Harold on the top was actually an idea my Dad (a fellow railfan) had - we used a Bachmann Harold as it's light, then took his main propeller & the screw holding it off him and put the hook that held the sleigh the tree-topper came with underneath it. By sheer luck, it worked!

Pair of close-ups - I got the idea of using Capsule Plarail characters as ornaments from the legendary TopKaz Fatt.

...and that the Specials really just felt like slightly longer episodes.

But all in all, I'd say it's still just as strong as Series 1 (which I'm now also in the process of rewatching) and still very entertaining. My favourite from S2 has to be Robot, followed closely by Too Many Parcels.

Well, up until I saw this a few days ago I had some clear memories of Bus, Tuba & Barometer and a few Series 2 episodes from childhood. So, I decided to give them all a rewatch.

I think the two things that stuck out to me were the lack of, I must say distinctive, music when compared to Series 1...

Don't get me wrong, the Splatter & Dodge ones they ended up with are fine. But I too would still love to know why they ended up with those... oh, to be a fly on the wall.

And here (from the same catalogue) is Toby...

Count how many references there are to the original sketch and other TFTOR productions and win a lifetimes* of Irn-Bru BUZZZZ!!!

Also, I recently got a new phone - as convenient as the camera is, it isn't quite as good as a conventional one.

But it is good for pictures like these.

I still have my old copy of 'Chases, Races & Runaways' too - sure, it's deteriorated in a few places and the original case is long gone, but I still watch it often and love it to death. Not just for the great selection of episodes, but for the fact that that tape was where it all began for me.

Agreed - I'd also forgotten that shortly after Flynn arrived they repainted the coaches yellow. Though perhaps that was for good reason... they've always looked their best in carmine and cream.

Though the original chocolate & cream was equally pleasing - paired well with Ceawlin's green.

It's funny - when I saw 'Anne' at the Severn Valley in 2022, I initially had no idea she was a former-Longleat engine.

And I knew Longleat had acquired a steam engine once, but I sadly can't recall ever seeing or riding behind No. 8... but I do remember Ceawlin and Flynn in blue (red's better).

Actually, is Percy & Harold the only time we see a Distant signal in the show before the CGI transition, where they were rendered correctly funnily enough.

(I'm not saying the model series ones look bad - they still look great, just one of those 'once you notice it' details)

I know ultimately it's insignificant & Heisel Productions said the concrete answer better than I ever could; "They're taking creative liberties, shut up."

Besides, as great as the show crew were I know they weren't railway enthusiasts - you can tell that by looking at the signals.

We can assume that the two outer-lines are the up and down lines (MOST of the time), much like the East Coast Main Line. But if the middle line is a Fast line, is it bi-directional?

But here's what I've always wondered: how exactly would a three-track main line work?

Most main line railways (in the UK at least) have two tracks (up and down) and the busiest of which like the ECML & WCML have four (e.g. up slow, up fast, down fast and down slow).

I wouldn't however say that asking Christopher to write more Thomas-centric stories was an entirely bad idea... after all, it he hadn't written MATTTE we wouldn't have 'The Runaway.'

Another Cold Take
This episode is SO underrated - seriously, Harold's theme in this goes HARD

It isn't a bad episode or story per say, but given that I have 4 videos & DVDs with it on it I am weary of it. And honestly, what was wrong with 'Stop Thief!'?

A Thomas-centric story that wouldn't have been too hard to film and would've been a great intro to the new series.