There were plans to have an animated intro with steam puffs, but this never materialised. No intro for the pilot was made.
Thomas and Gordon look completely different from the final models.
Robert Gauld-Galliers is unsure as to who watched the first screening of the episode, although he does remember that their reaction was positive.
This was the original pilot show for the series, filmed in 1983. The producers were unhappy with some aspects of it so it was never broadcast or released on home video. The only copy was considered lost for several decades and had almost been forgotten about until it was discovered in the house of producer Britt Allcroft after her death in December 2024. Her family made it available for online streaming in time for the 80th anniversary of the publication of the first Thomas book in 1945.
Unlike the series which used Märklin tracks, the pilot used Tenmille. The Tenmille rails later rusted just before the first series and were replaced with Märklin.
