The Lead Mines (T&F)/Behind the Scenes

Background Information
The Lead Mines is a fictional mine created by the Rev. W. Awdry.

The mines first appeared in the first series episode Down the Mine, which first aired in 1985. Its last appearance was in the twenty-third series episode Deep Trouble, which was released in 2020.

Gauge 1 set
The set for the lead mines was first created for the unaired pilot. It was later recreated when the episode was re-filmed with the new models for the first series.

Close-up set
A close-up set of the lead mines was built to be used for scenes involving the close-up scale figures.

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

According to Greg Tiernan, the CGI sets are subjected to many rounds of review before they are submitted to HiT Entertainment for final input and approval.

This set in particular was created especially for a flashback sequence to the episode Down the Mine from the 2012 special, Blue Mountain Mystery.