Owen

**Owen** is an incline traction engine who is stationed at the Blue Mountain Quarry.

## Biography

### *Thomas & Friends*

Owen is the incline traction engine at the Blue Mountain Quarry, whose job is to transfer trucks of slate up and down the incline. When he was first introduced, he tried to keep Luke a secret from Thomas and reluctantly helped Thomas up the incline when he needed to speak to Luke. This resulted in Thomas coming off the rails and hanging dangerously over the edge of a cliff, until Luke saved him and brought him back to the incline. However, the weight of both engines was too much for Owen and the platform they were on hurled to the quarry floor.

In the seventeenth series, he was unsure about the idea of a deer staying in the quarry, believing that the quarry was no place for a deer and became disappointed when Luke had the idea of the engines working more quietly.

## Personality

Owen is an enthusiastic incline engine, based on a vertical traction boiler, housed at the top of the incline at the Blue Mountain Quarry. From high up above the quarry floor, he gamely takes great pride in his job and never tires in the overseeing of empty slate trucks up the incline, while sending loaded ones down, often announcing the transportation of cargo as he moves it between terraces. He likes to maintain steady, safe operation throughout the quarry and enjoys ensuring everything is running as it should. He is keen to help any engine about their work and make sure everyone is on track.

## Technical Details

### Basis

Owen is based on the incline at the Dinorwic Slate Quarry, which hauled slate trucks up and down the incline via two platforms attached to the winch. This incline works by hauling empty slate trucks on one platform and bringing loaded slate trucks down the incline on another platform. Unlike his basis, however, Owen does not have a transfer table at the bottom of the incline.

### Livery

Owen is painted orange and grey, with yellow stripes and an orange nameplate.

## Appearances

### Thomas & Friends

* **Season 16** - The Christmas Tree Express (*cameo*)
* **Season 17** - Luke's New Friend The Switch (*does not speak*)
* **Season 18** - Disappearing Diesels (*cameo*), Long Lost Friend and Samson at Your Service (*cameo*)
* **Season 20** - Bradford the Brake Van (*does not speak*), Saving Time (*cameo*) and The Missing Breakdown Train (*cameo*)
* **Season 21** - Runaway Engine (*cameo*)
* **Season 22** - Seeing is Believing (*cameo*) and The Case of the Puzzling Parts (*cameo*)
* **Season 23** - Diesel Glows Away and Steam Team to the Rescue! (*cameo*)

### Specials

* **2012** - Blue Mountain Mystery
* **2013** - King of the Railway (*cameo*)
* **2016** - The Great Race (*cameo*)

### Magazine Stories

* **2012** - The Fat Controller's Bedtime Story (Issue 649) (*mentioned*)
* **2014** - Edward the Helpful Engine (*cameo*)
* **2015** - Dusty Rusty (*cameo*)

## Voice Actors

* Ben Small (*UK/US; Blue Mountain Mystery - eighteenth season*)
* Rob Rackstraw (*UK/US; twenty-third season onwards*)
* Raul Solo (*Latin America*)
* Jun'ichi Kanemaru (*Japan*)
* Konstantin Gradus (*Germany; Blue Mountain Mystery only*)
* Michael Bideller (*Germany; seventeenth season onwards*)
* Stig Krogstad (*Norway; Blue Mountain Mystery only*)
* Anders Sundstedt (*Norway; seventeenth season only*)
* Milogost Reczek (*Poland*)
* Angel Amoros (*Spain*)
* Petri Hanttu (*Finland*)

## Trivia

* Owen has a steam whistle on the top of him, but he has yet to blow it.

## Merchandise

* Take-n-Play (*discontinued*)
* Adventures (*discontinued*)
* Motor Road and Rail (*Japan only*)
* Wind-up (*Japan only*)
* Motorized Railway (*only in Percy's Lift and Load Set*)
* My First Thomas Railway Pals (*only in Mountain Adventure*)