Axel/Behind the Scenes

Television Series
Axel is a fictional streamlined tender engine created by Ian McCue and Andrew Brenner.

In 2016, Axel made his debut in the movie, "The Great Race".

Axel is voiced by Rob Rackstraw (UK/US) in the CGI version of the series on both sides of the Atlantic, respectively.

Axel is based on an NMBS/SNCB Type 12. One of these locomotives, 12.004, is preserved at the Train World railway museum in Brussels, Belgium.

CGI Model
In 2009, the series introduced Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) as a replacement for the show's long-standing live-action models. In 2015, Axel was created from scratch in CGI by Arc Productions for the 2016 movie, The Great Race. The model was "hand-sculpted" in Maya, a 3D animation and modelling software.

Voice Actors

 * Rob Rackstraw
 * Kunihiro Kawamoto
 * Marcos Patiño
 * Achim Buch
 * Leopoldo Ballesteros
 * Daniil Eldarov