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TUGS: The Exhibition (previously known as The Star Tugs Company Ltd. & The Star Tugs Trust) are a group of enthusiasts who exhibit the original models, props and other related assets used during production of the 1980s TV series, TUGS.

They are based at the Midland Railway - Butterley in Derbyshire, England and have previously toured at various model exhibitions and heritage railways across the UK.

History[]

Beginnings (pre-2012):[]

TUGS, despite receiving praise for its storytelling, tone and production value, unfortunately suffered an unpleasant history. After TVS lost the franchise bid & the subsequent liquidation of Clearwater Features in 1990, TUGS disappeared from the British market. Following flops in other countries and issues with the copyright, TUGS would later fall into oblivion after the early 1990s.

Internet forums dedicated to TUGS were established, with fans fascinated by the production value of TUGS and the history behind the show. The whereabouts of the Star Tugs and Z-Stacks models had remained uncertain for years. Previous attempts by TUGS fans to track their location had proven unsuccessful.

A great majority of essential assets from TUGS had been kept by co-creator Robert D. Cardona in his storage unit at Shepperton Studios since the 1990s. This included the models, the master reels and assumingly much more. In 2010, Robert's storage unit was illegally emptied by the studio's higher ups, with everything ending up in a skip. A passing builder discovered the assets in the skip and put as many as the models as he could into his van. The models were severely damaged. Later on, the builder learned of a model-boat enthusiast on a TV advert named Richard and gave the models to him. Richard repaired the damages on the models until he sold them.

In mid-2012, some cases and containers were sold off on the online auction site, eBay UK. Upon further exploration, fans of TUGS discovered that they contained ocean buoys and faces of various characters from TUGS. In December of that year, the owner released pictures of more notable TUGS characters and props and put the items up for sale - this time being the models of the Star Tugs & Z-Stacks and other non-fleet characters. The euphoria surrounding the models resurfacing was huge amongst fans alike!

With the dismaying possibility of them being sold to different collectors across the world (and the likelihood they would never see the light of day yet again), a select group of fans (mostly associates of Sodor Island Fansite, a fan-site dedicated to Thomas & Friends) opened up a fundraiser and acted fast to purchase and acquire what models they could before it was too late…

The fundraiser was a success and the SiF group purchased 18 models of TUGS characters.

The Star Tugs Company (2013-2019)[]

The official handover of the models took place at a hotel in January 2013. Four months later, on 7th May, "The Star Tugs Trust" was officially launched. Plans and intentions for the models' well-being (as well as the trust's aims) were thoroughly discussed. Later that year, the original name "The Star Tugs Trust" was changed to "The Star Tugs Company Ltd." for copyright reasons.

The first outing on the 22nd May 2013 was very simple, with O.J.'s model in the Lakesider 3 guise displayed publicly with Thomas and Friends merchandise. The first official outing for the company was on the 8th-9th March 2014 at the Battlefield Railway. From 17th January to 16th February 2014, The Star Tugs Company ran a "KickStarter" campaign to raise money, in order to refurbish the eighteen TUGS models. The Midland Railway Centre let them have use of a British Railways MK1 railway coach, No. 80590, to set up a permanent exhibition at the railway. At its first 25th anniversary event at Battlefield Railway in March 2014, The Star Tugs Company had succeeded in raising funds of £11,350 with 79 people who had helped along the way.

Since then, the coach has been through several updates and changes: it was originally painted green on one side, and had isolated electrical power for different functions. In 2016, the interior was renovated with specially-built cabinets with perspex glass (for the models to sit behind), UV protection and temperature control and security features. In 2019, the entire coach was completely overhauled in time for the TUGS' 30th anniversary celebrations, receiving a new "Midland Red" livery, new interior paint, LED lighting and additional display cabinets.

TUGS: The Exhibition (2020-present)[]

On 15th March 2020, the Trust confirmed the exhibition had undergone a complete rebrand, officially changing the name to TUGS: The Exhibition to bring more prominence and exposure to the TV series that the models were from.

On 22nd June 2020, it was announced that the static exhibition for the group would remain closed for the remainder of 2020 due to the lack of financial and practical support that resulted from the global COVID-19 pandemic. However, the trust assured that the exhibition would continue operating and that touring events would resume in 2021. On 28th June, the group held their first-ever Q&A session via their Facebook page to answer questions relating to the Exhibition and about their future plans. This Q&A has been deleted for unknown reasons.

In June 2020, the Trust mentioned in their statement hopes of running 2021 events in the North and South of England, as well as their annual August event at the Midland Railway - Butterley. However, these were presumably cancelled due to the national restrictions still in place in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

From 28th to 30th August, the Trust held their first Clearwater event, with another event due to take place on 23rd October.

In March 2022, the Trust announced that they had been the first group to be officially licensed by rights holders, BMG Rights Management, following the successful reconciliation of the rights to the series.

Assets[]

(* Exclusive to Special Events)
(** Partially Exclusive to Special Events)

Models[]

Loaned[]

Buildings[]

  • LT Building - Was on loan from HiT Entertainment/Mattel Television for the "TUGS' 30th Anniversary" event.
  • One of the shack building - Was on loan from HiT Entertainment/Mattel Television for the second "Clearwater Weekend" on 28th August.

Other Props[]

  • Faces of:
  • Boomer's hat
  • O.J.'s wheelhouse and stack.
  • Prototype Lillie Lightship Facemasks
  • Wooden patterns for Vacuum-forming hats:
    • Big Mac
    • Top Hat
    • Warrior
    • Zak
    • Sea Rogue's Uncle
    • Boomer
    • Diesel Tug*
  • Multiple Resin Faces
  • The hull mould for the Naval Ship

In total, twenty models are currently owned.

Scripts[]

BTS Videos[]

Other Assets[]

  • 10+ pieces of Concept Art**
    • Many different versions of Ten Cents*
    • Top Hat*
    • Jimbo
    • Submarine
    • Fire Tug
    • Lightship
    • Bigg City Port
  • 100+ Production Photographs**
  • Production Sketches**
    • Ten Cents
    • Zorran
    • Zebedee
    • Zak
    • Zug
    • Izzy Gomez*
    • Diesel Tug*

Events[]

Past Events[]

(as The Star Tugs Company Ltd):[]

2013[]

  • 22nd May - The Battlefield Railway, Leicestershire, England, UK. Only O.J., in his current 'Lakesider III' guise. He was showcased along with a large collection of TUGS and Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends merchandise.
  • 21st November - Gloucester Docks Museum, Leicestershire, England, UK. Zug had an unplanned day out raising awareness of the trust and the TV show.

2014[]

  • 8th - 9th March - The Battlefield Railway, Leicestershire, UK. Launched the 25th Anniversary tour events, the trust took on its first official outing. A fundraising campaign (which ended successfully at a sum of £11,350) was organised to support the exhibition and future intentions for the models.
  • 17th - 18th May - Moira Canal, Leicestershire, UK. A different selection of the 18 models available would've been on display, and preview clips from the fan run "TUGS CGI" project, all part of the Moira Canal 14th annual festival.
  • 22nd June - Midland Railway Centre - Butterley Station, Nottinghamshire, England, UK. A different selection of the 18 models would be on display, with Tugs being on TV and included some merchandise to sell.
  • 11th July - The TUGS make it into the Model Boats Magazine once more in the August 2014 issue.
  • 12th July - Leadhills and Wanlockhead Railway - Leadhills, England, UK. This marked the first time that the Tugs models were on display in Scotland
  • 13th July - Midland Railway Centre - Butterley Station, Nottinghamshire, England, UK. The Star Tugs Exhibition will be open in this location.
  • 13th -14th September - Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial Life, Heritage Way, England, UK. This event featured the models Ten Cents, Sea Rogue and Zip. This will mark the last event held in Scotland for their tour before heading back home to the Midway Railway Exhibition.
  • 27th - 28th September - Midland Railway Centre - Butterley Station, Nottinghamshire, England, UK. This event celebrated the 25th anniversary since TUGS premiered. All 18 models were all on display, including "Phoenix", Sally Seaplane's spare model prop.

2015[]

  • 20th - 22nd February - Brighton Model World - Brighton Centre, Brighton, England, UK. Crew members including Jeremy King and Chris Tulloch attended and 100+ pictures (including production photos and concept art) were donated to the Exhibition to present to visitors.
  • 6th - 7th June - The Didcot Railway Centre, Oxfordshire, England, UK. All of the current models were on display over that weekend and a new variety of merchandising items were available for sale. Top Hat, Grampus and Sea Rogue's face masks were also on display, as was an unpainted copy of one of Zorran's face masks. Fire Tug was on display without a face.
  • 2nd August - Steam Tug Brent of 1945 - Maldon, England, UK. Four of the current TUGS models were on display alongside the model of Steam Tug Brent during the day.
  • 26th - 27th September - Midland Railway Centre - Butterley Station, Nottinghamshire, England, UK. This is the second big event like last year with the return of Boomer and the Top Props Co. as guest stars.

2016[]

  • 19th - 21st February - Brighton Model World - Brighton Centre, Brighton, UK. This is the Star Tug Company's second joint event with the Top Props Co.
  • 26th - 28th March - Midland Railway Centre - Butterley Station, Nottinghamshire, UK. All of the current models were on display at the refurbished exhibition coach, along with props and faces to celebrate the trust's second year at the railway since the exhibition coach's opening in March 2014.
  • 9th - 10th April - Tanfield Railway, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK.
  • 23rd - 24th April - Nene Valley Railway, Peterborough, UK.
  • 25th - 26th June - The Didcot Railway Centre, Oxfordshire, UK
  • 24th July - The TUGS Exhibition Coach was reopened at Midland Railway Centre - Butterley Station, Nottinghamshire, UK.
  • 27th - 29th August - Midland Railway Centre - Butterley Station, Nottinghamshire, UK.

2017[]

  • 15th - 17th April - Midland Railway Centre - Butterley Station, Nottinghamshire, UK.
  • 24th - 25th June - The Didcot Railway Centre, Oxfordshire, UK.
  • 24th - 25th June - North Weald Airfield, Essex, UK.
  • 26th - 28th August - The Bigg Weekend: Boats, Trains & a Sea Plane! (Sally Seaplane Reveal) - Midland Railway Centre - Butterley Station, Nottinghamshire, UK.

2018[]

  • 21st - 22nd April - Star Tugs Spring Spectacular - Midland Railway Centre - Butterley Station, Nottinghamshire, England, UK. (Previously named 'The Tornado & Tugs Weekend' - see Trivia.)
  • 14th - 15th July - Star Tugs At Didcot Railway Centre, Oxfordshire, England, UK.
  • 25th - 27th August - The Bigg Weekend - Midland Railway Centre, Butterley Station, Nottinghamshire, England, UK. This event celebrated the Trust's 5th anniversary as well as the beginning of the upcoming 30th anniversary of TUGS. All nineteen models from the exhibition were on display.
  • 10th November - VIP Exclusive Event: TUGS' 30th Anniversary - Midland Railway Centre, Butterley Station, Nottinghamshire, England, UK. This private event was exclusively held to a limited number of visitors to celebrate the unofficial anniversary date of TUGS (first episode was released on VHS in November 1988 prior to broadcasting on TV a year later). It was the first event see the LT Garage building set piece and the "Ocean Liner" from the show. As it was planned a surprise reveal for the guests, the latter model was carefully omitted from the details of event. Both props were used on-screen at Dockside scenes of the Thomas & Friends TV Series, between 1991 - 2008. Help and support was provided from Mattel Creations (now Mattel Television) & HiT Entertainment to allow the exhibitors to showcase these significant items. The first public-display of both props commenced from March 2019 at the Midland Railway - Butterley.

2019[]

  • 9th - 10th March - Teddies & TUGS - Midland Railway Centre - Swanwick Junction, Nottinghamshire, England, UK. First celebratory event for the official 30th anniversary of TUGS (first network broadcast date). Event took place inside the railwayman's church as the coach was under restoration. It marked the first of three things:
    • First public-display of the ocean liner model and the LT garage prop.
    • First public demonstration of tugs' operational wheelhouses and eye servos being fixed.
    • The restoration of Lillie Lightship's rotating lamp.
    • Ten Cent's Light was restored to working operation for a short period of time.
  • 13th - 14th April - Fire & Water - Avon Valley Railway - Bitton Station, Bitton, Bristol, England, UK.
  • 20th - 21st July - Great Western Stars! - The Didcot Railway Centre, Oxfordshire, England, UK.
  • 24th - 26th August - The Bigg Weekend! - Midland Railway Centre - Butterley Station, Nottinghamshire, England, UK. This event marks the penultimate TUGS 30th anniversary celebrations, with the exhibition coach given a brand-new livery and refurbished interior display. In addition to an evening event, a silent-bid style auction of two exclusive limited-edition "30th anniversary" t-shirts signed by Chris Tulloch was held, with the money raised from bids donated towards further updates and improvements of the Exhibition.

(as TUGS: The Exhibition):[]

2020[]

  • 15th March - Tugs & Teddies - Midland Railway Centre - Butterley Station, Nottinghamshire, England, UK. This event marked a change in the company's name, officially switching to "TUGS: The Exhibition" to associate and bring more prominence to the name of the 1980s TV series that the models were filmed in.

The remainder of 2020's events were cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic affecting the UK tourism and heritage railway sector, as well as how the Exhibition space could be operated under social-distancing measures.

2021[]

  • 28th-30th August - The Clearwater Weekend - Midland Railway Centre - Butterley Station, Nottinghamshire, England, UK. This event was in celebration of Clearwater Features' television series, Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends & TUGS. Props and production material were displayed, through in terms of Thomas & Friends, many of the models came from eras after Clearwater Features had folded. Despite the name, most of the Thomas & Friends assets in the public event came from eras after Clearwater's liquidation.
  • 23rd October - Midland Railway Centre - Butterley Station, Nottinghamshire, England, UK. Similar to the previous event, props and production material from Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends and TUGS were displayed. However, less TUGS models was displayed.

2022[]

  • 30th April-2th May - Tugs Exhibition Spring Event - Midland Railway Centre - Butterley Station, Nottinghamshire, England, UK.
  • 27th-28th August - Midland Railway Centre - Butterley Station, Nottinghamshire, England, UK. Similar to the previous two events, props and production material from Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends and TUGS were displayed.
  • 15th October - Midland Railway Centre -Butterley Station, Nottinghamshire, England, UK. A one day only event, that had a 4 pre-booked TUGS displays. Various production materials were on display such as scripts, props and video footage, which notably made it the first public appearance of the Sizzle Reel, Warrior Longest Day (20 minute cut) workprint and Trapped (15 minute cut) workprint. Similar to the previous event, props and production material from Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends and TUGS were displayed.

2023[]

  • 22nd April-23rd April - Tugs Exhibition Spring Event - Midland Railway Centre - Butterley Station, Nottinghamshire, England, UK.
  • 30th September-1st October - Tugs Exhibition Autumn Event - Midland Railway Centre - Butterley Station and Swanwick Junction, Nottinghamshire, England, UK.

2024[]

List of Cancelled Events[]

There have been two cancelled/modified events the TUGS Exhibition have had since operating:

  • On 14th April 2018, during another railtour, the locomotive, No. 60163 "Tornado", that was to star alongside the Star Tugs Exhibition at the Midland Railway experienced mechanical problems. Whilst the engine was under repair, "The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust" postponed Tornado's visit to the railway, effectively cancelling the proposed "Tornado & Tugs" event. Despite this setback, The Star Tugs Trust carried on to host the planned exhibition on the set date of 21st-22nd April, altering the title to "Star Tugs Spring Spectacular" instead.
  • On 1st June 2020, the Trust announced the cancellation of their 29th-30th August 'Victorian Tugs' event that year at the Midland Railway - Butterley due to the coronavirus pandemic affecting the UK tourism and heritage railway sector. It was further explained that the logistics of maintaining social-distancing guidelines in the Exhibition space for visitors and staff was infeasible to achieve safely. 'Victorian Tugs 2020' would have been their last event of 2020.

Controversy[]

The Exhibition team has been criticized for the behaviour of its members, making a majority of the production material they receive private, attempts to spread misinformation in an attempt keep any new information about the series under wraps, and their treatment of the models.

The models owned by the Exhibition are often treated poorly due to being placed in unsuitable environments (exposed to elements, in the snow, next to operating locomotives, on a quayside and putting Zip in front of a locomotive's lit firebox). They have also casted screen-used props, such as face masks, to make additional faces. These would often lead to damage and paint chipping off. These are the following damages done to the models:

  • The eagle on Hercules' cap has one of its wings broken off. This was repaired in 2021.
  • Paint on Ten Cents and Zip's face have chipped and peeled from time in the snow, heat, transferring and casting. In 2021, Ten Cents was fitted with a custom facemask, 3D-printed Stars on his stack, new vents and his hull was repainted.
  • In 2014, Sea Rogue’s left nameplate and stern text were torn off. Though the stern text was replaced with a computer printed decal, the nameplate wasn’t. Since then, it was left unrepaired to showcase how Sea Rogue’s model was also used for Bluenose, whose left nameplate was revealed to be underneath Sea Rogue's.
  • Zug's spotlight had been broken off since 2019.
  • Zip was set in front of a locomotive's lit firebox.
  • Upon restoring the eye and head mechanisms to operation in 2019, The Exhibition has allowed visitors the chance to pay to control the eyes and wheelhouses of the tugs. During such operation, eye mechanisms have jammed and rotated past their intended limit. Ten Cents' Light was also operational for a brief period of time in 2021 during the Clearwater Exhibition.
  • In 2021, The Fire Tug's face mask's paint was seen chipping and peeling off.

Trivia[]

  • The exhibition space that houses the models and props is British Railways Mk1 Brake Gangwayed coach, No. 80590. Historically well-known for their versatility (the Midland Railway previously using 80590 as a stores vehicle), the company renovated the coach as a suitable place to display the models to the public.
  • The group intends to invest in a "Bigg City" Diorama in the future, which will be an interactive display for events.
  • On February 19th 2024, the group announced a TUGS Sunshine Gift Set that includes the original 15 minute cut of the episode Sunshine and the accompanying production script. It will also include a four page DVD insert with behind the scenes photos taken during the production of the episode. This set is limited to 150 copies
  • The TUGS Exhibition plans to make replicas of the original models for multiple purposes.
  • In 2018, the Trust acquired the original LT garage prop and the ocean liner that resembled the Duchess/Princess Alice/S.S. Vienna ships. Both were created and used in TUGS and (since 2019) are on public display. The props are currently on loan from HiT Entertainment/Mattel Television who granted permission to display them at the Star Tugs Exhibition.
  • Boomer's face mask was moulded onto his model. They only found one piece of his actual original face. It is unknown which face it belongs to. Nobody knows if any of his original faces still exist.
  • A company called the 'Star Tug & Marine Company Ltd.' (a reference to the official name of the protagonist fleet in the show) was the official name for the Star Tugs Co from 2013. Whilst the Star Tugs Company have re-established themselves by their known name, 'Star Tug & Marine Company Ltd.' was still in existence but lay dormant. It was eventually struck off the Register of Companies and dissolved on 18th February 2020.
  • Ten Cents' Light was operational for a brief period of time, before eventually fizzling out.

Links[]

The following are links to various TUGS Exhibition websites:

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