For other uses, see Series 2 (disambiguation).

The second series of Thomas & Friends premiered in the United Kingdom on 24 September 1986 and in the United States on 26 March 1989. Ringo Starr narrated all twenty-six episodes in the UK as well as re-narrating sixteen of them, with George Carlin narrating all of the episodes for the US, with twenty-four of them being aired on Shining Time Station.

Production

The majority of the episodes were based on stories written by the Rev. W. Awdry. Christopher Awdry was commissioned to write a new book of The Railway Series as source material for the second series since almost none of the planned stories featured Thomas in a leading role. Two stories from More About Thomas the Tank Engine provided additional roles for Bertie and Harold. The episode Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree was a one-off story written by Christopher Awdry. According to the original end credits for Thomas and Trevor, the episode is "based on the story by Christopher Awdry from original material by Britt Allcroft and David Mitton." All of Christopher Awdry's new stories were added later in production.^[1]

Drip Tank, Percy's Promise, Gordon Goes Foreign and Double Header were originally considered but were dropped after scripts were produced. According to Robert Gauld-Galliers, "Gordon Goes Foreign" in particular was not filmed because its production costs' budget was too high. Hullo Twins, based on the first two stories from The Twin Engines, was halfway through production before Britt Allcroft decided to cut the episode, citing a lack of action and a storyline which was too convoluted for young viewers to follow. Drip Tank would be dropped due to the amount of episodes centered around Percy making it redundant^[2]. Percy's Promise and Double Header, the latter whose name would be changed to Time for Trouble, would be seen in the third series.

Episodes

The following episodes are listed in the order they premiered on Children's ITV. This order would also be used for syndication, home video and digital streaming releases of the series.
(Note: * means that an episode was not narrated by Ringo Starr in the US and was only narrated by George Carlin in the US.)

Screenshot	UK title (top) US title (bottom)	Written by	Original UK airdate	Episode number #
	Thomas, Percy and the Coal Double Trouble	Christopher Awdry Britt Allcroft David Mitton	24 September 1986	#01
	Thomas becomes a little too cheeky for his own good. Trucks and coal dust bring disaster - first to Thomas - then to Percy.
	Cows A Cow on the Line	The Rev. W. Awdry Britt Allcroft David Mitton	24 September 1986	#02
	Edward has an accident. Gordon and Henry tease him about it when they learn why but Edward has the last laugh.
	Bertie's Chase *	The Rev. W. Awdry Britt Allcroft David Mitton	1 October 1986	#03
	Thomas is late, Edward is impatient and the passengers are cross. Dashing Bertie races to the rescue.
	Saved from Scrap	The Rev. W. Awdry Britt Allcroft David Mitton	1 October 1986	#04
	Trevor the Traction Engine has always worked hard. He is old-fashioned and feels unwanted. Edward finds a way to make him useful again.
	Old Iron	The Rev. W. Awdry Britt Allcroft David Mitton	8 October 1986	#05
	James is feeling very proud of himself but, when some boys meddle with his controls, he soon learns his lesson.
	Thomas and Trevor A New Friend for Thomas	Christopher Awdry Britt Allcroft David Mitton	8 October 1986	#06
	Trevor is asked to help Thomas build the Fat Controller's new harbour. At first, Thomas has his doubts.
	Percy and the Signal *	The Rev. W. Awdry Britt Allcroft David Mitton	15 October 1986	#07
	Percy is enjoying playing tricks on the big engines but Gordon and James plan to get the little green engine in trouble.
	Duck Takes Charge	The Rev. W. Awdry Britt Allcroft David Mitton	15 October 1986	#08
	Percy is pleased when a new engine called Duck arrives. The big engines decide to have some fun and cause a disturbance.
	Percy and Harold Percy Proves a Point	The Rev. W. Awdry Britt Allcroft David Mitton	22 October 1986	#09
	Harold the Helicopter is being a nuisance. He thinks railways are out of date. Percy and his Driver surprise him.
	The Runaway	Christopher Awdry Britt Allcroft David Mitton	22 October 1986	#10
	Duck looks after Annie and Clarabel whilst Thomas is ill. When Thomas returns, the coaches discover that Thomas is still in trouble.
	Percy Takes the Plunge Percy Takes a Plunge	The Rev. W. Awdry Britt Allcroft David Mitton	29 October 1986	#11
	Thomas gives Percy a warning about danger signs. Percy takes no notice and soon learns his mistake.
	Pop Goes the Diesel	The Rev. W. Awdry Britt Allcroft David Mitton	29 October 1986	#12
	Duck orders the big engines about and they are glad when oily Diesel arrives but Duck has his doubts and the trucks misbehave.
	Dirty Work Diesel's Devious Deed Diesel's Devilish Deed	The Rev. W. Awdry Britt Allcroft David Mitton	5 November 1986	#13
	Diesel is sulking and decides to make trouble between Duck and the other engines.
	A Close Shave A Close Shave for Duck	The Rev. W. Awdry Britt Allcroft David Mitton	5 November 1986	#14
	Duck has a chase with runaway trucks and pays a surprise visit to a barber's shop.
	Better Late than Never	Christopher Awdry Britt Allcroft David Mitton	12 November 1986	#15
	The railway is being repaired. Delays make life difficult for Thomas and his friends.
	Break Van Donald and Douglas *	The Rev. W. Awdry Britt Allcroft David Mitton	12 November 1986	#16
	Donald and Douglas are delightfully disorganised twin engines from Scotland and, when they arrive, they cause the Fat Controller a great deal of trouble.
	The Deputation *	The Rev. W. Awdry Britt Allcroft David Mitton	19 November 1986	#17
	When Donald and Douglas come to Henry's rescue, the other engines give the twins their full support.
	Thomas Comes to Breakfast	The Rev. W. Awdry Britt Allcroft David Mitton	19 November 1986	#18
	Thomas is being conceited but, when he shows off to Percy and Toby one morning, he finds himself an unwelcome guest in the Stationmaster's house.
	Daisy *	The Rev. W. Awdry Britt Allcroft David Mitton	26 November 1986	#19
	Thomas is in trouble. The Fat Controller sends for Daisy, a diesel rail-car, to help run his Railway. Daisy is spoilt and hard to please - as everyone soon discovers.
	Percy's Predicament *	The Rev. W. Awdry Britt Allcroft David Mitton	26 November 1986	#20
	Daisy is difficult. Percy is annoyed and Toby tries to help the situation with surprising results.
	The Diseasel *	The Rev. W. Awdry Britt Allcroft David Mitton	3 December 1986	#21
	Some silly trucks cause trouble between Bill and Ben the Tank Engine Twins and a diesel called BoCo. Confusion reigns until Edward puffs in.
	Wrong Road *	The Rev. W. Awdry Britt Allcroft David Mitton	3 December 1986	#22
	Edward suggests Gordon runs on a branch line for a change. Proud Gordon the main line engine refuses until one day he travels on a branch line by mistake.
	Edward's Exploit *	The Rev. W. Awdry Britt Allcroft David Mitton	10 December 1986	#23
	Gordon, James and Henry are teasing Edward for being old but, later, an accident on an important journey shows just how strong Edward can be.
	Ghost Train Percy's Ghostly Trick	The Rev. W. Awdry Britt Allcroft David Mitton	10 December 1986	#24
	Percy tells Thomas and Toby a ghost story. Thomas laughs it off - at first.
	Woolly Bear	The Rev. W. Awdry Britt Allcroft David Mitton	17 December 1986	#25
	Percy enjoys helping at hay-making time but sometimes he makes Thomas late. Thomas is cross until something happens which makes him most amused.
	Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree	Christopher Awdry Britt Allcroft David Mitton	17 December 1986	#26
	The Fat Controller is planning a big celebration but Thomas goes missing on an important mission. The engines come to his rescue and there is a splendid party after all.

Cancelled

Screenshot	Title	Original release date	Episode number #
	Percy's Promise	N/A	#10
	Percy helps Thomas takes the Vicar's Sunday school home during a storm.
	Drip Tank	N/A	#16
	Thomas and Percy have a disagreement, where the former calls his friend a 'drip'.
	Hullo Twins	N/A	#17
	When worrying about being returned to the Other Railway, Douglas accidentally shunts a special coach into the carriage siding. To evade the angry complaints of the passengers, Donald and Douglas decide to swap tenders so as to fool the Fat Controller.

Cut

Screenshot	Title	Original release date	Episode number #
	Gordon Goes Foreign	N/A	N/A
	After an argument with a big city engine over what the name of a station on the Other Railway is, Gordon is determined to find out.
	Double Header	N/A	N/A
	James gets humiliated when pushing Toby to the works.

Characters

• Thomas
• Edward
• Henry
• Gordon
• James
• Percy
• Toby
• Annie and Clarabel
• Henrietta
• Troublesome Trucks
• Troublesome Vans
• Terence
• Bertie
• Sir Topham Hatt
• Mrs. Kyndley
• Jeremiah Jobling (not named)
• The Control-meddling Boys (do not speak)
• Stephen Hatt (cameo)
• Farmer Finney (cameo)
• The New Ffarquhar Constable (cameo)
• The Hatts' First Butler (cameo)
• One stone-dropping boy (cameo)
• Märklin Engine (scrapped model cameo)
• Earnest (portrait cameo)

Characters Introduced

• Duck
• Donald and Douglas
• Bill and Ben
• Diesel
• Daisy
• BoCo
• The Spiteful Brake Van
• Trevor
• Harold
• Jem Cole
• The Vicar of Wellsworth
• The Barber
• The Tidmouth Stationmaster
• The Tidmouth Stationmaster's Wife
• Three Engine Inspectors
• Charlie Sand
• Daisy's Fitter (flashback)
• Sidney Hever (not named)
• Percy's Ghost Engine (does not speak)
• Father Christmas (does not speak)
• The Vicar of Wellsworth's Sons (do not speak)
• The Floppy Green Hat Lady (does not speak)
• The Enthusiasts (do not speak)
• The Barber's Customer (does not speak)
• The Firelighter (does not speak)
• The Tidmouth Stationmaster's Children (cameos)
• Harold's Pilots (cameos)
• The Careless Cleaner (mentioned)
• Sam (mentioned; appears in a deleted scene)
• Big City Engine (dropped)
• The Foreign Gentlemen (dropped)
• The Mainland Controllers (mentioned; dropped)

Locations

• Island of Sodor
  • Brendam
    • Brendam Docks
    • Upper Brendam
  • Crosby
    • Crosby Bridge
    • Crosby Road Bridge
    • C&B Barber
    • M.C. Bunn
  • Crowe's Farm Crossing
  • Elsbridge
    • Elsbridge Crossing
    • Elsbridge Engine Sheds
    • The Carriage Shed
    • Elsbridge Signal Runby (stock footage)
  • Ffarquhar (dropped)
    • Ffarquhar Quarry
  • Gordon's Hill
  • Knapford
    • Knapford Yards
      • Brendam Warehouse
      • Knapford Carriage Shed
      • Sodor Shipping Company
    • Sir Topham Hatt's Office
  • Lower Suddery
  • New Harbour
    • New Harbour Bridges
  • Post Windmill
  • Sodor China Clay Company
  • Suddery Castle
  • Suddery Hill
  • Terence's Field
  • The Branch Line Bridge
  • The Branch Line Cutting
  • The Cow Field
  • The Dual Bends
  • The Hay Farm
  • The Quarry Tramroad
  • The Viaduct
  • The Watermill
  • Tidmouth
    • Tidmouth Sheds
      • Tidmouth Engine Works
      • Tidmouth Goods Station
    • Tidmouth Yards
      • Tidmouth Yard Sheds
      • The Tidmouth Stationmaster's House
  • Wellsworth
    • Crocks Scrap Yard
    • Suddery Junction
      • Wellsworth Crossing
    • Wellsworth Vicarage Orchard
      • Trevor's Shed
    • Wellsworth Yards
  • Hackenbeck Tunnel (stock footage)
  • Rail Under Road Bridge and Signal Box (stock footage)
  • Henry's Tunnel (mentioned)
  • The Lead Mines (mentioned)
• Scotland (mentioned)

Trivia

• This was the first series of several things:
  • The first series told by George Carlin in the US alongside the third series episode, Thomas, Percy and the Dragon during its Shining Time Station air date.
  • The first series filmed at Shepperton Studios.
  • The first series where trucks have resin faces.
  • The first series to introduce Toby's surprised face.
  • The first series to use stories by Christopher Awdry.
  • The first series to have diesel locomotives.
  • The first series to not feature any episodes with Henry as the lead character.
  • The first series to have a female engine.
  • The first series in which the phrase, "Bust my buffers!" is said.
  • The first series to have Edward's current happy face.
  • The first series to introduce Gordon's shocked face.
  • The first and only series to show two different versions of Percy's cross face (eyebrows modified).
  • The first series to feature modified eyebrows for an engine's face, as shown with Thomas' sad face's eyebrows modified to depict a nervous face.
  • The first series to show Percy's smug face which would later appear on-screen in the fifth series.
  • The first series to show James' conceited face.
  • The first series to show Percy's smiling face with alternate eyebrows, which would later appear in the fourth/fifth series.
  • The first series to add Sequential Circuits Prophet 2000 to compose the music. This was the timpani sample for Harold, Donald and Douglas' Theme.
  • The first series where Lady Hatt does not appear.
  • The first series to have a character that travels by air.
  • The first series video edited by Kang Hyun-gi for JEI TV in South Korea.
  • The first and only series where majority of the characters including BoCo (except Edward, Gordon and Henry) have faces without teeth. Although, Gordon and Henry do have chuckling faces which would be used in many more episodes.
  • The first series to have an alternate recognized whistle for an engine, being Henry here who has Duck's whistle at a higher pitch, in two episodes. This trend would later be used for Thomas (who uses Edward's whistle), Gordon (using Duck's whistle) and James (using Duck's at an even much higher pitch) for the fourth to the fifth series, Peter Sam in the new series (having Emily's seventh series whistle) and Rheneas' from the fifth series (having Peter Sam's classic whistle).
  • The first series to give Diesel a very grave and oily voice. Diesel would later have this voice only in the third series episodeTender Engines, rest of all his appearances would see him speaking in a louder nasal voice.
  • The first series to introduce an engine who speaks in a dialect (the Scottish accent) different from the rest of the engines who speak in the preferred traditional English accent. This practice would later be adopted for Duncan from the fourth series onwards, who also has a similar Scottish accent like the twins.
  • The first series to not feature Bridget Hatt.
• This was the final series of several things:
  • Ringo Starr's last series as narrator, although he would return to voice Thomas in The Official BBC Children in Need Medley, 23 years later on.
  • Robert D. Cardona's last series as the producer.
  • Britt Allcroft's last series as executive producer until the sixth series.
  • The last series made by Clearwater Features.
  • The last series where the end credits would roll over the final shot of an episode (not counting US VHS releases).
  • The last series not to have any music videos.
  • The last series commissioned by Central Independent Television.
  • The last series to have Norwegian translation by Beate Mulholland in the TV dub.
  • The last appearance of Thomas' aghast face, excluding flashback from the first series episode, Down the Mine which was used in the fourth series episode, Paint Pots and Queens.
  • The last series until the seventeenth series to feature the same narrator for both the UK and US for the majority of the series, excluding episodes selected for New Friends for Thomas and Other Adventures which were narrated by Michael Angelis and the original recordings for the twelfth series which were narrated by Pierce Brosnan.
  • The last series in which Bertie has no eyebrows.
  • The last series released in the 1980s.
  • The last series to use yellow transitions. However, they were still used for the restored versions of Japanese releases for the rest of the Classic Series.
  • The last series to feature Thomas' scared face until the seventh series and the last production overall until Thomas and the Magic Railroad.
  • The last production to feature Thomas' shocked face without a bucktooth until Thomas and the Magic Railroad.
  • The last series to create the score with the Roland Jupiter-6 synthesizer and the Linn LM-1 drum machine from original material.
  • The last series dubbed in Romansh.
  • The last series that not released completely on VHS in South Korea.
  • The last series to have two dubs in Sweden.
  • The last series aired by TV4 until the eighth series in Sweden.
  • The last series entirely dubbed in French until the twelfth series.
• The episodes Daisy and Percy's Predicament were the only ones not to be featured on Shining Time Station at all, due to co-creator Rick Siggelkow's disapproval of Daisy's design. As a result, both episodes would become VHS-exclusives on the release, Daisy and Other Thomas Stories, as part of a compromise with Britt Allcroft, along with merchandise of her being sold in the United States and they were released on Mister Moose's Fun Time from 1998 - 2000.^[3]
• This is the only series of a few things:
  • The only series where Hackenbeck Tunnel appears via stock footage.
  • The only series to feature Gordon's shocked face until the fifth series.
  • The only series to feature Duck's tearful, fearful and embarassed faces, as well as BoCo's shocked face.
  • The only production where a character angrily says "Shut up!" until Thomas and the Magic Railroad. This is likely due to broadcasting concerns after this series.
  • The only series to have an engine encounter the most number of accidents in a single series.
  • The only series where Daisy appears until the fourth series.
  • The only series where the Elsbridge Yard appears.
• Percy's Promise and Time for Trouble were originally going to be part of this series but were pushed back to the third series to make way for the adaptations of More About Thomas the Tank Engine. The scripts for these planned episodes would be leaked in 2022.
  • Despite this, the events of Percy's Promise were still mentioned in Percy Takes the Plunge.
• This series began production in September 1985 and completed filming in June 1986.
• Starting from the episode, Pop Goes the Diesel, the laughing sound effect from the trucks was heard. That sound effect was later reused in the following series.
• This season is Michael White's favourite season.
• Compared to Series 1, this series is a little darker.
• From this series until the third series, Toby has a different bell sound.
• Henry regains his wheel arches, which were removed when he received his new shape after his accident with the Flying Kipper.
• The biggest space of time between two series airing is between this series, which aired in 1986 and the third series, which did not air until 1992, six years later.
• When first broadcast on ITV, two episodes were compiled into one ten minute block with the nameboard sequence featured in between. For broadcasts in 1991, the stories were shown individually.
• In the original Polish and Ukrainian voice-overs, Ringo Starr' narration can be heard in the background as a dubbing track was not used.
• In the Korean dub of DVD Acadamy, George Carlin' narration can be heard in the background as a dubbing track was not used.
• In the Italian, Romanian, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Finnish, Hungarian, Slovenian, Croatian, Serbian, Czech, Polish, Russian, Greek, Turkish, Korean DVDs of C4U Media, Chinese Mandarin and Cantonese dubs, credit Ringo Starr as the narrator, even though they were re-dubbed in their respective languages.
• The Korean DVD releases of DVD Acadamy credit George Carlin as the narrator, even though they were voiced over in their respective language.
• Doubles of the second series later aired in re-runs on Children's ITV from 6 April-13 July 1988 as a complete series, then re-aired with twenty episodes on Mondays in 1989, beginning with Bertie's Chase and Saved from Scrap on 6 March before ending with The Diseasel and Wrong Road on 22nd May, at the same time Tugs aired on Tuesdays.
• When ITV dropped the first series, fifteen episodes from the second series were broadcast every Tuesday starting with Thomas, Percy and the Coal on 21 May 1991 and aired the episodes out of order, Bertie's Chase and Saved From Scrap were the next episodes to air and continued with Thomas and Trevor, Duck Takes Charge, Percy Takes The Plunge and the Duck and the Diesel Engine saga until 23 July and then went on to air Thomas Comes to Breakfast, The Diseasel and Edward's Exploit, finally airing Ghost Train on 27 August 1991. These episodes were all separate soon after Clearwater Features had shut down their production arm, this series used a Central Television logo and were all introduced by Tommy Boyd and Glenn Kinsey.
• The first three VHS releases from this series, released on 23 March 1987 under Screen Legends and repeated under Pickwick Video in 1989 alongside The Very Best of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends on 6 May 1991. The Video Collection released of this series on VHS first on 25 May 1992 and later repeated on 22 November 1993 to tie in with other VHS tapes from the previous season and the next series.
• Some episodes had been trimmed down for both the 1989 and 1991 airings. Woolly Bear was the last episode aired in 1991, whilst Wrong Road was the last episode aired in 1989. Additionally, The Runaway did not air in 1991.
• Matthew Kelly was the presenter responsible for the first debut on 24 September 1986. Further repeats of ten-minute blocks were introduced by Gary Terzza, Debbie Shore, Mark Granger, Jerry Foulkes and Scally the Dog. The individual episodes in 1991 were introduced by Tommy Boyd and Glenn Kinsey.
• To promote the second series, Ringo Starr and Wilbert Awdry appeared on Children's ITV as special guests on 14 October 1986.
• When CEL Home Video released the first home media releases in 1989 in New Zealand, the last four episodes, Edward's Exploit, Ghost Train, Woolly Bear and Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree were not put on any of their home video releases. These episodes were not released on home video in New Zealand until 1992 when Endeavour Entertainment distributed The Deputation and Other Stories on VHS.

References

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