Thomas & Friends - The Big & All Aboard Live Tours

"Thomas & Friends - 'The Big Live Tour'" and 'The All Aboard Live Tour' are two old arena stage shows in the UK produced by DC Entertainment and Tell-Tale Productions in 2002. The tour has been repeated within the next four years and also toured Japan by Fuji Television in 16th July to 31st August 2005.

Plot
The tour featured two different stories, in which the set and characters used were modified to suit the tour.

Act 1
It is a lovely day on the Island of Sodor, and the day begins as usual, with The Fat Controller and the railway workers all preparing for the day. Josh, Jenny and the villagers arrive at Tidmouth Station to watch and catch trains. The Fat Controller is proud. He introduces James to the audience.

The Fat Controller then prepares the engines for the day, asking Percy to take the post and Gordon to take the express, and the three engines set off.

Everyone wonders where Thomas is, and he soon comes out of the tunnel, introducing himself to the audience. He tells Josh and Jenny how naughty the Troublesome Trucks had been, and then talks about how during different days of the week, as to which day talked about why he was late. Percy arrives at the station, feeling tired. Thomas helps him getting the yard spic and span for the inspection.

The Fat Controller scolds Thomas for being late. Gordon teases Thomas for his lateness which makes him cross.

Suddenly, Thomas derails on a siding outside the station.

Thomas, with the trucks chanting in a troublesome manner, finds Jack breaking down. With the help of the audience, Thomas and his driver fixed Jack to help him get back on the right track.

When Thomas returns late to the sheds, The Fat Controller crossly scolds him again and tells Thomas that he is taking his branch line away. Everyone gasps at this point. Thomas tries to apologise and begs for mercy, but The Fat Controller ignores his plea.

That night, Gordon and James tease Thomas again about him being late and how The Fat Controller would not think he is really useful anymore if he keeps it up. But Percy backs his best friend up and basically says The Fat Controller does think he is really useful.

Josh and Jenny begs The Fat Controller to give Thomas another chance, but he refuses.

Thomas appears out of his shed and says a few things to himself about not being very useful and never seeing Annie and Clarabel again. Then he sadly trundles out of his shed and runs away.

Act 2
The next day, Percy tells The Fat Controller that he has seen Thomas steaming away from the station. Josh and Jenny remind The Fat Controller about how disappointed he was in Thomas and taking away his branch line. They also tell him that some of Thomas' friends were being horrid to him. James realises that Thomas is not naughty all the time, Percy knows that Thomas was trying to help the railway, and not thinking running away is an excuse for being late, Gordon feels ashamed for being hard on Thomas and agrees that tank engines do not always need to be on time like him. After an agreement, everyone sets off to find Thomas.

In the middle of his run away, Thomas feels alone without Annie and Clarabel, and sadly tells himself about never seeing his branch line again, his lateness and he is not strong, fast or big enough. He finds an old siding next to a quarry to hide.

Meanwhile, Percy and James were still on their search for Thomas and arguing about who is to blame for making Thomas run away. As they steam into a tunnel, it collapses. Percy, James and Gordon are trapped. Their drivers tell Harold what had happened, and he flies away to get help.

Harold finds Thomas and alerts him to the news about his friends in the tunnel. Redeeming himself to be really useful again, Thomas leaves the siding and sets off to the rescue.

Josh, Jenny and the railway workers watch as Jack clears away the tunnel rubble and loads it into the trucks for Thomas to collect. Percy, James and Gordon are free. The Fat Controller congratulates Thomas and Jack for their brave work and regrants Thomas his branch line for being really useful once again.

The next day, the station is decorated with buntings, and everyone celebrates Thomas and Jack's rescue mission.

At the end of the show after the grand finale, all of the engines and vehicles were on display for the audience to go and see. Afterwards, the engines disappear one by one.

Act 1
It is a lovely day on the Island of Sodor, and the day begins as usual, with the Fat Controller and the railway workers all preparing for the day. The Fat Controller is proud, despite having a bad cold which soon becomes worse for him. He introduces Percy and James to the audience as his sneezes continue on.

The Fat Controller then prepares the engines for the day; his cold causes him to pronounce his words wrong, asking James to pull the tar wagons, Percy to pull the post and Gordon to pull the Express. As they set off, the Fat Controller wonders where Thomas is, and he soon comes out of his shed, introducing himself to the audience and is a great start to the day. The Fat Controller gives Thomas three jobs - pulling Slate Work to the docks, pulling Coal Trucks to the mines, and to run down his Branch Line twice. Thomas is determined to not let him down, and asks the audience to help him be a really useful engine.

After puffing along, Thomas ends up breaking his whistle and refuses to work with out it. When the Fat Controller arrives, he agrees with Thomas. Everyone soon hears the school bell from Mrs. Martin's school. Thomas asks if he can borrow the bell, which the Fat Controller agrees. When Thomas arrives and sees Mrs. Martin, he asks to borrow the bell and she allows him to do so, having helped the schoolchildren when Bertie broke down.

Gordon and the railway workers however soon catch the Fat Controller's cold. He is quite frustrated with everyone, but after realising about what happened, he asks the workers for Thomas to pull the express instead. After Thomas finishes all his extra tasks, he begins travelling down his branch line, ringing his bell, and and gets carried away with it. The constant ringing causes the Fat Controller, the railway workers and Gordon to scold him for his irresponsible usage of it. The Fat Controller tells Thomas to use it at the right time, and he makes him go to his shed.

Thomas soon goes to sleep, and is awaken to the smell of smoke and flames inside the Fat Controller's office. With help from the audience, he realises that the bell is the only way to warn him about the fire and begins to ring it endlessly, waking up everyone again. Before the Railway Workers and the Engines are able to scold him again, Thomas explains about what is happening and then begin to yell to wake the Fat Controller up. When he comes out, he reveals that he fell asleep and accidentally burnt his tea cake. Impressed with his deeds, the Fat Controller deems Thomas pride of the line and has proved to be a really useful engine.

That night, the engines begin telling stories. James mentions the time when Thomas had a boiler full of fish, while Percy mentions the time when Gordon got stuck up the hill and Edward had to push him up. Gordon then tells a story about a Ghost Train, frightening Percy. Thomas however tells him that Gordon is only teasing him, and is not doing any harm.

The following day, the railway workers, drivers and the Fat Controller have overcome their colds and are all better again, while Thomas has gained a new whistle. He tells the engines that there is a parade taking place on Sodor, and plans out what everyone has to do; James to pull a special load, Gordon to pull the Mayoress of Sodor, Percy to pull the special parade package of Fireworks and Thomas to bring the bunting and flags. Gordon continues to tease Percy about the Ghost Train, but Percy ignores him.

Percy travels along the island talking to the audience about what he loves the best, and wonders what his special load is. He then hears a whistle in the tunnel, and Percy gets worried about it. It turns out to be James, whose special load ends up being a load of trucks. James brags that he can pull his load of two trucks, despite Percy's objections of the fact that he has no load. After he leaves, Percy then heads off to do his job, but he soon hears a strange sound from the tunnel. Percy is not certain what to do and backs up, derailing in a siding. He calls out for help, but no one knows that he is in trouble.

Act 2
Everyone was looking forward to the Fat Controller's Big Parade, especially Thomas, who the Fat Controller asks to lead the parade for finishing his jobs. Thomas is cleaned up and decorated in the bunting and decorations to prepare for the event. However, the Fat Controller is concerned about where James and Percy have gone and asks for Thomas to wait where he is for the two engines.

James arrives, and continues boasting about his special load. However, Thomas tells him that he does not have any trucks. James then goes off to find the trucks, while Thomas goes off to find Percy and asks James to tell the Fat Controller that he lost his load. Thomas races ahead and despite the decorations being damaged, he knows that he must help his friend before the parade starts.

Percy remains derailed in the sidings, and Thomas soon arrives. The engines soon hear a ghostly noise which sounds suspiciously like an elephant and are both scared. Thomas is determined about what the sound is coming from, and goes inside the tunnel where he finds James' trucks and special load - an elephant named Nellie. Thomas suspects that the trucks uncoupled themselves in the tunnel and hence what happened.

Thomas soon notices that he cannot help Percy on his own, and asks Nellie to help him. This ends up being successful, and are about to head back to Tidmouth, but Nellie wants to go into the Tunnel. She comes out with her daughter Twinkle. The Engines know that there is no time to lose and must get back in time.

The Fat Controller is cross that Thomas disobeyed him again and has ruined his decorations, and says he should not lead the parade and orders him to leave, despite Thomas trying to explain to him. However, he is soon interrupted by the sound of the elephants, with Gordon scaring himself in the process, but it turns out to be Percy with Nellie and Twinkle. The Fat Controller regrets his stern words and goes off to tell Thomas right away that he will be able to lead the parade again.

In no time at all, everything that the Fat Controller wanted for the parade is right there: The Lady Mayoress, the fireworks, and the elephants. The Lady Mayoress cheers on Thomas for what he is done, and the parade proceeds to huge success.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Annie and Clarabel
 * Troublesome Trucks
 * Jack
 * Harold
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Mrs. Martin
 * Josh
 * Jenny
 * The Mayoress
 * Edward
 * Henry
 * Donald and Douglas
 * Bertie

Locations

 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * Tunnels
 * Station with footbridge
 * Level Crossing
 * Post Windmill
 * Brendam Docks
 * Ffarquhar Quarry

Voice actors

 * John Voce as Thomas
 * Mark Roper as Gordon
 * Edward Nudd as James
 * Martin Parsons as Percy
 * Justin Fletcher as Harold
 * Dave McEvoy as Jack
 * Unknown voice actors as Annie and Clarabel

Japanese version
The existing Fuji TV dub cast reprised their roles in this version of the show. Annie and Clarabel did not speak.
 * Keiko Toda as Thomas
 * Kenji Utsumi as Gordon
 * Katsuji Mori as James
 * Chisato Nakajima as Percy

2002-03 Big Live Tour performers

 * Percy Copley as Sir Topham Hatt
 * Martin Parsons as Thomas' driver and a railway worker
 * Edward Nudd as James' driver and a railway worker
 * Russ Fielding as Percy's driver, a railway worker and a clown
 * Kate Ashmead as Josh
 * Sarah Angel as Jenny
 * Michelle Dubreuil as a villager and a railway worker
 * Suzanne Britten as a villager, a railway worker, Josh (understudy) and Jenny (understudy)

2004 All Aboard! Live Tour performers

 * Percy Copley as Sir Topham Hatt
 * Martin Parsons as Thomas' driver and a railway worker
 * Edward Nudd as James' driver and a railway worker
 * Russ Fielding as Percy's driver and a railway worker
 * Emma Quintin as Mrs. Martin, The Mayoress and a railway worker
 * Morna Macpherson as a railway worker

2006 All Aboard! Live Tour performers

 * Connor McAllister as Sir Topham Hatt
 * Andrew Venning as Thomas' driver and a railway worker
 * Edward Nudd as James' driver and a railway worker
 * Adam Lacy as Percy's driver and a railway worker
 * Clare Beasley as Mrs. Martin, The Mayoress and a railway worker
 * Sarah Pinkney as a railway worker

Act 1

 * Another Busy Day On The Trains
 * It's Great to be an Engine
 * A Job For Jack
 * I'm Not A Useful Engine Anymore

Act 2

 * Another Busy Day On The Trains (Reprise)
 * Don't Blame Me!
 * Night Train
 * A Very Special Day On The Trains

Act 1

 * Another Busy Day On The Trains
 * It's Great To Be An Engine
 * I'm Back on Track
 * Why Should I Stay?
 * It's Great To Be An Engine (Reprise)
 * Another Busy Day On The Trains (Reprise)

Act 2

 * I'm Special!
 * Thomas to the Rescue
 * Heave Ho!
 * Start the Parade
 * Thomas' Anthem

Japanese All Aboard! Live Tour songs

 * Come For The Ride
 * It's Great To Be An Engine
 * Heave Ho!

Trivia

 * References to the first series episodes, Edward and Gordon and Thomas Goes Fishing and the second series episode, Ghost Train are made in the second story.
 * Thomas' model was manufactured by the Chris Reynolds Company.
 * James' model was manufactured by BBC Visual Effects Studio.
 * A scissor hinge mechanism and a pneumatic steering biasing were constructed to help James maneuverer around tight corners as a regular pivot would not work due to the model's large size.
 * The first Big Live Tour poster marks the last appearance of Thomas' original laughing face.
 * Gordon's model in the show was too big to go around the curves, so the model just moves in and out of the shed. It is not a complete prop, lacking a firebox, cab (aside from the front), tender, rear driving wheels, and trailing bogies, and the boiler is shortened to give the illusion of depth.
 * The model engines can blink and change their facial expressions through six buttons inside the cab. Other switches inside the cab can control the steering of the engines, smoke volume and eye movements.
 * In Japan, Harold, Jack and troublesome trucks did not appear on the stage.
 * A special program featuring shows in Japan was broadcast on 16th July and 20th August 2005 in Ponkickies, with Gachapin, Mukku, P-Chan, Inocchi, Battom and Sister Rabbits, along with the Japanese Thomas & Friends narrator Leo Morimoto appearing.
 * It was going to tour Australia but it was cancelled and replaced with Thomas Saves the Day.
 * The James model earned a Guinness World Record in 2004 as the largest electric model railway engine.
 * Thomas' model was used for the Queen's Party at Buckingham Palace on 25th June 2006 with Jonathan Ross playing the Fat Controller. During the event Thomas was also temporarily given a new face.
 * A poster for this tour can be seen on the side of a double-decker bus in the 2003 film, Love Actually.
 * A few of the props were put up for sale on eBay;  the faces on most of the characters were taken off and were worn out and the props themselves were not in the best of shape. These initially did not reach the reserve, but when relisted individually in May 2019, James (minus his tender), Percy and one of the coaches received enough bids and were sold. Gordon and Harold were put up for sale in August 2019. Thomas' prop was scrapped in late 2018 as it was in too poor condition to be used again.
 * Most of the models used in the show were stored at Greenham Common Nuclear Facility as of November 2018.
 * Percy, one of the coaches, and James (minus his face and tender) have now been sold to AG Tyre Recycling outside Marwell Zoo, Southampton, UK.
 * Percy's whistle sound was used from the Rubadubbers episode, "Train Driver Tubb".
 * James's whistle sound was reused for him in the All Engines Go episode, License to Deliver.
 * Much like in the fourth series, Thomas uses Edward's whistle sound.
 * For The All Aboard! Live Tour, the models were altered a bit for some of the plotline elements. A wire was added onto the top of Thomas' cab above his whistle to hang the school bell on top of his roof. A steel beam was added underneath Percy's rear bufferbeam to help him knock down the buffers which had an extra plank.
 * Twinkles' costume was also used in the direct-to-video special Tweenies: Jungle Adventure, which was also produced by Tell-Tale Productions.
 * Square holes were cut on the front of Thomas' smokebox saddle (underneath his face) and on the front of his tanks behind his wheel splashers to give his body shell air to cool down the electrical.
 * The engines have a brake and accelerator peddle inside the cab (like a car).
 * The servo motors used for the face movements is the Tonegawa Seiko PS-050 - 1:4 Industrial Servo.
 * The second performance of the day before the final performance in Japan was cancelled because Percy broke down.
 * The electric motors used to propel the trains is the NPC-4200 motor from NPC Robotics.
 * Sometime around early 2005/late 2004 Thomas and Percy's cab footsteps were changed to have a proper step on the bottom.
 * The engines' back buffers are shorter in length than their front buffers.
 * In The Big Live Tour, Suzanne Britten (an actress of the show) worked on Gordon's animatronics.

Goofs

 * Gordon is missing his lamp-irons and coupling hook.
 * James is missing his whistle.
 * Percy is missing the red lining on his cylinders.
 * All four engines are missing their brake pipes.
 * In The Big Live Tour Thomas says he is not strong enough because of his "engine", but he has a boiler.
 * The Troublesome Trucks are missing their couplings and buffers.
 * Percy's cylinders are grey in some of the first rehearsals. This was fixed before the official showings.
 * Thomas' left eyelid is slightly lower than his right.
 * In the All Aboard! Live Tour, shortly after Thomas' whistle breaks a short version of "Its Great To Be An Engine" is preformed, during which Thomas' whistle can be heard despite it being broken.
 * During one performance of the All Aboard! Live Tour, part of James' audio can be heard during when Thomas and Percy head back to the sheds.