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Main Characters
Mr. Conductor (Ringo Starr)
Portrayed by: Ringo Starr
Played by former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, the first Mr. Conductor was initially very wary about newcomers, but gradually decided to reveal himself to Matt, Tanya, Stacy, and Harry. He was a voice of reason to Matt and Tanya, introducing them to stories about Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends to show them a way to solve a problem the two friends encountered. Following the events of 'Tis a Gift, Mr. Conductor decided to leave Shining Time Station to assist Mr. Nicholas at the North Pole.
- Actor Allusion:
- In "And the Band Played Off, the kids ruminate on forming a band, to which Mr. Conductor replies, "I'm quite at all hands with musical instruments myself, you know!".
- One scene in "Pitching In and Helping Out" has Mr. Conductor drumming on the station's clock.
- Closer to Earth: The point of his Thomas stories are to give advice to Matt and Tanya when a problem arises.
- Eccentric Mentor: Whilst serving as a mentor to the kids, Mr. Conductor is not shy of being quirky.
- Large Ham: In the episode, "Does It Bite?", when he is about to tell the story of Henry's fear of the rain, sad music plays as he comments that it's a very sad story before sobbing hysterically and again when he tells the second half.
- Shrinking Violet: Mr. Conductor is usually very shy around adults that aren't Stacy, often disappearing before they get a chance to see him. Though he eventually winds up enough courage to introduce himself to Harry in "Two Old Hands". With Schemer on the other hand, it's made very clear that he's deliberately avoiding him out of resentment, not shyness.
Mr. Conductor (George Carlin)
Portrayed by: George Carlin
Played by the late comedian George Carlin, the second Mr. Conductor, who was a cousin of the first Mr. Conductor, arrived to take over the latter's job at Shining Time after he left for the North Pole.
- Actor Allusion: In the Thomas Tales episode "Paint the Town Red", Mr. Conductor mused that he met a man who told him there are no blue foods - a reference to one of George's best known routines.
- Closer to Earth: Like his cousin, Mr. Conductor always told stories about Thomas and his friends to communicate a moral to the kids.
- Eccentric Mentor: Very much like his cousin, only quirkier.
- Mellow Fellow: Except for when there's an extreme crisis, he is considerably more laid back than the previous Mr. Conductor.
- One-Steve Limit: Averted, he's the cousin of the previous Mr. Conductor, and thus would justifiably have the same last name.
- Speaks Fluent Animal: He has a knack for communicating with his scaly, feathered and furry animal friends.
Stacy Jones
Portrayed by: Didi Conn
The kind-hearted manager of Shining Time Station.
- Beware the Nice Ones: When Schemer goes too far, Stacy can get really angry.
- Nice Girl: Stacey is a kind, cheerful and helpful person.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: She is only stern with everyone when she needs to be.
- Team Mom: She tends to be the voice of reason along with Mr. Conductor and Billy, and frequently offers motherly advice and support, as well occasional discipline, to practically everyone at Shining Time Station.
Schemer
Portrayed by: Brian O'Connor
The owner of the arcade at Shining Time Station. Schemer is as his name suggests: a schemer who is always coming up with get-rich-quick schemes. But his incompetence causes them to blow up in his face.
- Bragging Theme Tune: "He's a doer, he's a dreamer, he's absolutely Schemer and he's me!"
- Breakout Character: Schemer became the most popular character on the show, and even had a series of home video segments dedicated to his character.
- Catchphrase: "Genius Time!"
- Everyone Has Standards: In "Schemer's Special Club", he attempts to get into the Nickelaire Club. If Schemer manages to impress the club's president Hobart Hume III, he'll be an official member and once he gets in, he can get Stacy, Billy and the kids in as well. When Hume is at the station, he makes rather misogynistic comments towards Stacy and racist ones towards Billy. Schemer, however, is too distracted by Hume's importance and getting into the club. When Hume returns after discussing Schemer with his colleagues, he assumes that Hume will accept the others. However, when he starts to realize what sort of man Hume really is, Schemer tricks the latter into eating some very sticky toffee which causes Hume's mouth to get stuck. Schemer then declines membership of the Nickelaire Club by stating that if it's not good enough for his friends, then it's not good enough for him. When his nephew Schemee comes to visit, there's multiple instances, when Schemer declares that Schemee's schemes are out of line, even for him.
- It's All About Me: Most of the time.
- Jerkass: Schemer may not be an out-and-out jerk to everyone, but he's still incredibly selfish, lazy and immature.
- Lethal Chef: In one episode, he attempts to make one of his mother's recipes but confuses chili powder with cocoa powder, which he later explains he does know the difference that chili powder goes in chili con carne and cocoa powder goes in cocoa con carne.
- Manchild:
- Schemer is a full-grown adult and doesn't fully know how to take care of himself. He also doesn't seem to understand the value of a dollar.
- Taken up to 11 in "Schemer's Alone", where his mother goes away overnight.Schemer: "Take out the trash, make your bed, say please and thank you." I mean what does she think I am, some kind of mature adult?
- Meaningful Name: Would you buy a used car from Schemer?
- Only Known by Their Nickname: His first name is Horace, but he's usually referred to as Schemer.
- Pet the Dog: Every once in awhile, usually when someone worse comes along, Schemer will stand with his friends.
- Second Episode Introduction: He was added into the main cast by the second episode.
Henry "Harry" Cupper
Portrayed by: Leonard Jackson
A veteran engineer, Harry can come across as quite serious but finds Shining Time Station to be a nice chance.
- Berserk Button: In the episode "Just Wild About Harry's Workshop", Harry is livid when Schemer wants to turn his workshop into a cafe. As a result, when one of Schemer's arcade machine malfunctions, Harry refuses to fix it. Instead, he simply unplugs the machine and declares it "fixed".
- Closer to Earth: It's revealed in "A Place Unlike Any Other" that he is a serious man but decides that it's time for a change and agrees to take the job at Shining Time.
- Grumpy Old Man: He can come across as a gruff and humorless man to those who don't know him. But really, he cares deeply about his friends and only yells at them if it's his intention to keep them safe.
- Handy Man: The reason Harry took the job at Shining Time Station was to help fix up the place, and he takes his work seriously. For example, he had to delay his fishing with Matt and Tanya so he could fix a broken signal.
- Long Bus Trip: Harry is absent in the Christmas special "'Tis a Gift" as his cousin, Tucker, revealed that Harry had been transferred to Twiddly Junction. Then, at the start of Season 2, it's revealed that he is now at Fort Farley and Billy Twofeathers is the new engineer at Shining Time Station.
- The Bus Came Back: However, he returned to the special "One of the Family" to visit his granddaughter Kara. Whilst there, he is not only reunited with Stacy, J.B. King and Schemer but also meets his successor, Billy Twofeathers.
- Team Dad: Despite being rather grumpy on occasion, Harry can still give advice to the kids when need be.
Billy Twofeathers
Portrayed by: Tom Jackson (Season 2 - One of the Family); Russell Means (Thomas & The Magic Railroad)
After Harry was transferred to Fort Farley, Billy took over his job at Shining Time and soon set himself an image of a fatherly figure at Shining Time Station. He is also proud of his Native American heritage.
- Berserk Button: Racism is the quickest way to his bad side, as Hobart Hume III learns upon calling him an "Indian". Also, he only truly got mad at Schemer once, for moving his flairs outside, allowing them to get ruined in the rain.
- Contrasting Replacement Character: Unlike Harry who is older and grumpy, Billy is a bit younger (but still wise) and a lot more friendly.
- Gentle Giant: He is this to Mr. Conductor as the two are shown to be good friends.
- Handy Man: He was introduced to replace Harry Cupper in this role and like his predecessor, has a knack for repairing just about anything.
- Native American:
- He is proud of his Lakota heritage and culture.
- In fact, when Hobart Hume III used the derogotary term "Indian", it didn't take long for Billy to despise Hume.
- Nice Guy: Billy rarely loses his temper and he is not the sort of guy who holds a grudge against someone, with the obvious exception of Hobart Hume III as stated above.
- Not So Above It All: Although Billy is usually a pretty responsible adult, there are some occasions, when even he can join the hijinks, rather than act responsible, such as getting costumed up, along with everyone else, for a director's visit, once delaying the repair of a signal to go fishing, and once even playing ball with Dan indoors against Stacy's wishes.
- Team Dad: He also tends to be the voice of reason along with Mr. Conductor and Stacy and also frequently offers fatherly advice and support, as well as occasional discipline, to practically everyone at Shining Time Station.
- Token Minority: See "Native American" above.
- Voice of Reason:
- See "Team Dad" Above.
- Played straight in "Is Anyone There?" as he believes that Schemer is unprepared for his radio show, which is to be broadcast from the arcade. Sure enough, Billy is proven right, but he still feels sorry for Schemer when the show is cancelled as a result.
Matt Jones
Portrayed by: Jason Woliner
Stacy Jones' beloved nephew and Dan Jones' older cousin- Helping Hand: He is always happy to lend his aunt a helping hand at the station.
- Put on a Bus: He and Tanya only ever appeared in all of Season 1, the Christmas special and two episodes of Season 2.
Tanya Cupper
Portrayed by: Nicole Rochelle (credited as Nicole Leach)
Harry Cupper's grand-daughter, Kara Cupper's older cousin and Matt Jones' friend.- Put on a Bus: She and Matt only ever appeared in all of Season 1, the Christmas special and two episodes of Season 2.
Dan Jones
Portrayed by: Ari Magder
Stacy Jones' nephew and Matt Jones' younger cousin- Put on a Bus: Dan's final appearance was in "Second Chances" with the next special explaining his absence as him going away to summer camp.
- Shrinking Violet:
- During his debut in "Scare Dares", it's apparent that he is shy and takes up dares to try to prove that he is brave.
- In "Bully for Mr. Conductor", when Buster arrives at Shining Time, Dan is afraid of Buster until Mr. Conductor is threatened.
Kara Cupper
Portrayed by: Erica Luttrell
Harry Cupper's grand-daughter, Tanya Cupper's younger cousin and Dan Jones and Becky's friend.- Tomboy:
- During her debut in "Scare Dares", Kara is dressed as an engineer as she wants to follow in her grandfather's footsteps.
- However, when she gets older, her interests in railroading were replaced by music, as shown in "One of the Family".
Becky
Portrayed by: Danielle Marcot
- Only One Name: We never know Becky's surname.
- Ship Tease: She is one of the first friends Kit makes when the latter arrives at Shining Time Station. Since then, Becky has appeared more with Kit than Dan and Kara, so it's possible that she has a crush on Kit.
Regular Visitors
J.B. King, Esq.
Portrayed by: Mart Hulswitt
The superintendent of the Indian Valley Railroad.- Back Story: In the episode "All's Fair", it's revealed that when he was a very boy, he was lonely whilst waiting for his train to arrive at Shining Time Station and was whispered comforting words by one of the Conductor Family.
- Benevolent Boss: Although very strict, he can be pretty reasonable even when a few of Shining Time Station's shenanigans try his patience.
The Jukebox Band
A band of puppets who live in the jukebox in Schemer's arcade and play songs for nickels.
Tropes applying to the Band as a whole:
- Two Girls to a Team: Didi and Grace are the two female band members.
Tito Swing
Voiced By: Jonathan Freeman
The de-facto leader, master of keyboard instruments, and collector of the Jukebox's nickels.- Collector of the Strange: Downplayed. Tito collects the nickels that are put into the jukebox. While collecting coins is fairly normal, collecting those coins specifically can be considered strange.
- Gag Nose: His nose is gigantic.
- Money Fetish: His obsession with nickels rivals that of Schemer.
- Primary-Color Champion: His outfit consists of a blue jacket and pants, a red shirt, and a yellow necktie.
Tex and Rex
Voiced By: Wayne Wight (Tex, 1989), Alan Semok (Tex, 1990-1995), Craig Marin (Rex), Rory Dodd (singing)
Identical and inseparable twins who remain cowboys at heart, and the main guitarists.- Always Identical Twins: Tex and Rex not only look alike, but they also dress alike and play the same instrument.
- Identical Twin ID Tag: They have their names written on the brims of their hats.
- Theme Twin Naming: Their names both end with "ex".
Didi
Voiced by: Olga Marin, Ellen Germaine (singing)
The drummer.- Beehive Hairdo: She sports this kind of hairdo.
- Eyes Out of Sight: Her eyes are always covered by her bangs.
Grace Bass
Voiced by: Vaneese Thomas
The bass guitarist.- Meaningful Name: Her surname is "Bass" and she plays the bass guitar.
- Rhyming Names: Both her first and last name end in the "ace" sound.
- Token Minority: Subverted; she's the only African-American band member, but nothing is ever made of it.
JJ Silvers
Voiced by: Craig Marin
The derby-wearing, bespetacled manager and agent of the Jukebox Band.- Expy: Craig Marin based JJ on his favorite actors, Phil Silvers and Walter Matthau.
- Remember the New Guy?:
- He was originally part of the direct to videos, but he doesn't appear on the show until "Once Upon a Time", the first family special, and the other members of the Jukebox Band act as if he's always been a part of their lives.
