Note: Please, do not add "The series was switched to 2-D animation in 2021 with All Engines Go!", because this was before that happened!
An early logo of the film showing Thomas with model/CGI hybrid
Hero of the Rails was the first all CGI production in the Thomas & Friends franchise that was released in 2009, however before the idea of all CGI production was given, it was intended to be and CGI/model hybrid similar to what was shown in season 12 of the show alongside the few more season with the CGI/model hybrid.
Plot[]
The plot would presumably be the same as the final movie (Just with model limitations).
Some other characthers like Stanley, Rosie and more from the previous seasons were ment to return, including Great Waterton.
Why It Was Cancelled[]
- The budget for season 12 was too expensive, and it raised concerns for the budget of this special.
- The people at HiT Entertainment saw that it was cheaper to make the movie and the seasons entirely in CGI.
Result[]
- It was decided to make the movie and the show entirely in CGI until season 24.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Despite the decision for the movie to be made in CGI at the end, there were three face masks made for Hiro, Victor and Kevin. However, they were only made for reference for Hero of the Rails merchandise.
- In an early script, Stanley was originally going to be the protagonist (The audio files of the Hero of the Rails Wii game gives us some ideas of Stanley's role in his protagonist script).
- While concept art of Hiro was made, due to budget cuts, Murdoch's model was to remade into Hiro.
- The book called Stuck in the Mud uses a bit of that early script, including Thomas' eventual discovery of Hiro and the original chase sequence.
- Early Trackmaster products for the special used the original logo for this version.
- Pierce Brosnan was originally in contract to narrated the special, but after he was dropped from season 12, Michael Angiles and Michael Brandon were brought to narrated the special.