful Around the World, and later in Big World! Big Adventures!, including the San Francisco Bay Railroad.
The Railway Series and Thomas & Friends in the United States
The Railway Series
In 1973, Andrew Lloyd Webber, who had read The Railway Series as a child, approached publisher Kaye & Ward with a proposal for a musical television series.
However, there was apprehension from the publishers and the author Wilbert Awdry, as the agreement being offered would give Lloyd Webber's company "control of almost everything-idea, the characters, every one of the twenty-six books, and even anything else not yet written on published." Lloyd Webber's lawyers argued that such control was necessary in order to "secure the investment money from America which would be needed to pay for the animation and the film-making."
Awdry then stated about this decision;
- “Once the Americans get hold of it, the whole series would be vulgarised and ruined.”
- ― Wilbert Awdry
The pilot episode was completed in early 1977 and Lloyd Webber had really tried very hard to bring the project to fruition, but Granada ultimately decided not to produce a full series as they feared that Awdry's stories were not then popular enough outside the UK to justify investing the time and money needed to make the series and he was a huge stage hit with Evita.
Thomas & Friends
1989 advertisement
According to Rick Siggelkow;
- “Jay Islin, who was the head of Channel Thirteen (the NY PBS station) had brought a tape of “Thomas The Tank Engine” back from England and gave it to me, asking if there was anything we could do with it. No one thought that it would work or catch on in the US, but I showed the tape to some children and saw how much they liked it. So I called Britt in London to work out ideas on how to introduce Thomas to America by expanding it into a ½ hour show. Britt came over to New York and we spent the next few months developing a new series that eventually became “Shining Time Station.” By that time Ringo Starr was on board and we went on PBS a year later.”
- ― Rick Siggelkow[1]
In order to bring the series from Britain to America, a few changes had to be made, with help from Dr. Ron Slaby; British railway terms were changed to American railroad terms, these included changing trucks to "freight cars" and guards to "conductors". The character of The Fat Controller could not be refer to as such due to Slaby believing that it may cause a controversy due to it may not being politically correct, so he was referred to by his real name "Sir Topham Hatt." Slaby also felt like some of the original stories felt heavy- handed in terms of the punishment given to the engines, and they needed a way to redeem themselves.[1]
Shining Time Station aired on PBS and saw great success in the United States, and made Thomas popular among American audiences. After Ringo Starr stopped narrating for the series, American comedian George Carlin took over. Lots of tie-ins to Thomas were made in the United States, including replica of Thomas made from a jeep (which made guests appearances at the 1989 Chicago Thanksgiving Parade, the first inauguration of Bill Clinton, Shining Time Station Live! and Kids for Character) and new merchandise ranges such as Wooden Railway by Roy Wilson.
In 1998, the Strasburg Rail Road converted a H. K. Porter, Inc 0-6-0ST into a steam-powered replica of Thomas and ran for the first time on 29 April 1999. Around this time, American actor Alec Baldwin took over from George Carlin as the American narrator.
In 2000, Thomas and the Magic Railroad was released, a British-American co-production. The film was a financial failure, and the results of the film heightened the Thomas' presence in the United States.
While the sixth series was released on home media in the United States narrated by Alec Baldwin, British company HiT Entertainment bought out Gullane Entertainment in 2002. HiT aimed to bring Thomas & Friends back to American television on PBS Kids, and Thomas & Friends debuted on PBS Kids on 4 September 2004. Michael Brandon took over as the American narrator.
In 2012, American toy maker Mattel bought HiT Entertainment off Apax Partners for a sum of $680,000,000 (USD) in 2012 outbidding other companies such as Disney, Saban Brands and Tomy.
Rolling Stock
Locomotives
The Railway Series only
Thomas & Friends only
Shining Time Station/Thomas and the Magic Railroad only
Others only
Coaches and Freight Cars
Thomas & Friends
Others
Non-Rail Vehicles
Thomas & Friends
Others
Humans
Thomas & Friends
Shining Time Station/Thomas and the Magic Railroad
Locations
Thomas & Friends only
Shining Time Station/Thomas and the Magic Railroad only
Others only
Appearances
Thomas & Friends
Specials
Music Videos
Videos
|
Magazine Stories
Books
Video GamesAudio Stories
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Railroads
- Strasburg Rail Road
- Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
- Georgetown Loop Railroad
- Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad
References
| Locomotives | Sam* | Vinnie* | Beau* | Dockyard Engines* | Natalie* | The American Diesels* | |
|---|---|---|
| Non-Rail Vehicles | Rally Car #17* | Bonneville Salt Flats Rally Cars* | Carter* | |
| Locations | New York City | Monument Valley | Morenci Loop | Grand Canyon | San Francisco Docks (Sailors' Cafe*) | Bonneville Salt Flats | New York City | The Alaskan Research Outpost* | |