Stepney

Stepney

Background information

**First episode**
"Stepney's Problem"

Character information

**Full name**
Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine

**Other names**
* The Bluebell Engine

**Age**
Unknown (*Engine*)

**Home**
Island of SodorEngland (*formerly*)

**Friends**
* Rusty

**Quote**
"Bluebells forever!"

**Stepney**, named after a district in London, is a "Bluebell" engine who lives and works on the Bluebell Railway. His friendly, enthusiastic attitude makes him a welcome visitor on Sir Topham Hatt's railway.
Stepney works on a Sudrian branch line neighbouring the Skarloey Railway, also known as the "Bluebell Railway".

Personality
Stepney is a bubbly, modest and humble chap who is bursting with enthusiasm. He is very eager to please and is every engine's friend. When given a job to do, he is determined to complete it to the best of his ability. Even if an engine might not like him at first, his personality wins them over. After being saved from scrap by Rusty and the Bluebell Railway, he now runs his own branch line, but loves visiting and helping out on the Fat Controller's Railway. He has an enthusiasm for learning and listening to advice, as well as keeping busy. Stepney can feel down in the dumps if he does not get enough work to do or if he does not get a good long run to stretch his wheels. Stepney is high-spirited, lively and is keen to see fair play. He is popular amongst the engines and is always game for more work. Unlike most of Sodor's engines, Stepney loves to work with trucks.

Technical Details
Real Life History
Stepney was built by Brighton Works in 1875 and was rebuilt into an A1X in 1912. During his last working years, Stepney worked on the Hayling Island branch line, until he was taken out of service in 1960 and placed on an out-of-use siding. He was bought by the Bluebell Railway Preservation Society and arrived on the railway on 17th May, making him the first standard gauge steam locomotive to be saved for the Bluebell Railway.
Since his first appearance in the *Railway Series* and *Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends*, Stepney has become one of the most popular engines on the railway, with children all across the country coming to see him. Stepney has even participated in "Day Out with Thomas" events and has carried a face for these events.
Stepney was taken out of service in 2008, after his boiler ticket expired; but underwent a fast-track overhaul and returned to working order in 2010, just in time for the line's 50th Anniversary. In March 2014, Stepney was withdrawn from service following the failure of his main steam pipe. As of 2020, whilst he awaits to go into the workshop for new cylinders and significant work on his frames and boiler, Stepney is currently on display inside the Bluebell Railway's new 'Steam Works!' shed complete with his signature face from the former "Day Out with Thomas" events.

Stepney's basis
Livery
Stepney is painted in LB&SCR ochre gold, formally known as "Stroudley's Improved Engine Green", with green, red, white and black lining. His name is painted on his side tanks and the number "55" is painted on the sides of his bunker, both in white.
The real Stepney has a brass funnel top and brass number plates with a blue ground. He carries two builder's plates on the sides of his splashers. In 2010, he was painted in "Bluebell Black". On 14th January 2012, Stepney made an "only-morning" appearance in BR Lined Black with "cycling lion" crest and his BR number, 32655, for a special photographic charter. He carried the same BR Lined Black livery again on 17th April 2012 for another photographic charter; this time though with the later "ferret and dartboard" crest. He returned to "Bluebell Black" in time for his visit to the National Railway Museum's "Railfest" in the first week of June 2012. As of August 2014, he has returned to his famous "Improved Engine Green" livery, officially being released to the public in May 2015.

Appearances
Television Series* **Season 1** - Stepney's Problem, Lorry Takes a Tumble (cameo), Wilbert to the Rescue (cameo) and Thomas' 4th of July (does not speak)
* **Season 2** - Disaster on Sodor and The Daring Duel
* **Season 3** - George the Steamroller (does not speak), Cranky's Delivery (cameo) and Donald Visits the Scrapyard (cameo)
* **Season 5** - Stepney's Perfect Day
* **Season 6** - Boulder's Express Route
* **Season 7** - Molly's Folly and Terence's Train
* **Season 8** - Tick-Tock-Jock (cameo) and Fire at the Sheds
* **Season 9** - Hankenstein (cameo), The Kipper Caper, Tender Bender and Planes, Cranes, and Games (does not speak)
* **Season 10** - Edward Breaks Down, Coal Crisis (cameo) and Paranoid Paxton
* **Season 11** - Stepney and the Bluebell Branchline, Around the Railyard in 64 Seconds (cameo), The Great Western Way (cameo), Just Duck's Luck (cameo), Hank and the Hatt St Crossing (cameo), Trembling Trevor (cameo), Wooden Brakes (cameo) and BoCo and the Cocoa
* **Season 12** - Greetings, Montague! (cameo), Stafford's Electric Slide, The Importance of Being Billy (cameo), The Mavis Matrix (cameo), Gordon's Last Hurrah, Percy Gets a Promotion (cameo), If The Dome Fits (cameo), The Mystery Train (cameo) and Vicarstown Takedown
* **Season 13** - Ivo Hugh's Day at the Zoo (cameo) and Sideplates and Skirmishes
* **Season 14** - Freddie at the Ready (cameo) and Hatt Trick (cameo)
* **Season 15** - Roundhouse Roulette (cameo), Toby's Turntable Fable (cameo) and Polar Express Coming Through!
* **Season 16** - Henry's Hill (does not speak), Paxman Pulls Through and Throw Topham from the Train
* **Season 17** - Unidentified Flying Scotsman (cameo), Big Trouble on the Little Western (cameo), Oliver Confusion (cameo) and James and the Giant Screech (cameo)
* **Season 18** - Santa Claws (cameo)

Specials* Thomas and the Storm (does not speak)
* Lady the Lost Engine
* Sodor's Last Stand
* Saving Pirate Ryan (cameo)

Trivia* In 1997, Britt Allcroft attempted to sue the Bluebell Railway for ripping off the character of Stepney, despite the fact he was built 88 years before being introduced in the franchise. This lawsuit attempt failed.
* Alec Baldwin gave Stepney a Cockney accent in the US dub. This may have been intentional, as Stepney is a region of East London and the inhabitants of that area, amongst others, were known as Cockneys.
* The prototype of Stepney's 1996 Wooden Railway toy has the original face and magnets of Thomas.
* At one time, the Official Website incorrectly stated that Stepney was a narrow gauge engine. Stepney was also incorrectly stated to be narrow gauge in Railway Rhymes. He was also included in a Take Along Narrow Gauge Gift Pack. The narrow gauge engines' nameboards sequence also includes Stepney. In the fourth series, Stepney's driver wore the same uniform that the narrow gauge engines' drivers wore.
* In the Spanish and Czech dubs of the show, he is known as the Hyacinth engine instead of the Bluebell engine. In the Dutch dub, he is known as the Violet engine.
* Both of Stepney's appearances in the seventh series were made up of stock footage.
* Although he has not been featured in the CGI series, Keith Wickham has voiced him in Thomas-saurus Rex.
* According to Thomas-saurus Rex, he knew both Sir Topham Hatt and his grandfather prior to his arrival.
* From the sixth series onwards, the block under Stepney's smokebox became the same colour as his livery.
* A Wooden Railway toy of Stepney, along with Thomas and a Fossil Truck, cameos in the second series of The Big Bang Theory, in the thirteenth episode "The Friendship Algorithm".
* Stepney is one of the four engines to be saved from scrap, with the others being Oliver, Hiro and Glynn.
* In some promotional artwork and television series tie-in book illustrations, he is seen wearing the express headcode lamps.