Annie and Clarabel

Annie and Clarabel are Thomas' faithful coaches, whom he loves dearly and would never dream of being separated from them.

Annie and Clarabel both have seating accommodation for carrying passengers; Clarabel also has a brake compartment for luggage and a guard. The two coaches are nearly always seen coupled together, with Annie usually facing Thomas and Clarabel facing backwards.

Personalities
Annie and Clarabel are respectful to all of the engines, but most of all Gordon and Thomas. The only exception to this is Daisy, who they respect least of all for insulting them and Henrietta. They show a kind and caring side to everyone on the railway. However, despite their kindness and sweetness, they can be stern when needed, especially Annie. For instance, they scolded Thomas for teasing Gordon after his accident, although they are no saints themselves. Once when Daisy was rude to them, they naughtily tricked her into thinking there was something wrong with her which caused confusion and delay. When the Fat Controller found out he told them that two wrongs do not make a right and that he expected better from both of them. Annie and Clarabel are best friends, but like all friends, sometimes they fall out. Despite this, they always try to make things right in the end.

Although the two respect Gordon, both Annie and Clarabel do not tolerate his arrogance more than other engines and like others they seek to teach him a lesson, as Annie was shocked by Gordon's rude comments about Edward. Additionally, when Gordon begged Thomas to speed up on Gordon's Hill, Clarabel smiled smugly at the express engine both before and after he got stuck on the hill. Furthering their morals, though, they do have a sense of humor, and did not hesitate to laugh at Gordon when he told them and Thomas about his pants mishap.

Basis
In The Railway Series, Annie and Clarabel are a pair of bogie coaches (i.e. each coach is supported on a pair of four-wheeled bogies or "trucks"). As currently illustrated, they appear similar to LMS Suburban Coaches. In the 1987 annual, Christopher Awdry implies the pair were likely built in the early twentieth century on the Mainland and that they were possibly six-wheeled designs. Sometime after being brought to Sodor, their bodies were lengthened, placed on bogie frames and upgraded with electric lighting.

Livery
In The Railway Series, Annie and Clarabel were originally painted orange-brown and were later painted brown with a yellow stripe.

In the television series, they were painted in a bright orange livery with their names painted on their sides in white. In the fifth series, they were refurbished, repainted and their buffer shank housings became red at the request of Lady Hatt.

In the CGI Series, their liveries are a more vibrant orange. In Thomas' imagination where he gets streamlined in The Great Race, Annie and Clarabel are repainted in NWR blue with a white stripe near the bottom and a thicker white stripe with red borders near the top.

In the magazine story, Thomas, Terence and the Snow, Annie and Clarabel were coloured greenish-grey.

Appearances

 * Season 1 - The Trouble With Trucks (do not speak)

Trivia

 * Annie was the first character created by Wilbert Awdry, albeit unnamed at the time.
 * Annie and Clarabel were the first official female characters created by the Rev W. Awdry and as such, are the first female characters of the entire series.
 * They are both the only coaches and the only female characters to appear in every series.
 * They are the first characters in the series without grey faces.
 * The Hero of the Rails intro shows Annie and Clarabel with bogie wheels as seen in the Railway Series.
 * Annie and Clarabel's models used to be on display at Nitrogen Studios but are now on display at Hara Model Railway Museum in Japan.
 * Early illustrations of Annie show her shocked face and this was carried on to later illustrations and most merchandise. This is likely intentional for easier identification. Even Hornby both had Annie and Clarabel models with smiling faces originally. This phased out in 2018, though it only applies to Mattel-produced items.
 * As of the twenty-second series, Annie and Clarabel are the only non-human twin characters who are both still voiced by the same actress.
 * Annie and Clarabel are the only sentient rolling stock to appear in every series of the television series. Henrietta had appeared in every series as well, but her streak ended when she was absent in the twenty-third series.
 * A real coach based on the television series version of Clarabel (a former LNER "Sunshine" coach) has been put into service at the Llangollen Railway in North Wales.
 * Originally, there were plans to give Annie and Clarabel 3D grey faces similar to the engines in the twelfth series, as it would be easier to animate. During the production of said series, they were referred to as Annabel and Clarabelle.
 * Their original television series models were built from Tenmille Stroudley coach kits.
 * Bachmann HO models of Annie and Clarabel appeared in the 2015 Marvel film "Ant-Man", along with models of Thomas and Emily's Coaches.
 * In the French version of the Model Series, Annie and Clarabel were known as Annette and Claudette.
 * Several merchandise items and CGI promos of Clarabel lack her guard compartment.
 * Up until the debut of the Slip Coaches in the eighteenth series, Harold, Annie and Clarabel were the only characters with embedded faces ever since that practice had phased out.
 * Clarabel's eyes are slightly further apart than Annie's - her nose is slightly broader as well.
 * Henry and Rebecca are the only members of the Steam Team - current or former - who were not seen pulling or being coupled up to Annie and Clarabel.