Red Express Coaches (T&F)/Behind the Scenes

Background Information
The Red Express Coaches are fictional standard gauge coaches created by the Rev. W. Awdry. In 1986, the coaches were introduced in the second series of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends and were primarily used for the express up until the twelfth series where the Green Express Coaches would taken over full time. They would however return in the The Great Race. These coaches were sentient despite not having faces.

The models of the coaches were based upon SR Maunsell Coaches without corridors. They have broad windows on one side and narrow windows on the other.

Shorter variants of these coaches were introduced in the third series, which completely replaced the long coaches from the second series.

Throughout the CGI Series, the coach designs were altered to be much taller and thinner compared to the previous ones. Unlike the prior models, the CGI designs have broad windows on both sides.

Types of designs in the Model era:

Gauge 1 models
The express coaches' original models were custom built from Tenmille kits for Gauge 1 SR Maunsell Coaches. The bogie came from Tenmille parts. The models were used only used in the second series. During the production of the third series, a new resin copy mold for the coaches were made, replacing the previous version. However the coaches from the second series did get used in a few episodes between the third and fifth series. A second resin copy mold of the coaches were made for Thomas and the Magic Railroad, which replaced the previous versions and would be used for the rest of the model series.

In the episodes, All at Sea, Heroes and Thomas and Stepney as well as the film, Thomas and the Magic Railroad the coaches had interior lighting. These were powered by a series of hidden battery packs.

Close-up models
A close-up model of the coach was built to be used for scenes where they had to interact with the close-up scale figures. The door could be opened and closed.

Originally this model was the green express coach and was repainted red in the fourth series. By the way, the other side of this model is the orange branchline coach, Annie and Clarabel.

CGI models
In 2009, the series introduced Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) as a replacement for the show's long-standing live-action models. The coaches were retextured from the Green Express Coaches which were "hand-sculpted" in Maya, a 3D animation and modelling software.

Their CGI models have gone through some slight changes.
 * The Great Race:
 * They narrowed in width; now being as wide as Thomas' body.
 * The coaches now have broad windows on both sides.