Mr. Conductor

"There's always a Mr. Conductor living here, or else it wouldn't be Shining Time Station."

— Tanya Cupper, Scare Dares, second season

Mr. Conductor
Played by	Ringo Starr (1989–1990) George Carlin (1991–1996) Alec Baldwin (Thomas and the Magic Railroad)

Mr. Conductor is the ever-cheerful, 18 inches tall conductor and regular visitor to the Island of Sodor.

To date, there have been three characters named Mr. Conductor who have lived at Shining Time Station.

Bio

First

The first Mr. Conductor was portrayed by former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr during the first season as well as the TV special "'Tis A Gift". He was initially very wary about newcomers, but gradually decided to reveal himself to Matt, Tanya, Stacy, and Harry. He provided a voice of reason to Matt and Tanya, introducing them to stories about Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends to show them a way to solve a problem the two friends encountered. It was thanks to him leaving his hat behind when he temporarily left the station during "Is This the End?" that J.B. King realized how important Shining Time Station was to his childhood friend, deciding in the end to leave the station open.

Following the events of "'Tis a Gift", Mr. Conductor decided to leave Shining Time Station to assist Mr. Nicholas at the North Pole.

Second

When the second season began, the second Mr. Conductor (portrayed by comedian George Carlin), a cousin of the first Mr. Conductor, arrived at the station. The second Mr. Conductor was as friendly and wise as his cousin, also using stories about Thomas and his friends to provide a lesson for Dan, Kara and Becky. Easily more fun loving and laid back than his cousin, Mr. Conductor usually appeared in various other outfits than his usual conductor's uniform. He was also armed with various forms of gold dust, as well as the occasional wishing star.

Third

The third Mr. Conductor (portrayed by actor Alec Baldwin) lived at the station during the events of Thomas and the Magic Railroad, which delved further into the sources of his family's magic gold dust and just how important that magic was to the smooth running of both Shining Time Station and Sodor.

Family

There are also three other known members of the Conductor family: Sister Conductor is the sister of the second Mr. Conductor and has a love for airplanes, making her different from the rest of the family. She appears in One of the Family. The second is the second Mr. C's aunt, Lily Conductor. The third is Mr. Conductor, Junior who is another cousin. He appears in Thomas and the Magic Railroad. Junior enjoys relaxing and pulling pranks, but often gets into trouble. The second Mr. Conductor also has an evil twin.

Appearances

A Mr. Conductor has appeared in every episode of the series, all four Family Specials, Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales and Thomas and the Magic Railroad.

Trivia

• The first ever actor for Mr. Conductor, Ringo Starr, was the drummer for the British rock and roll band, The Beatles.
• The first Mr. Conductor's Indian Valley Railroad badge number is 771, and has demonstrated himself to be quite talented with a pair of drumsticks!
• The second Mr. Conductor's Indian Valley Railroad badge number is 233.
• The second Mr. Conductor was the most used in the second and third seasons since George Carlin re-narrated the first and second seasons of Thomas and narrated the third and fourth.
• Viewers in New Zealand have only known the second Mr. Conductor due to the first season of Shining Time Station having never aired on Channel 2.
• The third Mr. Conductor's Indian Valley Railroad badge number in 128.
• The third Mr. Conductor was only used in Thomas and the Magic Railroad. Alec Baldwin did narrate the fifth and sixth seasons of Thomas and Friends, but his Mr. Conductor was never used in the official show due to Shining Time Station being cancelled in 1995.
• In the Latin American dub of Shining Time Station, Ringo Starr and George Carlin's Mr. Conductor's were both voiced by Pedro D'Aguillón Jr., who also dubbed Mr. Perkins in Thomas and Friends.
• In the Japanese dub of Thomas and the Magic Railroad, his voice was dubbed by Masashi Ebara, and in the Spanish dub, he was voiced by Alejandro Vargas Lugo (theatrical dub) and Salvador Najar (TV dub), Thomas Fritsch in the German dub and Dvir Benedek in the Hebrew dub.
• Michael Brandon was the only US narrator of the Classic Series of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends who never portrayed Mr. Conductor mostly due to Shining Time Station not being as relevant at the time.
• The whistles Mr. Conductor used for the Thomas story segments varied through both the series and the movie:
  • In the first season Mr. Conductor's whistle was like a normal high pitched whistle (although sometimes he used other ways to tell his stories either moping in tears, tapping spoons like drumsticks, or spinning a present).
  • In the second and third seasons, Mr. Conductor's whistle has a pitch similar to a real steam engine whistle it sometimes goes out of tune giving a quite lower pitch than normal.
  • In the Family Specials and Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales, Mr. Conductor's whistle was toned down a small bit.
  • In Thomas and the Magic Railroad, Mr. Conductor's whistle is once again a normal high pitched, but instead of using it to start Thomas stories like in the original series, it is now used to make him disappear and reappear rather than at will like in the series.

Gallery

Ringo Starr as Mr. Conductor

George Carlin as Mr. Conductor

Alec Baldwin as Mr. Conductor

Mr. Conductor's Bendem toy