#chuggington: tales from the rails

[masterj]

i'm kinda new to the chuggington fandom. i used to own the episodes on dvd but idk where they went. anyway! I figured it'd be cool to hear the thoughts of someone invested in the show, to get a new perspective on it, so i myself could become more invested! do you have any thoughts you'd share to an amateur train appreciator??

OMGOSH 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀WELCOME ABOARD!!!!! 🚅🚄🚈🚃🚂🚂🚂😄😄😄

I've been into the show since 2011-2012 I think... pretty sure before Cars 2 came out- or maybe after... memory's a bit rough in that area. I was first exposed to the show by my younger cousin who watched it on Disney Junior, or at the time, Playhouse Disney, and also had the DVD Let's Ride The Rails, which I now own, playing in my auntie's van one morning on our way to school. I would later track down Disney Junior myself to find the show.

It was pretty much the main reason I've hung around Disney Junior. As a kid who loved trains because of already being a Thomas The Tank Engine fan, it just to captured my interest so quickly and I was hooked.

I'd say the characters and designs are mostly what I love about Chuggington. While there aren't really antagonists in the show they all have their own quirks and distinction from each other which balances it out well.

Wilson is both my favorite to draw and favorite overall. While I haven't gotten to making my own scripts for my planned fanseries yet, his ADHD personality is just pure spirit animal energy when I look at how he's characterized by the show and by myself. I also relate to him to an extent in some areas. He's practically my son lol

The episodes are mostly well written, and miles better than Thomas was at the time... (*COUGH* SHARON MILLER *COUGH*)

Chris McHale's music for the show some of the most unique I've ever heard and the fact we don't have more of the show's score available in high quality than we do is a crime.

Production slowly went to hell since Season 3 onwards, due to investors pulling out for unknown reasons, resulting in S3 being cut from 26 to 14 episodes, Season 4 being rushed and strictly formulated towards the advanced training agenda, (but the episodes were not by any means terrible) and S5, while better than S4, was entirely funded by TOMY resulting in only 10 episodes. After that, Ludorum Entertainment was on the verge of bankruptcy resulting in the show being on hiatus for five years until Herschend Entertainment purchased them, but things weren't that much better.

Season 6 or Tales From The Rails is sadly where Chuggington truly dropped in quality due to Herschend's low budget and their inexperience with the show. Many characters and locations were written off and a number of the voice actor recasts were not too great. Not to mention occasional mischaracterization (mostly Brewster), continuity errors and overall rather shifty writing quality. The merchandise also plummeted in quality and the pandemic caused several delays, and this whole disaster ultimately led to Season 7 being cancelled as of November last year... 😔

While Season 6 was a failed comeback and is NOT fit to be regarded as canon to the first 5 seasons, it still has a decent number of episodes that are good to okay enough at best, and I do plan on rewriting the misfires of season 6 at some point.

Despite all the hardship this show faced, production, performance, and reception-wise, Chuggington is still very much an enjoyable and mostly solid series. I commend both Ludorum and Herschend for not going down without a fair fight and I've very much grown to love the show just as much as Thomas.

To the point where Thomas content is not my top priority anymore and hasn't been for some time now, seeing as thousands of people do Thomas content already while Chuggington content is very scarce and slow going, even with more people finally appreciating and warming up to it, since there's far worse out there nowadays... media ain't what it used to be so good f---ing luck... 😑

With all the moping and mourning aside, thank you so much for joining us, you don't know how much it means to me to have another person hyperfixating on this underated and criminally disregarded series, but it's important to remember that you don't choose the hyperfixation. The hyperfixation chooses you >:3

I am an artist, editor and headcanon writer, and slowly pushing to write up my own fanseries which takes place after S5, and I even have my own roster of original characters and locations in progress, one OC I've already revealed, and another that was actually created by a Tumblr buddy of mine, @lomotunes2008.

So make sure you follow my art account, @masterjarthub - with notifications on, cuz I may pump out surprises over there!

But for until then, welcome to The Chugger Cult! 🚂🚄🚅🚈😄😄😎😎

Enjoy your stay. 😊

[masterjarthub]

Been thinking about Mtambo recently and his worldwide travels before coming to Chuggington as mentioned in Season 1:

Mtambo in his early days would travel around the world to many places - from Zimbabwe to Antarctica.[1] During his travels on safari, he once came nose to nose with a rhinoceros that began to charge, but Mtambo honked his horn so loud it ran away. Deep in the jungle, Mtambo raced a jaguar, and it ran out of breath before he did. There was also a time he was lost in the desert, and along came a camel that guided him out.[2] - Chuggington Wiki

I realized I could get a few flashback episodes out of this for my fanseries. Mtambo would tell these stories to Astra, who is of course new in Chuggington and hasn't heard these yet.

The same could work for Piper, as in Season 6 we see her become a more common chugger at the safari park and even helps Mtambo from time to time. (Ex: S6E13: Piperactive, S6E43: The Record Breakers)

And if you read my headcanon for Rosa, this is build-up to her becoming Mtambo's apprentice at the Safari Park when she moves up in training.

What do you guys think?

[masterj]

He's one of my favorites too XD

Jee Hodge how come Chuggington gave you all the best moments?

[pastelicmelodydreamic]

"chuggington! clickerty clack"

ahh chuggington my childhood i saw this on disney junior japan and youtube for the english dub

i only included the trainees im not sure if i would do the other chuggers or not

wilson is a cute idol and his perfered brand is dreamy crown

brewster is a cool idol and his perfered brand is luna witch

koko is a pop idol and her perfered brand is colourful shake

hoot and toot are pop idols and their perfered brands are happy rainbow

piper is a cool idol and her perfered brand is colorful material

by the way i also included tai from tales from the rails her perfered brand is silky ocean

[disneyschedules]

Disney Junior's schedule for November 1-7.

There are Elena of Avalor and Vampirina episodes for Dia de Los Muertos/Day of the Dead. A Week of Mira Royal Detective to celebrate Diwali with a new episode on Monday. There are also new Chuggington: Tales from the Rails, and Puppy Dog Pals.

[jaketrains]

Jake & Friends: Saturday August 13 2022-Wednesday September 7 2022

7:00am Bob the Builder: Reboot Series/Wild Kratts/Fireman Sam/Jake & Friends: Movies

7:30am Dinosaur Train/Bob the Builder: Reboot Series/Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go!/Jake & Friends: Movies

8:00am Dinosaur Train

8:30am Dinosaur Train

9:00am Dinosaur Train/Blaze and the Monster Machines/Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go

9:30am PAW Patrol/Jake & Friends: Movies

10:00am PAW Patrol/Bob the Builder: Reboot Series/Blue’s Clues & You!/Chuggington: Tales From the Rails

10:30am PAW Patrol/Wild Kratts/Jake & Friends: Movies

11:00am Wild Kratts/Fireman Sam/Santiago of the Seas/Dinosaur Train

11:30am Wild Kratts/Dinosaur Train/Blaze and the Monster Machines/Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go/Jake & Friends: Movies

12:00pm Wild Kratts/Bob the Builder: Reboot Series/Dinosaur Train/Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go

12:30pm Wild Kratts/Fireman Sam/Dinosaur Train/Jake & Friends: Movies

[downthetubes]

Signature announces Adventures with... Chuggington special

Signature announces Adventures with… Chuggington special

Signature Publishing is to launch a Chuggington-themed magazine later this month, the latest issue in its ADVENTURES WITH series aimed at pre-schoolers. The magazine has been produced in tandem with Herschend Entertainment Studios, the licence-holder for the popular train-based animated show, tying in with Chuggington: Tales from the Rails, airing on CBeebies and iPlayer, and the toy range,…

[masterjarthub]

Chuggington Headcanon: Rosa

Tonight, we'll be talking about Rosa, the Spanish crane chugger introduced in the 6th season episode "Not From Around Here" where she moves to Chuggington from her home of San Locomota, to try and find jobs that utilize her to her full potential, and in the end, she is recruited by Zack as part of the Chuggineers.

In my headcanon, Rosa never joined the Chuggineers.

The reasons for this is because with how many characters and locations were written off and Herschend's rather mixed writing quality and their overall depiction of the world of Chuggington, (I'm not normally much of the reviewer type, but that elephant in the room shall be covered some other time) It really feels like they were hastily scraping the bottom of the barrel with the choice of having Rosa join the Chuggineers...

Another thing to note:

Notice how the Chuggineers all match each other, Zack, Fletch and Tyne all have matching stripes and certain parts. Even Brewster has the Chuggineer attire to some degree, but Rosa does not. She still wears that brightly colored Carribean styled paint job.

Some of you fellow Chuggington fans who have been around a hot minute on the internet may remember user TranquilSkies, or on here, @chuggingtonfanatic , who is no longer active in the Chuggington fanbase as far as I'm aware, but around the time of S6, she used to write some headcanons for Chuggington herself, and I was greatly inspired.

In her headcanons for the Chuggineers, she mentions that Rosa turns down the Chuggineer livery in favor of her own, due to her still being very attached to her homeland. I very much see this being canon and while I agree that Rosa would have good character dynamics with the Chuggineers, having her part of this team just felt kinda forced and doesn't exactly sit right with me, especially since Fletch and Tyne were two of the characters cut from S6 and Rosa pretty much replaces them...

Now, I DO NOT mean to say this out of bias in any kind of offense, but I'm sorry- I... I just can't get over how trippy this feels... They did Fletch and Tyne dirty...

So now, this begs the question: If I am not having Rosa become part of The Chuggineers, what is her new job in Chuggington? Where will she go?

Well recently, I finally found the answer: An underused character, and an EXTREMELY underused location, both of which were ALSO absent from S6...

...Yeah, I think it's already safe to say I'm gonna have to post a re-write of "Not From Around Here" someday, as well as the other misfires from S6, but anyway, here's what happens:

In this re-write, the episode plays out mostly the same, albiet with more characters of course.

After caring passengers with Koko, Wilson, on his way to deliver extra safety barriers, shows Rosa the quarry of Rocky Ridge where Speedy is working, and she helps him with his work. After deciding hauling heavy stone is not for her, Brewster meets up with Rosa and asks for her help; The Chuggineers are repairing a wooden bridge in the countryside and need some timber, so Rosa offers to pick some up from The Timber Yard while Brewster is busy collecting ballast.

Little did she know, she would not only encounter a familiar face on the way, but a VERY close call as well...

As Rosa heads down from the quarry after getting directions to the Timber Yard from Brewster, she comes across Rocky Ridge Rickety Bridge, which is just before the quarry.

Speedy was coming out of the mine and crossing the old bridge with loaded hopper cars. Then there was trouble...

The weight of Speedy and his heavy stone cars made the old bridge sag and creak, and only after he made it safely across, a chunk of the bridge snapped off with a CRACK, about to crash down on another chugger!

Rosa rushed in and caught the falling wooden beams just in time. But when she saw who exactly the chugger she saved was, she could not believe her eyes...

The chugger was none other than Skylar, whose model was reused for Rosa. Although we've known him since the 3rd season, he unfortunately did not get much focus due to the advanced training update in S4-S5 before he was written out. Regardless, he and Rosa are indeed siblings.

Thankfully, Skylar was not hurt, and he and Rosa were very happy to be reunited after so many years. Skylar did live in San Locomota with Rosa for a period of time before going of to The Training Academy in Tootington, to pursue his career of becoming a trainer.

By this point in the show, the trainees of Chuggington would become less dependent of both Dunbar and Skylar as their trainers.

As we know, Wilson, Brewster and Koko have well already joined Chug Patrol, The Chuggineers, and Speed Fleet, respectively, and Hoot and Toot are recently promoted to advanced training as shunting engines in The Depot, giving Dunbar the extra set of wheels he needed. Even little Piper would have completed the basics of training and find her own role in Chuggington becoming a frequent helper for Mtambo at The Safari Park.

With the younger trainees needing less and less lessons from Dunbar and Skylar, Their time would go completely into their work. Skylar became The Timber Yard's designated chugger, which would explain his semi-regular usage after S3, since The Timber Yard has not been seen at all since the first season.

Rosa and Skylar head off together to The Timber Yard and load up the timber to take to The Chuggineers. It is then Rosa finds that she really enjoys working there - loading and pulling logs was the perfect job for a crane chugger, and even better, she had her own long lost brother to share it with; she had found just the right job for her in Chuggington at last!

The two set of with the timber for not one, but now two bridges in need of repair, catching up and Rosa getting to know The Chuggineers for the rest of the day, which raps up the episode.

To this day, Rosa and Skylar work happily together at The Timber Yard, and while neither of them are part of The Chuggineers, they do help them out with certain construction jobs around Chuggington from time to time, and become very close friends indeed.

Although Rosa can be a little shy around those she's not too familiar with, it doesn't stop her from proudly sharing her heritage of San Locomota with all her fellow chuggers who welcomed her with open arms, and her experience and knowledge from navigating complicated routes to keeping loads even does wonders.

She wasn't sure at first, but while she is indeed still attached to San Locomota, she can now safely say that she is proud to call Chuggington her new home.

(Oh, and before we close off, I should also mention that Rosa and Skylar's close call with the bridge was also based one of TranquilSkies's headcanons, so credit to her)

[disneyschedules]

Disney Junior's schedule for October 25-31.

There's reruns of Elena of Avalor, Fancy Nancy, and Vampirina Halloween specials. The two Oddbods Halloween specials air on the channel once again.

There's also new Chuggington: Tales from the Rails, Dino Ranch, Mira Royal Detective, PJ Masks.

[disneyschedules]

Disney Junior's schedule for October 18-24.

New Chuggington: Tales from the Rails, Dino Ranch, Mira Royal Detective, Spidey and His Amazing Friends, and T.O.T.S.

[disneyschedules]

Disney Junior’s schedule for December 7-13. 

New Chuggington: Tales from the Rails, PJ Masks, Mickey Mouse Mixed- Up Adventures, and Bluey. Also, Holiday specials of Elena of Avalor return. 😃

[disneyschedules]

Disney Junior's schedule for March 8-14.

New Chuggington: Tales from the Rails, Gigantosaurus, Dino Ranch, PJ Masks, Muppet Babies, Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures, Bluey, T.O.T.S., and Fancy Nancy.

Daylight Saving Time begins on Sunday, March 14, so set your clocks forward 1 hour the night before.

[disneyschedules]

Disney Junior's schedule for October 26-November 1. 

New Chuggington: Tales from the Rails, and the Oddbods: Party Monsters special. Saturday, 10/31 (Halloween) has The Rocketeer Halloween special, Spookley the Square Pumpkin, and many more.

[disneyschedules]

Disney Junior's schedule for January 4-10. 

A lot of the Disney Junior shows will premiere on the channel instead of the programming block on Disney Channel. 

Monday, it's the Season 3 Premiere of Muppet Babies with a week of new episodes. T

There's also the Season 2 premiere of Gigantosaurus, and new Chuggington: Tales from the Rails, T.O.T.S., and Mira, RoyalDetective.   

[disneyschedules]

Disney Junior’s schedule for November 30-December 6. 

There are premieres of Piney: The Lonesome Pine, Doc McStuffins: The Doc Is In, and The Snowy Day. 

Also, Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas, and Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas are airing once again. 

Lastly, there’s also new Chuggington: Tales from the Rails, Fancy Nancy, Mira Royal Detective, Pikwik Pack, PJ Masks, Puppy Dog Pals, T.O.T.S., Vampirina. 

[disneyschedules]

Disney Junior’s schedule for August 3-9. 

Starting Monday, August 3, more reruns of T.O.T.S. now air every night from 10:35-11:30 PM as opposed to Weekends during that time, (or whenever it is on) replacing PJ Masks during that time on Weeknights. 

There’s also new Bluey, Chuggington: Tales from the Rails, Elena of Avalor, Muppet Babies, PJ Masks, and T.O.T.S..