Annie and Clarabel

## Clarabel

Annie and Clarabel are Thomas' faithful coaches, whom he loves dearly and would never dream of being separated from them.

Annie and Clarabel both have seating accommodation for carrying passengers; Clarabel also has a brake compartment for luggage and a guard. The two coaches are nearly always seen coupled together, with Annie usually facing Thomas and Clarabel facing backwards.

## Personalities

Annie and Clarabel are respectful to all of the engines, but most of all Gordon and Thomas, whilst they respect Daisy least of all for insulting them and Henrietta. They show a kind and caring side to everyone on the whole railway. However, despite their kindness and sweetness, when needed they can be stern, especially Annie. For instance they scolded Thomas for teasing Gordon, however they are no saints themselves. Once when Daisy was rude to them, they naughtily tricked her into thinking there was something wrong with her which caused confusion and delay. When the Fat Controller found out he told them that two wrongs do not make a right and that he expected better from the both of them. Annie and Clarabel are best friends, but like all friends, sometimes they fall out but always try to make things right in the end.

## Technical Details

### Basis

Annie and Clarabel are based on LB&SCR four-wheeled coaches built to a design by Stroudley between the early 1870s and late 1880s. Several coaches of this type are preserved on the Bluebell Railway and the Isle of Wight Steam Railway.

In the first series, several other coaches share the same basis as Annie and Clarabel.

Annie and Clarabel's basis
### Livery

In the Railway Series, Annie and Clarabel were originally painted orange-brown and were later painted brown with a yellow stripe.

In the television series, they were painted in an orange-tan livery with their names painted on their sides in white. In the fifth series, they were refurbished, repainted and their buffer shank housings became red at the request of Lady Hatt.

In the CGI Series, their liveries are a more vibrant orange. In Thomas' imagination where he gets streamlined in The Great Race, Annie and Clarabel are repainted in NWR blue with a white stripe near the bottom and a thicker white stripe with red borders near the top.

In the magazine story, Thomas, Terence and the Snow, Annie and Clarabel were coloured greenish grey.

## Appearances in Marsha Mello's Adventures

* Free the Roads
* Chucklesome Trucks

## Voice Actors

**Annie**

* Teresa Gallagher (UK/US)
* Mariana Zink (Brazil)
* Christiane Bjørg Nielsen (Denmark)
* Susa Saukko (Finland)
* Blanche Ravalec (France and French speaking Canada)
* Julia Holmes (Germany)
* Vina Papadopoulou﻿ (Greece)
* Mia Kadosh (Israel)
* Anna Cugini (Italy)
* Sakura Yoshioka (Japan)
* Ana Teresa Ávila (Latin America)
* Marjolein Algera (The Netherlands)
* Lena Meieran (Norway)
* Agnieszka Kunikowska (Poland)
* Olga Kuznetsova (Russia)
* Paqui Horcajo (Spain)

**Clarabel**

* Teresa Gallagher (UK/US)
* Claudia Victoria (Brazil)
* Christiane Bjørg Nielsen (Denmark)
* Susa Saukko (Finland)
* Blanche Ravalec (France and French speaking Canada)
* Marion von Stengel (Germany)
* Vina Papadopoulou﻿ (Greece)
* Talya Barkay (Israel)
* Laura Amadei (Italy)
* Sakura Yoshioka (Japan)
* Ruth Toscano (Latin America)
* Marjolein Algera (The Netherlands)
* Marit Berg (Norway)
* Lidia Sadowa (Poland)
* Olga Kuznetsova (Russia)
* Paqui Horcajo (Spain)

## Trivia

* Annie and Clarabel were the first official female characters created by the Rev W. Awdry.
* The Hero of the Rails intro shows Annie and Clarabel with bogie wheels as seen in the Railway Series.
* Annie and Clarabel's models used to be on display at Nitrogen Studios but are now on display at Hara Model Railway Museum in Japan.
* Early illustrations of Annie show her shocked face and this was carried on to later illustrations and most merchandise. This is likely intentional for easier identification. Even Hornby both had Annie and Clarabel models with smiling faces originally.
* As of the twenty-second season, Annie and Clarabel are the only non-human twin characters who are both still voiced by the same actress.
* A real television series version of Clarabel (a former LNER "Sunshine" coach) has been put into service at the Llangollen Railway in North Wales.
* Originally, there were plans to give Annie and Clarabel 3D grey faces, similar to the engines, in the twelfth series, as it would be easier to animate. During the production of said series, they were referred to as Annabel and Clarabelle.
* Their original television series models were built from Tenmille Stroudley coach kits.
* Bachmann HO models of Annie and Clarabel appeared in the 2015 Marvel film "Ant-Man", along with models of Thomas and Emily's Coaches.
* In the French version of the Classic Series, Annie and Clarabel were known as Annette and Claudette.
* Several merchandise ranges and CGI promos of Clarabel lack her guard compartment.
* Up until the debut of the Slip Coaches in the eighteenth series, Harold, Annie and Clarabel were the only characters with embedded faces ever since that practice had phased out.