Annie and Clarabel (T&F)/Behind the Scenes

Background Information
Annie and Clarabel are fictional standard gauge coaches created by the Rev. W. Awdry.

Clarabel first appeared in the first series episode Thomas and Gordon, while Annie first appeared in the first series episode Thomas and the Breakdown Train, both of which first aired in 1984. Their last appearance was in the twenty-fourth series episode Thomas and the Inventor's Workshop, which was released in 2021.

Voices
The two rarely saw any speaking roles between the eighth and sixteenth series, but since Blue Mountain Mystery, they became series regulars and now speak in many episodes. Shelley-Elizabeth Skinner voiced both in Thomas and the Magic Railroad, while Teresa Gallagher has voiced both of them in both English dubs since 2012. Gallagher and Skinner portray them with British accents, while the former depicts Annie with a deeper voice compared to Clarabel.

Gauge 1 models
Annie and Clarabel were made from Tenmille's gauge 1 Stroudley 1st/2nd Composite coach with custom roofs and vacuum formed ends. For production of the fifth series episode, Sir Topham Hatt's Holiday, resin copies of them were made.

Faces
During production of the twelfth series, new faces were proposed for Annie and Clarabel. These faces would be grey and rectangular similar to many of the other characters in the television series. Additionally, the new faces would not be meshed into the carriage body, making it easier to add the faces in post using CGI tracking software. Ultimately, the design was dropped and they retained their original face designs.

CoolProps Replicas
In 2019, a faithful replica prop was made by CoolProps in Japan and sold to the public. They used the original models located at the Hara Model Railway Museum in Japan for referencing.

Gauge 3 models
Gauge 3 models of Annie and Clarabel were built in the eleventh series to be used alongside the large-scale models of Skarloey Railway engines, which had been used since the fifth series for ease of filming and reliability. The models only appeared in the episode, Duncan Does it All. For budget reasons the models would be built without mouths.

Close-up models
A close-up model of Annie and Clarabel were built to be used for scenes where they had to interact with the close-up scale figures. The model built in the first series was short, with the Green Express Coach on the other side, and was repainted red in the fourth series.

CGI models
In 2009, the series introduced Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) as a replacement for the show's long-standing live-action models. Annie and Clarabel were recreated from scratch in CGI by Nitrogen Studios. Their models were "hand-sculpted" in Maya, a 3D animation and modelling software.

Photographs of Annie and Clarabel's Gauge 1 models were used for referencing. According to Greg Tiernan, every detail of the original television series models for each character is carefully reproduced in the CGI model. The models are subjected to many rounds of review before they are submitted to HiT Entertainment for final input and approval.

Their CGI models have gone through some slight changes.
 * Hero of the Rails:
 * They increased in length and height; now being as tall as Thomas's cab.
 * The tops of Annie's end windows became slightly curved inwards while Clarabel's remained straight.
 * Their orange-brown liveries became more vibrant.
 * Series 13:
 * Annie and Clarabel's eyelashes disappeared.
 * Series 14:
 * Some episodes featured their eyelashes back.
 * Series 15:
 * Their eyelashes returned fully.

Texture variants
In addition to their standard livery, a few other texture variants exist of Annie and Clarabel's CGI models. These texture variants include:

Pantone colours
The following pantone colours are used on Annie and Clarabel's CGI models:

Clarabel's common goofs
Clarabel has a brake compartment for luggage and a guard, unlike Annie. But many merchandise items except some Japanese merchandise share the same mould as Annie, so her guard compartment is omitted. This is also seen in several promo art and CGI promos.

Annie

 * Shelley-Elizabeth Skinner
 * Teresa Gallagher
 * Tomoko Naka
 * Saori Gotō
 * Sakura Yoshioka
 * Sonja Spuhl
 * Julia Holmes
 * Renate Pichler
 * Marianne Westby
 * Lena Meieran
 * Krystyna Kozanecka
 * Zuzanna Galia
 * Agnieszka Kunikowska
 * Anna Apostolakis
 * Blanche Ravalec
 * Norma Iturbe
 * Olga Hnidey
 * Ana Teresa Ávila
 * Mia Kadosh
 * Marjolein Algera
 * Mariana Zink
 * Olga Kuznetsova
 * Susa Saukko
 * Paqui Horcajo
 * Mercedes Espinosa
 * Anna Cugini
 * Vina Papadopoulou
 * Kovács Nóra
 * Lee Je-in

Clarabel

 * Shelley-Elizabeth Skinner
 * Teresa Gallagher
 * Chisato Nakajima
 * Tomoko Naka
 * Saori Gotō
 * Sakura Yoshioka
 * Sonja Spuhl
 * Margrit Strassburger
 * Monika Hein
 * Marion von Stengel
 * Marion Martienzen
 * Marianne Westby
 * Marit Berg
 * Ewa Serwa
 * Lidia Sadowa
 * Blanche Ravalec
 * Ruth Toscano
 * Talya Barkay
 * Marjolein Algera
 * Claudia Victoria
 * Olga Kuznetsova
 * Susa Saukko
 * Paqui Horcajo
 * Mercedes Espinosa
 * Laura Amadei
 * Vina Papadopoulou
 * Sági Tímea
 * Jeong Yu-jeong