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Thomas in the original opening
1989 logo
1991 logo
Shining Time Station was the American spin-off of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends.
Cast
Regulars
First season regulars
- Ringo Starr as Mr. Conductor
- Leonard Jackson as Henry "Harry" Cupper
- Jason Woliner as Matthew "Matt" Jones
- Nicole Leach as Tanya Cupper
Christmas Special characters
- Ardon Bess as Tucker Cupper
- Lloyd Bridges as Mr. Nicholas
- Judy Marshak as Claire
- Rachael Miner as Vickie
Second and third seasons regulars
- George Carlin as Mr. Conductor
- Erica Luttrell as Kara Cupper
- Ari Magder as Dan Jones
- Danielle Marcot as Becky
- Tom Jackson as Billy Twofeathers
Recurring characters
- Jerome Dempsey as Mayor Osgood Bob Flopdinger
- Mart Hulswit as J.B. King, Esq.
- Bobo Lewis as Midge Smoot
- Barbara Hamilton as Ginny Johnson
- Johnathan Shapiro as Schemee
- Gerald Parkes as Barton Winslow
- Aurelio Padrón as Felix Perez
The Jukebox Puppet Band
- Olga Marin as Didi
- Alan Semok as Tex (1990–1995)
- Craig Marin as Rex and JJ Silvers
- Jonathan Freeman as Tito Swing
- Wayne White as Tex (1989)
- Alan Semok/Peter Baird/Vanesse Thomas as Grace the Bass (1989-1990)
- Peter Baird/Kenny Miele/Vaneese Thomas as Grace the Bass (1991-1995)
Broadcast History
- PBS (1989-1998)
- Fox Family (1998-1999)
- Nick Jr. (Nickelodeon) (2000)
Note: Fox Family and Nick Jr. only aired Seasons 2 and 3 of STS. Fox Family also used the opening credits from the family specials.
Behind The Scenes
- Shining Time Station was created to introduce Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends to American audiences.
- Kevin Roth sang the theme song played during the opening and closing credits
- All of the Shining Time Station episodes only ever had three sets: the main room of the station, the workshop and the interior of the station's jukebox where the Jukebox Band resided. This changed in the specials, in which scenes took place outside, in the signal house and in a large basement-type room that may or may not be part of the station building.
- Didi, the female drummer of the Jukebox Band, is shown to have a crush on Mr. Conductor. Mr. Conductor learns about this in "One in the Family", and they apparently begin to date.
- Mr. Conductor has various forms of his magic gold dust, including some for teleportation, forgetfulness, love, sleep, and pranks. It also has life-giving qualities and can make inanimate objects come alive. His whistle also has some magic and is used to start a Thomas story by means of blowing.
- In the specials, Mr. Conductor shows that he can appear and interact with the Jukebox Band Characters.
- Also in the specials, Mr. Conductor has a nametag on his uniform.
- In the episode "Washout" when Mr. Conductor tells the story "Bertie's Chase" the beginning (Edward waiting for Thomas) was omitted. This scene was also omitted from the James In A Mess picture book. But in the Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales Episode "Splish, Splash, Splosh" and in all VHS and DVD releases, the episode is in its entirety.
- The show aired on Nickelodeon's Nick Jr. block in the summer of 2000 to promote Thomas and the Magic Railroad.
- When the show aired on Fox Family, it used the credits from the TV Specials but episodes were edited significantly so they could fit the time slot.
- The Indian Valley Railroad (where the station is located) is an actual defunct short line in California. It was constructed to serve the Engals Copper Mine, the largest copper mine in California, and was a branch connection of The Union Pacific Railroad at Paxton, California. Indian Valley is where the mine was located.
- Throughout the series, entire episodes (and at one point, an entire season) were knocked out of continuity due to flashbacks from later episodes, (for example, the episode, "How the Station Got It's Name" changed the continuity of the entire first season).
- On the Thomas VHS tapes from Thomas Gets Tricked and Other Stories to Better Late Than Never and Other Stories, the Thomas stories featured on the tapes were in order from their Shining Time Station airdates from the first season.
- When George Carlin assumed the role of Mr. Conductor in Season 2, all Thomas stories from Seasons 1 and 2 are redubbed by him.
- Clips from Shinng Time Station could be seen at the Explore the Rails traveling exhibit.