The nameboards appeared as short intermission segments between every two episodes of the first and second series during television airings in the UK and between each episode on most of the first to seventh series VHS and DVD releases in the US. To recap the characters, these nameboards appeared as an intermission segment while the Thomas Theme played.

Series 1​

• Thomas (two versions)
• James (two versions)
• Gordon
• Henry (two versions)
• Edward (two versions)
• Percy (two versions)
• Toby (two versions)
• Bertie
• Terence

Series 2

• Bill and Ben
• Donald and Douglas
• Duck
• Diesel
• Daisy
• BoCo
• Harold
• Trevor

Series 3

• Mavis
• Oliver (Thomas and the U.K. Trip only)
• Bulgy (Thomas and the U.K. Trip only)
• Toad (dropped)

Series 4

• Skarloey
• Rheneas
• Sir Handel (Falcon board made but was left unused)
• Peter Sam (Stuart board made but was left unused)
• Rusty
• Duncan
• Duke
• Stepney
• Class 40
• Caroline
• George
• Post Van
• Bulstrode (dropped)

Series 7

The nameboards were produced for the Five New Engines in the Shed Music Video.

• Harvey
• Emily
• Salty
• Arthur
• Murdoch

Trivia

• In the UK:
  • The first series nameboard sequences started with five of the characters introduced in this series before the "Next Story Coming Up Soon!" card, then continued with the other four characters and ended with the one the next episode was about, accompanied by the episode's title. Edward, the first example of one of these characters, appearing in the Edward and Gordon title card, would take the place of the next starring engine. Toby and Terence were the only characters not to appear in a final nameboard shot.
  • The second series nameboard sequences always began first with a montage of every character who was introduced in the first series, followed by a montage of all the new characters just as the title card for the next episode appeared on screen.
• Thomas' right sided nameboard shot only appeared in the book, The Sad Story of Henry/Thomas's Train/Thomas and the Guard.
• Toby's right sided nameboard shot was not used until the second series, thus it was only used in the brown lit version and never the blue lit version.
• Henry's nameboard was never redone with his new rebuilt shape.
• Gordon was the only engine in the first series who presumably did not have a second nameboard shot.
• Donald and Douglas' nameboards are the only ones to show their numbers.
• In Japan, every episode of the first seven series ended with a nameboard sequence of its featured characters, with their names read by the narrator. The restored version replaces them with shots of the characters in the respective episodes instead as it is clearly unknown what happened to the film reels for all the footage of the nameboard sequence shots.
• In the Welsh dub, Donald, Douglas, BoCo, Daisy and Harold's nameboards are not changed and they keep their English names.
• The fourth series nameboards are most likely photographic stills, as none of the steam engines puff steam, and the characters do not move their eyes. Also, the characters do not have crowds of people around them.
• Mavis' original nameboard sequence has only appeared in Trust Thomas and Other Stories and Thomas and Bertie's Great Race and Other Adventures.
• Class 40's nameboard sequence has only appeared in Cranky Bugs and Other Thomas Stories and in the airings of the fourth series episode Bowled Out in Japan.
• The Post Van is the only faceless vehicle to be given a nameboard sequence, which only appeared in Thomas Meets the Queen and Other Stories and Races, Rescues and Runaways and Other Thomas Adventures.
• Jeremiah Jobling is one of the people in the crowd looking at Thomas, Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy and Toby.
• Sir Topham Hatt is one of the people in the crowd looking at Percy and James in his outfit from the first series episode Toby and the Stout Gentleman. He can also be seen wearing his outfit from the first series episode Coal in Edward's original nameboard and in a picture of Thomas' right sided nameboard.
• The stone-dropping boys are among the people in the crowd looking at Thomas, Edward, Gordon, James, Percy and Toby.
• The lady in the floppy green hat from the second series episode Wrong Road is one of the people on the platform looking at BoCo.
• The Policeman from the first series episode Thomas in Trouble is one of the people on the platform looking at Donald and Douglas. He can also be seen looking at Daisy.
• Bridget Hatt and Farmer Trotter are two of the people looking at Mavis in one of her nameboards sequences.
• Jem Cole and The Vicar of Wellsworth are two of the people looking at Harold.
• Toad is behind Oliver during his nameboard sequence in Thomas and the U.K. Trip.
• Mrs. Kyndley is one of the people looking at Harold, Trevor and Duck.
• Bridget Hatt is one of the people looking at Toby on his right sided nameboard and Gordon in her outfit from the first series episode Toby and the Stout Gentleman.
• Skarloey, Sir Handel, Rusty, Duke and their nameboards are now in possession of Twitter user ThomasTankMerch.
• Rheneas, Duncan, Stepney, Class 40, Caroline, George and Post Van's nameboards are now in possession of Twitter user TomsProps.
• Toad and Bulstrode were going to have nameboards, but were dropped for unknown reasons. Had Toad's nameboard not been dropped, he would have been the only rolling stock to have one.
  • There have also been nameboards for Sir Handel and Peter Sam's original names; Falcon and Stuart, both of which were left unused. They are also owned by Twitter user TomsProps.
• The type of font used for the nameboards from Series 1 to 4 is currently unknown; it has elements in common with Times New Roman as well as the modern Cambria Bold, but does not exactly match either; the latter also postdates the series' creation by twenty years.

Goofs

• James' nameboard appeared twice in the original ten-minute airing of the first series episodes Troublesome Trucks and James and the Express, taking Edward's place.
• Thomas' nameboard also appeared twice in the Christmas Day 1984 airing of the first series episodes Dirty Objects and Thomas' Christmas Party, with no trace of Edward here either.
• In Percy's left sided nameboard his face moves when he looks down.
• The tube used to direct the steam is seen in Henry's right sided nameboard.
• In some of the nameboards, the passengers can be seen standing on a white platform which overlaps the track. Blu-Tack is also seen on some of the passengers' feet.
• The "C" in BoCo's nameboard is not capitalised.
• Daisy's eye mechanism is seen moving (look at cab window).
• Sir Handel and Rheneas' faces are switched.
• Skarloey's rear wheel is derailed in his nameboard shot.