Nia the Kenyan Engine

Nia is the deuteragonist of Big World! Big Adventures!.
Nia is a Kenyan tank engine who befriended and accompanied Thomas on his journey around the world. She is now a permanent resident on the North Western Railway. She was rewarded with the job of helping out at the Sodor Animal Park regularly after succeeding in transporting a stubborn elephant there.
==Bio==
Nia is a tank engine from the African country of Kenya. She first met Thomas in her homeland of Kenya when he stopped in her yard to collect more trucks to take to Dar es Salaam while in pursuit of Ace. Noticing how heavy his train was getting, she offered to help, but Thomas sternly refused, stating he could handle it himself. However, she later arrived to help him over a steep hill when the trucks nearly caused him to slide back down it. She later encouraged the trucks to sing to raise Thomas' mood during the journey and to help soothe an elephant that tried to charge Thomas when it was blocking the tracks. When they reached Dar es Salaam, Nia had a chat with her friend Kwaku, but Thomas interrupted when Kwaku was asking Nia if she had found a new shed yet due to the fact that her old one was destroyed. After Thomas thanked her for her help, he prepared to board a ship bound for South America and the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, suggesting Nia return home to Kenya, unaware of how Nia couldn't. However, Nia decided to join him, much to his chagrin, having wanted to see the world herself.
Thomas remained unfriendly toward Nia throughout their journey, and Nia grew annoyed by Thomas wanting to find and keep up with Ace during his road rallies. However, they both began to warm up to each other after they rescued a crashed Ace and made it through the Amazon rainforest after some difficulty. While continuing their journey through Central America and Mexico before reaching North America and the United States, Nia maintained her suspicion regarding Ace whenever he tried to remind Thomas of his motto of "Free and Easy". As they made their way through Arizona, Ace tricked Nia into splitting their delivery to San Francisco between them and racing to see who was the faster of the two steam engines. Thanks to Ace, who wanted to get to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, Nia was separated from Thomas. This lead to her thinking that Thomas was in on Ace's trick and had betrayed her by wanting to stay with Ace instead of her. As a result, she became hurt and cross, and continued on alone to China, acquiring a snowplough before making her way through Zhangye Danxia and into the treacherous Himalayas.
When Thomas caught up to her in the Himalayas, she refused to listen to his explanations for what happened, still hurt and upset about it. However, she heard his heartfelt apology and realised he never meant to upset her and was truly sorry for it. Before she and Thomas could fully make amends, an avalanche caused by Thomas trying to get Nia's attention swept her off the tracks and left her dangling precariously over a cliff. Thomas attempted to pull her back to safety, but a rock underneath her was dislodged and caused her to go over the edge and nearly pull Thomas with her. Thankfully, Yong Bao arrived just in time to save both of them. After Nia was lifted back onto the rails by the breakdown cranes brought by Yong Bao and The Chinese Diesel, she and Thomas prepared to return to the Island of Sodor, with Yong Bao advising they travel through Asia and Europe to get back to Sodor via The Mainland.
Together, Nia and Thomas made their way back to Sodor, unaware of a signalman in India seeing Thomas and phoning ahead to let the North Western Railway know he was coming home. When they reached the Vicarstown Bridge, Thomas realised that once he crossed it, he would be home, but Nia would have to go home to Kenya. However, Nia revealed what she had tried to tell Kwaku back in Dar es Salaam before Thomas interrupted them - that she no longer had a home to go back to. Sympathetic to her plight, Thomas offered Nia the chance to stay and work on the North Western Railway, knowing that Sir Topham Hatt would love to have her working on his railway. The two engines crossed the bridge, returning to Knapford to find a large group of Thomas' friends, human and engine alike, welcoming him home. After Thomas formally introduced Nia to Mr. Percival and the others, Nia prepared to enjoy her new home on the Island of Sodor.
While enjoying her new life on Sodor, Nia bonded with Gordon when he was upset over Edward and Henry moving out of Tidmouth Sheds by reminding him they were still his friends, revealing to him that she felt the same way due to all of her friends being back in Africa. When Sir Topham Hatt asked her to pull Thomas' coaches, Annie and Clarabel, she could not read the numbers above the platforms, or a speed limit sign, which caused her to get derailed. She revealed her dilemma to the two coaches, who then helped her to learn her numbers. However, she also fell victim to Bill and Ben's tricks when they made up a game called "Hunt the Truck", and Edward had to step in to make them give back the truck they hid from her.
When Darcy arrived on the Island of Sodor for the first time, Nia was asked to pick her up from Brendam Docks. Darcy was excited to work on the Island, though she became a little more hesitant after her enthusiasm caused problems for Cranky, James, Max and Monty. Following these incidents, Nia helped her to regain her confidence and show the rest of the Pack her talent in digging tunnels and gained James' admiration in the process.
Another time, she and Paxton thought that Diesel is so mean and no help at all leading to the devious diesel covered in glow paint to make them find him hidden at the Blue Mountain Quarry, to when they did, they were very cross about his self-interested attitude.
Later, Nia was instructed to take the Sodor Rangers on a camping trip to Callan Castle. Following a storm, she gave the job to Emily so that Emily could have her own adventure while she had more time to work in the yards. Once she had finished in the yards, she realised that Emily had forgotten the truck with camping supplies and - assuming she was in trouble - went with the truck to find her. Fortunately, Emily was unharmed - though derailed - and the rangers had set up a camp using their survival skills. Nia then spent the rest of the night on a campout with the rangers and Emily, before helping her friend back onto the rails the following morning.
==Personality==
Nia is an adventurous and fun engine who teaches Thomas, and even Gordon, about friendship and new things. Whether she is in her homeland of Africa or travelling around the world, Nia is positive, kind-hearted, tomboyish and thoughtful. Her eagerness to help can sometimes irritate her friends, but her truthfulness and kind heart always win them over. She is a good problem solver, although she once had trouble reading numbers until Annie and Clarabel helped her.
==Basis==
Nia is based on the KUR ED1 class, a class of 2-6-2 tank locomotive built by Vulcan Foundry for the Kenya-Uganda Railway between 1926 and 1930. Primarily used for shunting duties, they were also used to haul branch line trains. They were later operated by the East African Railways and were reclassified as part of the EAR 11 class. One member of this class, No. 327, has been preserved at the Nairobi Railway Museum in Nairobi, Kenya.
Nia has been modified in order to work on British railways. Whereas her original basis was metre gauge, Nia is standard gauge and she has been given buffers and screw link couplings in order to work with the other engines.
==Livery==
Nia is painted orange with yellow lining. She has stripes with an African pattern consisting of red, yellow, green, black and purple painted along with her tanks and dome, as well as green and yellow lining on her cylinders. Nia has green stripes on her boiler and brake pump. Her footplate is painted red with black buffers. Her name and the number "18" are painted on the sides of her tanks and cab respectively in yellow within black squares.
==Appearances==
Television series
*Season 22 - Forever and Ever, Confusion Without Delay, School of Duck (cameo), Seeing is Believing, Apology Impossible (cameo), Samson and the Fireworks, Thomas' Animal Ark, Counting on Nia and Hunt the Truck
*Season 23 - Chucklesome Trucks, Steam Team to the Rescue, Panicky Percy, Rangers of the Rails, Out of Site (cameo), First Day on Sodor! and Diesel Glows Away
*Season 24 - Emily's Best Friend, Thomas' Fuzzy Friend, The Great Little Railway Show, Emily to the Rescue, Nia and the Unfriendly Elephant, James the Super Engine, A New Arrival, World of Tomorrow, Gordon and Rebecca, Coming Through! and Nia's Bright Idea
Specials:
* - Big World! Big Adventures!
==Trivia==
* Nia's name means "purpose" in Swahili.
* Experts at the United Nations and The Royal African Society assisted the production team with creating Nia.
* At one point during her creation, Nia was originally going to be called Kessie. She was also going to be given a Norwegian coupling, but it was quickly changed to buffers and screwlink couplings.
* An early test trailer (with footage from it later reused for The Journey Never Ends) and certain merchandise lines depict her with red wheels, due to the fact that one piece of Nia's concept art shows her with red wheels.
* Nia's favourite colour is revealed to be purple, despite her being painted orange.
* Nia's number, 18 originates from the year her first appearance in Big World! Big Adventures! was released; 2018.
* She is the only member of the Steam Team to arrive on Sodor from a country outside the UK.
* Nia is the first engine to have a female crew member, as well as being the first Steam Team member to have her name painted on her side.
*Currently Nia is the only member of the Steam Team to have a snowplough that is not the same colour as her.
* She is the second character to get a regular singing double, with Marion being the first.
==Quotes==
==Navigation==
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