Thomas & Friends series 3

Thomas & Friends
Series 3
DVD cover art
No. of episodes	26
Release
Original network	ITV (Thames Television) (via Children's ITV)
Original release	25 February (1992-02-25) – 14 July 1992 (1992-07-14)
Series chronology

Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends is a children's television series about the engines and other characters working on the railways of the Island of Sodor, and is based on The Railway Series books written by the Reverend W. Awdry.

This article lists and details episodes from the third series of the show, which was first broadcast in the UK between 25 February and 14 July 1992, and in the United States as part of Shining Time Station in November 1991 (shortly after being released direct-to-video in the UK). In 1993, the last ten episodes were released in the United States on Shining Time Station. This series was narrated by Michael Angelis for UK audiences, taking over from Ringo Starr from the previous two series, while George Carlin narrated the episodes for US audiences.

This was the first series produced by Gullane Entertainment (then known as The Britt Allcroft Company).

Some episodes in this series have one title: the original from the American titles are shown underneath.

In the US, this season was aired from 18 November 1991 to 7 June 1993 on Shining Time Station.

On episodes 1–16, the UK narration uses a different take on the TV broadcast compared to the original VHS releases.

Production

Filming

Series 3 was produced by The Britt Allcroft Company in association with Japanese television station Fuji Television. It was divided into two parts, one part having 16 episodes and the other having ten. The series was filmed and produced in 1991. 16 episodes were released direct-to-video on November 11, 1991, in the UK, and aired in the United States from November 18 to December 27, 1991, as part of Shining Time Station. They remained unaired in the UK until February 25, 1992, when the full series aired there. The last ten episodes aired on Shining Time Station in 1993. It was made at a cost of £1,300,000. Before production of series 3, Clearwater Features closed down, with The Britt Allcroft Company becoming the sole producer. Producer Robert D. Cardona left before series 3, and Britt Allcroft took his place as co-producer alongside David Mitton.

Stories

The series was a combination of episodes derived from The Railway Series, stories in the Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends magazines (written by Andrew Brenner, the show's head writer from 2013 to 2018) (uncredited), and a couple of original stories by Allcroft and Mitton. One of the primary reasons for diverging from the original books was that many of the stories not yet used featured large numbers of new characters, which would be expensive to produce. Another was that the producers wanted more stories about Thomas, the nominal main character. Awdry complained that the new stories would be unrealistic.

Awdry's complaints were directed at two aspects of the episode "Henry's Forest" in particular. One was that it was unrealistic to have a railway running through a forest, and that sparks from an engine's funnel could cause a wildfire. Britt Allcroft countered this aspect by claiming that she had seen a number of lines do the same thing.

The other aspect was that Henry stops to admire the view without alerting the signalman, which was in direct contravention of British Railways' Rule 55. This, Awdry argued, would never be allowed to happen in real life, and would be highly unsafe.

Episodes

Main article: List of Thomas & Friends episodes

No. overall	No. in series	UK title (top) US title (bottom)	Directed by	Source	Original air date
53	1	"A Scarf for Percy"	David Mitton	Henry the Green Engine by Rev. W. Awdry Based on Percy and the Trousers	25 February 1992 (1992-02-25)
Percy doesn't like the cold, so he wants a scarf for his funnel to keep warm. But he gets more than he bargained for when he accidentally crashes into a luggage trolley at the station, and winds up covered in jam and with the Fat Controller's trousers wrapped around his funnel.
54	2	"Percy's Promise"	David Mitton	Percy the Small Engine by Rev. W. Awdry	3 March 1992 (1992-03-03)
Percy promises Thomas to take the Sunday school class home with Annie and Clarabel, but a thunderstorm makes it very difficult to get there. Before long, Percy runs into a severe flood that leaks in and douses his fire. Nonetheless, Percy persists and is hailed by everyone when he gets home.
55	3	"Time for Trouble"	David Mitton	The Eight Famous Engines by Rev. W. Awdry Based on Double Header	17 March 1992 (1992-03-17)
When the Fat Controller gives Gordon a break, and gives the express job to James, James lets it go to his head, boasting about being as reliable as clockwork. Meanwhile Toby goes to be repaired, but runs out of water on the main line. James must reluctantly push Toby to the station, whilst pulling the train.
56	4	"Gordon & the Famous Visitor"	David Mitton	Duck and the Diesel Engine by Rev. W. Awdry Based on Domeless Engines	24 March 1992 (1992-03-24)
Gordon is jealous of a visiting tender engine (the City of Truro) who has gone 100 miles an hour and wants to prove that he is just as special, but his dome simply cannot stand handling such dangerous speeds in the wind, causing the Troublesome Trucks to laugh at him.
57	5	"Donald's Duck"	David Mitton	Oliver the Western Engine by Rev. W. Awdry	31 March 1992 (1992-03-31)
Duck is conceited about his new branch, and Donald says that he might lay an egg as he quacks so much. Duck is very angry about this and he and his crew play a trick on Donald by hiding a duck in his water tank.
58	6	"Thomas Gets Bumped"	David Mitton	Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends magazine story by Andrew Brenner	7 April 1992 (1992-04-07)
Thomas is proud of his branch line, but he is very disappointed when he is forced to shunt trucks because of track repair, while Bertie takes his passengers home.
59	7	"Thomas, Percy & the Dragon"	David Mitton	Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends magazine story by Andrew Brenner	7 April 1992 (1992-04-07)
Percy is still gleefully teasing Thomas about the ghost engine prank. But the next night, Thomas has to take a paper Chinese dragon to the carnival. Percy has to stay in a siding overnight, and is terrified by the dragon when Thomas passes. The next morning, Percy tells the other engines about the dragon, but they refuse to believe him. As a result, Percy begins to believe that the dragon was just his imagination. However, he is proven wrong when Thomas arrives with the dragon. The two friends settle their quarrel and reconcile.
60	8	"Diesel Does it Again"	David Mitton	Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends magazine story by Andrew Brenner	14 April 1992 (1992-04-14)
Duck and Percy are very displeased when Diesel comes to work at the harbour, even though the Fat Controller promised that he would be gone for good for his last visit. Diesel proves to be disruptive to the troublesome trucks, prompting Duck and Percy to go on strike, until the Fat Controller sends Diesel away following an incident with some China Clay trucks.
61	9	"Henry's Forest"	David Mitton	Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends magazine story by Andrew Brenner	14 April 1992 (1992-04-14)
Henry loves going to the forest to admire the scenery. But one night, a big storm ruins the trees, making him sad. In order to make Henry feel happy again, new trees must be planted to replace the damaged trees.
62	10	"The Trouble with Mud"	David Mitton	Gordon the Big Engine by Rev. W. Awdry Based on Leaves	21 April 1992 (1992-04-21)
Gordon is too muddy to pull the express, and ends up pulling trucks instead. James is very boastful about getting the job, but he pays no attention to Gordon's warning about the slippery leaves scattered everywhere making the hill hard to climb, and he ends up getting stuck. Gordon comes to the rescue, and as a reward is permitted to pull coaches again, on the condition that he knows being clean is a necessity to every engine.
63	11	"No Joke for James"	David Mitton	Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends magazine story by Andrew Brenner	21 April 1992 (1992-04-21)
When Gordon tells James that he is not as good as he is, James lies to Thomas that he will be pulling the express while Gordon has to take the goods. When his lie is exposed, it's up to James to regain his dignity.
64	12	"Thomas, Percy & the Post Train"	David Mitton	Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends magazine story by Andrew Brenner	28 April 1992 (1992-04-28)
Thomas and Percy like taking the mail post, but one night a boat delays them, so Harold is given the new job for being more efficient. But the engines soon find another useful job.
65	13	"Trust Thomas"	David Mitton	Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends magazine story by Andrew Brenner	28 April 1992 (1992-04-28)
Thomas agrees to help Bertie with the mystery of the tar tankers being held up, but James does not want to do Percy's work at the harbour yards and, with advice from Gordon, fakes sickness to get out of work and gets Thomas to take his trucks. However, the Troublesome Trucks thinking one engine is as good as another put Thomas in a sticky situation at the Callan Pond.
66	14	"Mavis"	David Mitton	Tramway Engines by Rev. W. Awdry	5 May 1992 (1992-05-05)
The quarry has hired a young privately owned diesel shunter called Mavis who wishes she had better things to do instead of listening to Toby. With advice from Diesel, she ignores Toby's advice about a frozen crossing, and soon she gets stuck with her load of troublesome trucks.
67	15	"Toby's Tightrope"	David Mitton	Tramway Engines by Rev. W. Awdry	5 May 1992 (1992-05-05)
Mavis wants to run on Toby's line again, but the trouble she caused forbids her to do so. So she makes a plan with the Troublesome Trucks that gets her on the line, but things go wrong when Toby takes the troublesome trucks instead and they push him onto a collapsing bridge.
68	16	"Edward, Trevor & the Really Useful Party"	David Mitton	Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends magazine story by Andrew Brenner	12 May 1992 (1992-05-12)
Reverend Charles Laxey (known as the Vicar) is planning a garden party, and Trevor tells Edward about it. Edward wants to help. Despite the fact that Bertie is teasing Trevor for being slow, the party becomes successful for both Edward and Trevor.
69	17	"Buzz Buzz"	David Mitton	Main Line Engines by Rev. W. Awdry	12 May 1992 (1992-05-12)
James boasts to Duck and BoCo about not being afraid of bees, but later James gets a surprise when a beehive breaks and the bees cause havoc, resting on his hot boiler and stinging him on the nose.
70	18	"All at Sea"	David Mitton	Original by Britt Allcroft and David Mitton	19 May 1992 (1992-05-19)
While watching the local regatta, Duck tells Percy he wishes about going overseas to different places. But soon Duck must help an injured sailor to the hospital in order to show that engines are really useful.
71	19	"One Good Turn"	David Mitton	Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends magazine story by Andrew Brenner	26 May 1992 (1992-05-26)
Bill and Ben work hard all day, and finally get to go on the turntable in the yard. But Bill and Ben end up being face to face. They argue with each other and split up. But Edward comes up with an idea to save their friendship.
72	20	"Tender Engines"	David Mitton	Enterprising Engines by Rev. W. Awdry Based on Tenders for Henry	2 June 1992 (1992-06-02)
A double-tendered visitor unknowingly being the Flying Scotsman causes trouble. Although Gordon overcomes his problem about doubting steam engines' usefulness, Henry wants more than one tender, and his dream comes true in a very bizarre fashion.
73	21	"Escape!"	David Mitton	Enterprising Engines by Rev. W. Awdry Based on the story of the same name (Escape) and Little Western	9 June 1992 (1992-06-09)
Edward tells Douglas about the time he saved Trevor from scrap. That night, as Douglas delivers a goods train to the scrapyard, he does the same by rescuing a Great Western tank engine called Oliver and his sidekick brake van called Toad.
74	22	"Oliver Owns Up"	David Mitton	Oliver the Western Engine by Rev. W. Awdry Based on Resource and Sagacity	16 June 1992 (1992-06-16)
Oliver is new to Sodor, and all the engines complimenting his courage is making him conceited. He pays no attention to Duck's warning about the troublesome trucks and they push him down into the turntable well.
75	23	"Bulgy"	David Mitton	Oliver the Western Engine by Rev. W. Awdry	23 June 1992 (1992-06-23)
Duck and Oliver meet Bulgy, a double-decker bus who does not like rails. He tries to take Duck's passengers away by pretending to be a "railway bus" and taking them on an attempted shortcut. Duck finds him later, stuck under a collapsed bridge, and rescues his passengers, whilst Bulgy is punished.
76	24	"Heroes"	David Mitton	Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends magazine story by Andrew Brenner	30 June 1992 (1992-06-30)
The Troublesome Trucks at the harbour cause trouble for Bill and Ben, but while working at the quarry the next day, they save the workers from a dangerous rockslide that destroys most of the quarry.
77	25	"Percy, James & the Fruitful Day"	David Mitton	Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends magazine story by Andrew Brenner	7 July 1992 (1992-07-07)
James is collecting some fruit from the harbour. But when he breaks down during his trip, Percy is forced to take it himself, but he goes so fast that he winds up squashing it all.
78	26	"Thomas & Percy's Christmas Adventure"	David Mitton	Original by Britt Allcroft and David Mitton	14 July 1992 (1992-07-14)
Thomas looks forward to delivering his mail to the people of the mountain village, but a blizzard delays the journeys, which means that he and Percy, along with Terence and Harold, must work together.

Characters

Main article: List of Thomas & Friends characters

Introduced

• Oliver
• Mavis
• The Chinese Dragon
• Bulgy
• Farmer Trotter (not named)
• Flying Scotsman (not named; tenders and cab only; does not speak)
• Toad (does not speak)
• City of Truro (not named; faceless; does not speak)

Recurring cast

• Thomas
• Edward
• Henry
• Gordon
• James
• Percy
• Toby
• Duck
• Donald and Douglas
• Bill and Ben
• Diesel
• BoCo
• Troublesome Trucks
• Annie and Clarabel
• Terence
• Bertie
• Trevor
• Harold
• The Fat Controller
• Stephen Hatt
• Mrs. Kyndley
• Jen Cole
• The Vicar of Wellsworth
• Lady Hatt (not named)
• Henrietta (does not speak)
• Bridget Hatt (cameo)
• Farmer Finney (cameo)

Home media

United Kingdom

The first two-thirds of Series 3 debuted on VHS by The Video Collection in November 1991, as two volumes titled "Time for Trouble and Other Stories" and "Trust Thomas and Other Stories". The other third of the series was released on VHS in 1992 following the TV airings, titled "Escape and Other Stories".

Video Collection International released a complete series VHS set in 2000, available as either a single-VHS or double-VHS release. It was soon released on DVD in 2004 as part of the "Classic Collection Boxset" before being released on its own in 2006. The 2012 re-release by HIT Entertainment utilised the 2003 restoration of the series.

Episodes from the series have also made it to various compilation releases with other series.