What if The Classic Series Fully Adapted the Railway Series?

[@expressbean64]

Wow yall absolutely DESTROYED that like goal. Can’t promise when it will be out but once im able to I will get on remaking Thomas and the evil diesel, with possibly a twist or 2👀. Thank you so much im glad to see you all enjoyed this video and hopefully there’s more like it in the future. Well thats all the time i have. I have to get back to playing dragon ball sparking zero

[@karenfan010]

honestly I don’t wanna live in a universe where cranky, emily, salty, spencer, arthur, paxton, stephen and glynn don’t exist. I don’t know about you but I think they justify the show doing their own things.

[@expressbean64]

Oh trust me I don’t hate seasons 5-7 or what came out after but it would be cool to see theses stories get adapted

[@TobyOliverHenryFan]

​​@@expressbean64 We were going to get Mountain Engines for Season 5, but the budget was too tight. The sets in Rusty And The Boulder were meant for them. Sadly, they never got around to making any of the engine props, so we'd have even stronger evidence for this. But 8 engines was definitely too much. Even 4 would be a lot (those being Godred, Wilfred, Culdee & Lord Harry). But I feel they could have reused Godred for Wilfred's prop.

[@karenfan010]

@@expressbean64 couldn’t we have some stories rws and others tvs ones like season 3?

[@Nic_2751]

@@karenfan010Magic Railroad had a huge domino effect

[@Alpha-oo8]

I would like to have seen both

[@spiderfan2003]

This would have definitely been interesting. But I won't lie and saying these stories being railway series exclusive makes them more special. Plus I quite have with things the tv series introduced during seasons 5-7. But I love seeing what if videos like this

[@expressbean64]

@@spiderfan2003 i definitely get what you mean. When I first discovered a lot of Christopher’s stories it almost felt wrong like it was forbidden knowledge.

[@spiderfan2003]

@@expressbean64 lol

[@GwrDuck8-8]

​@@expressbean64or the classic series could go to season 10 5 being season 8 6 being season 9 And 7 being 10

[@comicfan1324]

In this timeline, I would not be surprised if Britt would probably commission Christopher to write some more stories specifically so they could be adapted for television, especially once featuring Thomas, to fill out the rest of the roster

[@gartthew4162]

I doubt it’d work out like this, but I love to imagine that maybe it could work out that revenue from the extra Thomas-dedicated books would further allow him to explore other characters unlike in our timeline. Just going off of how hard they are to get now, I can’t imagine Chris’s books were all that great selling unfortunately, so maybe “TV star power” by the episodes being adapted could help Thomas-based books fly off the shelves. Maybe then Egmont would’ve given him more leeway to write whatever he wanted between Thomas releases

[@AndrewTheRocketCityRailfan4014]

I like this approach

[@danielboone3770]

I will agree, I feel like the classic series should’ve fully adapted the railway series.

[@Goofyahh271]

I think Britt and Mitton decided not to adapt Triple Header because they already had a story of "little engines pulling the express" (Bowled Out) and it would kinda contradict Duck's strength as it would've be him, Thomas, AND Percy, pulling the express

[@expressbean64]

I could see that being the case

[@Nic_2751]

Chris Awdry stories definitely weren’t the highlight of adaptations I’ll say that much

[@Jediah-s6p]

@@Nic_2751stop theif in the corner:

[@MikeEhrmantraut286]

This is better than the entire hit era and cgi

[@sudrianrailwaystudios676]

Agreed. I would have loved to see those stories adapted to the TV Series if Wilbert Awdry stayed until the end of the Classic Series…

[@natescorner]

One thing I love about the classic Audrey stories is that there was an over arching plot. Not just 1 running plot across 4 episodes. But a single running plot across the entirety of Season 1 for example.

[@expressbean64]

Just curious is the thumbnail showing for you all. On my end it’s just a screenshot of the video but I can assure you that I made a thumbnail for this video

[@Micheal_Jackson_Official]

It shows for me it’s Thomas with Gordon and writing above gordon

[@Jacob-wp8cx]

I can see the thumbnail :)

[@ChickenNoodle]

To be fair about Thomas & Victoria, the book was intended to be published in 1997, but something occurred with Britt Allcroft buying the rights of the RWS leading to its cancelation until 2007 I believe in this alternate timeline, Britt could've pushed Thomas & Victoria to be adapted for Season 6, similar to what happened with More About Thomas The Tank Engine

[@expressbean64]

I think season 6 would be perfect for Thomas and Victoria due to the heavy focus on Thomas’s branchline.

[@comicfan1324]

5:53 Clean Transition

[@joeleboeuf]

0:07 So was this.

[@firstnamlastnam2141]

15:32 I didn't realize anyone else noticed. The timing of season 5, and especially Magic Railroad always felt strange (if not convenient) in retrospect.

[@SparklingJam]

Yea…funny how after awdry dies there’s a whole season without his stories and a movie follows up about magic

[@imrandarr1094]

It’s almost as if the franchise was doomed when Awdry died.

[@bradythepokemaniac3675]

If the crew wanted each season to have 26 episodes then could have adapted more annual stories. After all most of them were written by Christopher.

[@Melby185]

I can imagine awdrys reaction as britt went up to heaven

[@aaronprewitt344]

This would have been AMAZING!!!!!!!! I have a huge soft spot for all things obscure in Thomas, and seeing the arlesdale railway and Culdee fell railway adapted would have made this worth it enough, but then adapting everything else obscure like Wilbert stories, the later Skarloey and arlesdale stories, and of course all the unadapted standard gauge stories as well would have just been icing on the cake.

[@expressbean64]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@nikolasmontes1080]

I think Rob the Green Engine does have a point in his video about what he would do with Thomas and Friends, that the reason why some of those books are still popular are the stories that have been made before and if all the Railway Series stories were adapted to television, there wouldn't be anything left in the Railway Series and it would just fade away from existence entirely, and I don't think that the Awdry family would be happy about it. So I'm kind of glad that they experimented a little.

[@expressbean64]

I definitely do see the argument for that however every 5 years Mattel rereleases the same awdry stories in a collection. These books are still accessible so I don’t see them fading away anytime soon

[@chavopatyfanstudios2005]

Tbh i wish season 3 was relased in 1989 with the tugs lighting

[@expressbean64]

That would’ve been so awesome. I always loved how tugs looked like a blend of season 2 and 3. Makes sense since it was made between the two but the visual style is just so cool.

[@amitysluzara2022]

This would've been an awesome timeline to see

[@expressbean64]

@@amitysluzara2022 if only it was real

[@amitysluzara2022]

​@expressbean64 now that would be great. Its a shame it isn't real :(

[@anthonyfisher-7090]

There's a big difference between Ivo Hugh and the newbies of season 5+. Ivo Hugh was never made to sell toys. He was brought in to complete the Skarloey/talyllyn roster.

[@expressbean64]

I get that but he’s still a bum

[@Nic_2751]

He’s still a nothing character

[@anthonyfisher-7090]

@@Nic_2751 so was that comment 😂

[@therocknrollgamer9572]

I would honestly agree with what you think Season 5 could've been if they adapted RWS stories instead of their own stories. But I think personally that the episode that should come before Old Stuck Up would be Super Rescue. I think because in Old Stuck Up, Bear makes an appearance. In order to give Bear an introduction, they adapt Super Rescue, so people won't quest who Bear is in Old Stuck Up. I think it's always best to give a RWS character an introduction episode so they won't appear out of nowhere (like they did with Duck, Donald Douglas, Oliver, Boco, or whoever). Just my personal opinion. I do wish Bear appeared in the TV series. And if they were gonna use D199 and Old Stuck Up as characters used, they'd probably use the Bowled Out Diesel model for both diesels, but use different faces to differentiate them.

[@stinkyroadhog1347]

Damn you didn't have to burn Ivo Hugh like that LOL. He showed up, did nothing and refused to elaborate.

[@expressbean64]

He is a FRAUD

[@stinkyroadhog1347]

@@expressbean64 Damn. He'll never live that down. Concord had something positive said about it LOL

[@ThomasSirHandel]

Just give him and Fred the hit era personas of Skarloery and Rheneas. Then you two new characters easy to write with.

[@therathergoodengineer9285]

If they fully TV adapted the Railway Series from book 1 to 26, or even to 42, in Brenner era style, I would be one happy guy. CGI duke would be a thing!!!

[@Symbioteking]

Bro might be cooking right now 💥💥

[@expressbean64]

@@Symbiotekinggot all four burners on the stove on rn

[@TobyOliverHenryFan]

I'm honestly happy they left out a lot of Chris' books. Imagine a whole season of just his stories. It'd be pretty boring, especially compared to the Season 5 we got.

[@expressbean64]

I mean fish and Thomas and the missing Christmas tree were written by him and those are bangers. I have faith that the crew could make some fan favorite episodes with Christopher’s stuff cuz the man had some great ideas.

[@evanwilson2465]

That was my imagination with the adaptation of those Railway Series. But I see what you were saying. They couldn't afford to build the engines. I remember in the season 3 Tender Engines, only Flying Scotsman's tenders were showing.

[@expressbean64]

True however when making season 6 they wouldn’t need to spend money on the pack characters. Idk tho since it is just a hypothetical after all

[@AndrewHager02]

NGL to ya, man, this is a mighty fine take on adapting the Railway Series in the Classic era of the TV series. But if I had a multimillion dollar budget to spend on space and resources, I’d remake the entire TV series using models from scratch in multiple scales: Gauge 3.5 for the standard gauge models, Gauge 1 for the narrow gauge models and Jack and the Pack, Gauge 1.5 for the mountain railway models, and O scale for the minimum gauge models. I’d also adapt all the Railway Series books and incorporate the TV series exclusive episodes into my own take on the series, but have as many of the TV series exclusive stories and characters as possible rewritten and reintroduced in a setting that would fit in with the Railway Series setting, as well as introducing characters made entirely off the top of my head and adapting stories based on real life events, much like how the Good Reverend and his son did with their books. Just my two cents on it, though.

[@ChrisSuperDude]

Ivo Hugh exists because the Tallylyn railway built a train called Tom Rolt. It was so that Tom Rolt had an in universe counterpart.

[@expressbean64]

@@ChrisSuperDude true however he’s still a fraud

[@randomstufliker2]

I have my own hypothesis why Triple Header wasn't adapted for season 4 Two words: Crovan's Gate In Bowled out, Stepney and Duck pull the express to "halfway". In the RWS, they take it to Cronk which is, pretty much, halfway along the line. In the TVS, they take it Crovan's Gate. This makes sense, it was the new major station of season 4. it would be fitting to bring it to that particular station Crovan's Gate is also the works station which was Thomas, Percy and Duck's destination in Triple Header. In that story, the engines end up a few yards short of the station platform. This is easier to swallow in the books considering the amount of time past between Bowled Out and Triple Header. The engines are older, the trains are more demanding and the trio had to go an additional two stations If Triple Header was adapted for season 4, it would raise the question, "Wait, two tank engines could bring the train to the station and three tank engines couldn't?"

[@danielsellers8707]

I agree that Old Stuck Up could be a repainted Class 40; the Works Diesel in S5 could be a Class 28 (BoCo's model). It makes since sense that the NWR acquires another Class 28 when BR withdrew them.

[@Nic_2751]

As much as I wish this was the case, at the same time, those new original stories that came to exist were great, and I’m so glad we got them instead of more compromised Awdry stories, as the models and revisions to the stories were definitely annoying. Plus we got such great new characters who went on to feel like they were always there, and those original stories would always continue to exist.

[@expressbean64]

No ay trust me I love a lot of the original stories and characters. A world without salty and Paxton would be a sad one but this timeline isn’t too bad

[@FictionalADDON]

An average season would contain 26 episodes so I’m guessing they would fill the gaps with their own episodes.

[@expressbean64]

Perhaps

[@imoldsquarewheels695]

"But Season 5 is not my favorite season!" Congratulations!! You have a different opinion than others! Season 5 isn't my favorite either as much as I love it. 💪

[@BryceMcKoy-lb9jv]

amazing work

[@expressbean64]

Thanks a lot!

[@BryceMcKoy-lb9jv]

Your welcome

[@TheEerieMaster]

I say the fact none of these other stories were adapted just leaves room for fans to make up for it... I love the seasons we got to DEATH, but it was still so slimy what they did after Wilbert died

[@thomasegcouplesandships1956]

Now don't get me wrong, as much as I ADORE the official Seasons 5-7 (Season 5 especially which is my second favourite Season), but you know what? I actually really like these ideas, and I'm now sort of inspired to do a similar thing.

[@ThomasAndRandomRobloxGames]

Season 7 released in 2003, not 2004

[@expressbean64]

I literally just realized. I confused season 8 for 7 💀

[@josephward1071]

I wish Wilbert, Sixteen, D199, Old Stuck Up and all other RWS Characters were in the show

[@Koko_Chan]

as someone who loved series 5 growing up, i think i would've loved it more if it used this formula.

[@Ninja11125]

If I made Thomas this would’ve happened and after all are adapted that’s when I would make my own episodes

[@ThomasLover-fr8nh]

Which order would the episodes be in?

[@expressbean64]

I would structure them in the order I introduced each episode however for season 5 I could see deep freeze being the last episode of the season

[@FictionalADDON]

For the evil diesel episode replace Thomas with Duck.

[@FictionalADDON-24]

You have so many opportunities and you wasted them, you under developed fork.🍴 There’s a utensil fail that somebody has made a roast to it. Before you ask, yes I’m the same guy and my account transfer has messed up my channel that I have to make a new one.

[@VestedUTuber]

I'm surprised that Christopher Awdry didn't file a breach of contract suit against Britt Allcroft if Britt was contractually obligated to follow the books but decided to completely ignore it upon Wilbur Awdry's death. Of course, that's assuming the contract was attached to the Awdry estate.

[@Alpha-oo8]

The actual only reason Ivo hugh exists is because the tallylyn railway also built a seventh engine. They like to make sure both railways have parity

[@expressbean64]

I guess but he’s still a bum

[@Alpha-oo8]

@@expressbean64 can’t really argue with that. Really needed another book to flesh him out. Imagine if the skarloey railway only had one book. We’d know nothing about Rheneas!

[@williamhenryvandeco2879]

you're missing one thing; budget, they simply wouldn't have enough money to make more of these episodes.

[@gabonusprime8251]

16:22 and your rigth about that , now that the oficial show is not the same anymore. we should continiun the reverant's legacy with remakes, adaptacions or original stories so that this fandom can keep on going the legacy of that littel blue tank engine who wanted to see the world and by doing so became a part of our chidlhood and hearts.

[@LeaderOfTheTracks]

Great video! Super interesting to think about how the entire show would be different if they kept using RWS stories. However Britt Allcroft and David Mitton only decided to stop adapting the railway series stories out of respect for the Awdry’s work and to let him rest.

[@expressbean64]

That’s actually pretty interesting. I’ve never heard of that before but it does give insight to their decision. Idk either way it still feels a bit weird

[@gfuelmonster5415]

If season 3 of Thomas and friends came out in 1989 we would have gotten model series flying Scotsman D199 bear Arles-dale railway engines and many more

[@tjmfarming9584]

Not gonna lie, I do like some of the concepts you present here, especially leaving Season 7 off with Gordon Goes Foreign and Super rescue. I can see Old Stuck up being a BR blue version of Class 40, and the works diesel being Boco's model. But I do feel like if all these were a reality, characters like Emily, Salty, and perhaps Spencer would still be included in some way, shape, or form. I mean, they DID paint Bittern up into Silver Jubilee colours similar in the 80s, which is the livery Spencer's is based on. Who knows, with some tweaking, this plan for concept seasons might be enough for someone to have a go at making this a reality in Trainz or something.

[@funsyminn]

i doubt the crew would have the budget to build all those britain sets and the pack scale models

[@DavidBContentExtravaganza3967]

Which is why CGI could've taken care of that.

[@Nictrain123]

If “Mountain Engines” was adapted in Season 7… Godred (Alec Baldwin): “OHHH HAAAAAAAAAAAALP!”

[@croissant-cz5jd]

I think it would've been great if the RWS was fully adapted but one problem could've arrived and that being budget

[@firstnamlastnam2141]

A big part of me assumes that had they just adapted the books instead of their own things, the budget thing would be fine. If they had the budget for pyrotechnics, giant boulders, and a weird movie with celebrities, they should have enough for something more down to earth.

[@expressbean64]

@@firstnamlastnam2141yes I do believe they’d save a lot of money from just not doing any of that. But idk maybe without all those crazy shenanigans we wouldn’t get such big toy sells

[@firstnamlastnam2141]

@@expressbean64 I'd imagine the toys would still be fine without them. I mean, if ERTL could make a toy such obscure things like Sir Charles' DUI from 1937 or whatever, then really, anything could sell, regardless of if it involved wacky hijinks.

[@fanofeverything30465]

I like Magic Railroad too

[@Batmanisbestpony]

I do think however that A Better View for Gordon would have worked as a Railway Series story. Especially since they based it on a real life accident, and Awdry always made sure that these stories he told were based on real life events. Not to mention, the whole dialogue where Percy gets roasted by James felt straight out of the books too.

[@expressbean64]

I feel like it might be out of place to have it be focused on Gordon since it would release after Gordon the high speed engine where he’s very mature. Maybe swap him out with James and have him be upset no one can see him in the new station

[@Nic_2751]

@@expressbean64nah Gordon makes sense, plus it wouldn’t be the first time his gear jammed

[@danielboone3770]

I love Season 5!

[@Relentlezz41]

I wanted Wilbert/16/Sheffield (IYKYK) in the model series so bad

[@Nicolas-zw5ex]

What if HiT era characters were adapted into the Railway Series?

[@expressbean64]

I like the way you think

[@BlueZero-ij3pt]

I wish the Arsdale railway got adapted in season 6

[@comicfan1324]

I’m sure, but if they adapted Thomas and the great railway show, they would probably just say it takes place to the museum on the other side of the island or on the mainland and not specific what country it is

[@elygennari4435]

I don't want to sound harsh but I think if I was working with Britt Allcroft I would have adapted the railway series books closely and make mention of real engines and real railways.

[@mary.of.mares.1470]

But it can be achived the Minature Gauge because The Narrow gauge Engines were Built to go on O scale track so they could have made Them OO

[@Super_idiotX]

guys, he is dululu

[@reedbradwahnnatahvera3883]

Well for me. I would expand more of season 4, 5, 6, 7 and make not 28 but more episodes

[@ThomasSirHandel]

Personally I think Seasons 5-7 should have been like Season 3 with mix of both RWS /original stories and maybe by this time they could have did 40 episodes with the seasons being split into 2 years. If the classic series had fully adapted the RWS they could have used Ivo Hugh and Fred the diesel as Skarloey and Rheneas's childish roles in the Hit era. Yes I feel like Thomas and the Evil Diesel could have been used to explain Diesel's permanent return with the ending being re-written with him staying.

[@Nic_2751]

The reason they weren’t was because this was all Magic Railroad’s undoing, they had to prove Thomas was worthy of a movie, and when it failed, Britt lost most of her power

[@BigGordon34]

GET TO WORK FOR THE REMAKE

[@expressbean64]

Can’t guarantee when it will be about but it probably won’t be this year hopefully early next year. Don’t worry tho the second I can I will be hard at work on it I just didn’t expect to hit the goal so soon

[@kirbdelta2074]

They could make the Miniature gauge engines HO/OO gauge.

[@seanalailima5929]

Thomas' Christmas Party wasn't an RWS adaptation aside from a flashback.

[@expressbean64]

The episode was actually based on a one off book Awdry wrote for season 1. While not in an actual rws book it’s considered apart of it

[@SmackoMations]

5:53 smooth transition, (intentional or not)

[@seanalailima5929]

Faulty Whistles sorta is an adaptation of Mike's Whistle but not really.

[@ReallyUsefulPinkEngine29]

Agreed!

[@IDoVoodoo]

I would've prefered this scenario

[@steamzilla95]

What about the characters that weren’t in the RWS? Do they still appear in the show?

[@expressbean64]

Sadly they wouldn’t see the light of day

[@sailorearth2007]

Very interesting ideas…if I were to do this I would try to combine old and new together and fix nix or adjust the later season episodes to flow with the classic era…also not a fan of Gordon being retired from the express but that and the narrow gauge all being red are the only details I would drop from the books

[@expressbean64]

Idk Gordon retiring is a nice moment. I like to imagine after that he went on a holiday with flying Scotsman

[@sailorearth2007]

@@expressbean64 while it is a nice moment that would end the series…yes the CGI was its own timeline but there were some things that carried over…and then everything they got wrong or just did wrong…but unless Gordon came out of retirement all the seasons that came after would either have to be a different series or not feature Gordon as a major character…that or just leave everyone wondering why everything changed back and characters just vanished when the show made the jump

[@javielalvarez5459]

The Narrow Gauge Railway was not mentioned in season 3! Season 4

[@elygennari4435]

What about a proper adaption of Tenders for Henry and Super Rescue for season 5.

[@JamesDunnStudio739]

I like magic railroad

[@expressbean64]

Same it’s fire

[@puppetme6316]

Or maybe just make the miniature gauge engines but without moving eyes and smoke units from the tracks instead of the funnels

[@expressbean64]

That could also work

[@Nic_2751]

Personally I’m glad we got them in CGI because their stories are very human centric and those figures just cut down a lot of the humor with the people in the adaptations

[@drevuscz1220]

doesn´t a normal thomas season have 26 episodes?

[@expressbean64]

Yes however then we’d be stuck with one 26 episode season, one 20 episodes season, and one 18 episode season. This way just works best for the story arcs

[@GeneralLeeStudios]

now what about a what if the hit era adapted rws stories

[@Modernelvis]

I think that they would just use spencer for bce because theres no point in repainting and upgrading henry if they are gonna remove all the stuff

[@expressbean64]

Well in this timeline Spencer would’ve never existed. Maybe if they made a mallard prop it could work however none of the season 7 characters would not exist

[@mandyward5372]

​@@expressbean64the railway series almost got in big trouble because of Mallard being in thomas and the railroad show, Britt Alcroft probably wanted to avoid any potential copyright issues hence why Stepney is not from the bluebell railway in the show

[@CarsonsPlushiePalooza]

Missing Coach becomes a season 6 episode

[@JintyandPugFan20]

How do I describe this? Well, I could say it’s interesting

[@Bearthediesel]

This whould be peak

[@expressbean64]

Thanks if only we got to see it

[@pumpkingdounut_official]

We could of gotten the new stotys later

[@expressbean64]

True. Maybe they could’ve made Ivo hugh an actual character

[@txlmu]

I think the CGI series did good on respecting the book series, like Mike Bert and Rex on TV

[@Bearthediesel]

But how would you build the models for pip and Emma

[@michaelbonner4126]

3:35

[@milestinker2178]

The Classic Era seasons were 26 episodes, not 24 episodes. So your Season 5 is two episodes short.

[@expressbean64]

Gonna be real with you I forgot they’re 26 but ngl this style works best for the story arcs

[@Super_idiotX]

whos andrew brenner

[@expressbean64]

Idk he’s probably not important

[@thelocoguy45]

@@expressbean64yeah you probably right. Its not like he’s gonna be important of anything-

[@DavidBContentExtravaganza3967]

@@thelocoguy45 He was head writer of Thomas & Friends from Seasons 17-21.

[@DavidBContentExtravaganza3967]

@@expressbean64 He was head writer of Thomas & Friends from Seasons 17-21.

[@mouadhajjouji6825]

They couldn’t do the miniature gauge engines because they couldn’t fit the moters eyes moters and the smoke machines like they had the same problem with the narrow gauge

[@expressbean64]

That’s why I would suggest they make pack scale engines of engines like duck and make the arlesdale engines slightly smaller than the normal engines

[@SatExam-gl9eq]

thomas

[@expressbean64]

Real

[@thejjshow4876]

i wish i could make this real in twr but im broke

[@SodorsAssistantDirector]

11:51 guess ur straight?

[@danielsellers8707]

I wasn't a big fan of S5; it got too stupid and different from the RWS. The TV series should maybe have ended with Awdry's passing. Same with I'm not a big fan of "Entertainment Rights" era Postman Pat either and I like the original Fireman Sam series much better than the modern CGI episodes.