The original logo of the series
Trains with Faces (often abbreviated to it's acronym of TWF), was a Thomas & Friends fan web-series created by a now-defunct YouTube channel called HeyHeyIt’sMaymay
. It started in September of 2019 and ran for 4 episodes until it was cancelled in April 2020, with Maymay leaving the Thomas fanbase. In 2023, they returned to YouTube and are now working on a comic called Thomas Beyond.The series (while mostly comedic at face-value) contained an underlying, overarching narrative and was intentionally vague, opting to explain it’s complex lore through cryptic ciphers, hidden messages, and visual clues sprinkled throughout it’s production. It in many ways contains elements associated with Analog Horror and Dark Fic-type productions, and is heavily considered to be an Alternate Reality Game or ''ARG'' because of this.
This is a completely different interpretation of the Thomas universe, and it’s premise is very distinct. It’s 1995, and Gordon (having mysteriously returned after decades of being missing) has gone off the deep end, causing mayhem and blowing up engines on the railway. It’s up to Craig (this universe’s version of Devious Diesel) to try and uncover the truth as to what is happening, all while figuring out a way to stop Gordon dead in his tracks.
Not to be confused with ANOTHER horror ARG sharing the same acronym.
Trains With Faces provides examples of:
- Accidental Misnaming: despite Craig telling Toby that "Diesel" isn't his name, Toby doesn't understand and still calls him it.
- Adaptational Heroism: Craig is this universe's version of Diesel. Unlike his canon counterpart, he isn't evil though, he's actually quite laidback and polite, and even risks his life to try and stop Gordon in episode 4.
- Adaptational Villainy: Sir Topham Hatt, Salty, Duck, Gordon, and Thomas are all seemingly evil in this universe, or at the very least do extremely horrible things and give off bad vibes because of it.
- Adaptation Name Change: Diesel's name has been changed to Craig, and Diesel 10's new name is Richard.
- Adaptation Personality Change: Nearly every character's personality has changed drastically. Craig is now a lot more friendly and calm, Percy is completely insane, Toby has a southern accent, and S.C.Ruffey is now a mob boss.
- Affectionate Parody: Despite how drastically different and crazy the TWF universe is, it’s very clear Maymay made it out of love for Thomas and is a fan of the show.
- Alternate Universe Fic: The series takes place in a drastically different universe to the Thomas timeline. For instance, most of the characters' personalities are changed, Thomas himself is nowhere to be seen, and the trucks have formed a Mafia-like alliance, just to name a few things.
- Anti-Climax: The series ends rather abruptly with Trains With Faces 4. This is mainly because this was meant to be the end of season 1, with seasons 2 and 3 being cancelled.
- Art Shift: The thumbnail for the series shows Craig with an animated face, but in the original series there is none whatsoever. The theme song is also completely animated.
- Bait-and-Switch: This happens a lot of times in the series. The deadliest and most evil engine, Diesel 10 (now named Richaurd), is just a funny comic relief engine in this series. This also applies to Salty the Dockyard Diesel working in the scrapyards, rather than Brendam Docks.
- Berserk Button: Whenever someone refers to Craig as “Diesel” it typically doesn’t end well.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Percy sometimes gets incredibly violent. His Rage-Breaking Point is somewhat small.
- Big Bad: Professional Killer Gordon the Big Engine.
- Chase Scene: Craig ends up chasing Gorddon at the end of episode 4.
- Characters Dropping Like Flies: A LOT of characters die or get severely injured. Specifically S.C.Ruffey, Stanley, Mavis, Richard, Annie, Clarabel, and Craig.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Several engines. Donald or Douglas were shown in the Season 1 Opening, but never speak. Salty was supposed to appear in Season 2 as a villain. Duck appeared in Season 1 briefly and he apparently was supposed to be a lot more significant. Sadly, we never got to see these characters in action due to the series being [[Main/Cancellation cancelled]] by Maymay.
- Dark Fic: This series is without a doubt much more darker than it's source material. Characters swear, violence occurs, and a lot of more intense events unfold.
- Deep South: Toby constantly speaks with this accent.
- Flash Back: As Toby tells everyone about who Gordon is, a flashback of Gordon is shown in black and white.
- Game of Chicken: During the chase in the final episode, Gordon ends up on the same track as James. Instead of slowing down to avoid a crash, he proceeds to speed up at the mere sight of him.
- Heroic Sacrifice: During the final episode, Craig ends up crashing down a hill alongside Gordon, technically stopping him at the cost of his life.
- Hidden Agenda Villain:
- Sir Topham Hatt is Ambiguously Evil, while he seems to be on the same side as the main characters in season 1, his true intentions are still unclear.
- A set of glowing green eyes has appeared a few times throughout the series. It's heavily implied that this individual is the one pulling all the strings, and is responsible for sending Gordon to attack the railway. It was later revealed that the identity of this character is none other than Thomas the Tank Engine himself.
- I'm Okay!: Stanley shouts this after crashing... only for him to immediately fall over.
- Jump Scare: Henry screaming while in the tunnel and Craig’s nightmare in TWF 4 both have jumpscares.
- Killer Robot: The Gordon that attacks everyone is likely a robot clone.
- The Mafia: The Troublesome Trucks formed an alliance, similar in style to a mafia, with S.C.Ruffey as their mob boss. At least until Gordon killed him in episode 4, then the trucks became a bit lost.
- Non-Fatal Explosions: Percy and Craig somehow survive getting blown up (Although Percy claims it DID hurt).
- Plot Armor: Craig survives an explosion... twice?
- Revenge Is Not Justice: Toby's mindset on Gordon. This starts a conflict between him and Craig in episode 4.
- Sound-Effect Bleep: All the swear words is censored wit bleeps.
- Stuff Blowing Up: Gordon ends up blowing up a LOT of things...
- Tailor-Made Prison: Henry has been locked up in a tunnel, constantly screaming.
- The Reveal:
- It was eventually revealed in a livestream that all of the engines are actually robots, every single one. Even Gordon, who seems to have been reprogrammed to carry out all the attacks in the first 4 episodes of the show.
- Thomas was the main antagonist all along, and is a Fallen Hero. He was once optimistic and cheerful, but went completely insane after learning he was nothing more than an animatronic robot. This might possibly explain his motivation for wanting to destroy the railway, as a form of revenge against Sir Topham Hatt.
- Willfully Weak: Gordon doesn't go at his maximum speed during the chase to avoid derailing on the curves. This gives Craig a chance to catch up to him.
