''The Secret Railroad '' or ''Les Voyages du Tortillard '' in French, was a series produced by
Societe Radio-Canada of 52 (or possibly 61)
animated shorts made in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
,
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. Episodes last 5 minutes each.
It was originally recorded in English at Place D'Youville in Montreal then subsequently dubbed into French. It was produced by Peter Saunders and Danielle Marleau under the production company Films du Train Secret, and the participation of Les Société Radio-Canada and the Société de Développement de l'Industrie Cinématographique Canadienne.
.
It also aired in the United States on ''
The Great Space Coaster
''The Great Space Coaster'' is a children's television show that was broadcast in first-run syndication from 1981 to 1986.
Production
The series was co-created by Kermit Love (original Muppet designer and builder for Jim Henson) and Jim Martin ...
'' in the early 1980s.
Characters
Simon
(Voiced by Douglas Heintzman)
The main character is a young boy named Simon who discovers a magical steam
locomotive
A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...
hidden in the basement of his apartment building. Acting as the engineer Simon uses the locomotive to travel on many magical adventures.
Mr. George T. Passenger
(Voiced by Neil Shee
)
Joining Simon every episode is Mr. Passenger (Monsieur Globetrotteur in French), an old man who awaited the coming of the train for many a decade before Simon finally arrived.
Mélanie
With Mr. Passenger is Mélanie (Melanie), Mr. Passenger's
cat
The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...
who always rides atop his long stove pipe hat.
Stella
Each episode also features a character named Stella, a girl with star shaped hair. Stella's character changes from episode to episode (a
mermaid
In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Mermaids are sometimes asso ...
in an underwater episode for example) but she always has her star shaped hair.
Theme song lyrics
''When you are feeling blue,''
''When you are feeling down.''
''Just do what Simon did;''
''Go underground.''
''Down there in the dark,''
''You hear a happy sound.''
''It's the secret railroad.''
''Adventure bound!''
''You better climb on board''
''the train's about to leave.''
''All you need is a passenger.''
''Your tickets, please!''
English episode names
* A cat's eye view
* A funny thing happened on the way to the railroad
* Animal trackers
* Back track
* Blue...genies...blues!
* Bridging the gaps
* Double Simon or quits
* Elementary my dear passenger
* Engine ills
* Fitting the parts
* Flights of fancy
* Ghost train
* Go wild west young man
* Gold rush railroad
* Hot the only way to travel
* I spy with my little train
* Invisible...man!
* Joly Roger railroad
* Mer-train
* Mr.Passenger's bag
* Near myths
* Next stop wherever
* Out of seasons
* Railroad puzzles
* Railway rhythms
* Reversible railroad
* Robin Dude
* Robot riddles?
* Rocky ride
* Safari so good
* Saturday night steam
* Scaredy cat
* Simon's secret
* Simon, Melanie, Stella, Mr.Passenger
* Slap control stick
* Smoke signals
* Spaced out Liliput
* Special railroad effects
* Stationary passenger
* Stealing the show
* Stella in space
* Stellapatra
* Super Sam
* Talking the night train
* The abominable snow child
* The great train game
* The last train in toyland
* The musical ride
* The spirit of the railroad
* The talking train
* Things that go bump in the tunnel
* Time machine train
* Tooth tracks
* Train bug
* Train in training
* Trainsylvania
* U.F.O...Oh!...Oh!
* Unwelcome on board
* Where there's smoke there's a dragon
* Which way switch
* Whistle stop tours
References
External links
Fanpage featuring still imagesSome additional info from Toonarific.comA forum discussion about the Secret Railroad on Cartoon Decades
Episode information on Dessin-AnimesIMDB Entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Secret Railroad
Television shows filmed in Quebec
1970s Canadian children's television series
1980s Canadian animated television series
1980 Canadian television series debuts
Canadian children's animated adventure television series