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

{{InfoboxLost
|title=<center>"The Missing Coach"</center>
|image=Ef-Kq36WAAAzl2-.png
|imagecaption=One of numerous screenshots from the episode.
|status=<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found'''</span>
}}
'''"The Missing Coach"''' (also referred to as '''"Hullo Twins!"''' during early development<ref>[https://twitter.com/TomsProps/status/1261361302795988993 Twitter post by TomsProps]. Retrieved 25 May '20</ref>) was a scrapped episode of ''Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends'', based off the Railway Series story of the same name that originated from book 15 "The Twin Engines" that was intended to be the sixteenth episode of series 2.

==Plot==
"The Missing Coach" saw the arrival of twin engines Donald and Douglas, having been ordered from Scotland by the Fat Controller; the twins soon discover that only one engine was sent for and that the other would not be needed (and would likely be sent back. This is given more detail in the original RWS story, with it being said that Douglas was escaping being Scrapped on the Mainland/The Other Railway). Douglas and his driver, after realising that Douglas is, in fact, the extra, unneeded engine and after mistakenly misplacing Thomas' Special Coach, prompting complaints from passengers (Douglas fearing that his error would give the Fat Controller more reason to get rid of him), hatch a plan with Donald and his driver to switch tenders (on which their respective numbers had been painted), effectively swapping identities and giving Douglas a chance to temporarily avoid being scolded by the Fat Controller (who ultimately decides to keep both engines, but only after uncovering their charade, and after a few other incidents involving a signal box, a break van and Percy (the No.6 engine of the NWR) being used as a Deputation to speak to Sir Topham Hatt/The Fat Controller).

==Cancellation==
Halfway through the episode's production, after filming of the episode was completed, as shown through the stills by Terry Permane, Britt Allcroft (creator of the ''Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends'' TV series) decided that it was somewhat lacking in action and that the plot was a bit too complex for children to comprehend; as such, the episode was cancelled outright, instead being replaced by an entirely different episode (which episode this is is currently unknown). Donald and Douglas' official series debut took place in the later series 2 episode "Break Van", in which they were hurriedly introduced through a short piece of opening dialogue. Following the cancellation, numerous clips were placed into other episodes from the series in order to save both time and money, with "Missing Coach" clips being known to have been used in the episodes "Break Van" and "Saved From Scrap".

==Availability==
Beyond the footage used in other episodes, what footage was filmed of "The Missing Coach" has never been released, with the closest thing being a large amount of stills released through promotional material or leaked by fans of the series. Additionally, David Mitton (co-writer, co-producer, and co-director of the first seven series of ''TTTE&F'') claimed in an interview with Sodor Island Fansite that he was in possession of numerous colour stills from the episode taken during its shooting process (as shot by Terry Permane).<ref> 
[https://web.archive.org/web/20120507055127/http://sodor-island.net/davidmittoninterview.html Archived Sodor Island Fansite interview with the late David Mitton, in which "The Missing Coach" is discussed.] Retrieved 19 Jan '20</ref> Mitton never elaborated on these claims before his passing in 2008, and it is currently unknown if the stills he was referring to were among those leaked by fans years after the fact. In 2022, an early dialogue and visual script would be leaked, these scripts are likely the ones TomsProps was referring too<ref>https://twitter.com/UlfsteadEstate/status/1606684061015347201</ref>.

==Gallery==
===Videos===
{{Video|perrow  =2
  |service1     =youtube
  |id1          =VGRP4FDZ4mI
  |description1 ="Break Van", an episode from which numerous shots originate from "The Missing Coach".
  |service2     =youtube
  |id2          =nhH9bM2zWDI
  |description2 ="Saved From Scrap", an episode whose opening shot is recycled from "The Missing Coach".
}}
===Images===
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Ef-JLTUXgAEu6Uu.png
File:Ef-I T XsAErse6.png
File:Ef-KN6xWkAU31jF.png
File:Ef-KWrgXoAAkJH8.png
File:Ef-KQjtX0AA3KFb.png
File:Ef-KTOIXYAgMHmI.png
File:Ef-JeKhX0AEnm5z.png
File:TheMissingCoach6.png
File:Ef-JznyXsAIWnjW.png
File:Ef-J5gIXoAEtJcQ.png
File:Ef-Ka9CX0AAy38t.png
File:Ef-KoOpX0AEbXve.png
File:Ef-KgxzX0AMLZ7w.png
File:Eovsy2CVoAAe848.png
File:Eovs0eQUcAA13YR.png
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File:Ef-KtlMWoAAh9Ns.png
File:Ef-KwhxWkAIHoip.png
File:Ef-Fxa0XkAAmmOy.png
</gallery>

=== Scripts ===
<gallery>
File:MissingCoachDialogueScript1.jpeg
File:MissingCoachDialogueScript2.jpeg
File:MissingCoachDialogueScript3.jpeg
File:MissingCoachDialogueScript4.jpeg
File:MissingCoachDialogueScript5.jpeg
File:MissingCoachVisualScript1.jpeg
File:MissingCoachVisualScript2.jpeg
File:MissingCoachVisualScript3.jpeg
File:MissingCoachVisualScript4.jpeg
File:MissingCoachVisualScript5.jpeg
</gallery>

==See Also==
===Thomas & Friends===
*[[Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go (partially found test animation of reboot of British children TV series; 2019)]]
*[[Thomas & Friends: Day of the Diesels (lost original cut of direct-to-DVD film; existence unconfirmed; 2011)]]
*[[Thomas & Friends "Jack Jumps In" (found Alec Baldwin narration of British children's TV series episode; 2002)]]
*[[Thomas & Friends "Series 7" (partially found original music of British children's TV series American dub; mid-2000s)]]
*[[Thomas & Friends "Series 12" (partially found Pierce Brosnan narrations of British children's animated series; 2008)]]

===Thomas the Tank Engine===
*[[Thomas the Tank Engine (lost pilot episode of unproduced 2D animated adaptation of "The Railway Series" books; 1976)]]
*[[Thomas the Tank Engine "Down the Mine" (partially found pitch pilot version of British children's TV series episode; 1983)]]
*[[Thomas the Tank Engine "Season 3" (found original Michael Angelis narrations of British children's TV series episodes; 1991)]]
*[[Thomas the Tank Engine "Season 4" (found pre-recorded version of British children's TV series episodes; 1994)]]
*[[Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends (partially lost deleted scenes of British children's TV series; 1984-2021)]]

===Other===
*[[The Adventures of Thomas (partially found production material of cancelled "Thomas the Tank Engine" live-action film; early-mid 2010s)]]
*[[Barry the Rescue Engine (lost production material of cancelled "The Railway Series" book; 1980s)]]
*[[Jack and the Sodor Construction Company (partially lost episodes and production material of cancelled spin-off series; 2002)]]
*[[Storytime with Thomas (partially found Fox Family series; 1999-2000)]]
*[[The Thomas & Friends Institute of Innovation (partially found informational short film; 2013-2014)]]
*[[Thomas and the Magic Railroad (found deleted scenes of children's fantasy adventure film; 2000)]]
*[[Thomas and the Magic Railroad (lost test footage of 3.5" character models for British children's TV series; 1995)]]
*[[Thomas and the U.K. Trip & Thomas Number 1 (found Japanese "Thomas the Tank Engine" crossover TV special and music video; 1991)]]
*[[Thomas the Tank Engine (found original illustrated edition of book; 1946)]]
*[[Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends (found build of cancelled NES port of educational game; 1993)]]
*[[Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends (lost build of cancelled PlayStation educational game; 1999)]]
*[[The Three Railway Engines (lost live BBC broadcast adaptation of "The Railway Series" books; 1953)]]
*[[The Three Railway Engines (found original edition of book; 1945)]]

==External Links==
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bE8Fj2WrSB4 A reading of The Missing Coach's original 1960 Railway Series story.]
*[http://ttte.wikia.com/wiki/The_Missing_Coach_(cancelled_episode) ''Thomas & Friends'' Wikia page on "The Missing Coach".]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Lost TV]]
[[Category:Partially found media]]