Thomas the Tank Engine "The Missing Coach" (partially found footage from cancelled British children's TV series episode; 1986)

Partially shot and later scrapped in 1986 was an episode of Thomas the Tank Engine titled "The Missing Coach" (now aptly-named, in an ironic turn of events), which saw twins Donald and Douglas swapping their tenders in order to fool the Fat Controller into believing that they were both the other twin. Halfway through the episode's production, it was decided that it was simply too complex for the average child to comprehend and as a result was cancelled entirely, later being replaced by the episode "Thomas, Percy and the Coal".

David Mitton (writer/producer/director of the show) mentioned in a 2008 interview, (shortly before his death), that he still possessed all the original footage filmed for the episode; although, where the masters are today is entirely unknown.

5 screenshots that have appeared in various books/merchandise over the years are the only publicly available content from the episode.

• Thomas Take-Along card.jpg

  Screenshot of Douglas from the episode; seen on Douglas' "Take-Along" card and various other sources.

• TheMissingCoach.jpg

  Another screenshot of Douglas; source unspecified.

• Thomas unknown.jpg

  Screenshot of Duck and one of the twins; source unspecified.

• TheMissingCoach7.png

  Another screenshot of one of the twins; source unspecified.

• Thomas japanese book.jpg

  Donald and Douglas approaching Gordon and Henry; found in a Japanese book (title unspecified).

• ''The Missing Coach'' (US Narration - Read Description)

  A fan's recreation of the episode.