Annie and Clarabel

**Annie and Clarabel the Faithful Coaches** are Thomas' faithful coaches and two of the deuteragonists of the Seventyverse.

## Backstory

Annie and Clarabel were not assigned to any particular engine but would often be found with either Mildred, Edward or James. One day, they were being pulled by Edward when Barbara Regaby went into labour. They got to the next station and an ambulance took her to hospital when she gave birth to a baby girl who was named Annabelle Edwina Regaby after Edward, Annie and Clarabel. After Thomas was rewarded his branch line, Annie and Clarabel were assigned to Thomas and this had remained that way ever since.

## Relationships

### Each other

Annie and Clarabel love each other very much. However, they did get into a massive quarrel once. Their time apart made them miserable, especially when spending time with Audrey, Hilary and Mark. Clarabel also missed Annie when her wheel was damaged by the birdwatcher.

### Mildred

Of the Wellsworth and Suddery engines, Annie and Clarabel liked Mildred the best. Not too much else is known about their relationship.

### Thomas

It's hard to imagine Thomas without Annie and Clarabel. During his early days on the railways, Annie and Clarabel would act as his mentor figures for the branch line. Thomas loves them very much and he calls them "your ladyships" or "ladies", which often flatters them. Annie can be more blunt with Thomas while Clarabel is the sweet and gentle one of the pair. Thomas can often get anxious when he's without Annie and Clarabel for lengthy periods of time.

### Edward

Before being assigned to Thomas, Annie and Clarabel would often work with Edward. The three of them helped Barbara Regaby when she went in labor and as a result, she named her daughter, Annabelle Edwin Regaby after the trio. Annie and Clarabel were a major source of comfort during his first few years on Sodor.

### James

Annie and Clarabel at first liked being pulled by James. They started to help him gain confidence and were talking of becoming James' coaches. However, when James' ego started getting out of control and he was handling Annie and Clarabel roughly, the coaches decided to do away with that plan. Even now, the duo still don't trust James pulling them, something which very much hurt James' feelings after they chose Thomas over him.

### Percy

After looking after Annie and Clarabel whilst Thomas was helping on the mainline during the strike, Percy became the first engine Thomas entrusted Annie and Clarabel to. As a result, Percy often looks after Annie and Clarabel whilst Thomas is busy or at the works. The trio's relationship is pretty strong as the two coaches would comfort Percy if he's ever upset.

### Duck

Annie and Clarabel found Duck to be a hard worker and very polite. They found it a pleasure to go out with him when Thomas was ill. He became the third engine Thomas entrusted Annie and Clarabel to if he was busy or at the works, after Percy and Toby.

## Personalities

Annie and Clarabel are a very loyal and loving pair of coaches. They always keep their engine (Thomas at present; Edward or Mildred in the past) right on track. Annie is a bit more stern, while Clarabel is the gentler half of the pair.

## 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. Belinda, Sean, Mick, Harry, Dexter, Randolph, Victoria, Helena, Christian, Maria, Augustus, Louise, Leopold, An An and Yin-Long, share the same basis.

### Liveries

Annie and Clarabel are painted in a bright orange livery with their names painted on their sides in white and their buffer shank housings are red.

## Differences between the books, show and this series

* In the books, Annie and Clarabel are LMS suburban coaches. In this series and the TV series, they are LB&SCR four-wheeled coaches.
	+ Interestingly enough, the TV series depiction of Annie and Clarabel being Thomas' coaches seems to be more accurate to what he might have pulled on the LB&SCR.
* In the model series or the books, if Annie and Clarabel are pulled by anyone else prior to Thomas isn't seen. It's possible that they were, given their arrival times on Sodor. However, in The Adventure Begins, both James and Edward are seen pulling Annie and Clarabel. In this series, they were also pulled by the Wellsworth and Suddery engine, Mildred.

## Trivia

* Annie, Clarabel and Thomas will later be joined by another coach, Belinda, in this series.