Chuggington
Also known asChuggington: Tales from the Rails (Series 6)
Voices ofMorgan Overton
Edward Sharpe
Teddy West
Charlie George
Toby Davies
Harry Reeve
Imogen Bailey
Alyssa Burton
Jadie Rose Hobson
Lola Shepelev
Arthur Lee
Lawrence Matthews
Pax Baldwin
Sacha Dhawan
David Gyasi
Elëna Gyasi
Maria Darling
Nicole Davis
Colin McFarlane
Lorelei King
Jordan Clarke
Angelo Cola
Andy Nyman
Paul Panting
Jill Shilling
Steve Devereaux
James Naylor
Theme music composerChris McHale
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series6
No. of episodes176 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time10 min/4 min
Production companiesLudorum (Series 1-5)
Herschend Entertainment Studios (Series 6)
Original release
NetworkCBeebies
Release22 September 2008 (2008-09-22) –
19 December 2021 (2021-12-19)
Related
Chuggington: Badge Quest
The characters in their sheds from left to right going down: Dunbar, Irving, Harrison, Old Puffer Pete, Olwin, Hodge, Koko, Wilson, Brewster and Zephie
Chuggington characters in their roundhouse

Chuggington (also known as Chuggington: Tales from the Rails in series 6) is a British animated Preschool children's television series aimed at kindergarteners, produced by Ludorum PLC (Series 1–5) and Herschend Entertainment Studios (series six). It is broadcast on the BBC's CBeebies channel and other channels internationally. Originally composed of 5 series running from 2008 to 2015, the series left its five-six year hiatus when a new batch of episodes was released on Playhouse Disney and Disney Junior in the United States on June 29, 2020, and on CBeebies in the United Kingdom on January 2, 2021.[1]

Setting

In the fictional town of Chuggington are young novice anthropomorphic railway locomotives, called "Trainees", Koko, Wilson, Brewster, Hoot, Toot and Piper. The trainees and sometimes the more experienced chuggers learn the value of loyal friendship, telling the truth, listening carefully, persisting under adversity, completing tasks, resolving conflict without violence and similar values. The locomotives, called "Chuggers", are intelligent, empathetic, independent and somewhat self-directed. They have mobile facial and body features. Chuggers have no crews, yet some have crew doors that can open. Chuggers regularly interact with humans such as passengers and maintenance crews. Some chuggers are modeled after well known locomotives.

The town of Chuggington has a central area of large modern buildings. Side-by-side railway tunnels coloured red, blue, yellow and green run under the town centre, leading to the outside world. Countryside settings include a farm, a safari park and a quarry. A 'Chugston Hotel' is mentioned. "Old Chuggington", an abandoned old town with a similar name to the titular town, overgrown with wild vegetation, is occasionally visited.

Episodes

Series Episodes U.K. airdate U.S airdate
First aired Last aired First aired Last aired
1 52 29 September 2008 11 May 2009 18 January 2010 7 January 2011
2 26 13 September 2010 15 December 2010 14 February 2011 16 December 2011
3 14 28 November 2011 15 December 2011 26 March 2012 3 August 2012
4 26 27 August 2013 21 April 2014 20 October 2013 5 December 2014
5 10 18 May 2015 29 May 2015 6 March 2015 28 November 2015
6 46 2 January 2021 12 March 2021 29 June 2020 1 November 2021
Specials 7 26 August 2013 19 December 2021 20 October 2013 TBA
Badge Quest 46 24 July 2010 14 February 2012 26 September 2011 2 July 2013

Characters

Wilson, Brewster and Koko are the main characters in Chuggington.

Young trainees

Main

Name Description Based on Voiced by (UK) Voiced by (US)
Wilson A red diesel-electric hybrid chugger whose enthusiasm is opposed by his short attention span and most of his adventures as of Series 4 are in Chug Patrol as an advanced trainee. He is the main protagonist in the series.[2] EMD F3 Morgan Overton (Series 1 & 3)
Edward Sharpe (Series 4 & 5)
Teddy West (Series 6)		 Tony Terraciano (Series 1 & 5)
Jordan C. Reed (Series 6)
Brewster A strong, blue and yellow diesel-electric locomotive built to pull heavy loads. He is as of Series 4 a member of the Chugginers, the building team on Chuggington. He likes to haul heavy loads on pickups and often picks up too much load. Other chuggers may rush when given a task, but Brewster asks questions if he is unsure. He is dependable, respectful and can be relied on when there is trouble.[2][3] British Rail Class 55 Charlie George (Series 1 & 3)
Toby Davies (Series 4 & 5)
Harry Reeve (Series 6)		 Miles J Harvey (Series 1 & 5)
Jack Dean (Series 6)
Koko A green and white electric locomotive who was built for high speed, being one of the fastest chuggers in Chuggington. She loves to explore, have adventures and to challenge her friends to a dare or a race. Although she can get into mischief, she always means well and knows when to apologise.[4] 0 Series Shinkansen Imogen Bailey (Series & 5)
Alyssa Burton (Series 6)		 Brigid Harrington (Series 1 & 5)
Madigan Kacmar (Series 6)

Non-Advanced

Name Description Based on Voiced by (UK) Voiced by (US)
Hoot and Toot Twins who are nearly always joined back-to-back, but in at least two episodes by strong pulling they manage to separate.[5][6] Tommy Romer Lee and Mihira Philip (Series 2 & 5)
Beau Robertson and Matilda Majilton (Series 6)		 Ben Hudson and Tori Feinstein (Series 2 & 5)
Ethan Cutilo and Vivian Watson (Series 6)
Zephie A young direct drive system trolley car equipped with a scissor-lift trolley so she can lift and rotate her cab which allows Eddie to work on things not normally accessible. She is particularly flighty and giggly.[7] Jadie Rose (Series 1 & 4)
Series 6 Lola Shepleve (Series 6)		 Isabella Palmieri (Series 1 & 4)
Lily Sanfelippo (Series 6)
Piper A small orange oil-fired steam cab forward locomotive. In her first episode, Old Puffer Pete says that she runs on vegetable oil. In another episode we find out that Piper can be mischievous. Though she means well, she is very inexperienced and won't often take time to think, but realises her mistakes and does well in the end. NPCR Cab-Forward Thomas-Stetson Eve Bentley (Series 3 & 5)
Faith Delaney (Series 6)		 Eve Bentley (Series 3 & 5)
Dakota Philips (Series 6)
Tai A purple trainee shunter from Zheng-Chu who works at the Docks. She reuses Calley's S1-S3 model. Krauss-Maffel ML 400 C Mia Lakha Angelica Hale

Adult trains

Name Description Based on Voiced by (UK) Voiced by (US)
Hodge A six-wheeled Dandy Diesel built from hodge-podge parts. He normally works with Eddie and is a bit like a pickup truck. He is also often tasked with taking the rubbish to the recycling yard. With his "seen it all" attitude, it takes a lot to get Hodge excited.[7] Mack Truck Railroad Locomotives Arthur Lee (Series 1 & 5)
Lawrence Matthews (Series 6)		 James Lukens (Series 1 & 5)
Gideon Modisett (Series 6)
Old Puffer Pete (effectively known as Pete) An elderly chugger in Chuggington and the annual Chugger Championship Race winner. Pete loves passing his wisdom on to the trainees or anyone who is willing to listen. He drives them mad with his endless stories (which often get him confused) and can never seem to remember the chuggers' names, but they are very fond of him. He works at the central distribution centres for Chuggington: The Drop Load and Freight Yard.[4] Union Pacific No. 119 Paul Painting Brian Greene (Series 1 & 5)
Mick Wingert (Series 6)
Olwin An older female dark green British motherly steam locomotive who refers to the "trainees" as her "little chugg-a-chuggs". Olwin's coal is stored just forward of the cab, while her water is stored inside of her boiler, making her a tank locomotive. LNER Class A4 Jill Shilling Margaret Robertson (Series 1 & 4)
Bernie Stegers (Series 5)
Harrison A large blue American diesel locomotive who is often proud of himself and therefore tends to show off and is often admired by Wilson. He, along with Hanzo and Koko, is considered one of the fastest chuggers in Chuggington.[8] UPR M-1004 Colin McFarlane
Irving A medium-sized dark red diesel engine who handles the rubbish and recycling chores around the depot. He is proud to boast that nothing is thrown away in Chuggington.[8] Belhack Rotary Snowplough Paul Painting John Pohlhammer
Dunbar A large green-coloured Scottish shunting locomotive who is largely responsible for the training of the Chuggers: Hoot, Toot and Piper. He leaves Chuggington during Series 3 and is replaced by Skylar as the trainer.[9] EMD GP38-2 John Stocker
Calley A small shunting locomotive who spends most of her time as a rescue chugger, but can also sometimes be seen shunting rolling stock. She was Dunbar's assistant from Series 1 & 3 until she joined Jackman in Series 4 and became a member of the rescue squad Chug Patrol, where she was repainted in Chug Patrol's signature colours. She loves rescuing more than anything and her catchphrase is "Breakdown chugger coming through-oooooooo!" Her old model was reused and modified for Tai, who first appeared in Series 6.[9] Krauss-Maffei ML 440 C Nicole Davis Phillipa Alexander
Emery A silver rapid transit locomotive often seen on elevated lines or in tunnels. He likes tricking and harassing other engines into thinking that they have a problem. He often carries an additional carriage or truck with him permanently, although in at least two episodes, he disconnects his carriage to go faster. He often announces his actions with transit announcements. He has heterochromia iridium. In the Polish dub, he is female and named Emilia. He has the most English voice actors of all characters, with 5. [8] FS Class ALe 582 Jordan Clarke Troy Doherty (Series 1 & 2)
Hugh Reynolds (Series 3)
Jake Tanner (Series 4 & 5)
Austin Conelley (Series 6)
Chatsworth An older well-spoken white diesel locomotive who generally performs the same tasks as Harrison. He can overreact easily, for example, he thinks that if his horn or coupler are broken that he cannot drive! He also loves his spotless white paint and hates getting dirty! Baldwin RF-16 Andy Nyman John Cancer
Mtambo A yellow camouflage safari park ranger who works around the safari park, giving tours to visitors. He speaks with a Kenyan accent. His name means "engine" in Swahili. Kenya Railways Class 87 David Gyasi
Frostini An Italian ice cream train, popular with the children of Chuggington and seen by the trainees as very cool. He is normally seen handing out ice creams or at the factory working on a creation. He is quite proud of his accomplishments and speaks English with an Italian accent. In many episodes, he has the most emotions than any other chugger - mostly due to his stress at work at the Ice Cream Factory. Pioneer Zephyr Angelo Cola (speaking voice)
Randy Crenshaw (singing voice)
Action Chugger A yellow and brown superhero chugger who responds to emergencies after being informed that he is needed by a flashing red light on his nose. He can unfold parts of his sides into short wings, each with a jet motor under it and fly. After flying, he always lands on a railway track. Action Chugger's flight range extends at least as far as low Earth orbit. He normally resides in Chuggington. FS Class E.414 Pax Baldwin John Pohlhammer (Series 1 & 4)
Dave Berry (Series 6)
Speedy McAllister (generally named Speedy) A large reddish-violet steam locomotive who is somewhat gruff and blunt in character but means well and is helpful to experienced chuggers and trainees alike. He prefers more industrial jobs as opposed to those with a high degree of customer relations. He mans the Rocky Ridge Quarry and Rocky Ridge Mine, along with the human: Karen. Speedy's whistle is the deepest of the four steam locomotives in Chuggington. Speedy's voice in the UK is a Yorkshire accent but in the US it is Western. NYC Commodore Vanderbilt Warren Clarke Stefan Ashton Frank
Skylar A large yellow European crane locomotive who has just completed training. His crane ends in a two-fingered grab. He can use his crane and his side prop legs to flip himself end-for-end or onto an adjacent track. His model would be reused and repainted for Rosa, who appeared in Series 6. Michael Ouartney Brendan Dooling (Series 3)
Tony Denman (Series 4)
Jason Durran (Series 5)
Decka A double-decker tram built for heavy loads and passengers. She is brightly coloured and she has a big personality. She loves to incorporate her name into things, for example; "It was a deckalightful day!" Ninja Benjamin
Jackman The chief of Chug Patrol and the bravest chugger on the tracks. With a twinkle in his eye and strong leadership skills, Jackman makes the perfect leader for all four of the chug patrollers. Here is a saying: "If he uncouples now, he'll go flying." EMD F59PHI Michael Byers (Series 4) Michael G Stern (Series 6)
Asher A red firefighting chugger from Tootington who is the newest member of the rescue squad Chug Patrol. Strong, brave and reassuring, he takes care of the fires in Chuggington. Windhoff Firefighting and Rescue Train Marcel McCalla
Zack The chief of the Chuggineers. This foreman is organised, hardworking and extremely safety conscious, making him the perfect leader of the Chuggineer crew. Joined by his fellow team members Tyne, Brewster and Fletch, this engineering team is responsible for all the heavy lifting, loading and building of bridges, tunnels and stations as well as laying track and making repairs. BCR Dash 9-44CWL Paul Dodds Stuart Milligan (Series 4 & 5)
Mick Wingert (Series 6)
Tyne A female Chuggineer who loves to blow up unneeded buildings, she says that she is "proud to be loud". Tyne also shares a friendly rivalry with her peer, Fletch. EMD FP9 Carina Reeves Jessica McDonald
Fletch A member of the Chuggineers who is strong, and likes playing small jokes on other chuggers. Fletch also shares a friendly rivalry with his peer, Tyne. EMD SD40-2 Joe Sims Earl Perkins
Hanzo A white and blue bullet train who is the fastest chugger in Chuggington. Mentor to Koko, Hanzo is sleek, streamlined and has a photographic memory. He believes there is no greater honour than transporting passengers quickly, but always safely, to their destination. Respectful, dedicated and precise, Hanzo encourages fellow Speed Fleet chuggers to be the best they can through rigorous practice. He is always extremely punctual. He also has a calm peaceful tone when he speaks. E7 Series Shinkansen Dai Tabuchi
Cormac A forklift chugger who works with Pete in the Drop Load and Freight yard, the central distribution site for Chuggington. Besides working in the Drop and Load yard, Cormac has many jobs around Chuggington. He loves driving around and having adventures! He sometimes assists the Chuggineers and Speedy. Jez Edwards Brandon Finn (Series 4 & 5)
Tim Chase (Series 6)
Payce A tunnel runner from Tootington, Chuggington's neighbouring town. Like the speed fleet, Payce is faster than the speed of light. She is good friends with Koko, yet shares a small friendly rivalry with her. E3 Series Shinkansen Ruth Zielinski Siu-see Hung
Daley An express delivery chugger who reuses Payce's body. Frecciarossa 1000 Harry Lawtey Nile Bullock
Skipper Stu A blue diesel who works is in charge of everything at Chuggington Harbour. James Goode
Hamish A green diesel hauler who works at the Chuggington Harbour. In Series 5, he used to have a twin called Harry that never appears again. Richard Ridings
Russ A yellow rail-mounted reach stacker diesel working at the Chuggington Harbour. James Naylor Joe Slovick
Rosa A turquoise Mexican/Spanish crane chugger from San Locomota. She is a member of the Chuggineers and reuses Skylar's model. Tiana Camacho

Ambiguous

Name Description Voiced by (UK) Voiced by (US)
Vee The depot announcer and dispatcher, with speakers all over Chuggington, in the depot and in remote areas. She keeps everything running on time and to schedule. After giving the chuggers their tasks, her dispatch board shows the destination and shows which coloured tunnel to take when leaving the depot. She can be stern with disobedient chuggers. Vee has never been anything other than her public address system. She may be a human or a self-intelligent system similar to the chuggers.[10][11] Maria Darling (Series 1 & 5)
Jacqueline Davis (Series 6)		 Johnnie Flori (Series 1 & 5)
Julie Wions (Series 6)

Humans

Name Description Voiced by (UK) Voiced by (US)
Captain Charlie The captain at Chuggington Harbour. Stephen Critchlow John Cancer
Dr. Gosling The safari park vet. Paul Painting Mac McDonald
Dr. Ling The resident scientist and researcher in Chuggington. She often develops various inventions for the chuggers to test out. Meg Kubota
Eddie The depot handyman who turns his hand to all manner of tasks, including track maintenance and fixing signals and points. He currently lives in a caboose, similar in appearance to Morgan's house, close to Chuggington. He used to live with his parents some distance away and was frequently late to work, but the trainees found an abandoned caboose and Morgan fixed it so Eddie could live in it. Sacha Dhawan Trevor White (Series 3 & 5)
Nick Hagelin (Series 6)
Felix The farmer in Chuggington. Andy Nyman Elisha Sessions
Howie The control person (like Vee) at the Working Wheels yard where chuggers (mainly Brewster, Koko & Wilson) get refueled/cleaned/get their jobs for the day. Steve Devereaux Morgan Deare
Karen A lady who works at Rocky Ridge Quarry along with the steam engine: Speedy McAllister. Maria Darling Lorelei King
Lori Morgan's assistant at the Repair Shed and was also tasked with cleaning engines before the arrival of the ChugWash. She is apprenticed to Morgan and attends college. Maria Darling (Series 1 & 4)
Jacqueline Davis (Series 6)		 Babara Barnes (Series 2 & 4)
Julie Phillips (Series 6)
Mayor Pullman The female mayor of Chuggington. Floella Benjamin Lachele Carl (Series 1 & 5)
Carla Fisher (Series 6)
Morgan The Senior Mechanic at the depot in charge of the Repair Shed. He lives in a house that looks like a caboose in Chuggington yard.[4] Paul Painting Taylor Clarke-Hill (Series 1 & 5)
William Stern (Series 6)
Vicki A safari park ranger and looks after the animals. Nicole Davis Laila Pyne

Production

The series' former logo.

The creative core behind Chuggington is Sarah Ball, a producer and director who worked on Bob the Builder, and Don Toht, who designed the characters and sets.[12]

The animation is made with Autodesk Maya software.[13]

As well as the regular ten-minute episodes, there are four-minute shows, Chuggington: Badge Quest, focusing on the trainees' efforts to earn reward badges for their "Chugger" training.[14]

Three Chuggington specials were commissioned for release on DVD from 2013 onwards.[15]

On 10 December 2018, Herschend Entertainment Studios acquired the rights to the series.[16]

Broadcast

The first series of 52 episodes was sold to broadcasters including the BBC, ABC (Australia), TF1 (France),Super RTL (Germany) and Fuji TV (Japan) in a deal announced in February 2008.[17] A second series of 26 episodes was purchased by the BBC and many other broadcasters throughout the world. Aimed at children between the ages of 3 and 6, Chuggington made its UK debut as a "soft launch" on BBC Two on 22 September 2008. In the US, it was broadcast on Disney Junior.

Merchandise

In January 2009 it was announced that RC2 would be producing Chuggington toys under their Learning Curve brand; the toys were released to the market in 2010.[18] RC2 contributed to half of the series' production budget in exchange for long-term global toy licensing rights.[12]

Media

DVDs from Anchor Bay Entertainment include the first, entitled Chuggington: Let's Ride the Rails was released in March 2009 containing six episodes. A second DVD, Action Stations, released in October 2009, contained another six. The third DVD release, Wheels to the Rails, with another six episodes, is due out in late November. Anchor Bay's Chuggington: Let’s Ride the Rails was the first Chuggington DVD to be released nationwide in the United States on 8 February 2011.

In the UK, several children's books are in the works, including Koko on Call: A Nightlight Adventure, based on an early episode.[19] Publications International and Scholastic introduced Chuggington books to the US market in late 2010 and early 2011, respectively.

Toys

In early 2010, the Chuggington Diecast Series of model trains was released in the UK. The Chuggington Diecast Series by Learning Curve was released in the US nationwide in late 2010. In 2012, the system was rebranded to StackTrack, in which children can stack the railway tracks on top of each other with supports. This system was discontinued by 2017, however the StackTrack track system is still in use.

Later in 2010, the interactive range was released in the UK. The chuggers and Vee, their dispatcher, can interact with each other using 'Smart Talk' technology and over 300 stored phrases. Each chugger can recognise the other chuggers, and their train stops. The interactive phrases spoken depend on which chuggers and locations are placed together, giving a more varied, but not random, conversation. The Chuggington Interactive Railway was released in the United States in February 2011. This system was discontinued by 2017.

The Chuggington Wooden Railway was released in September 2010 to Canada, and on 1 March 2011 to specialty retailers in the United States. It is compatible with all other wooden railway systems. This system was discontinued by 2017.

In late 2011, Mega Brands released the 'Chuggington Construction' range, but was now discontinued, as of 2013.

In the United States other Chuggington products include games (I Can Do That! Games), puzzles (Cardinal), and activity sets (Crayola).

In 2012, the Plarail Chuggington range was released and was discontinued around 2016.

In 2013 Bachmann Trains made a series of Chuggington electric train sets and separate sale engines and cars. It is compatible with all other HO scale systems by other companies and is made to work with the Thomas & Friends range. In 2017, Bachmann Trains have discontinued the Chuggington range.

In 2019, Alpha Group Co., Ltd. acquired the rights for any future Chuggington vehicle toys.

Train and Tramway

The body of character of Chuggington as a motif, in Okayama Tramway in Japan (2019)

According to Okayama Electric Tramway press report on 12 January 2018, it will be operated in 2 cars and 1 train with its own decorated appearance that reproduced Wilson and Brewster in Japan. With the all-seat reservation system, the operation start date is 16 March 2019. It is confirmed as the world's first in the railroad and tram related motif with this character as a motif.[20]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Twitter". mobile.twitter.com. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  2. 1 2 "Chuggington- Wilson's Smooth Moves". BBFC.
  3. ↑ "Information for Grownups". CBeebies. p. 2. Archived from the original on 4 February 2009. Retrieved 23 January 2009.
  4. 1 2 3 "Information for Grownups". CBeebies. p. 5. Archived from the original on 3 February 2009. Retrieved 23 January 2009.
  5. ↑ "Chuggington Series 2 – Hoot & Toot and Speedy McAllister New Chuggers!".
  6. ↑ Chuggington episode Hoot v. Toot
  7. 1 2 "Chugger of the Year". Chuggington Episodes.
  8. 1 2 3 "Information for Grownups". CBeebies. p. 4. Archived from the original on 3 February 2009. Retrieved 23 January 2009.
  9. 1 2 "Information for Grownups". CBeebies. p. 3. Archived from the original on 3 February 2009. Retrieved 23 January 2009.
  10. ↑ "Information for Grownups". CBeebies. p. 6. Archived from the original on 3 February 2009. Retrieved 23 January 2009.
  11. ↑ "Information for Grownups: Chugginton". Archived from the original on 19 December 2011.
  12. 1 2 Castleman, Lana: Q&A: Caminada charts startup's next moves, Kidscreen, 27 March 2009.
  13. ↑ Bennett, Samuel: The Virtual World of Chuggington: A First Time Director's Post-Mortem Archived 21 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, LOGIN Conference, 13 May 2009.
  14. ↑ CBeebies Programmes – Chuggington: Badge Quest. BBC. Retrieved 2012-01-09.
  15. ↑ PRE-SCHOOL MONTH: New characters bolster Chuggington | Licensing Industry | News by Archived 22 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Licensing.biz. on 2012-01-09.
  16. ↑ Herschend Entertainment Studios Acquires Beloved UK-Animated Series Chuggington
  17. ↑ Broadcast Now, BBC gets on board Chuggington, 6 February 2008,
  18. ↑ Pigtail Pals, , Accessed 23 January 2009
  19. ↑ Chuggington – Let's Ride the Rails (DVD). amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-01-09.
  20. ↑ ja:岡山電気軌道#軌道事業#導入予定車両 (Japanese language edition) Retribute date on 21 February 2019.
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