The themes of the characters in Thomas and Friends have been an iconic part of the show. In seasons 1-7, the majority of the characters had a recurring piece of music attributed to them. Here is a list of the character themes. It lists the season they were introduced in and the appearances of their themes. These themes are composed by Mike O' Donnell and Junior Campbell.
*These are not the official names of the music pieces. They are named by T1E2H3 based on the character, location, episode, or general fan consensus.
Season 1
Season 1 used synthesizers exclusively for music. The first theme heard in Thomas and Gordon was the "Busy Station Theme" when Thomas pulls the coaches into the station after he is introduced. The first character theme played was Gordon's
Characters
- Thomas
- Edward
- Henry
- Gordon
- James
- Percy
- Toby
- Sir Topham Hatt
- Terence
- Bertie
Other Recurring Themes
- "Busy Station" Theme
- Breakdown Train Theme
- Runaway Theme (also known as Troublesome Truck's Theme)
- Henry's Sad Theme
- Turntable Theme
- Thomas's Sad Theme
Famous, Single Use Themes
- The Flying Kipper Theme (re-arranged from Henry's theme)
- Henry's Tunnel Ditty
- Thomas and the Trucks theme (jazzy re-arrangement of the Thomas's theme and the TV intro music)
Trivia
- Henry's theme was re-arranged into the Flying Kipper theme, with an extra part added. His sad theme is his theme played in minor.
- Despite being the first character introduced, Thomas's theme was not heard until the fifth episode, Thomas's Train.
- Thomas also had a winter variant of his theme, which was the same only the chuffing percussion was replaced with sleigh bell sounds.
- Until a perfectly clear instrumental of said episode was uploaded by jjschepis3 in January 2017, it was almost impossible to edit together the full theme from Thomas and the Trucks/Trouble for Thomas. Most had to resort to inserting bits from the actual TV theme song or using a poor instrumental.
Season 2
Like Season 1, Season 2 used synthesizers exclusively. However, the music became more advanced. Every engine except Gordon, Toby, and Henry had modifications to their theme. (Henry's theme did not appear).
Character Themes
- Duck
- Donald & Douglas
- Bill & Ben
- Diesel
- Daisy
- Harold
- Trevor
- Boco (extremely short)
Other Recurring Themes
- Viaduct Repairs Theme
- Accident Theme
- Bad Weather Theme (Remix of Edward's Theme)
- Outro Music
Famous, Single Use Themes
- Ghost Train Theme
- "Diseasel" Theme
Trivia
- Henry's theme was the only original engines who's themes was not present in the season. A few notes of Toby's Theme was heard in Thomas, Percy, & the Coal.
- Like Thomas, Donald and Douglas had a winter theme.
- Henry's sad theme was used for when Duck was sent away in Dirty Work.
- Boco's theme was only a small ditty, heard in The Diseasel and Wrong Road. Therefore, fans often attribute the Diseasel theme to him or a small ditty heard in the third season episode Buzz Buzz/James Goes Buzz Buzz.
Season 3
Season 3 was the first season to use real-sounding instruments rather than electronic sounding synths. However, many of the original synth music pieces were kept, though with modifications. All new themes used real instruments entirely. Because of this, this was the first season not to use the outro music (except for the UK dub of Mavis)
Character Themes
- Oliver
- Mavis
Other Recurring Themes
- Post/Mail Train Theme (Remix of Thomas's Theme)
- Storm Theme
- "Adventure" Theme (Remix of Duck's theme)
- "Triumphant" Theme (Remix of Bill and Ben's theme)
- Harbor/Henry's Forest Ending Theme
- Gordon's Silly Theme
- Percy's Crash Theme (Remix of Percy's Theme)
- Thomas's Crash Theme (Remix of Thomas's Theme)
Famous Single Use Themes
- Oliver's Escape Theme (Remix of Oliver's Theme)
- Trevor's Carnival Theme (Remix of Trevor's Theme)
- Henry's Forest Sad Theme (Remix of Henry's Sad Theme)
- Gordon's Racing Theme (Remix of Gordon's Theme)
- Chinese Dragon Theme
Trivia
- Donald and Douglas were the only members of the NWR 11 who's theme was not heard.
- The following characters' themes still had the original electronic pre-90s variants in the background: Edward, Gordon, James, Percy, Diesel, Bill, and Ben.
- James's theme was a re-orchestration of his Triumphant Theme in Season 1.
- Mavis was the last episode ever to feature the outro music, and this was only present in the UK dub.
- Henry's sad theme was drastically re-arranged for Henry's Forest. This piece is generally considered the saddest music written for the show by fans.
- A full rendition of James's theme was never heard after Season 3.
Season 4
Season 4 was the first season to use no synth music at all (except Daisy's Theme). All the themes received a major re-arrangement.
Character Themes
- Skarloey Railway (Used for all Narrow Gauge Engines)
- Rusty
- Duncan
- Stepney
- George
- The Diesel/ Class 40 (only appeared once)
- Duke (extremely short ditty)
Other Recurring Themes
- Skarloey Railway Hurry Theme (Remix of Skarloey Railway Theme)
- Ambient/Alternate Skarloey Railway Theme (Also known as the Stubborn Engine Theme, remix of Skarloey Railway Theme).
- Sad Skarloey Railway Theme (used in Sleeping Beauty, Trucks!, and Special Funnel)
- Skarloey Railway Outro
- The Triumphant Theme Outro (Thomas and the Special Letter/Thomas, Percy and Old Slow Coach)
Famous Single Use Themes
- Duke's Stuggle Theme (Remix of Viaduct/Repairs Theme)
- Rusty to the Rescue Theme (incorporates Rusty's Theme)
- Lakeside Theme (incorporates Triumphant Theme)
- Bridge Mending Theme (Remix of Rusty's Theme)
- The Queen's Arrival (Arrangement of the UK national anthem "God Save the Queen")
- Daisy and the Bull Theme (Stylized like the music from many spaghetti western films, like 'The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly', sped up arrangement heard briefly in 5th season episode 'Gordon and the Gremlin'".
- The Triumphant Theme Outro (Thomas and the Special Letter/Thomas, Percy and Old Slow Coach)
Trivia
- Daisy's theme was the only piece of music to use the earlier synths, though it had a trumpet added as well.
- Because of the main focus on the narrow gauge engines, only a few themes of the NWR 11 were heard. These were Thomas, Henry, and Toby. However, Percy's Danger theme was used, and Duck's Adventure Theme was featured, with bits of Stepney's Theme added in.
- In the US dub, some music was missing in certain places of episodes, including Trucks/Rusty Helps Peter Sam.
- The Adventure Theme from Season 3 had a few notes of Stepney's theme added in Bowled Out.
Season 5
Season 5 was the first season to use use absolutely no traces of the original themes. In fact, most of the character themes had a major re-arrangement. A lot of them were more laid back and casual then earlier arrangements. This season introduced some dark and spooky music to fit the tone the season. This season also introduced a few orchestrated outro pieces that would be used from here on until the music change in Season 8.
Character Themes
- Sir Topham Hatt's Alternate Theme
- Derek's Theme (Remix of Mavis's Theme, later used for Mavis in latter seasons)
Other Recurring Themes
- Henry's Danger Theme (also known as Haunted Henry Theme)
- Somber Theme (also known as Boulder's Theme)
- Thomas's Intro Theme (Remix of Thomas's Theme)
- Disaster Theme
- William Tell Runaway Theme (Remix of Runaway Theme and Giocchino Rossini's piece "The William Tell Overture", used once again in sixth and seventh seasons).
- Happy Outro
- James Outro (Remix of James's Theme)
Famous Single Use Theme
- Duncan Gets Spooked Theme (Later Used in Season 6 Episode Scaredy Engines)
- Henry's Spooky Theme (when Henry first encounters the abandoned station)
- Carnival Theme (Remix of Thomas's Theme)
- Henry's Fishy Theme (Remix of Henry's Theme)
- James vs. the Tree
- James's Fire Theme
Trivia
- Since most of the characters introduced hardly ever appeared again, many of them didn't have their own themes.
- Edward and Duck's themes were not heard at all (Donald and Douglas never made a full appearance aside from a few cameos). Henry's theme was remixed into the Fishy Theme and a few notes (in a spooky tone) were present at the beginning of the music when Henry first puffs through the mist in Haunted Henry. The first notes of James's theme could be heard in several pieces. Toby's theme was interesting as in Toby's Discovery, it was mixed with Oliver's theme.
- Both the theme from Duncan Gets Spooked and Haunted Henry are considered to be the darkest themes from the show by many fans.
- Percy's theme was majorly altered. Instead of the cheeky, punchy theme from before, this new arrangement was more serious and represented his hard working determination in these episodes.
Season 6
Season 6 featured most of the Season 5 themes, though pieces from 3 & 4 were also often used. This season marked the return of several character themes that had been absent, like Donald, Douglas, Edward and Diesel. A lot of the themes were more relaxed than previous seasons, playing in a slurring manner. Also, many of themes did not use actual percussion, just flutes and strings.
Character Themes
- Salty
- Harvey
- Elizabeth
- Cranky
- The Pack
Other Recurring Themes
- The Red Balloon Theme
- "Winter Wonderland" Theme
- Spooky Theme
- Thomas & Percy Mixed Theme
- Busy Docks Theme (Remix of Salty's theme and instrumental of song "Down by the Docks")
- The Fog Theme
Famous Single Use Themes
- She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain Instrumental (played by organ in Faulty Whistles)
Trivia
- A few notes of Duck's theme were heard in Scaredy Engines.
- Henry was the only main engine who's theme wasn't heard at all (not counting Oliver as he only made a few cameos).
- This is the first time Donald & Douglas's theme was heard since the second season. They were given real bagpipes.
Season 7
Season 7 was special in that aside from 7 US episodes released on DVD, only the UK narrations had the original music by O'Donnell and Campbell. However, some UK episodes received the new music in recent airings. As this was the last episode of the classic series, this was also the last to feature music by Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell. Because of this, none of the following themes were ever heard again. The music sounds similar and uses the same style as Season 6. However, there were very few arrangements from before Season 6 present.
Character Themes
- Emily
- Arthur
- Murdoch
- Fergus (instrumental of song "There Once Was an Engine who Ran Away")
- Spencer (also used for introductory music in episodes)
- Bulgy
Other Recurring Themes
- Thomas's Intro Theme (remix of Thomas's theme)
- Worker's Theme (remix of Turntable Theme and Duncan's Theme)
- Triumphant Theme Intro Remix
- Thomas/Gordon Outro Ditty (remix of Thomas and Gordon's themes)
Famous Single Use Themes
- Bill & Ben's Alternate Theme (remix of their original theme, heard in Bill, Ben & Fergus)
- The Old Bridge Theme
- Edward's Alternate Theme (remix of original theme, heard in Edward's Brass Band)
- James & the Queen of Sodor Theme (remix of James's theme)
- "Let's Have a Race" Instrumental
- Rusty's Hurry/Danger Theme (fast remix of Rusty's Theme, heard in Trusty Rusty)
Trivia
- A few notes of Bertie's theme were heard in the episode Edward's Brass Band. Bertie's theme had not been heard since the Third Season.
- The Skarloey Railway theme was completely re-arranged, and so was the ambient theme.
- Fergus's theme was never heard in the US due to the different music in that region. Therefore, it is the only classic character theme to be only heard in one region.
- Being the last character introduced in the classic era, Spencer's theme was the last character theme composed by Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell.
- The final new piece of music composed by O'Donnell and Campbell was the "Let's Have a Race" Instrumental heard in the season finale Three Cheers for Thomas/Hooray for Thomas!. The final theme heard was the Thomas/Gordon Outro Ditty at the end.
- This is the only season not to have Thomas's full theme.
Post Season 7
When HiT Entertainment revamped the series for Season 8 in 2004 (Season 7 in the US), Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell were replaced with Robert Hartshorne and Ed Welch. The music was completely re-written, including the theme song. The music from this era is generally considered inferior to O'Donnell and Campbell's music. The "Steam Team" all had their own themes but not many other characters did. In 2008, after Season 12, Ed Welch left and Hartshorne composed the music on his own. The music in the CGI era became more cinematic and a lot of the scores recieved positive feedback from fans, especially Misty Island Rescue. This leads to a common theory among fans that Ed Welch was holding Hartshorne back. For Day of the Diesels in 2010, his son, Peter Hartshorne, joined him. The two composed the music for the show until The Great Race in 2016, when Chris Renshaw took over. His music has also been acclaimed.
Classic Themes in Post Season 8
No traces of O'Donnell and Campbell's music were heard after Season 7 until the sixteenth season episode Percy and the Calliope. The original opening titles were played by the calliope that Percy restores in said episode.The first character themes heard since the eighth season were in the 2015 special The Adventure Begins. Thomas, Edward, Gordon, and Sir Topham Hatt's full themes were heard as well as the runaway theme and small snippets of Henry, James, and Percy's theme were also heard (even though the latter did not appear). Henry's Sad Theme was also briefly heard. The themes were re-orchestrated by Robert and Peter Hartshorne and the special also featured the classic songs "Really Useful Engine" and "Troublesome Trucks".
In the eighteenth season, an arragement of Duncan's theme was heard in the episode Duncan and the Grumpy Passenger, marking the first time since 2004 an original piece of music from the classic era was heard in an episode. Bertie's theme was heard in the nineteenth season episode The Other Side of the Mountain. In the 2016 special The Great Race, Thomas's theme was re-arranged into a tune that the band plays whilst the engines roll through Vicarstown on their way to the railway show.
Availability
Aside from the theme song, the music to Thomas and Friends by Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell has never been released on CD. Therefore, fans have to use either themes choppily put together from different dubs and episodes, instrumental of episodes (often of poor quality), or use new arrangements by other fans. Some themes have been released intact on certain games, but most of them cannot be found.
Splice Editing
This involves creating the theme by taking bits of it from certain episodes or dubs and connecting them together. This generally does not lead to good quality, as sound effects can be heard and the background and the editing can sometimes be choppy. Since the permission to use almost exact replications by users such as Sudrian Afro was given to the general public, this method is becoming more obsolete but can still is used for themes that haven't been recreated. Two well known users who practice this are TenderEnginesUnited, Mktheinstrumentalist, and previously Sacred Wolfie
Fan Recreations
Users Sudrian Afro and Fiddlesticks Music (previously known as Toby's Windmill) are known for their almost exact replications of themes. They are able to create them as they use the same instrumental pack as O'Donnell and Campbell. Until recently, neither allowed use without special permission. Other users like Knapford Harbor and The Tuggster Intensifies still do not allow use of their themes by general viewers. Other well known musicians in the community are Michael Melton, Cudak888, SilverDragonTV, UpsideNow, Skarloey Rheneas, Mktheinstrumentalist, and previously WoolyBearNo6 and Captain Punjab. Thomas1Edward2Henry3 has also recreated a few themes, which are Henry's Theme, Diesels Theme, the them from Duncan Gets Spooked, Henry's Sad Theme, the ending cue from Henry's Forest, and Edward's theme.
Instrumental Episodes
Another common way of getting music was to remove the narration from an episode using an audio editing program such as Audacity. This is not the most reliable method, as it requires the stereo tracks to be aligned in a certain way. Often, the narration is replaced with a gargling type noise. The audio to Season 2 and 3 is in mono, so it is generally impossible to remove the vocals. However, using dubs such as Japanese or Spanish can work. User Oliver11GWR uses a different method. He uses splicing like above but for the whole episodes. He is very skilled at this which means the edits are a lot smoother then most attempts at "splicing". In January 2017, a major milestone occurred when user jjschepis3 uploaded many instrumental episodes from the first season with no traces of narration at all. According to him, he owned a VHS with the episodes that had perfectly aligned stereo audio, making a perfect instrumental when edited in audacity. The sound effects are still present, of course, but there is no trace of narration.
Released Music
A few official pieces of music have been released in games or online. Thomas, James, Percy, Donald, Douglas, Harold, Bertie, and the Flying Kipper's themes have been heard in computer games, completely intact (though often missing a few measures). Junior Campbell has also uploaded some original music to his YouTube channel. These are musical scores from Thomas and the Jet Engine and Rusty to the Rescue, the Post Train theme, and the outro often used in Season 5.