The Engine Roll Call or simply Roll Call, is a song dedicated to the Steam Team and featured at the end of every episode before the end credits from the eighth to twenty-first series. An instrumental version of the chorus was used for the credits since the eighth series and for the opening from the eighth to the tenth (in the eleventh series, the instrumental was replaced with the chorus for the opening). The tune became the series' main theme up to the twenty-first series, replacing the original theme used in the first seven series.

In 2015, Steve D'Angelo and Terry Tompkins re-arranged the theme for the nineteenth to twenty-first series, now placing a more general focus on the engines of Sodor, rather than just the Steam Team. In 2017, a version focusing on Frankie, Hurricane, Lexi, Theo, and Merlin, named Frankie's Roll Call, would be made for the Thomas Creator Collective. In 2018, Imaginigami composed the twenty-second to twenty-fourth series version with the nineteenth to twenty-first series instrumental and different child singers in some parts (this time now featured only at the end of certain episodes taking place on Sodor).

The lyrics have been changed three times: once for Calling All Engines!, replacing the middle section with an overview of the special's plot; once for The Great Discovery to accommodate Stanley; and once for the twenty-second to twenty-fourth series to accommodate Nia and Rebecca. An alternate rock 'n' roll version was also made.

In 2021, an instrumental lullaby version was created for the digital album, Lullabies.

In 2025, a re-arranged version based on the one featured in the nineteenth to twenty-fourth series dedicated to the Biggest Adventure Club was released in Japan for the theatrical release of The Biggest Friends of All.

Lyrics

Characters

Locations

Footage Used

Deleted and Extended Scenes

• Emily's New Coaches - A deleted scene of Emily passing a field.
• What's the Matter with Henry? - An alternate angle shot of Henry going under a pipe.
• Toby's Windmill - An extended shot of Toby about to push the trucks of flour.
• Gordon and Spencer - An extended shot of Gordon on his hill.
• Thomas to the Rescue - A deleted scene of Thomas rolling his eyes at Tidmouth Sheds.
• James Gets a New Coat - A deleted scene of James puffing through the countryside.
• You Can Do it, Toby! - A deleted scene of Toby and Henrietta passing Black Loch.

Trivia

• The first version of the song was in a rhythm-and-blues style and the second one was redone in a rock-pop style.
• The song's music video has been redone six times; once for the eleventh series in high definition, then for the twelfth series with CGI faces on the models, again for the thirteenth series using full CGI, with a minor change for the fourteenth series, one to accompany the re-arranged theme for the nineteenth series and new changes in lyrics for the twenty-second to twenty-fourth series.
• The eleventh and twelfth series versions are the only versions of the song released in said series.
• The instrumental version of the eighth to eighteenth series theme tune was heard when the Thomas balloon was shown in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
• The twenty-second series version marks the first time the lyrics have been altered to a significant extent, in order to accommodate Nia and Rebecca in place of Edward and Henry:
  • "Red and green and brown and blue" is changed to "Yellow, and green, red, orange and blue".
  • The new order is: Thomas, Rebecca, Percy, Gordon, Emily, James, Nia and Toby.
  • James is now in place of Henry, with the new line "James is always showing off".
  • Edward's old line is reused, but changed to Nia instead.
  • Rebecca uses a slightly altered version of James' original line, replacing "is vain but" with "she's new and".
  • Toby is kept in the line-up to retain eight lines and the rhyme, despite the fact that he was removed from the Steam Team.
• When the eleventh series was shown in full-screen on Nick Jr. in the UK and Ireland and on PBS Kids in the US, during the line "Thomas, he's the cheeky one", the shot of Thomas rushing through the yards in the background is mirrored. This was changed on the twelfth series version on full-screen.
• The whistle heard in the song (prior to the nineteenth series) is also heard in the songs Sounds and Determination, and was also used as the Big City Engine's whistle in an audiobook.
• The lyrics of the song were incorporated into the intro sequence starting with the eleventh series, however, in the thirteenth to eighteenth series version, the whistle is removed.
• In All Aboard with the Steam Team, Steamies vs. Diesels and other DVDs and television airings with ninth and tenth series episodes, there are yellow and blue linings when they show the engines, which are not present in DVDs and television airings with eighth series episodes and The Great Discovery.
• Unusually, on the DVD Railway Friends, the song is pitched down by a semitone.
• The song was never dubbed into Norwegian for the series until the thirteenth series. Dubbed versions of the songs in Calling All Engines! and The Great Discovery exist, however.
• In King of the Railway, the Sodor Brass Band are heard playing the song when Sir Robert Norramby arrives at Knapford and again later at the opening of Ulfstead Castle. Stephen is also heard humming the song while he is on the Main Line. The Brass Band also plays this song in Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure and in Bubbling Boilers.
• In Bubbling Boilers, the bouncing cloud is replaced by a bubble.
• A marching band version of the song is used as the intro theme for Hero of the Rails.
• Some airings of the twenty-second series feature Henry when the final "green" is said while others feature Samson.
• There is an instrumental of the extended version on the Hong Kong DVD, Sing-a-Long 4.
• This is the only song from the eighth series that was dubbed into Japanese, while none of the other songs from the same series got localised.
• The first and last verses are the same in South Korea.
• The eighth to tenth series version is the last song to use footage directed by David Mitton.
• This song has the most variants with 20 variants and versions.
  • Despite this, various dubs of the show have left the song undubbed, including:
    • Arabic (Series 8-9, 19-21)
    • Czech (intro in Series 11-12, outro in Series 8-17 and Calling All Engines!)
    • Hungarian (intro in Series 11, outro in Series 8-16 and Calling All Engines!)
    • Indonesian (Series 11-24)
    • Malay
    • Romanian (intro in Series 11, outro in Series 8-17 and early airings of Series 18)
    • Serbian (Series 8-12)
    • Norwegian (Series 8-11)
    • Estonian
    • Võro
    • Latvian
    • Lithuanian (Before Series 17 and Series 22-24 only)
    • Russian (voice-over version only)
    • Persian
    • Kannada
    • Filipino (Tagalog)
    • Chinese Mandarin (Series 8-21)
    • Taiwanese Mandarin (television, DVDs and episodic VODs)
    • Cantonese
    • Thai (Series 19-24)
    • Turkish (initial airings of the intro and outro until Series 18) dubs.
  • The song has also been left as an instrumental in:
    • Russian (Calling All Engines! and Series 10-11 only)
    • Persian
    • Kannada
    • Indonesian (Calling All Engines! only)
• In the Polish dub, it is said that Thomas is "very bold", Gordon is "as fast as the wind" and Toby is "boring".
• In the thirteenth to eighteenth series, an extra whistle sound (from the shot of Hero of the Rails featured) is heard at the end of the song.
• In the fourteenth to eighteenth series short version, the latter part from the railway tracks moving from Hero of the Rails was plastered over the clip of Thomas' whistle budging up from Double Trouble.
• The fourteenth to eighteenth series music video of the song is used in the most series than any other one.
• In the European Portuguese (Series 19 only except for Start Your Engines! DVD), Ukrainian (Series 22 as well) and Korean dubs, the original music can be heard at the nineteenth to twenty-first series opening and ending.
• In the Romanian (Series 22) and Czech (Series 23-24) dubs, they used the same audio recordings fom the nineteenth and twentieth series dub lyrics.
• The rap version of this song is called "Thomas, You're the Leader".
• In the 4:3 version of the twelfth series version of the song, the camera pans to the left during the scene of Percy rushing down Gordon's Hill.

Goofs

• Many international dubs of this song contain goofs:
  • In the Polish dub:
    • The main colours of the Steam Team members are listed out of order and do not match the ones shown. This is fixed in The Great Discovery version.
    • It is said that Percy "races across the world with the mail". However, he only delivers the mail on the Island of Sodor.
    • It is said that Henry pants "oh" and "ah".
  • In the Swedish dub:
    • In The Great Discovery version, Stanley is misidentified as Edward because the Stanley lyrics were not dubbed in Swedish. This goof is also present in the European Portuguese, German and Hindi dubs.
    • The thirteenth series music video uses the Calling All Engines! version of the song.
    • In the fourteenth series TV4 airings, some of the lyrics shown on screen do not match the lyrics that are sung.
  • In the main Russian dub, it is said that Toby is "their elder brother", which is incorrect as he is not the brother of any of the engines.
  • In the Norwegian dub, it is said that Edward is "new in town". This is due to the fact that it was changed from The Great Discovery version where it initially described Stanley.
  • In the Hebrew dub of the eighth to fourteenth series, it is said that James is "usually annoyed".
  • In the Korean dub, it is said that Henry is "always brave".
  • A few international dubs miscount the number of Steam Team members (eight):
    • In the Croatian dub of the seventeenth series, the Steam Team is said to have only four members. The engines are also incorrectly identified by their English names, including Thomas, who is named Tomica in the dub.
    • In the Hebrew dub of the fifteenth and seventeenth series and the Lithuanian voiceover, the Steam Team is said to have only six members.
    • In the European Spanish and Catalan dubs, the Steam Team is said to have ten members.
  • A few international dubs also list colours that are not the main colour of any Steam Team members. They are:
    • "Yellow" in the Bosnian and Turkish dubs.
    • "Black" in the Lithuanian dub.
    • "Grey" in the Scottish Gaelic dub.
  • In the Latin American Spanish dub of the twenty-second to twenty-fourth series, "orange" is omitted from the list of colours.
  • In the European Spanish dub, the last two colours of the Steam Team members (brown and blue) are listed out of order and do not match the ones shown.
  • In the Bosnian dub, Tidmouth Sheds is referred to as a garage.
  • Edward is misidentified as Stanley in the following dubs:
    • The Arabic dub of the tenth and eleventh series. This is corrected in the thirteenth series.
    • The Hungarian dub of the seventeenth series. This is corrected in the next series.
      • However, Edward is named twice in that series (eighteenth). This is corrected in the next series.
  • In the RTP2 version of the European Portuguese dub of the eighteenth series, Edward and Henry's lines are swapped.^[1]
  • In the Brazilian Portuguese dub of the CGI series, the verses "Red and green and brown and blue" and "Shunting trucks and hauling freight" are swapped. However, this was not fixed until the twenty-second series version.
  • Edward is omitted in The Great Discovery version of the song in the following dubs:
    • Arabic
    • Danish
    • Dutch
    • Finnish
    • French
    • Norwegian
    • Polish
• In the music video shown in the eighth through the tenth series, Emily's eyes are misaligned.
• In the extended version of the eleventh series music video, one scene of Percy is reversed as smoke can be seen going back into his funnel.
• In the short version of the twenty-second series music video during James' verse, he has Henry's whistle sound.
• In the extended version of the nineteenth series music video, the sound effect for Henry's whistle is out of place; as it plays during Emily's verse. The sound is also still intact in the twenty-second series version (which plays during James' verse in the short version), as well as the All Engines Go version during Diesel's verse.
  • Also in the All Engines Go version, the colour brown is still mentioned despite there not being a brown member of the Biggest Adventure Club.

In Other Languages

CDs

• Hey! Hey! - Big Songs For Little People
• All Star Tracks (Short version)
• Hop on Board: Songs and Stories bonus CD
• Happy Birthday Thomas! (Series 22 version)
• The Railway Stories Volume 1
• The Railway Stories Volume 2
• The Railway Stories Volume 3
• The Railway Stories: Percy the Small Engine and Other Stories
• The Railway Stories: The Little Old Engine and Other Stories
• The Railway Stories: Branch Line Engines and Other Stories

Music Videos

Roll Call - Series 8 Music Video

Series 8 Music Video

Roll Call (CAE) - Music Video

Calling All Engines Music Video

Roll Call - Series 9 - 10 Music Video

Series 9-10 Music Video

Roll Call - Series 11 Music Video

Series 11 Music Video

Roll Call (TGD) - Music Video

The Great Discovery Music Video

The Roll Call - Series 13 Short Music Video

Series 13 Short Music Video

Roll Call - Series 13 Music Video

Series 13 Extended Music Video

The Roll Call - Thomas & Friends UK

Series 14-18 Short Music Video

Roll Call - Series 19-21 Music Video

Series 19-21 Short Music Video

Roll Call - Series 22-24 Music Video

Series 22-24 Music Video

♪きかんしゃトーマスのテーマ２

All Engines Go Japanese Music Video

References

Music Videos

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	Series 3	Thomas' Anthem
	Series 4	Gone Fishing | Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover | Really Useful Engine | The Island Song | Let's Have a Race | Toby
	Series 5	Night Train | Percy's Seaside Trip | Come for the Ride | Harold the Helicopter | Donald's Duck | Sir Topham Hatt | Accidents Will Happen | Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining | It's Great to Be an Engine | The Snow Song
	Thomas and the Magic Railroad	Shining Time | I Know How the Moon Must Feel | The Locomotion | Some Things Never Leave You | Summer Sunday | The Whistling Song | Girl in Green
	Series 6	Boo! Boo! Choo-Choo | Little Engines | Never, Never, Never Give Up | James the Really Splendid Engine | Winter Wonderland | Down by the Docks
	Series 7	Five New Engines in the Shed | Troublesome Trucks | The Red Balloon | Salty | The Whistle Song | There Once Was an Engine Who Ran Away
	Series 8	Sounds | Engine Roll Call | A World Around You | Emily | Surprises | Determination | Patience | Ode to Gordon
	Calling All Engines!	Busy | Trying | Together | The Dream Song
	Series 9	Brave | Night and Day | Party Time | Pride | Every Day's a Special Day on Sodor | Buffer Up and Share | Togetherness
	Jack and the Pack	The Work Song | One Friendly Family
	Series 10	Doing It Right | Favourite Place | H Is for Harold | Navigation | There's Always Something New | Responsibility | Strength
	Series 11	The Narrow Gauge Engines
	The Great Discovery	Thomas and James Are Racing | There's a Job for Everyone | Where, Oh Where Is Thomas? | Thomas, You're the Leader
	Hero of the Rails	Go, Go Thomas
	Series 13	Roll Along
	Misty Island Rescue	Misty Island Rescue
	Series 14	All You Need Are Friends | The Fat Controller
	Day of the Diesels	Day of the Diesels
	Series 15	Hear the Engines Coming
	Blue Mountain Mystery	Working Together | Blue Mountain Mystery
	Series 16	Thomas and Percy
	King of the Railway	Searching Everywhere | It's Gonna Be a Great Day
	Series 17	Hey, Hey Thomas! | On a Journey Today
	Tale of the Brave	Monsters Everywhere | Tale of the Brave | Let's Be Brave
	Series 18	It's Christmas Time | The Best Friends Express
	Thomas' YouTube World Tour	Rules and Regulations | That's What Friends Are For
	Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure	Never Overlook a Little Engine | We Make a Team Together
	Series 19	There's Snow Place Like Home | Let's Go! | Race with You | Spring Is Here!
	The Great Race	Will You, Won't You? | Streamlining | Full of Surprises | You Can Only Be You | The Shooting Star is Coming Through | Be Who You Are and Go Far
	Series 20	Glynn's Christmas Wish | It's Halloween
	Journey Beyond Sodor	Somebody Has to Be the Favourite | Who's Thomas? | The Hottest Place in Town | I Want to Go Home | We Can't Do Anything | The Most Important Thing Is Being Friends
	Series 21	Set Friendship in Motion
	Big World! Big Adventures!	Where in the World Is Thomas? | Wake Up | Enda Ulale | We're Friends | Free and Easy | Sometimes You Make a Friend
	Series 22	Big World! Big Adventures! | The Journey Never Ends | All the Girls Around the World | The Steam Team | Let's Dream
	Series 23	Legend of the Lost Engine | The Sodor Construction Crew | Don't Stop
	Series 24	Party Train | How Does It Work? | Fall Is So Much Fun | The Little Engine Who Believed | New Year's Day with Thomas
	Nursery Rhymes	Six Little Trains | Percy! | Tunnels, Bridges, Tracks and Hills | The Wheels on the Train | Chuff, Chuff, Chuff Along | If You're Happy and You Know It | Another Day on Sodor | Old McColl's Farm | Hickory Tickory Tock | Pop Goes the Diesel! | Thomas Found a Little Lamb | Twinkle, Twinkle Sodor Sky | My Name Is Thomas | Five Little Railway Friends | Happy Birthday to You
	Miscellaneous	I'm Thomas the Tank Engine | Thomas' Christmas Song | The Official BBC Children in Need Medley | Kids for Character | Courage | Teamwork | Problem Solving | Responsibility | He's So Brave | Friendship | A Thomas Birthday Wish | A Sodor Summertime | Watch Out, Thomas!
	Series 1	I'm Gonna Chug | Secret Agents | Chugga-Chugga Snooze Snooze | Knights of the Turntable | I Sure Am Feeling Lucky | A Partner on the Rails | Music is Everywhere | Chasing Rainbows | The Mail Delivery Song | If I Was a Super Train | Get on the Laugh Track | On My Own | Everyone is Afraid a Little | What Brave Engines Do | Between You and Me | Feet, Tailbone, Ribs and Claws | The Number One Engine | What's Awesome About This Place | Blowing Off Steam | A Gift to Remember | Fall Fun | My Rusty Can | Together We Can | He Should Have Given You Back | Celebrate | Song of Sodor
	Race for the Sodor Cup	When I Go Fast | The Training Song | Look It's Us
	Series 2	You Can't Stop Me! | Fast to Go Slow | Welcome to Sodor | A Mistake is What it Takes | This Was Unexpected | Stuck in the Mud at Night | Christmas Spirit | Good as New | Plow to Have Fun on the Job | Feel the Hush | The World Has a Mind of Its Own | What's Really Real | What I Can Do and What I Can't | Peep Peep, We're Counting Sheep | How to Solve a Mystery | Sandy's Strengths | The Sodor Shanty | When You Go to Sea | Blues Buddy | Good Sports | Work Together | Friendship Map | Talking Makes it Better | Take a Closer Look | The Waiting Game | The Sights of Sodor
	The Mystery of Lookout Mountain	Warning: Biggest Adventure Ahead | A Whole New Place | Job to Do
	The Great Bubbly Build	Focus on the FUNction | Put the Fun in Function
	Series 3	Worth Doing Right | Abraca-Diesel | Stuff | Instead | I Wish | Make Things Right | Find a New Way | Building Better for Everyone | Slow It on Down | When the Night Comes On | Quackity Quack | Winter Games | The Smells of Sodor
	The Christmas Letter Express	Christmastime on the Rails | A Christmas Wish | Ho-Ho-Hold on Santa Claus!
	Series 4	Stay on Track with Yourself | The True You | I Am A-Okay | Spring Start | Do Your Best | What I See | Good Friends Will Help | Choo-Choo-Choose | The Do-Over Dance | Surprise | Nothing's Stopping Me Now | Are You Asleep Yet? | Sense of Sodor
	Sodor Sings Together	Tonight Is the Night | Deliver the Music | Just Think of It | Make Room for Music | All Together Now
	Miscellaneous	Theme Song | Train School Song