Thomas the Tank Engine and the Journey to England

"Hi, Thomas! I'm Fred, and I came from the United States. And, I'm Ted. Hi! Welcome to Sodor!"

- Fred, Ted, and Thomas

Thomas the Tank Engine and the U.K. Trip is a British/American Thomas & Friends/Fred and Ted crossover special combining live-action, and animation including traditional, 2D hand-drawn cel animation, and 3D stop-motion model animation. It aired in April 1995 exclusively in the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Plot
Two children's storybook characters from the United States, Fred and Ted, travel to the United Kingdom. During their visit, they stop on Sodor to meet Thomas, Sir Topham Hatt, and the other engines. During the second half of the program, they visit real railways as recommended by Sir Topham Hatt and learn how steam locomotives work.

Production
According to producer Andy Heyward, in 1995, DIC Entertainment submitted the plan of this special to the Britt Allcroft Company. Later, Britt Allcroft requested to submit the storyboard, and Tony Eastman completed and submitted it overnight. In the winter, the special was traditionally animated in the UK with the animation cooperation of DIC Entertainment Europe, a DIC Entertinment company, and the cooperation of Southwest Airlines, the British Tourist Authority, and Kensington, Inc. Also, the scenes of Thomas and his friends interacting with Fred, and Ted were filmed at Shepperton Studios for this special during the production of the third series with the filming cooperation of The Britt Allcroft Company.

The special was broadcast in the United Kingdom, and the United States on 3 and 4 April 1995, the year after the fourth series broadcast.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Gordon
 * Percy
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Fred
 * Ted
 * Henry
 * James
 * Oliver
 * Mavis
 * Bulgy
 * Edward
 * Toby
 * Duck
 * Donald and Douglas
 * Bill and Ben
 * Diesel
 * BoCo
 * Annie and Clarabel
 * Henrietta
 * Troublesome Trucks
 * Toad
 * Bertie
 * Trevor
 * Harold
 * Wilbert
 * Peckett No. 1900

Locations

 * Tidmouth Sheds
 * Shepperton Studios
 * Buckinghamshire Railway Centre
 * Kent & East Sussex Railway
 * Big Ben
 * Buckingham Palace
 * Tower Bridge
 * Great Western Railway

Songs

 * Thomas' Anthem

Cast

 * Joshua Seth as Thomas
 * Phil Lollar as Gordon
 * Johnny Yong Bosch as Percy
 * H. Franklin Baker III as Sir Topham Hatt
 * Sandy Duncan as Facilitate

Trivia

 * This was the first mark of several things:
 * Oliver, Mavis and Bulgy's nameboards first appeared.
 * There are four instances of songs by The Beatles being played (of which Ringo Starr was the drummer) and one instance of a song that was covered by Marmalade (of which Junior Campbell was part):
 * "Magical Mystery Tour" can be heard during the intro.
 * An instrumental version of "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" is used when the theatrical animated cartoon short film series during the Golden age of American animation is being introduced.
 * An instrumental version of "The Fool on the Hill" is used when Tidmouth Sheds first appears.
 * "When I'm Sixty-Four" plays during the end credits.
 * Thomas' Anthem is played in English, thus being the first time a Thomas song is broadcast in English in the UK and the USA.
 * The special include a segment called Song Time also known as Image Songs in the UK, and the USA introduced by Sandy Duncan. These consist of acquired songs, which relate the moral of the special. The songs are set to an arrangement of footage, mainly from stock libraries, and silent films, & specially added cutout animation, and 2D computer graphics for some scenes in the songs.

Goofs

 * When Thomas is talking to Fred and Ted, a wire is hanging from underneath Thomas' running board.
 * Henry's firebox is crooked.
 * When James and Henry puff out of the shed, they are going slowly, but the sound of them puffing is fast.