a pilot for a television series, and in a joint partnership between her production company (known as The Britt Allcroft Company) and Clearwater Features, they made Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends between 1984 and 2003. On 1 January 1991, Clearwater Features became part of The Britt Allcroft Company, and in 2002, HiT Entertainment bought out Allcroft and retitled the programme Thomas & Friends. Mitton directed 180 out of 182 episodes of the seven series made between 1984 and 2003, as well as writing the scripts once the original stories had been filmed. Mitton was able to move each engine's eyes in real time – not stop-frame animation– by using a radio control linked to a motor mounted behind them, and there was a sculpted mask that could be changed to give different facial expressions. The role of the narrator was played by Ringo Starr for the first two series in the United Kingdom and the first series in the United States. Ringo Starr was replaced by Michael Angelis in the United Kingdom and George Carlin in the United States. The show became an instant success on British television, and in 1989, Allcroft helped created Shining Time Station (1989–1995) in the United States on the Public Broadcasting Service. Because of the sequences that introduced the stories from Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends to American audiences, Shining Time Station became a successful television show. Merchandise for Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends had been available before the television programme, but the programme created a new multimillion-pound industry and became an unstoppable phenomenon which could be seen in 145 countries worldwide.Thomas & Friends also inspired a 2000 feature film, called Thomas and the Magic Railroad. Mitton was a creative consultant for the models used in the film. Mitton left following the completion of the Series 7 of Thomas & Friends. Following Mitton's departure, crew member Steve Asquith took his place as director from Series 8 to Series 12. Other projects In 1989, inspired by the success of Thomas & Friends, Mitton and his new company, Clearwater Features, produced a new children's television series called TUGS, which lasted for thirteen episodes. The episodes were reformatted to American television for a show called Salty's Lighthouse by Robert D. Cardona. TUGS remains popular online and has an exhibition at the Midland Railway which preserves concept art, extended episode cuts, and the original models. In