The ENTIRE Model Series Timeline of Thomas & Friends - Every Major Event from Seasons 1-12 in Order 

29:48 “I’m banishing you to the Shadow Realm.” *”NOOO-“* “Much Better” What a Classic.

28:40 The Unlucky Tug: *breaks character*

I clicked on this faster than Thomas with the jet engine

Thomas And Friends was the first time I was introduced to the concept of a timeline. As a kid, I could never wrap my head around why Peter Sam was once called Stuart; or where all the narrow gauge engines even came from. I had vague - but vivid - memories of seeing the narrow gauge episodes; particularly the one where Duke rescues Sir Handel from crashing off the cliff, but I didn't understand how Duke was no longer on screen or where the name changes came in.

I feel like the Model series is one of the most satisfying timeline of all of Thomas and friends if I'm honest

The lore of Thomas is honestly one of the most underrated aspects about the franchise imo.

The most nostalgic timeline for me, and the one that affected me the most. As a kid, I loved it because talking trains and because the narration was so soothing. As an adult, I love the characters and narration still, but I can also admire the craftsmanship, how much time and effort it took to make these model sets and engines, the mechanics required to make their eyes move and steam come out, and the meticulous filming process. And discovering the deeper meanings of the stories and real life events that inspired them is the icing on the cake. Thank you so much, Tug for putting this all together.

29:50 “I banished you to the shadow realm” Sir topham Hatt

(29:48-29:54) Topham Hatt: "I'm Banishing you to the Shadow Realm!" Sir Handel: "NO!" Topham Hatt: "Much Better." A Classic.

You originally released this video on the last day of my freshman year of high school which was by far my worst year mentally but your videos were something good to look forward to. I just finished my junior year and I’ve gotten much better and I just want to thank you for always making quality content

4:07 Before The Beginning 10:24 The Golden Years (Seasons 1-4) 25:02 The Middle Years (Seasons 5-7) 34:04 The New Era (The Hit Era) (Seasons 8-12)

These timeline and map videos have some of the most dedication ever put into a Thomas the Tank Engine video! This is why I stuck around even after the channels termination. You should be proud of yourself Tug! Hope you enjoy life with your wife.

29:49 never gets old

I like to think between season 7 and 8 when HIT took over Skarloey had a seizure and that's why he dumb

I would personally place Toby’s arrival to Sir Topham Hatt’s railway before the landslide at Mrs Kindly’s cottage. Percy mentioned how both Thomas and Toby gave her presents.

At last! This was always one of my favourite videos of yours. The amount of stuff in here is just insane!

Said this on the original upload, but my dad, who comes from a family of railroad employees and is lifelong model railroader, was in college around the time Thomas came to the states and he’s admitted on multiple occasions that he watched the show back in the day SOLELY because of the models

The model series lore is just as rich as the railway series lore

I wish Sodar was real. It looks like such a beautiful place LOL

I love coming back to this video once and awhile because of how good it is, One of my personal favorites on RU-vid‼️🗣️

29:47 what you all are looking for

6:05, yes that is a fleet of tram engines.

Ah, another one of your all-time greatest videos returns! I was and still am amazed at how you managed to piece this all together.

Thomas and the Magic Railroad was all a dream. There. That explains everything.

The boulder and shadow realm returns

How does this guy know so much about Thomas

"I'm banishing you to the Shadow Realm!" - RU-vid, to The Unlucky Tug

Sir topham: I'm bannashing you to the shadow real Sir handle: *Noooo* Sir topham: Mutch better

We can all agree that models dominate cgi.

I grew up with the Model series. I had DVDs, battery toys, wooden tracks, i loved Thomas.

27:38 7:08 Oliver: Maybe in another life we could’ve been different engines maybe we could’ve been more than we are…

The amount of work for this era is truly fascinating :)

the Adventures of the paint pots and queens trilogy which consists of the following episodes(Off the rails, Down the mine, and Paint pots and queens) should take place in the middle of second season shortly after Duck's arrival and before the events of Diesel's arrival and after Donald and Douglas stories because in the episode Percy takes a plunge Percy tells both Bill and Ben his events of Percy Promise and after which he meets up with Thomas who was looking at a danger sign which Thomas tells Percy about his incident with one and he fell down a mine.

THE Thomas timeline is back! I missed this one so much!

I think of Thomas and the magic railroad is something more of a dream Thomas had about the future of him and his friends and that’s why there is magic involved because it’s A DREAM

7:28 I guess Glenn used to work at those places

every time i get back to this channel i just feel the urge to go back to the first few seasons again, seasons 1 through 5 are just, awesome

This was the first video of yours I ever watched and it reignited my love for this show. Glad it’s up again.

29:48 Everyone’s favorite part! 🤣

29:48 _And so a meme was born..._

Topham: I’m banishing you to the shadow realm Sir-Handel: nooooo! Topham: much better I guess Topham watched the dubbed version of Yu-Gi-Oh!

Watching the wheels move and hearing them move on the tracks has always been satisfying to me

Watching this gives me so much nostalgia for things I didn’t even think I remembered from childhood

Idea on when things could take place in the TV Series (note: I don’t see the Model and CGI eras as different canons): The first few episodes of Season 1 could be set in the mid-late 1930s at the most due to how in Thomas’ Train there’s a portrait of what seems to be a LMS Princess Royal Class (which were built in 1933 and 1935) in Sir Topham Hatt’s office (I can’t tell completely, that might be a Royal Scot too). Hiro could’ve also shown up on Sodor in the 1930s but a separate Railway from the NWR explaining why he thought he was the only engine on Sodor. I’d also say things in Season 2 were set post-1948 when British Railways was formed due to the Blood and Custard coaches, the diesels showing up, and the theme of steam engines being scrapped with Donald and Douglas showing up, and you could say most things in S2 take place when they did in the RWS. As for when some arrivals specifically happened; -1962: The Diseasel (the year when the Class 28s were allocated to Barrow in Furness) with the last few episodes of Season 2 happening. -1963: Tender Engines (when Flying Scotsman was preserved) with all the other episodes of Season 3 happening as well as some of the first few episodes of Season 4 happening. -1964: Bowled Out and Double Teething Troubles (BR switched to Rail Blue in 1965 and D261 and Derek showed up in BR Green) with most of the rest of Season 4, Off The Rails and Down The Mine, Percy Takes The Plunge, and Season 5 happening. The Daisy saga could’ve even happened around here due to not appearing with the rest of the engines in Missing Christmas Tree, Special Letter, or Season 3. With these possibilities, Season 6-onwards could be set from 1965 and after. Rex Bert and Mike’s stories in Season 20 could’ve also happened when most of the events of Season 3 were happening (to align with the RWS timeline) but Duck pulling the Slip Coaches in Mike’s Whistle begs to differ.

i remember being so hyped when this released thank you tug

13:26 10:55 The ironworks was once run by Edward’s ghost engine when it first opened

Happy to have this one back. Thank for the awesome vids sir

My take on a timeline for "Thomas & Friends", which I have been developing off-focus, follows the Railway Series-canon one pretty closely in respect for Awdry's original vision. There are some adjustments made though to accommodate aspects unique to the TV series take that I thought added weight to the overall picture. Pre-1000 - Great Waterton is founded as a town on the Island. 1683 - Great Waterton inaugurates its Waterworks, which powers clean water from a spring off Culdee Fell to provide clean water across Sodor. 1860s - Great Waterton is connected to the Sodor & Mainland Railway via Ballahoo; this ultimately becomes a branch line of the North Western. The events of 'Wharf and Peace' from Season 10 take place as a young Skarloey gets to grips working with trucks with his historic friend Neil's support. 1874 - The events of Season 7's 'The Old Bridge' occur during (historically-correct) stormy weather, with Mr. Mack, the original manager of Skarloey, in the place of Sir Topham Hatt. 1881 - As I clarified in my expansion of the Railway Series timeline, Falcon aka Sir Handel first arrives on the Mid Sodor Railway as their No. 3. He is originally minus his trailing wheels without a proper cab; the bucking and humiliation this causes stimulates his pessimistic attitude. 1887 - Falcon goes back to his builders to have trailing wheels fitted; he is given his blue paintjob around the same time. 1895 - Falcon suffers his 'Bulldog' mishap, whilst double-heading with the recently-rebuilt Duke to help break him into working again. The contempt that had been building up between the two is resolved. 1904 - Falcon is sent back to his builders again; this time to be given a new boiler and new frames. Much of him is renewed to replace worn parts. 1909 - Freddie arrives on the Mid Sodor Railway under trial. He stays for a while, proving himself an asset in any role he's given, earning him the nickname 'Fearless' Freddie. 1911 - Trevor the Traction Engine is bought by his original owner from an agricultural trade show on the Mainland; he is shipped to Sodor to begin work. 1920s-1940s - The events of Season 1 occur (if you would count Toby as being a resident of the Island of Sodor, although my take instead acknowledges his Great Eastern Railway roots as per the Railway Series canon). The flashbacks of 'Granpuff' and 'You Can't Win' also occur at this time, along with the flashbacks related to Skarloey and Rheneas. Great Waterton's spring dries up, and a new hydro-electric Power Station to the west near Peel Godred is built around a more plentiful supply of water; this in part triggers the closure stages of the Mid Sodor Railway. My take of 'Duncan Gets Spooked', which instead revolves outwardly around Duke, Falcon and Stuart, occurs towards their Old Line's endgame. 1950s-1960s - The events of Seasons 2-4, minus the singled-out moments from Season 4 I mentioned above, happen at this stage. 1967-1968 - Murdoch and Arthur are bought from British Railways for scrap-value, to help with revised service diagrams on the Main Line. Murdoch is more open-minded than his TV show portrayal, whilst Arthur after his unfortunate trial on Thomas's branch line, begins work shunting at the Big Station in the place of Duck. 1970s-1990s - Events beyond Season 4 occur (though not necessarily in exact order). Fleeting engines appear as a result of the Fat Controller opening up his Works to contracted work for privately-owned or museum engines from elsewhere, who are permitted to be trialled on the Railway to be broken into service. Regards, Samuel Farris.

Yay unlike the cgi series the classic series has natural plot that somewhat makes since

The effort put into this is frankly incredible. Great work.

29:48-29:53 Sir topphat= "im banishing you to shadow realm-" Sir handel (me)= *use Uno block card*

How is it possible for Tophams grandchildren to be kids in season one and still in five when its almost two decades apart?

growing up, I only got to see the stories from seasons 1 and 2, narrated by Ringo Starr (the UK version). I remember getting excited to go to "The Early Learning Center". a toy shop that most towns in the UK had, which had a targeted demographic of toddlers and pre-teens. not only did they sell wooden railway thomas toys, but they always had their own TV in store playing a Thomas video. I can remember sitting on one of the bean-bag cushions and watching a couple of season 3 episodes i had never seen before like Henry's forest, which i begged my mum to buy me. but she never did sadly. however on a sleepover at a friends house we not only watched one of his season 3 videos, but also a video filled with only the Skarloey and narrow guage engine stories! we may be in our 30's now, but we still to this day unconsciously hum Duncan's theme song to each other.

I’m still surprised to see the model timeline was the one that made up the longest video

Billy: OH FUCK BAN THAT

There are a few season 8+ engines that I’m disappointed didn’t stick around for longer. A waste of some cool character concepts

I'm banishing you to the Shadow Realm.

Video idea. Find out all the real world inspirations for the stories of the railway series. Might take a lot of research!

37:12 if you wanna read the text

I never read the Railway Series, starting my Thomas journey in the year of my birth, 1993, with the model series and TTTE/STS on television. So unlike most fans I will always default to the TV series timeline as that is what I am most familiar with. That is not to say that the RWS is in some way wrong, after all as you said, it WAS written by the man himself, the Reverend Awdry. However, I will always be far more of a fan of the TV series than I am of the books. To each their own personal preference after all. Nice job, Unlucky Tug.

huh, I guess the old files were missing some clips? for example at 6:04, the orignal video showed clips of j70 model tram engines. were as here, the clip of the lost engine is used...

He included the meme!

Who else is here after binging S1-12 and/or of the Thomas Retrospectives?

I watched this so much when I was 3-6, now I need to watch a video to remember it

"run by a fleet of tram engines" *shows not-Proteus crossing the bridge*

I said this on the old version of this, but I'll say it again: this video is how I learned how to pronounce "clerestory".

The models series was my childhood

The 2 eras shown here (Classic and Hit) do help make up this very good timeline of the series so far.

My favorite Timeline video!

New task: Somehow combine the Railway Series, Model Era, and CGI into one big lore

17:27 I used to be terrified of this episode for this specific shot. Looking back, It still looks cursed.

Really enjoy your content. Hope all gets worked out.

20:49 Thats supposed to a be a o-cyliri Water Tender,it a freakin Standard LNER Cooridor Tender.

Remember Smudger? What ever happened to him? He was turned into a generator and he was never talked about again. Was Smudger left behind?

You're getting back there

8:05 Another engine which looked like Stepney came to build this railway as well she was…well…different

I really enjoy your videos I watched the 2000s Thomas shows as a kid and got back into it recently because I remembered I used to watch and wanted to watch it again

Hahah! Welcome back!

The greatest timeline of Thomas Change my mind

8:53 If we have to agree with this we can write one of the scenes in the adventure begins off as not canon

In the blue snowplow”s Head canon Rusty and the boulder and Toby and the flood took place at the same time

Thank you.

Even though I never grew up or was born around this time I will always adore Season 1 because of how much used to love that season when I was a child in the early 2000s and especially seasons 2, 3, 4, 5, and maybe 6 but from season 7-11 was when it started goimg downhill and the CGI era is what put it to bed. From Season 1 through 6 will always hold a special place in my heart (mainly Season 1) and the CGI era is basically "what have you done to my childhood"

13:05 How did I only just notice that Sir Topham Hatt is standing on LEGOS?

21:45 I assume this is due to the events of Edward's Exploit?

Still love the Cloistery coach bit 😂

Here’s My Timeline Edward And Gordon. Thomas And Gordon. The Sad Story Of Henry. Edward Gordon And Henry. Bulldog. Thomas’ Train. You Can’t Win (Takes Place At The Same Time As Thomas’ Train). Thomas And The Trucks. Thomas And The Breakdown Train. James And The Coaches. Troublesome Trucks. James And The Express. Thomas And The Guard. Thomas Goes Fishing. Thomas And Terence. Thomas And Bertie. Henry And The Elephant (I Know Percy And Duck Are In The Episode But I Didn’t Want This Episode To Take Place In The 40s/50s). Tenders And Turntables. Trouble In The Shed. Trampy Movie : Percy. Percy Runs Away. Coal. As Good As Gordon. (Henry Still Uses Welsh Coal A.K.A Special Coal) The Flying Kipper. Whistles And Sneezes. Toby And The Stout Gentleman. Thomas Breaks The Rules. Dirty Objects. Thomas’ Christmas Party. Gallant Old Engine. Grandpuff. Thomas Percy And The Coal. Cows. Bertie’s Chase. Saved From Scrap. Thomas And Trevor. Percy And The Signal. Percy And Harold. Duck Takes Charge. The Runaway. Percy’s Promise. Pop Goes The Diesel. Percy Takes The Plunge. Dirty Work. A Close Shave. Better Late Than Never. The Missing Coach. Break Van. The Deputation. Thomas Comes To Breakfast. Daisy. Bullseye. Special Attraction. The Diseasel. Percy’s Predicament. Wrong Road. Edward The Very Useful Engine. (Gordon Still Thinks Edward Is Retired) Old Iron. Edwards Exploit. Time For Trouble. Off The Rails. Down The Mine. Paint Pots And Queens. Ghost Train. Wolly Bear. A Scarf For Percy. Thomas And The Missing Christmas Tree. Mavis. Toby’s Tightrope. Gordon And The Famous Visitor. Gordon Goes Foreign. Donald’s Duck. Drip Tank. Thomas And The Hurricane. Thomas Percy And The Dragon. Thomas Gets Bumped. Diesel Dose It Again. All At Sea. The Trouble With Mud. Henry’s Forest. Trust Thomas. Henry’s Forest. No Joke For James. Edward Trevor And The Really Useful Party. Buzz Buzz. One Good Turn. Tender Engines. Escape. Oliver Owns Up. Toad Stands By. Bulgy. Heroes. Percy James And The Fruitful Day. Thomas And Percy’s Christmas Adventure. Sleeping Beauty. Four Little Engines A Bad Day For Sir Handle. Peter Sam And The Refreshment Lady. Trucks. Special Funnel. Steam Roller. Rock n Roll. Passengers And Polish. Rusty To The Rescue. Thomas And Stepney. Train Stops Play. Bowled Out. Thomas And The Special Letter. Fish Mind That Bike. Cranky Bugs. Horrid Lorry. Thomas Saves The Day (S8). A Better View For Gordon. Lady Hatts Birthday Party. Oliver’s Find. Baa. Haunted Henry. Bye George. Toby’s Discovery. A Surprise For Percy. Put Upon Percy. Sir Topham Hatts Holiday. Gordon And The Gremlin. Stepney Gets Lost. Toby And The Flood. Thomas Percy And Old Slow Coach. Happy Ever After. Make Someone Happy. Rusty And The Boulder. Duncan Gets Spooked. James And The Trouble With Trees. Thomas And The Rumours. Busy Going Backwards. Something In The Air. Snow. The Fogman. Salty’s Secret. Harvey To The Rescue. No Sleep For Cranky. Percy’s Big Mistake Hide And Peep. A Bad Day For Harold. [UNFINISHED]

you did a fantastic job! tbh, after season 9 it kinda got meh, but the first season, super cool!

6:55 11:56 I guess this railway was built while Henry was rebuild like you showed us that in the railway series before Toby came to Sodor he and the half pariah had a nasty accident

I bet months from now, Tug's gonna do a timeline/analysis video on the Trampy movies.

yay the vid is back

36:30 in my headcanon i say Freddie was lost somewhere in the mid sodor railway

Before The Beginning: (1880's-1949) The Golden Years (Seasons 1-4) (1949-1966) The Middle Years (Seasons 5 -7) (1966-1970) The New Era (Seasons 8-12) (1970-1979)

I like to think Oliver took over Thomas's portion of the mail train, as we never see Thomas on mail duties afterwards. And since Oliver was off screen for many seasons, he probably got a hold of the job and has mostly been on night trains. Not perfect, but I think its a cool idea.

my childhood, i really enjoyed this video, constantly had me saying "omg yea i remember that"

My basis for what's canon and what isn't relies on what's presented mainly through the text and not necessarily through the visuals. Visuals are a means of telling a story, and there have been times where a certain character appears in a scene taking place in a certain point in the timeline when they're not supposed to be present, such as Rheneas being present during certain episodes when he's supposed to still be at the works. Since Rheneas himself isn't mentioned directly in any of those scenes by any of the characters or by the narrator, I regard him as having canonically not been present for any of those scenes and that his appearance was down to a production error. The scene probably called for a group shot of the narrow gauge engines and someone included his model with the rest without being made aware of continuity. In short, from my point of view, a character is only present during the events of an episode if they were directly mentioned as having been there by the narrator or were acknowledged directly by another character. If a character's model is present but they aren't mentioned directly, their canonical presence lies in a grey area of sorts where they either were or weren't present based on whether or not it makes sense for them to be there according to what's established in other episodes. Another example is James being in the yard in the station yard while Thomas is working there before he gains his own branch line in "Thomas & the Breakdown Line" which was established in the next episode as having been James's first day on the railway, meaning he couldn't have been presebt while Thomas was still working in the yard, but since he isn't referred to by name in any of those episodes, isn't mentioned directly and has no speaking lines, we can suggest that James wasn't canonically in any of those episodes and that perhaps who we saw was another random unidentified engine who James's model was simply repurposed for, kinds like how a bunch of diesel engine character models were repurposed for the engines present at the scrap yard in "Rusty to the Rescue".

my favorite video all time

29:49 I'm banishing you to the Shadow Realm! - Sir Topham Hatt (2021)

I'd like to imagine the franchise like this: The RWS, Model series, and CGI series are all canon, but are in different continuties. They all share many of the same characters and concepts, but each one differs in their portrayals of said characters and adding new ones exclusive to each continuity. Bear from the RWS, Neville from the Model series, and Stephen from the CGI series are all canon to the franchise, but are part of different continuities and timelines. This can be seen in some events like the Sad Story of Henry, each continuity has its own slightly different version of the same story but the story is still canon to the franchise. Or Thomas and the Trucks, where again, the story itself is canon, but each continuity has different portrayals of it. This is my personal opinion on the franchise

Between 27:39 & 27:40 (In my head) is where the events of “The Good Old Days” occurs.