| For other uses, see The Steam Team (disambiguation). |
The Steam Team is the name given to the main group of characters in Thomas & Friends, first implemented in the eighth series.
History
From the eighth series to the twenty-first series, the Steam Team were the core group of characters seen at Tidmouth Sheds, consisting of Thomas, Edward, Henry, Gordon, James and Percy. Toby and Emily were also a part of the team, however Toby would stay at his shed at Arlesdale End while Emily would stay in Knapford Sheds.
It was not until Calling All Engines!, where the old Tidmouth Sheds was demolished and then rebuilt with an extra berth, that Emily then joined the others at Tidmouth Sheds.
The Steam Team got up to many adventures over the years. They whistled happy birthday to Dowager Hatt on her birthday. A statue of the Steam Team (and Sir Topham Hatt) was placed at Abbey station. They helped bring the funfair supplies to the show grounds. When Thomas discovered Great Waterton, the Steam Team worked together and helped rebuild the town. During this time, Stanley briefly joined the Steam Team but was subsequently dropped in later series.
In Hero of the Rails, the Steam Team helped Thomas rebuild Hiro and hide him from Spencer. In Misty Island Rescue, they helped construct the Sodor Search and Rescue Centre and in Day of the Diesels, they helped rebuild the Dieselworks.
When Diesel 10 tried to steal their Christmas decorations, the whole Steam Team chased after him to the Dieselworks. Later, when Percy thought that Sir Topham Hatt was leaving the railway, the Steam Team all went on strike. When James crashed into Tidmouth Sheds, Edward left to go live at Wellsworth with Philip. Eventually, James returned to the sheds but Edward decided to stay at Wellsworth with Philip, as it was closer to his branch line.
After Thomas went on his trip around the world, he brought his friend Nia back home and she became the newest member of the Steam Team. Henry then decided to live at Vicarstown with Rosie and moved out of Tidmouth Sheds too. Rebecca, a new express engine from the Mainland, then arrived and became the newest member of the Steam Team.
This new Steam Team consisted of Thomas, Gordon, James, Percy, Emily, Nia and Rebecca, with Edward, Henry and Toby being reduced to secondary characters.
At Christmas, the Steam Team let the animals from the Animal Park stay in Tidmouth Sheds when the park's boiler broke during winter. When Salty and Porter were taken out of action at Brendam Docks, the Steam Team came to the rescue to help move all the crates from the docks. Later, a sand sculpture of the Steam Team was made at Tidmouth Town Square and when a technology fair came to Sodor, the Steam Team all helped out with setting up the fair.
Members
Series 8-21
Series 22-24
Trivia
- The original plan was to re-establish the core characters of the series. According to SiF's interview with Sam Barlow, Duck was originally going to be part of the Steam Team, however, during production of Calling All Engines!, the crew had to make room for Emily in order for a female character to have a more prominent role. He also mentioned that the concept of the Steam Team was made to help cement the core characters in the minds of the audience.
- A bronze statue of the original Steam Team members and Sir Topham Hatt is situated in a park close to Abbey station.
- In The Great Discovery only, Stanley was added to the Engine Roll Call alongside the Steam Team.
- The term "Steam Team" was not used in the Thomas & Friends television series until The Missing Christmas Decorations.
- According to Ian McCue, the replacement of Edward and Henry with Nia and Rebecca in the Steam Team was done to fix the gender imbalance at Tidmouth Sheds and diversify the Thomas & Friends franchise.
- The plans involving the removal of Edward and Henry were also different; while it was always planned to remove Edward, dropping Henry from the Steam Team was a change implemented late in the development of the twenty-second series. Rebecca was also conceived before the series' retool but was ultimately only conceptualised around the same time as Nia.
- Despite also being seemingly removed from the Steam Team lineup, Toby is still present in the new Engine Roll Call for the twenty-second - twenty-fourth series, likely due to there not being a new eighth member to take his place.
- Rebecca is the only member of the Steam Team, old or new, to not appear in All Engines Go and currently not yet have any indication that she will appear in the 2026 Thomas & Friends series.