Tayhan
Passenger Engine
Nothing but blue skies and clear tracks, and a good head of steam.
Posts: 554
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Post by Tayhan on Sept 6, 2009 9:34:33 GMT
Another none-train series, but highly relevant I feel (given the illustrator was the legendary John Kenney). Thanks goes to StanierJack, aka Churchhill8F for this. Tootles the Taxi was a series written by Joyce B. Clegg, and first published by Ladybird in 1956, and consists of rhyming stories chronicling the lives and adventures of a series of road vehicles, with such characters as Tootles the Taxi, Stumbles the Steamroller, Oompus the Omnibus, Larry the Lorry and many many more. You can clearly see the resemblence between this and the Railway Series books Kenney illustrated. George could even be Stumbles' twin for all we know! Another similarity to the Railway Series is that Kenney used toys as models for the characters he was asked to illustrate (much like Wilbert did for Thomas), in this case, Dinky toys. This delightful little series covered trains in the second edition, alas without Kenney as the illustrator. Here's a link to a character list, showing most of the characters and listing their Dinky prototypes; www.theweeweb.co.uk/ladybird/tootling_about.phpAnd another, giving more information to the book and having the only picture of Stumbles the Steamroller I can find www.ladybird-books.com/articles/tootles_taxi.php (looks exactly like George dontcha think ? Special thanks to Chruchill8F for naming this charming little book. What a legend XD
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Tayhan
Passenger Engine
Nothing but blue skies and clear tracks, and a good head of steam.
Posts: 554
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Post by Tayhan on Dec 13, 2009 21:45:18 GMT
Here's another one for you. No doubt you're all quite familiar with the Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway. Well, here's a video about a book written by one of their volunteers, based on the history of the railway. Entitled Sleep Little Engines, it bears an uncanny resembelance to the Railway Series books in all but author and illustrations (as the engines in the books don't have faces). A charming little video, with some great footage of those lovely Atlantics, and the 04. Enjoy All the Best, Tayhan
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Post by shinystanley on Jan 23, 2010 17:41:06 GMT
Here is something to go with how Easter and the Easter Bunny came to be. It was released in the USA as far as I know, but Newcastle was mentioned by one of the other locos.
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Post by Aidan on Mar 2, 2010 5:12:39 GMT
Good find, Shiny Stanley! I remember watching this special whenever it aired during Easter. Chuggs was my favorite character!
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danparker
Passenger Engine
[W#1/20/12#2/03/12# ]
Posts: 511
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Post by danparker on Jun 8, 2010 15:54:41 GMT
Here is something to go with how Easter and the Easter Bunny came to be. It was released in the USA as far as I know, but Newcastle was mentioned by one of the other locos. Oh yeah! I remember this one! It was really good. And I enjoyed it as a kid. The Easter Bunny Is Coming To Town is really great along with the other stop motion specials by Rankin Bass. In case no one said this: Did anyone heard about the Wee Sing Train. And also a Train Song video that I've seen a few times on youtube.
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Post by Chris on Jul 23, 2010 13:06:26 GMT
Thought this was quite endearing, despite the limited visuals - probably a pilot? You can definately see the Thomas influences - from the intro sequence and use of traditional storyteller format to the way a character gets his comeuppance at the end.
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Post by Christopher on Jul 23, 2010 13:58:43 GMT
Very nice little find that. Though obviously I've been spoilt with the works of Nitrogen to tell what makes quality CGI animation, this makes for a neat story nonetheless Also, in terms of Thomas influences, anyone else take note on Grumpy George? - hmmmm....
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Post by Aidan on Aug 24, 2010 4:08:05 GMT
I used to own a book called "The Caboose Who Got Loose." It told the story of Katy, a caboose who wanted to break away from the goods train she was travelling with. In a happy accident involving the engine puffing too hard, she gets her wish.
Good story, and it's been a while since I read the book.
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Post by FlyingScotsman on Aug 31, 2010 22:00:19 GMT
Very cute, that cable car thing. I rather like the setting - so many cartoons today are focused on cool, flashy locations (oh hai, Sodor Search and Rescue Centre), so it's nice to see one that's unashamedly old-fashioned and simple. Also interesting is the period nature of it - the cobbled streets, the piano soundtrack. The story is cute, it's interesting and well-resolved. And the narrator definitely seems into it. I don't know how successful this would be as a series, but I'd certainly welcome it.
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Post by tmrreturns on Oct 12, 2010 5:32:17 GMT
Obviously everyone would remember Gumby and he had some train episodes in his series here's a couple of them: Wild Train Ride:Just Train CrazyTMRReturns
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Post by Aidan on Oct 13, 2010 21:12:09 GMT
I haven't seen these Gumby episodes in a while. Is it just me, or does Gumby's train in "Just Train Crazy" look like a 9F?
Great find, TMRReturns.
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Post by Christopher on Nov 23, 2010 14:36:09 GMT
Not sure if this has been mentioned already, but this is truly a breath of fresh air when everything else is turning CGI on us Four years in the making, with at least 97% of animation all stop motion and using 0 Gauge Model Trains, Juniper Junction sets to become something very special indeed. Check out the website which tells about the film, the cast, the characters and behind the scenes photos and footage. I know I'll b tempted to snag up a copy of the DVD! www.juniperjunction.co.uk/
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Post by MRHloco on Nov 23, 2010 18:15:56 GMT
Juniper Junction? Now that's something I definitely haven't heard of. I've definitely seen this one on YouTube, though. More to the point, it's a film that I find quite fascinating for several reasons - hence why I've gathered all these quotes together to try and respond to them as best I can. Interestingly, the film itself was produced by the animators behind SuperTed and sponsored by S4C, the same Welsh channel that gave Fireman Sam a chance to shine. It's a good film alright and the characters are endearing indeed, making me wonder why I never saw it as a child (not as far as my selective memory can recall anyway! ). In fact, I rather like the subtle references to the early Railway Series you can find in Tillie's interaction with the others - as rightly pointed out, Jebediah has traces of Edward while Farnsworth is certainly a much more vain version of Gordon and Henry. Sadly, for all its charm and determination to keep the spirit of the original story alive, this particular film never had quite the same success that Fireman Sam and countless others did. Sadly, too, I can see the reason why - for a start, the engines are animated to not remotely suit realistic physics. It could just be me being a die-hard Railway Series supporter in saying so but the Reverend Wilbert knew what he was talking about in writing his original stories in realistic ways and the same goes for the stories his family have written since. You can make a locomotive anthropomorphic but only to a certain limit. Even Georgia's breakdown has the potential to be expanded on - perhaps a Deputation-esque scene where the workings of a steam engine could be shown or something like that. But no - the reason they come up with for it here seems incredibly flimsy. So that's the animation that's a bit of an issue. Another one is that the 30-minute time limit - that just isn't enough time to develop such a cast of characters that have so much potential. It would, for instance, have been nice to see how Tillie's success went down after her achievement - it might at least earn her the respect of those who doubted her, including the beastly Control Tower! Rollo & Company are an interesting lot too but hardly ever get the chance to interact with each other. There's only one other issue I have with the film and I'm pretty sure it doesn't have anything to do with the original story but there are moments that seem to be bordering on patronising. And I'm not talking about the scenes with the other engines turning down the toys' plea for assistance - in the original story, those were quite well written and you could almost feel comfortable reading them. All the same, it does feel a bit overly childish in places so that, if it weren't for the Disney-esque 2D animatiion technique, I might well have been reminded of Chuggington. However, it's a trivial matter - all the issues aside, it's a film that was made with dedication, a good mind and experience from people who had in fact already worked on classics like Fireman Sam. The music is certainly the cheery bit and in particular (for me anyway) the song composed for the journey through the twisting and rather fantasised mountain range. Somehow it really lives up to the original story's "self-determination" ideals and with Tillie The Switcher's voice punctuating it with the familiar catchphrase makes it even more enjoyable. This clip from 00:45 onwards might show you what I mean! Further to that, if there are some slightly patronising moments in the film itself, it's nothing compared to this 1963 version of the story which I also found on YouTube. The style reminds me a bit of Johnny Morris, except that it really does feel close to the overly sugary, watered down sort of telling you might find coming from Series 8 onwards of Thomas & Friends - more so than the original text, certainly. I'm no expert with what makes good entertainment, of course, so I'll let you judge for yourselves. Anyway, even despite all the issues and so forth, even if the other characters aren't developed far enough, one thing that hasn't been let down on is Tillie's portrayal. Although the name feels a bit too obvious, the essential element of the character herself is very much that of the original story but with more depth. In the first place, her determination that she has untapped potential is surely something we've all felt at some point. Perhaps the most moving scene involving that idea is when the trainload of toys etc (known as "The Birthday Train" here) sets off from its starting point. In a dramatic departure from the original story, Tillie has already seen it being prepared and already the prospect of spending a lifetime trapped around the roundhouse is starting to get to her. Something about the line "I could do that" is clear evidence and such is the genuine emotion in the tearful look in those watery eyes that you almost want to place a reassuring hand on her cabside and say something like, "You know what? I feel just the same." Perhaps that's what adds to the sense of euphoria you feel for her once the journey over the mountain pass begins and when it comes to an end - that final whistle she lets loose after her final lines probably mirror the mental cheer that I feel whenever I see that moment. But there's other elements that make her more believable than otherwise - her friendship with a bird (again the name "Chip" is a bit too obvious) adds a further dimension to her persona and the interaction with the others suggest a desire to let others take it easy (trying to substitute for Jebediah on the milk train, for instance) and an intense disapproval for selfishness (as seen in her interaction with Farnsworth). In short (and after writing more than I thought I would), the 1991 adaptation of The Little Engine That Could is definitely evidence that adaptations of classic children's literature can work. All the same, it might have been better if they'd improved on it further - a longer film to do it better justice and further research into genuine US prototypes (including the C.P.Huntington on which the Little Engine in the story is based on) wouldn't have gone amiss. There's a sense of US prototypes but they seem very generic in prototype, rather than thought out to be solidly recognisable. But maybe I'm just fond of the Reverend Wilbert's way of doing things!
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Anime Boy
Main Line Engine
[D3v:thomasanime]
Posts: 1,541
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Post by Anime Boy on May 25, 2011 23:02:48 GMT
Months ago, I saw on Cartoon Network's movie broadcasts a film called 'Lionelville - Destination: Adventure!', which tells about two children, along with their grandfather, investigating the mysterious disappearance of their parents, and finding themselves on a time-traveling adventure on a specially-built steam locomotive that could travel through space and time.
This is the only video I could find of the film on YouTube:
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Post by Aidan on Oct 21, 2011 4:13:45 GMT
I came across this video on YouTube, and I actually had the VHS this was taken from:
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Anime Boy
Main Line Engine
[D3v:thomasanime]
Posts: 1,541
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Post by Anime Boy on Dec 15, 2011 3:26:29 GMT
I remember enjoying the book "Oi! Get off our Train!" since I was a kid, but I never realized that it was also adapted into an animated feature until a few days ago, when I came across these videos on YouTube:
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Post by Little Engine on Dec 24, 2011 0:40:59 GMT
I used to own a book called "The Caboose Who Got Loose." It told the story of Katy, a caboose who wanted to break away from the goods train she was travelling with. In a happy accident involving the engine puffing too hard, she gets her wish. Good story, and it's been a while since I read the book. I used to have that book, and I enjoyed it. I rember there was this one page in the boog that involved Katy talking to a signal tower about how he wished he was in her position and it was kinda....strange I also enjoyed the old Little Engine That Could film too, I watched the tape many times, and I can see the parallels with the old Thomas episodes. As for how they were animated, I actually didn't mind, in fact I like it! I don't care that the engines can move cylinders like hands or if the look a little toy like, I actually think they show more emotion than they did in the original picture book. And I liked how they expanded upon the journey up the mountain. Plus they got the voice of Optimus Prime, nuff said Also, anyone here remember "The Great Harbor Rescue" it was a video about various little Golden Book characters and how they tryed to find a big object to plug up a hole in a barrier to block floodwaters from a storm
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jan 27, 2014 16:44:51 GMT
Don't know if anyone has seen these:
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Post by Looney Conductor on Feb 1, 2014 22:02:27 GMT
I'm just going to leave this here and let it sink in... THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN AWESOME IN THE MOVIES!!!
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Post by Looney Conductor on Feb 25, 2014 3:51:08 GMT
What do you get when you combine Looney Tunes, The Polar Express, and Steam Punk? This piece of insanity! Why can't we have something like this instead of all the obnoxious car ads on TV?
(Note to Mods: Does it count as double posting if nobody has posted for quite a while and I have something different to show than what I posted earlier?)
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