Les Voyages du tortillard
Les Voyages du tortillard or The Secret Railroad was a series of 52 (or possibly 61) animated shorts made in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Episodes last 5 minutes each. It was originally recorded in English at Place D'Youville in Montreal then subsequently dubbed into French. It was produced by Peter Saunders and Danielle Marleau for their "Les Films du Train Secret" animated studio. Created in 1977, it aired in French on Radio-Canada between 1980 and 1981. It was rebroadcast in the late 1980s and early 1990s on Canal Famille as a segment airing typically after "Inspector  Gadget" and "The Raccoons". The English version aired in Canada on TVOntario and on Global Television. It also aired in the United States on "The Great Space Coaster", and in New Zealand, in the early 1980s. Characters. Simon. The main character is a young boy named Simon who discovers a magical steam locomotive hidden in the basement of his apartment building. Acting as the engineer Simon uses the locomotive to travel on many magical adventures. Mr. George T. Passenger. Joining Simon every episode is Monsieur Globetrotteur (Mr. Passenger), an old man who awaited the coming of the train for many  a decade before Simon finally arrived. Mélanie. With Mr. Passenger is Mélanie (Melanie), Mr. Passenger's cat who always rides atop his long stove pipe hat. Stella. Each episode also features a character named Stella, a girl with star shaped hair. Stella's character changes from episode to episode (a mermaid in an underwater episode for example) but she always has her star shaped hair. Theme Song Lyrics. "When you are feeling blue," "When you are feeling down." "Just do what Simon did;" "Go underground." "Down there in the dark," "You hear a happy sound." "It's the secret railroad ." "Adventure bound!" "You better climb on board" "the train's about to leave." "All you need is a passenger." "Your tickets, please!" English Episode Names. According to one source, these are the episode names: