Thomas & Friends (Alsop Productions)

**Thomas & Friends (Alsop Productions)** is the fan-made series of the real version. It is the first series and only franchise that Daniel Alsop produced in 2008. It's the longest running series on Daniel Alsop's channel.

## Directors

### YouTube fan made series

Daniel Alsop

These books follow the adventures of a group of anthropomorphized locomotives and road vehicles who live on the fictional Island of Sodor. The books were based on stories Wilbert told to entertain his son, Christopher, during his recovery from measles. Many of the stories from the first four series are based on events from Awdry's personal experience.

## History

**IRL**

In 1979, British television producer Britt Allcroft was producing a documentary on the Bluebell Railway, a heritage railway in Sussex which featured in the *Railway Series* book *Stepney the Bluebell Engine*. As part of her research before filming, Allcroft read some books in *The Railway Series* and was highly entertained and impressed with the stories which Awdry had written, later remarking that "there was something in the stories that I felt I could develop that would connect with children. I saw a strong emotional content that would carry with little children's experiences with life."

Allcroft worked to convince Awdry that she could, with funding, convert the stories into a successful television show. Her efforts were successful, and she purchased the television rights from the publishers of *The Railway Series* at a cost of what was then £50,000 ($74,000 in U.S. dollars at the time). Allcroft still had to work to raise the money to finance production and (despite showing a keen interest) wanted a level of creative control which she did not want to forego. In the end, after several years of searching and having to place a second mortgage on her home, Allcroft raised sufficient funding from her local bank manager.

By 1981, Allcroft had secured the finances to produce the show. She started to assemble the crew, including producer and director David Mitton, the founder of Clearwater Features Ltd.; crew member Steve Asquith; American-born producer Robert D. Cardona; and composers and songwriters Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell.

**Fan-made version**

TBA

## Models

For the Thomas characters, the models used are Hornby, Bachman, Tomy and Take n Play. For the other models (non-Thomas characters), Daniel Alsop used model locomotives that are the basis for real locomotives (like Tom, Eric, Rebecca (tank engine), Dudley, Yeardley, Sasha, Lisa, Alex, Brain, Dylan, Graham, Packer, Ashley, Neville (doesn't have the branding Thomas & Friends hornby/bachmann model), Joseph, Shane and Gruff.

## Seasons

* Season 1 (2008)
* Season 2 (2008)
* Season 3 (2008-09)
* Season 4 (2010-11)
* Season 5 (2012-13)
* Season 6 (2015-16)
* Season 7 (2017-18)
* Season 8 (2019-20)
* Season 9 (2021-2023)
* Season 10 (2024-25?)
* Season 11 (2025-26?)

## Movies or Specials

* Sodor’s National Championship (2010)
* The Case of the Missing Engines (2012)
* James The Red-Nosed Engine (2012)
* The Narrow Gauge Mission (2014)
* Sodor’s Finest Engines (2018)
* Steam Team at the Movies (2022)
* The Best Christmas Ever (2022?)
* Engines of the West (*postponed*)
* Mysteries on the Branch Line (2022/23)
* The Return of Rail Rocket (2024)
* Sodor's Royal Mystery (???)
* The Big Dino Dig (2024/25)
* The Mystery of the Stolen Treasure (2025/26)
* Thomas goes Underground (???)

## Audiobooks

* Holly Jolly Controller is Comin’ to Town (2019)

## Spin Offs

* N.W.R Chronicles
* Shen Valley Adventures (maybe)

## Narrators

* Daniel Alsop: (Series 1-5) [Series 6: Thomas, Percy & the Lost Star only]
* Alexander Seib/TrainmasterA9: (The Narrow Gauge Mission - onwards)