PBS Kids to air 'King of the Railway' movie in November

King of the Railway: The Movie is to debut on US television on PBS Kids in November.

The 2013 special follows the broadcast of Season 17, which was picked up by the network for a new weekday slot back in May.

According to Entertainment Weekly, PBS Kids will air King of the Railway on November 16.

Though the special was played out to British and Australian cinemas, King did not receive an American cinematic run, bar a VIP premiere held at The Grove in Los Angeles.

King of the Railway: The Movie marks its US TV premiere on PBS Kids on November 16th.

'Tale of the Brave' movie tie-in books unveiled for 2014

New books have been revealed to tie-in with the next Thomas & Friends special on amazon.com.

The forthcoming Tale of the Brave film was announced by Hit Entertainment in early October to premiere next year.

Five books are to adapt the story for release in summer 2014, with Brave Little Engines and Thomas and the Monster serving as colour activities.

The Monster of Sodor is to come in the form of a Step Into Reading title while a double pack will combine The Fearsome Footprints/Thomas the Brave together. A Big Golden Book of the special of the same name is also due.

According to Hit's press release, Tale of the Brave will explore the theme of bravery.

When Thomas spots some giant footprints his friend Percy quickly becomes convinced that there is a monster on the island.

When an unusual engine, with sloping boilers, first appears, Percy believes he must be the monster but the new engine proves to be a good friend and ally. He even helps Percy discover what it really means to be brave. 

The five Tale of the Brave books from Random House and Golden Books hit US book shelves on July 22nd 2014.

PRE-ORDER THE 'TALE OF THE BRAVE' BOOKS ON AMAZON.COM

BRAVE LITTLE ENGINES

THOMAS AND THE MONSTER

THE MONSTER OF SODOR

THE FEARSOME FOOTPRINTS/THOMAS THE BRAVE
TALE OF THE BRAVE

Thanks to SteamTeam for the alert.

New 'Hey Hey Thomas' song in Season 17 US broadcast

A new song debuted on PBS Kids on US television this week alongside Season 17.

During the block Spooky Charms, Hey Hey Thomas! was played out to viewers in-between The Phantom Express and Percy's Lucky Day and was sung by Toronto based recording artist, Mike Ferfolio.

The track marked a break in tradition from Robert Hartshorne's compositions, with Eggplant LF instead providing the music.

The company have worked on other children's shows such as The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!, Curious George and the Fireman Sam special, The Great Fire of Pontypandy.

The music video included scenes from several episodes of the 2013 series with characters such as Millie, Peter Sam, Harvey and Bill and Ben putting in appearances.

New Thomas & Friends US exhibition to open in 2014

An exhibition exploring the world of Thomas & Friends is to arrive for America in 2014.

The museum is to offer US fans a hands-on experience in working for the Island of Sodor through many observations on a 1500 square foot scale.

The initiative by Hit Entertainment and Fisher Price, is to head to the Minnesota Children's Museum as part of a tour of exhibitions for children, guaranteed until 2024.

It is the first time that the country will be given an experience into the brand after the UK's Discover Thomas & Friends Exhibition in Drayton Manor's Thomas Land and Japan's Railway Series Painting Exhibition in Koyto.

Hit Entertainment's Vice President for The Americas, Sid Mathur, gave an insight into the attraction and its appeal.

We look forward to developing a premier, interactive experience for Thomas fans around the country where kids can have fun while learning about everything from how engines roll on the rails to the power of teamwork.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE ON LICENSING.BIZ

Exclusive: Channel 5 milkshake! talks Season 17 hiatus

Channel 5 milkshake! have spoken about their reasoning behind the UK airing of Season 17.

The 2013 series began broadcasting on the channel on June 3rd with ten episodes across two weeks before taking a break on the 17th.

Another five episodes then continued the run from September 30th for one week only after King of the Railway had debuted in Vue cinemas and on DVD.

Speaking to Roll Along Thomas, the milkshake! team revealed why the series didn't enjoy a consistent airing; The new Thomas episodes have not been confirmed in the schedules at milkshake! yet.

You are quite correct there was a hiatus occurrence as we tied the new Thomas episodes in with a [Super Special Thomas] themed week here on milkshake!

Watch this space for more information about new up and coming episodes of Thomas!

The series is scheduled to make a brief return on November 5th with Too Many Fire Engines tie-ing in with Guy Fawkes Night.

Season 17 of Thomas & Friends in the UK returns for one day only on November 5th on Channel 5 milkshake! at 7:35am, with the episode Too Many Fire Engines.

Season 17's 'Too Many Fire Engines' for UK November

Season 17 is to return briefly to British television screens in early November with just one episode.

The 2013 series, which resumed its run with five episodes on September 30th, culminated with Bill or Ben? on October 4th.

According to digiguide, Too Many Fire Engines will reportedly air after the conclusion of a repeat run of Season 13 before a re-run of Season 14.

The summary reads; When inspectors question whether the Fat Controller needs two fire engines, it causes concern for Sodor's fire fighting team, Flynn and Belle.

With another ten episodes remaining for UK broadcast, listings are subject to change.

A break from the series first occurred back in June to make way for King of the Railway's cinema and DVD releases.

Season 17 of Thomas & Friends in the UK returns for one day only on November 5th on Channel 5 milkshake! at 7:35am, with the episode Too Many Fire Engines.

Wooden Railway range brings back Duck in new model

Fisher Price will soon re-introduce an old favourite to the Wooden Railway range later this year.

From the backbone of his much celebrated roles in the 17th Series, Duck will also return for the above mentioned merchandising line as a wooden model.

Compared to his previous guise, Duck's model features a brighter colour scheme, a dome and a redesigned face.

The engine returned for a brief cameo in Henry's Hero before gaining a lead role in The Thomas Way.

Wooden Railway Duck from Fisher Price is coming soon to toy shelves worldwide.

SEE THE NEW 'WOODEN RAILWAY DUCK' MODEL ON AMAZON.COM

Arc Productions lends animation to new US DVD scenes

Arc Productions have provided animation towards specially made scenes that have appeared on a US DVD.

The current animators of the series lent their CGI to the interactive interstital Who's That Engine? on the Santa's Little Engine disc.

It shows The Fat Controller giving clues towards one of his Sodor engines that is hidden from profile in the countryside.

Emerging from some bushes is Percy, who then whistles and breaks the fourth wall. It then leads to The Fat Controller reminiscing about the events of Percy the Snowman. A certificate is awarded to the viewer at the end.

Alongside a Meet Thomas and Gordon double, The Earl of Sodor also appears on the DVD questioning scenarios based on Toby's New Whistle and Tickled Pink. More interactive scenes are certain for inclusions on future releases.

Santa's Little Engine from Lionsgate Entertainment is out now to buy on US DVD.

Hit sells more Thomas seasons to global broadcasters

Hit Entertainment have sold newer series of Thomas & Friends for global distribution.

Hot on the heels of the forthcoming Tale of the Brave movie and the 18th Series, the children's brand makers have granted multimedia company Lagardere the rights to air Series 13, 16 and 17 on Gulli and Tiji in France.

For Spain, Series 15 to 17 have been picked up by Boing together with King of the Railway: The Movie.

Various seasons will make their way onto DVD and On Demand content for Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland.

Meanwhile, Australia, who are currently airing the 17th Season on ABC2, will also transmit King with Latin America to follow suite for Discovery Kids.

The initiative by Hit has also allowed Fireman Sam, Mike the Knight, Bob the Builder, Pingu and Angelina Ballerina to adopt similar phases

READ THE FULL ARTICLE ON KIDSCREEN

Thanks to Hawk01 for the alert.

Porter and Season 17 scenes in Wooden Railway range

New stock for the Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway range is to arrive from this year through to 2014.

From unknown sources, Sodor's newest arrival Porter is one of the first to join after being made for Take-n-Play and Trackmaster. His so far prototype model shows a section of pink painted on his boiler and cab.

Based on a key scene from Bill or Ben?, the twin engines are re-introduced to the range with Bill in current form sporting red wheels and Ben in dark blue livery.

Salty's Celebration sees the dockside diesel covered in oil and bunting while pulling a truck full of party supplies in a scene to be witnessed in Porter's debut episode, Away from the Sea.

Meanwhile, Whiff returns to Wooden Railway alongside Toby, where the tram engine's model is significantly wider to accommodate a Battery Powered guise.

The new Wooden Railway stock hit toy shelves worldwide from this year through to 2014.

Thanks to alcofan158 for the alert.

'The Rocket Returns' becomes 'Afternoon Tea Express'

An upcoming story from Season 17 has had its TV series title revealed by ABC Television.

The Rocket Returns was unveiled by amazon.com in May as a tie-in book for an episode from the DVD, Spills & Thrills, coming soon in 2014.

However, it will now be based on The Aftenoon Tea Express. Stephen is to be the main character with The Earl of Sodor and Spencer in co-starring.

The summary reads; Stephen becomes very excited when the Earl gives him the special job of collecting the ingredients for the afternoon teas at the Castle. But Spencer teases him about being too old and slow.

Although being one of the first episodes for 2013 to be revealed, its official title was uncertain at the time.

The season's span of 26 stories will be carried onto the forthcoming 18th Series next year.

Series 17 of Thomas & Friends marks its Australian premiere tomorrow on October 9th on ABC2 at 8am, with the episode Steamie Stafford.

Mark Moraghan re-narrates Season 13 story in US DVD

Present storyteller Mark Moraghan has lent his voice to an existing episode in a new US DVD.

Santa's Little Engine was released in America today and contains four episodes from the 17th Series.

To add more value due to the 2013 season only having four Christmas stories, Snow Tracks is provided as a filler.

According to US fans, Michael Brandon's original narration has been replaced by new narration by Mark Moraghan for the Season 13 re-issue.

It has also been confirmed that Santa's Little Engine, Frozen Turntable and The Missing Christmas Decorations were written by Andrew Brenner while Laura Beaumont and Paul Larson penned No Snow for Thomas.

Santa's Little Engine from Lionsgate Entertainment is out now to buy on US DVD.