WMG / Shining Time Station

Mr. Conductor is a Time Lord

Think about it: he has changed appearance at least once (twice if you factor for Thomas and the Magic Railroad), plus he regularly regales stories about a place where steam locomotives are still common, diesel engines are considered new-hat and Sodor is run by a man who clearly resembles a railway baron of the early 20th century.

• Let's not forget he took the kids back in time in the finale.
• And the Thomas stories happen completely out of order too. Example: Donald and Douglas were first seen in Thomas Comes To Breakfast, when their real debut was supposed to be Breakvan.

Shining Time Station is a stop on the Rainbow Line.

It's all there in the theme song. "Follow the rainbow"? "Your own imagination, waiting there for you"?

• Jossed. It's a stop on the Indian Valley Railroad.
  • Couldn't it be both?
    • No.
    • Yes.
    • Indian Valley Railroad = railroad company, Rainbow Line = subdivision/line/district of that company.

Jack Donaghy is the third Mr. Conductor.

The first Mr. Conductor had to leave the Shining Time Station due to an affair with the station's manager.

Height difference or not, we have a former Pink Lady and a former Beatle both working at the same station on a regular basis. It would only be a matter of time before Mr. Conductor's hat is hanging on the knob of one of Thomas's locked doors, as the poor train nearly rocks off of the rails, and someone triumphantly cries out, "I GOT BLISTERS ON MAH—" (Hre-hem.) Since there is probably a policy against fraternization among high-ranking train officials, one of them would naturally have to leave, after they're inevitably caught. Since Stacy's family has run this station for generations, Mr. Conductor wouldn't let her be the one to go. He choose to make his next post the North Pole, so he could get a cold shower.

• So what about the second Mr. Conductor, what got him replaced by the Mr. Conductor from Thomas and the Magic Railroad?
  • This: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4R9LqdGGac In short, Mr. Conductor II managed to keep a lid on his adult mouth for the first two years, but soon became too comfortable in his role, and old habits returned. The kids of course loved his new stories more than ever now, but their parents and their lawyers did not.

Mr. Conductor's Evil Twin was created because of George Carlin

Is it a coincidence that George Carlin got the Evil Twin, rather than Ringo Starr? Outside this show, Ringo was known as a Beatle—a family friendly enough household name. But if god forbid the kids should walk in on Mom and Dad watching the other Mr. Conductor's adult stand up shows, it would be very convenient if the kids already knew that Mr. Conductor had an "evil twin."

The first Mr. Conductor became the next Santa Claus

Let's say the one who was Santa for generations left his post thanks to the #MeToo movement ("I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" warned us about that) and Conductor Prime filled his shoes.

• Ringo did have an album titled "I Want to Be Santa Clause." Perhaps that was his application for the job position.

Mr. Conductor is Ringo Starr.

...and the Beatles movies are prequels to "Shining Time Station."

• The shrinking serum in Help! was habit forming, and Paul got Ringo hooked. This is how Ringo eventually wound up shrinking and staying shrunk.
• The hole he pocketed in Yellow Submarine is how he teleports; the sparkles are just an aesthetic effect he later added.
• He wears conductor-like hats at several points throughout the Beatles films, and even plays at being the captain of the Yellow Submarine at one brief point while borrowing Old Fred's hat
• He wears his trademark rings, star earring, and hippie ponytail as Mr. Conductor, and drums on the clock. He ain't even subtle about his identity!
• The aforementioned "I Want to be Santa Clause" album fits right in with his North Pole post.

The Isle Of Sodor is like Lilliput from Gulliver's Travels: everything is on a tiny scale, which is why Mr. Conductor is so small in "real life"

• On the Isle of Sodor, Mr. Conductor is the height of an average person, and all of the trains, buildings, etc. are scaled to fit him and other people his size.

Mr. Conductor #1's son is Mr. Conductor Jr

• Both Mr. Conductor #1 and Junior have UK-based accents and are part of the Conductor family, the possible theory that Mr. Conductor #1 is Junior's son is possibly why the latter was named "Mr. Conductor Jr".

The Northern Star from "'Tis a Gift" is The Polar Express

• Mr. Nicholas owns the train, so he knows when it will arrive to pick him up to bring him home. It will head out on it's official run later that night. Everyone at Shining Time who notices the train seems to be either a regular who is used to magical goings on, or is a kid, or both, which explains them perceiving it when I got the sense that most adults don't.

Barton Winslow is the twin brother of Doc from Fraggle Rock, separated at birth.

• Both are played by Gerard Parkes, after all. So it's not out of the possibility for STS to share the same universe as FR, which in turn is shared with the greater Muppetverse thanks to A Muppet Family Christmas.