Annie and Clarabel

Annie and Clarabel

* Current
* Debut

Background information

**First episode**
"The Trouble With Trucks"

Character information

**Full name**
Annie and Clarabel

**Other names**
* Beach Huts on Wheels (*by Lady Hatt*)

**Age**
Unknown (*Coaches*)

**Home**
Island of SodorEngland (*built*)

**Friends**
* Gordon
* James
* Duck
* Emily
* Nia
* Ryan
* Daisy
* Thomas
* Percy
* Toby
* Henrietta

**Annie** and **Clarabel** are Thomas' faithful coaches, who loves them dearly. They are a pair of orange-brown coaches who work on the North Western Railway. The pair usually work on the Ffarquhar Branch Line - or as part of "The Local" on the Main Line - with Thomas.

Personalities
Annie and Clarabel are respectful to all of the engines, but most of all Gordon and Thomas. The only exception to this is Daisy, who they respect least of all for insulting them and Henrietta. They show a kind and caring side to everyone on the railway. However, despite their kindness and sweetness, they can be stern when needed, especially Annie. For instance, they scolded Thomas for teasing Gordon after his accident, although 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 both of them. Annie and Clarabel are best friends, but like all friends, sometimes they fall out. Despite this, they always try to make things right in the end.
Although the two respect Gordon, both Annie and Clarabel do not tolerate his arrogance more than other engines and like others they seek to teach him a lesson, as Annie was shocked by Gordon's rude comments about Edward. Additionally, when Gordon begged Thomas to speed up on Gordon's Hill, Clarabel smiled smugly at the express engine both before and after he got stuck on the hill. Furthering their morals, though, they do have a sense of humour, and did not hesitate to laugh at Gordon when he told them and Thomas about his trousers mishap.

Technical Details
Basis
Annie and Clarabel are based on LBSC Stroudley Coaches built 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. An An and Yin-Long share the same basis.
In the first series, several other coaches share the same basis as Annie and Clarabel.

Annie and Clarabel's basis
Livery
Annie and Clarabel painted in a bright orange 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 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
Television Series* **Season 1** - The Trouble With Trucks (do not speak)
* **Season 2** - TBA
* **Season 3** - TBA
* **Season 4** - TBA
* **Season 5** - TBA
* **Season 6** - TBA
* **Season 7** - TBA
* **Season 8** - TBA
* **Season 9** - TBA
* **Season 10** - TBA
* **Season 11** - Wooden Brakes (Annie only; cameo)
* **Season 12** - Greetings, Montague! (cameo)
* **Season 13** - Rust or Bust (cameo; Annie only) and Ivo Hugh's Day at the Zoo (cameo)
* **Season 14** - S.C.Ruffey's Sweet Tooth (do not speak) and Flat Stanley
* **Season 15** - Roundhouse Roulette (cameo), The Maron Station Makeover (cameo), Nightmare on Sodor (fantasy, do not speak)
* **Season 16** - Marion Had a Little Lamb (cameo), Bye Bye Bertie (do not speak), Bowler Strikes Again (cameo), Paxman Pulls Through (cameo) and Throw Topham from the Train (cameo)
* **Season 17** - Dustin the Really Useless Engine (cameo), Wellsworth the Wait (cameo), Oliver Confusion (cameo), Diesel Gets the Bronze (cameo) and Toby, Or Not Toby (cameo)
* **Season 18** - Steam Team Dream (fantasy; do not speak)

Specials* Oliver's Eleven
* Saving Pirate Ryan (do not speak)

Trivia* Annie and Clarabel are the only coaches and the only female characters to appear in every series. Henritta had appeared in every series as well, but her streak ended when she was absent in the twenty-third series.
* As of the twenty-second series, Annie and Clarabel are the only non-human twin characters who are both still voiced by the same actress.
* Annie and Clarabel have been given more speaking roles since the CGI series started, pretty much like Henrietta has been given more speaking roles too.
* A real coach based on the 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**.
* 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 dub of the model series, Annie and Clarabel were known as *Annette and Claudette*.
* On early Spanish translations of the Random House books, Annie and Clarabel were known as *Anita and Clarita*.
* Several merchandise items 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.
* Clarabel's eyes are slightly further apart than Annie's; her nose is slightly broader as well.
* Henry and Rebecca are the only members of the Steam Team - current or former - who were not seen pulling or being coupled up to Annie and Clarabel.