Run! Thomas & Friends "Steam Locomotive is Alive"

Run! Thomas & Friends "Steam Locomotive is Alive" (Japanese: 走れ! トーマスとなかまたち 蒸気機関車は生きている) is a 2005 Japanese television documentary of Thomas & Friends, which broadcasted on TBS "Discovery of the World's Mysteries" to celebrate the sixty years of The Railway Series.

Plot
The documentary's "mystery hunter" Gaku Hamada visits various railway themed attractions in the UK to learn about the history of Thomas & Friends. He travels to Sodor's island neighbour, the Isle of Man, and meets many engines on the Island's railways. Not only does he go to various heritage railways, but he also pays a visit to the National Railway Museum in York, drives a traction engine at a rally, and learns how to prepare, fire, and drive a steam engine on the Bluebell Railway.

Characters

 * Puffing Billy
 * Stephenson's Rocket
 * Mallard
 * Flying Scotsman
 * Hercules
 * Winston Churchill
 * Hurricane
 * Douglas Bay Horse Tramway No.32
 * Manx Car 20
 * Snaefell Car 5
 * Loch
 * Thomas
 * Duck
 * Stepney
 * Dolgoch
 * Bloomer No. 1009
 * Edward
 * Henry
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Percy
 * Toby
 * Donald and Douglas
 * Oliver
 * Adams
 * Cromford
 * Skarloey
 * Rheneas
 * Sir Handel
 * Peter Sam
 * Culdee
 * Mike
 * S.C. Ruffey
 * Agnes, Ruth, Lucy, Jemima and Beatrice
 * Catherine
 * Trevor

Interviees

 * Christopher Awdry (65 years old)
 * Mr. Oliver (13 years old) - Traction engines driver
 * Roger Whitehouse - Talyllyn Railway
 * Gully Fletcher - Railway researcher
 * Mr. Clive (65 years old) - Bluebell Railway volunteer
 * Mrs. Rebecca (22 years old) - Bluebell Railway volunteer, Clive's daughter
 * Colin Daniels - Chief executive of the Warrington Chamber of Commerce
 * Snaefell Mountain Railway Passenger

Locations

 * Kent & East Sussex Railway
 * National Railway Museum
 * Science Museum, London
 * Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway
 * Talyllyn Railway
 * Douglas Bay Horse Tramway
 * Manx Electric Railway
 * Snaefell Mountain Railway
 * Isle of Man Railway
 * Bluebell Railway
 * Warrington Bank Quay station

Footage
The following episodes from The Railway Series:
 * Thomas and Gordon
 * Bulldog
 * Rusty to the Rescue
 * Stepney Gets Lost
 * Edward's Day Out
 * Saved From Scrap
 * Skarloey Remembers
 * Peter Sam and the Refreshment Lady
 * Home at Last
 * Stepney's Special
 * Bad Look-Out
 * "Devil's Back"
 * Wrong Road
 * Little Western
 * Resource and Sagacity
 * Toad Stands By

Songs

 * Thomas' Anthem

Cast

 * Leo Morimoto as the Narrator
 * Masayuki Omoro as Flying Scotsman, Isle of Man Railway Steam Engine, Manx Car 20, Roger Whitehouse
 * Mahito Tsujimura as the Stephenson's Rocket, Snaefell Car 5, Mr. Clive
 * Tokuyoshi Kawashima as Mallard
 * Ryūji Nakagi as Christopher Awdry, Puffing Billy, Snaefell Mountain Railway's Passenger, Colin Daniels
 * Toshiko Maeda as Douglas Bay Horse Tramway
 * Ayumi Tsunematsu as Mrs. Rebecca

Trivia

 * In Japan, Thomas & Friends was broadcast on Fuji Television from 1990 to 2007, but this documentary was produced and broadcast by another television channels, TBS.
 * This documentary marked the first time in the franchise that used individual voice actors for engines such as Flying Scotsman and Stephenson's Rocket.
 * The documentary also featured historical figures such as Richard Trevithick, George Stephenson and Amelia Jenks Bloomer.
 * The illustrations of "Thomas the Tank Engine Birth Story" was drawn by senior mystery hunter Yuka Kawahata.
 * The signs of "prohibiting kissing" proposed by Colin Daniels at the end of the documentary were explained in Warrington Bank Quay station in February 2009, but was removed and sold after three weeks.
 * There are two instances of songs by The Beatles being played (Ringo Starr was the drummer of said band):
 * "With A Little Help From My Friends" plays near the introduction when the Day Out with Thomas engines are being prepared.
 * An instrumental version of "Ticket to Ride" plays in the scene showing Duck.

Hashire! The "Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends" Steam Locomotive is Alive! 走れ!トーマスとなかまたち 蒸気機関車は生きている