20 Thomas & Friends Coloring Pages | Free Printables

This collection of 20 thomas and friends coloring pages invites you to explore the charming world of Sodor, bringing beloved engines and scenes to life with your own creative touch. Whether you’re a long-time fan or just discovering the magic of the railway, these printable coloring sheets offer detailed designs and practical coloring advice for every enthusiast.

This extensive collection of thomas and friends coloring pages features the entire Sodor railway family in a variety of heartwarming and exciting scenarios. From bustling stations to serene countryside, and even festive celebrations, these designs showcase the unique personalities and adventures that make Thomas and Friends so special. We’ve compiled specific coloring guidance and fun facts to help you make each printable train engine coloring page truly shine.

Thomas and Friends Coloring Pages: Character Spotlights

Thomas the Tank Engine

Thomas, the cheeky blue engine with a number 1 on his side, is the most famous engine on Sodor. He’s known for his eagerness to explore and his kind heart, though he sometimes gets into scrapes. The original Railway Series books by Rev. W. Awdry actually describe Thomas as a tank engine based on the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway E2 class.

For Thomas, you’ll need a vibrant sky blue for his main body, a bright red for his lining, and shiny gold for his dome and whistle. His buffers are typically black with a touch of silver or light grey. With colored pencils, try layering a slightly darker blue in areas that would be in shadow, like under his running board or inside his cab, to give him a three-dimensional effect. These thomas and friends coloring pages feature Thomas in designs #1, #6, #12, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, and #20.

Percy the Small Engine

Percy is a cheerful little green saddle tank engine, often seen delivering the mail. He’s Thomas’s best friend and loves a good joke, though he can be a bit naive. His number is 6. Percy’s design is inspired by the Avonside 0-4-0ST steam locomotive, a common type of shunting engine.

To color Percy, use a bright apple green for his body, with a contrasting scarlet red for his lining and buffer beams. His dome is typically brass, so a golden yellow or metallic gold crayon would work well. For the plumes of steam or splashes of water around him, as seen in design #2, use light grey or white with very subtle blue tints to suggest movement and transparency. You can find Percy in designs #2, #6, #13, and #17 of these thomas and friends coloring pages.

James the Red Engine

James is a splendid red tender engine with a brass dome and a strong sense of his own importance. He’s very proud of his shiny red paintwork and worries about getting dirty. His number is 5. James was originally built as a 2-6-0 ‘Mogul’ tender engine, and his design has evolved slightly over the years in the Railway Series.

Achieving a truly gleaming finish for James’s red paint, especially in designs like #3 and #14, requires smooth, even strokes. If using crayons, press firmly and in one direction to minimize streaking, then use a white crayon or a colorless blender over the red for extra shine. Don’t forget the gold for his dome and black for his wheels and boiler bands. These thomas and friends characters coloring pages feature James in designs #3, #14, and #17.

Gordon the Big Engine

Gordon is the biggest and fastest engine on Sodor, pulling the express coaches with immense power. He can be pompous, but he’s also a kind and loyal friend when it matters most. He is a 4-6-2 ‘Pacific’ type locomotive, a powerful design built for speed and heavy loads. You can learn more about different types of steam locomotives on Wikipedia, for instance, the Pacific type.

For Gordon, a deep, royal blue is essential for his main body, complemented by a bright red lining and number 4. His dome, like James’s, is usually a polished brass, so aim for a rich gold color. When coloring scenes like design #4, where Gordon is speeding across a viaduct, use markers for bold, consistent color on his large body, then switch to colored pencils for the intricate details of the stone archway and the distant landscape. You’ll find gordon thomas and friends in designs #4 and #15.

Emily the Stirling Engine

Emily is a beautiful Stirling Single engine, known for her kindness and wisdom. She’s green with shiny brass fittings and is number 12. She was the first female engine to join the Steam Team and quickly became a beloved character, often offering advice or helping others. Her unique design is based on the famous Stirling Single locomotive from the Great Northern Railway.

Color Emily with a rich forest green for her boiler and tender, with black wheels and a striking bright red lining. Her most distinctive feature is her polished brass dome and safety valves, which should be colored with a metallic gold or a bright yellow-ochre crayon to stand out. When coloring her interacting with animals in design #5, pay attention to the gentle pastel shades for the rabbit, squirrel, and bird to create a soft, welcoming scene. Emily appears in designs #5 and #17 of these thomas and friends coloring pages.

Toby the Tram Engine

Toby is a wise and reliable tram engine, with a square shape and cowcatchers, making him look quite different from the other engines. He works on Thomas’s branch line and is number 7. Toby is based on the Great Eastern Railway Class J70 tram locomotives, which were designed to run on tramways and roads alongside people and animals.

To color Toby, use varying shades of warm brown for his wooden body and sideplates. A darker brown can be used for the panels, with a lighter, more reddish brown for the main sections. His roof is usually black, and his cowcatchers and buffers are also black. When coloring design #7, which shows Toby in a bustling marketplace, use a mix of light and dark browns to create texture, and add vibrant, diverse colors to the market stalls and people in the background to bring the scene to life.

Edward the Blue Engine

Edward is one of the oldest and wisest engines on Sodor, a kind and patient tender engine with a number 2. He’s always ready to help and offer advice, often acting as a mentor to the younger, more boastful engines. Edward is a 4-4-0 tender engine, a design that was very common in the early days of steam railways for passenger service.

Edward’s livery is a slightly lighter, gentler blue than Gordon’s, still with red lining and a black boiler band. For his tender, use the same blue and red. When coloring Edward patiently pushing Troublesome Trucks in design #8, use the light blue for Edward, and then a mix of grays, browns, and rusty oranges for the mischievous Troublesome Trucks to show their varied and sometimes worn appearance. These printable train engine coloring pages capture Edward in design #8.

Henry the Big Green Engine

Henry is a long, green tender engine with a number 3, known for his strength but also for being a bit sickly in his early days. He loves pulling long express trains or heavy goods trains. Henry’s original design was famously too long for the standard workshops, leading to unique construction challenges in the Railway Series.

Color Henry with a deep, rich emerald green for his main body, accented by bright red lining. His dome is typically brass, so use a shiny gold or bright yellow. When coloring Henry in the serene forest clearing in design #9, use various shades of green for the trees and foliage, and incorporate earthy browns for the ground and tree trunks. Markers can give a bold, consistent green for Henry, while colored pencils can add detail to the forest textures. Henry is featured in design #9.

Nia the Orange Engine

Nia is a kind, resourceful, and adventurous tank engine from Kenya, number 18. She brings new perspectives and stories to Sodor, and is known for her vibrant, colorful patterns. Nia is a tank engine, making her versatile for different tasks.

Nia’s colors are distinctive: a bright orange for her main body, with yellow, blue, and red decorative patterns along her sides and cab. Her wheels are often dark grey or black. For design #10, which shows Nia pulling cargo past a lighthouse, use crayons to get a bold, even orange for her, then switch to fine-tipped markers or colored pencils for her intricate patterns. The lighthouse can be white and red, while the cargo containers offer a chance to use many different bright colors.

Rebecca the Yellow Engine

Rebecca is a kind and cheerful yellow engine, number 22, based on the Southern Railway’s West Country class ‘Pacific’ locomotive. She’s known for her positive attitude and always seeing the best in others, and she loves pulling passenger trains.

Rebecca’s primary color is a sunny yellow, with bright red wheels and red lining details. Her dome and boiler bands can be black or a darker grey. When coloring Rebecca carrying happy children in design #11, use a light, cheerful yellow for her body. For the balloons tied to her coaches, experiment with a rainbow of bright, celebratory colors, and use varied skin tones and clothing colors for the children to add to the joyful atmosphere.

The Fat Controller (Sir Topham Hatt)

Sir Topham Hatt, affectionately known as The Fat Controller, is the stern but fair manager of the North Western Railway. He ensures all the engines are “Really Useful Engines” and keeps the railway running smoothly. His iconic look is instantly recognizable.

The Fat Controller typically wears a dark blue suit, a yellow waistcoat (vest), a red tie, and a black top hat. His skin tone is a warm peach or light tan. For design #16, use a dark blue marker for his suit to achieve a crisp, authoritative look. Then, use colored pencils for his face and hands, allowing for gentle shading and precise details like his cheerful wave. These thomas and friends coloring pages designs include The Fat Controller in design #16.

Bringing Your Sodor Stories to Life

Once you’ve finished coloring your favorite thomas the train coloring page designs, don’t just put them away! You can create your own Sodor railway diorama. Cut out your colored engines and buildings, then glue them onto a large piece of cardboard or poster board that you’ve colored to look like the Sodor landscape with green hills, blue rivers, and brown tracks. This allows you to arrange your engines in different scenes and tell new stories with your very own thomas and friends characters coloring collection.

You could also use your finished children’s railway coloring pages to design custom story cards. For each engine, write a short adventure on the back of the colored page, describing what they are doing in the scene. Then, shuffle your cards and pick a few to create a unique railway story, using the images as visual prompts.

This collection of 20 thomas and friends coloring pages offers a wonderful journey through the Island of Sodor. We hope these tips help you create your own magnificent railway scenes.