Template talk:Thomas & Friends

FAQ - Unnecessary changes
Recently the template has been modified by one or more anonymous editors applying changes which are regarded by WP:THOMAS project members as unnecessary. In particular:

The Fat Controller
Remember that this template covers The Railway Series books, as well as the Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends television series. Therefore, the name The Fat Controller is to be used for this link as this is the more commonly known term. (It is also the name of the main article, and avoids using a redirect ('Sir Tophamm Hatt' is a redirect)).

TV Series Title
The original name for the TV series was Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, and the main article has this name. For these reasons, the link in the template is: Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends.

The newer name for the series (Thomas and Friends) is also included in the template as a non-link, and therefore there is no need to swap these names over.

Capitalisation
The page titles now have a consistent format applied that is in keeping with WP standards. Please do not modify the capitalisation further.

Additional characters
After much consideration, only the main characters have been given links within the template. Typically, these are characters that have their own article pages. In order to keep the template to manageable proportions, no other characters should be added to the template.

Other changes
If you have suggestions for changes to make to this template, please leave a comment where indicated below. Such suggestions will be considered by WP:THOMAS project members (who are watching this page) and will be reviewed for inclusion in the template. Changes made to the template without discussing here first are liable to be reverted without warning, as this template is included on a large number of pages.

(On behalf of WP:THOMAS -- EdJogg 23:25, 12 May 2007 (UTC))

Suggestions for template changes
I think we should protect the template. It's being vandalised constantly. S.C.Ruffeyfan 18:02, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

Vandalism
Someone put Gadget Boy on the template! That hasn't anything to do with it so I deleted it, fair and square. -- S.C.Ruffey fan  19:41, 27 November 2007 (UTC) Looks like some more vandalism, someone put "Together on the Tracks" which appears to be just a DVD with episodes from the series. Should we remove this? Moojgoo (talk) 19:50, 24 December 2007 (UTC)

Yeah. -- S.C.Ruffey fan  18:14, 6 January 2008 (UTC)

The Template (as navibox)
Shouldn't it be a navbox? It would be easier to hide it from view when necessary, and it would look nicer... ☺   Spiby    ☻  15:48, 5 March 2008 (UTC)


 * I'm not sure anyone's thought of it before! Various 'shapes' and layouts have been tried, and this one was settled on over a year ago. Speaking personally, I do not mind if someone wishes to convert it to hidable navibox format. I cannot speak for other WP:THOMAS project members (but most of them have been pretty quiet recently!)
 * I'll add it to my ToDo list, but it will be a low priority, so don't hold your breath!
 * EdJogg (talk) 16:13, 5 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Changed to navbox. I'm not so familiar with all these articles so could you check that I got the links correct and in the right place? Thanks, ☺    Spiby    ☻  10:59, 16 March 2008 (UTC)


 * Thanks for doing the hard bit! Some 'fettling' will be required, especially with regard to the grouped character pages (book and TV articles form separate subgroups), but it's generally OK. Will try to tackle it later tonight. EdJogg (talk) 17:22, 16 March 2008 (UTC)

Addition
I added "Theodore Tugboat" to the see also section of the navbox as it is related to Thomas and TUGS through Robert D. Cardona's work on all three. ZEM a.k.a. Hankengine (talk) 19:01, 22 July 2008 (UTC)


 * I'm not entirely convinced. However, TUGS has been allowed to remain, so I guess you might have a valid argument for TT. Just as long as there is just the one link to those series.
 * EdJogg (talk) 13:19, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Theodore Tugboat
Why is Theodore Tugboat on the template? It has no relation to Thomas what so ever. Tugs is only up there since it relates to the world of Thomas and was created by the people who created the tv series of Thomas. I've taken it down since it doesn't have anything to do with Thomas. --Victory93 (talk) 01:16, 17 September 2008 (UTC)


 * I'm not even convinced that Tugs should be here -- it is only very loosely connected to Thomas & Friends. EdJogg (talk) 06:34, 17 September 2008 (UTC)

Nah, TUGS should be there. Just not Theodore Tugboat. --Victory93 (talk) 09:57, 18 September 2008 (UTC)

All three shows were produced by Robert D. Cardona. 75.67.199.191 (talk) 12:18, 21 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Thank you. I like your revised version. It needs some tweaking but is a bit tidier than previous, and the TUGS/Tugboat refs make sense now. EdJogg (talk) 16:24, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

The video games
Can we add the video games to the template like Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends (video game). --Victory93 (talk) 01:17, 17 September 2008 (UTC)


 * We have the merchandise page for items like this. The template is already very large. EdJogg (talk) 06:36, 17 September 2008 (UTC)

Rewrite complete
Having discovered what could be done with the Navbox template, I have completely re-organised the template yet again. This time one of the aims was to reduce the height, which I think I've done more than adequately. Users may now open just the Railway Series or TtTE&F boxes and find the relevant information. The top section contains links which are common to both.

EdJogg (talk) 00:00, 11 October 2008 (UTC)

Woodland Animations (link removed)
Having been looking for several years now I have failed to find any link between 'Thomas' and Woodland Animations, apart from the IMDB entry, which is not considered a Reliable Source. Hence the link has now been removed from the template.

Please do not replace the link unless you can supply a Reliable Source as a reference.

EdJogg (talk) 08:57, 10 July 2009 (UTC)

Proposal
It would be best if Mr. Percival were to have his own article on wikipedia. — Preceding unsigned comment added by CuriousWikian590 (talk • contribs) 12:01, 22 November 2011‎
 * Mr. Percival is a redirect to the section in List of people and animals from Thomas and Friends. There really isn't any more information that can be added as he is not a major character, so there is certainly no need for an article. -- EdJogg (talk) 13:28, 22 November 2011 (UTC)
 * The Narrow Gauge engines are not major either and they have their own articles. I'd like to make a new article. CuriousWikian590 (talk) 07:58, 23 November 2011 (UTC)


 * The Skarloey Railway appears in many of the original books, being the focus of at least 6, and the locomotives also appear in the TV series. That is why they are considered major characters. Please see WP:THOMAS/FAQ for further details. -- EdJogg (talk) 13:29, 28 November 2011 (UTC)

Should the link to Percy's Railway (roller coaster) be removed?
Percy's Railway (roller coaster) is now called 'Magic Flyer' and is no longer Thomas-themed, having being re-branded since 2010. Whilst it has a history within the Thomas-universe and should still be tagged with WikiProject Thomas, is it really still appropriate to have it linked from this template? I think this will just confuse people, especially as time goes on and it gets longer and longer since this attraction was Thomas-themed. I'm pinging and  as they have both recently edited this template and seem active with TV/Thomas articles. Thoughts? Acather96 (click here to contact me) 19:18, 17 February 2014 (UTC)
 * Since there have been no objections, I have done this. Acather96 (click here to contact me) 09:10, 26 July 2014 (UTC)

Emily in both?
Why is there a link to Emily's page in the section for "The Railway Series and Thomas & Friends"? Unless I am very much mistaken, she was never in any of the books writen by either the Rev. W. or Christopher Awdry. None of the other characters in this section are unique to the TV series, so why is Emily there? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.194.106.64 (talk) 06:46, 26 July 2014 (UTC)
 * - The header for this section of the template is The Railway Series and Thomas & Friends - you are right in saying that Emily only appears in the latter, but I see no reason to exclude her from this section. Do you get where I am coming from? :) Acather96 (click here to contact me) 09:09, 26 July 2014 (UTC)

Name
I'm surprised no one has brought this up earlier..

How is an average reader supposed to figure out that "Thomas" means Thomas the Tank Engine? I'm considering moving this template toTemplate:Thomas & Friends. Is that a good idea? Lior (talk) 06:45, 5 October 2014 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 29 June 2018
98.118.252.126 (talk) 23:18, 29 June 2018 (UTC)
 * Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. Hhkohh (talk) 09:52, 30 June 2018 (UTC)

The Model Series

 * Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000)
 * Calling All Engines! (2005)
 * The Great Discovery (2008)

Nitrogen Studios

 * Hero of the Rails (2009)
 * Misty Island Rescue (2010)
 * Day of the Diesels (2011)
 * Blue Mountain Mystery (2012)

Arc Productions

 * King of the Railway (2013)
 * Tale of the Brave (2014)
 * The Adventure Begins (2015)
 * Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure (2015)
 * The Great Race (2016)

Jam-Filled Entertainment

 * Journey Beyond Sodor (2017)
 * Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures!: The Movie (2018)

Why is Jay Jay the Jet Plane in this
JJ Isn't related to TTTE, why is it in the category