Thomas' half of "You Can Only Be You" in The Great Race as he pesters just being him and is unsure, while Ashima reassures him. Mr. Vice Guy: Almost every engine, particularly in later seasons, is hard working and efficient, but often causes great problems due to a defining flaw (eg. Thomas' poor attention, James' arrogance, Toby's cowardice, Percy's naivete). Most of their spotlight episodes revolve around them overcoming their flaws to be "really useful", while in supporting roles they often act as more capable Straight Men. Laser-Guided Karma: This will always happen to any engine, whether it's the result of being prideful, stubborn, or just being a Jerkass. Most often, their mishaps prompts them to see the error of their ways and to make up for their behavior in the end of the story. Later episodes tend to give the older more experienced engines more prominent shortcomings and insecurities, some of which they are unwilling to admit to the younger idolizing engines they usually mentor. "Edward and the Mail" is a standout example.

All There in the Manual: The books The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways, Sodor: Reading Between the Lines and The Thomas the Tank Engine Man explain between them pretty much everything about the early series. Dreadful Musician: As we learn in "Too Loud, Thomas!", Thomas attempts at opera singing like Lorenzo and Beppe, but his skills are beyond awful. Downer Ending: Some episodes from the earlier seasons end with this such as "The Sad Story Of Henry", "Off The Rails", "Dirty Work", and "Thomas Comes To Breakfast". However, such episodes are part of arcs, and will then be resolved and given a happy ending in their continuation.

PRODUCT REVIEWS

Race for the Sodor Cup | Thomas the Tank Engine Series 25 Vol. 1 ( coming soon) | Thomas the Tank Engine Series 25 Vol. 2 ( coming soon) The much-advertised trio of James (big), Thomas (thin) and Percy (short). Although, James isn't supposed to be that big. Further supporting characters from The Railway Series have never been introduced due to the transition to mostly original material after Series 4. That is, until Season 20 where the Arlesdale Railway is introduced, and three stories in the Small Railway Engines book are adapted!

Incompetence, Inc.: With all of the crashes and runaways on Sodor, how does the railway stay in business? The logging company on Misty Island, too, which probably makes absolutely no profit since cranes keep throwing logs into the river. Go-to-Sleep Ending: The first three episodes that focus on Trevor the Traction Engine, "Saved From Scrap", "Thomas and Trevor/A New Friend For Thomas", and "Edward, Trevor, and the Really Useful Party" all end with Trevor falling asleep in his shed after a hard day's work.Duncan and Bertie. "Come for the Ride" is a whole song dedicated to this, with Duncan getting a whole verse to himself. In the trailer of the UK DVD, the spine of the DVD had the HiT Entertainment logo instead of the Mattel Creations logo meaning that HiT Entertainment was originally going to distribute the DVD. Some recurring engines, like Diesel, only appeared in a handful of stories from The Railway Series, but were given bigger roles in the show.

No matter what kind of horrific damage the engines cause, Sir Topham Hatt always, always yells at them for causing "confusion and delay." Depending on the Writer: Sometimes the engines can apparently drive themselves, sometimes they need drivers to start and stop moving, and sometimes it's implied to be both. There's not really a clear answer as to which it's supposed to be.Also Spencer and City of Truro for Gordon. Spencer and City of Truro are more popular and famous than Gordon, leaving him bitter. Gordon Takes a Tumble | Henry and the Elephant | Percy Takes a Plunge | Thomas and the Special Letter | James and the Trouble with Trees | Spic and Span | Diesel from Thomas to the Rescue | Emily's Adventure