Thomas and the Magic Railroad (1997)

Do not be confused with the 2000 film of the same name Thomas and the Magic Railroad (Thomas and the Rainbow Railway in Europe) was a European-American children's fantasy comedy drama film that was supposed to be released in 1997. Unfortunately, Barry London, the former CEO of Paramount, stepped down before the film's release and all the plans were shelved. It was distributed by Paramount Pictures (pictured). Filming took place in Shepperton Studios in London, England, UK and the United States. This film is based on the 1984 TV series "Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends" and it's American spin-off "Shining Time Station". It was later reworked into the 2000 film of the same name.

Plot
Mr. Conductor Jr was going to Shining Time Station to stay with his cousin, Mr. Conductor, for a few days and nights. Unfortunately, he took the wrong path and got lost, ending up in the magical world of the Island of Sodor. He meets Thomas the Tank Engine and all of his friends. Meanwhile, Devious Diesel and his bumbling sidekicks, 'Arry and Bert, tries to destroy the Island of Sodor and Shining Time Station by trying to activate a Rainbow Railway before Thomas and Mr. Conductor Jr can make it to it. Will Thomas, his friends, and Mr. Conductor Jr save the day?

Voice Cast
Brian Dobson as Thomas, the main protagonist of the film/ Bert/ Bertie (voice)

Jillian Michaels as Percy/ Bill/ Daisy (voice)

Tabatha St. Germain as Ben/ Annie/ Mavis (voice)

Saffron Henderson as James/ Rusty/ Clarabel/ Skarloey/ Henrietta (voice)

Michael Angelis as Gordon/ Toad/ George/ Lorries/ Bulgy (voice)

Greg Ellis as Henry/ Duck/ Oliver (voice)

Samuel Vincent as Troublesome Trucks/ Edward/ BoCo/ Peter Sam (voice)

Brian Drummond as Toby/ Donald/ Sir Handel (voice)

Richard Ian Cox as Douglas/ 'Arry/ Rhineas/ Duncan (voice)

Rove McManus as Devious Diesel, the main antagonist of the film

Live Action Cast
Unknown as Mr. Conductor Jr, Mr. Conductor's 22-year-old cousin and the secondary protagonist of the film.

Alec Baldwin as Mr. Conductor, Mr. Conductor Jr's older cousin.

Unknown as Schemer

Unknown as Billy Two-Feathers

Unknown as The Fat Controller (Sir Topham Hatt)

Reception
When this film was test screened before it's cancellation, there were mixed to positive reactions from the test audience due to the plot, special effects, acting, voice acting, and the magic of the film. The only problem was that most of the live action cast is unidentified.

Trivia
If this film was released, it would've been the first time this film was live action/ animated.

A user from the website Reddit said that he remembered seeing an earlier Thomas the Tank Engine film that was like this when he was a kid. It is unknown if it is actually this film or the 1999 uncut version of "Thomas and the Magic Railroad"

Saffron Henderson's voice for James, Skarloey, and Rusty would later be used for Oxnard's voice in the English dub of the 2000 anime series Hamtaro, only without the British accent.

If this film was released, this would be Alec Baldwin's first time in the Thomas franchise and the first time he played Mr. Conductor. He would later narrate the Thomas series a year later.

This film is similar to the 2000 film of the same name, only with a few differences: There are also similarities:
 * 1) The engines and Mr. Conductor Jr had more screentime than the other human characters, since Junior was with Thomas and the other engines almost throughout his adventure.
 * 2) This film had more engines, even Edward was included.
 * 3) It had an entirely different plot. Which includes Junior being lost after he took the wrong path to Shining Time Station, leading him to the Island of Sodor. Then, he, along with Thomas, will have to unlock the "rainbow railway" in order to get Junior where he's suppose to be.
 * 4) The film includes Devious Diesel and 'Arry and Bert as main antagonists instead of Diesel 10 and Splatter and Dodge.
 * 5) There was not much live-action characters.
 * 6) This film was not released in the UK nor the US at all, due to Barry London, the former CEO of Paramount Pictures, stepping down. The 2000 film, on the other hand, was released in the summer of 2000 by Destination Films.
 * 7) Some engines sound like they're using an Australian accent, even though they're clearly speaking in a British accent.
 * 8) This film is darker than the 2000 film, but is still light-hearted and harmless.
 * 9) Mr. Conductor Jr uses an accent that is British, but with some New Zealand slipped in. He was originally going to use the same accent, but due to him getting a different actor with a Scottish nationality, Junior recieved a Scottish accent in the 2000 film, but still sounded similar.
 * 10) There are lesser songs in this film than in the 2000 film.
 * 1) Alec Baldwin plays Mr. Conductor in both movies, but he had a minor role in this movie, while he had a major starring role in the 2000 movie of the same name.
 * 2) At one point, The Fat Controller threatened Devious Diesel, 'Arry, and Bert with sugar. Mr. Conductor does the same thing to Diesel 10 in the 2000 film.
 * 3) Both films have a mixture of live-action and model animation.
 * 4) Both films take place in the summer to match their release dates, despite this film not being released.
 * 5) Both films are about a human character getting lost and ending up in the Island of Sodor.
 * 6) Both films have a scene where Junior and an engine ends up in the scrapyards.
 * 7) Both films have the song "The Locomotion" at the end, but are performed by different performers.
 * 8) Both films have a beautiful soundtrack, but are composed by different composers and they sound a little different.
 * 9) Both films contain a Canadian voice cast, but they all talk in a British accent. Although, not all of the cast are Canadian.

References/Official Sources
https://www.reddit.com/r/answers/comments/51170m/does_anybody_remember_that_thomas_the_tank_engine/ : The fourm post that the Reddit user made about him explaining about seeing an earlier Thomas film.

http://www.sodor-island.net/themagicrailroadminisite/aboutthemagicrailroad.html : Some info about the 2000 film, with info on it's developed 1997 film at the beginning.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_and_the_Magic_Railroad#Development : Information on the development of Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000 film).