Sir Handel

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**Sir Handel**, named after the Skarloey Railway's first owner, Sir Handel Brown I - originally named **Falcon**, after the works where he was built - is a blue narrow gauge saddle tank engine.

## History

### The Railway Series

Falcon was built at Falcon Works in Loughborough, England in 1904 for the Mid Sodor Railway as an 0-4-0ST, which caused him to bounce. He was delivered by sea to Arlesburgh to replace a locomotive which was scrapped shortly afterwards. He returned to Loughborough in 1910 to have trailing wheels fitted as a cure for his unsteadiness in running. When he was new, Falcon had to learn the line by double-heading with Duke. While on The Mountain Road, they exited the tunnel and Falcon derailed over a cliff. It was Duke's willingness and quick thinking that saved him. Despite his gratitude, he occasionally made fun of Duke until he was told about what happened to Stanley.

When the Mid Sodor Railway closed in 1947, he and Stuart were sold to the Sodor Aluminium Company at Peel Godred for an expansion project. Following the project's completion in 1951, they were oiled, greased and sheeted under tarpaulins ready for disposal and stood for a year in the Company's yard. In 1952, they were purchased for the knockdown price of £50 (£25 each) by Sir Handel Lloyd Brown for service on the Skarloey Railway, overhauled and repainted in SR livery at Crovan's Gate Works and renamed Sir Handel and Peter Sam respectively.

Sir Handel was not very well-behaved when he first came to the Skarloey Railway, as shown when he insulted the coaches by calling them "cattle trucks", which resulted in them holding him back on a hill. He derailed himself on purpose when his driver planned for him to fetch trucks from the quarry. This led the Thin Controller to discipline him by leaving him in the shed until he was ready to behave. Unfortunately, the coaches still didn't trust him and they caused him to derail after accusing him of bumping them when he suddenly had to stop for sheep on the line. He also pretended to be ill to avoid going to the quarry (as advised by Gordon, which only led to Peter Sam to have an accident with trucks at the incline after they mistook him for Sir Handel) and to avoid getting televised by the BBC television producers, but the Thin Controller arranged for him to be taken apart instead in order to show the producers how an engine works.

Sir Handel did not cope well with the worn track on the railway and would often derail - sometimes deliberately, so he was given a pair of special wheels with broad tyres to cure this problem, dubbed "steamroller wheels" by the other engines. Skarloey later had Sir Handel meet his match with a bad-tempered steamroller named George to teach him some sense, which resulted in him having an accident when George rammed his front roller into his train. Despite this, Sir Handel still took the belief that he sent George packing, but he stopped talking about it after some children heard about his situation with George and teased him about it.

In 1982, Sir Handel visited the Talyllyn Railway to help tide over a locomotive crisis while Sir Haydn was being repaired. Sir Handel had plenty of adventures there, like pulling a wedding train and having to wear an eye-patch after colliding with a tree at Nant Gwernol. He spent two years in Wales before returning to Sodor in 1984 to take his share of the summer traffic.

When Peter Sam was brought back from the Talyllyn Railway early during a visit in 1995, Sir Handel became jealous and as a protest, deliberately knocked out his firebars. He was sent to the shed and began to fear that he would never come out after weeks went by and no one came to see him. When the Thin Controller came in one day Sir Handel confessed, asked for a second chance and got his firebars later that day (although no one bothered to tell him that they had only just arrived).

### Thomas & Friends

As in the *Railway Series*, Falcon and Stuart lived with Duke until their line was closed and they were bought by the Skarloey Railway and were renamed Sir Handel and Peter Sam respectively.

Upon arriving, Sir Handel had many adventures, all of which were reprised from the *Railway Series*. He was very pompous and refused to do his job well when he arrived on the Skarloey Railway, so he was sent to the sheds for a while to repent. After coming back out, he was derailed by his own coaches when he stopped too quickly in front of some sheep. He soon got into a fight with George the steamroller, which ended in a race with George smashing Sir Handel's trucks. Once George had left, Sir Handel became even more conceited than ever and believed that he had made George go away.

Sir Handel did not reappear until years later, apparently because he was working in the Skarloey Slate Quarry. When he returned, he had a much different attitude. He did his jobs without complaining, but had trouble getting up hills. He became wiser in most situations, but was still pompous sometimes. He was generally of the opinion that he knew best and should've been in charge. This sometimes led him into trouble with the other engines and the trucks. However, he always gets the job done. According to Mr. Perkins, Sir Handel can be cheeky sometimes.

When Samson was sent to the quarry to collect stone with Thomas, he asked Sir Handel if the other trucks were meant to go to Brendam, with the little engine replying that they were, but he was not sure if Samson could pull all of them. Sir Handel and Peter Sam laughed at him for his actions by pulling the heavy trucks.

Percy later told him and Peter Sam that there was a railway show for little engines being held at Ulfstead Castle. Peter Sam wondered if his funnel would win a prize at the show, which led to Sir Handel once again boasting about his special wheels.

He currently works on the Skarloey Railway with Skarloey, Rheneas, Peter Sam, Rusty, Duncan and Luke.

### Lukeillie's Series

He was on a runaway with some Troublesome Trucks but was saved by Luke and Millie. Later, he helped Luke find a perfect present for Millie. He was one of the engines who battled the Philip Army.

## Personality

Sir Handel - named Falcon and under the supervision of Duke in his younger days - has been prone to moody tantrums and thinking that he knows better than others, suggesting a superiority complex. He has been known for being impulsive, arrogant, pompous, rude, stubborn, naughty, and bad-tempered; he took a disliking to the narrow gauge coaches (often referring to them as "cattle trucks/cars", which gave him a bad reputation with them), feigned illnesses to avoid jobs he hated, bumped trucks even if they behaved themselves and deliberately derailed himself. He believed that he should be in charge and tended to get too big for his wheels. When he was given broad wheels that held well to the rails and have been said to give a smooth ride, this contributed to his self-importance and his belief that he is a grand engine. He once claimed to be an express engine himself.

Sir Handel can be quite impressionable when it comes to engines who he views as important, such as Gordon, Duke, or Skarloey. However, when the advice he is given results in him getting into trouble, as shown by Gordon, he can have second thoughts and wish to get revenge (much like Peter Sam and, in fact, many other engines). Despite all of this, Sir Handel always works to get things done and wants to be a reliable, goodhearted, and really useful engine. After many years in the quarry, Sir Handel has been portrayed as a steady, thoughtful, and mature engine who is ready to offer advice and be put in charge. Although he remains a stubborn sort, who believes himself to be a natural leader who should be in charge, he now enjoys helping others. He still has his cheeky side, as he and Peter Sam teased Samson on how many trucks he was capable of pulling and later bragged about his special wheels when a little railway show was coming.

## Livery

In *The* *Railway Series*, Sir Handel was painted dark blue with black lining until coming to work on the Skarloey Railway, where he was painted in SR standard red with cerulean and yellow lining and with his name painted on the sides of his saddle tank in yellow. In the television series, he is painted dark blue with red lining and brass fittings (the same colours from when he was formerly Falcon on the Mid Sodor Railway). He has red and gold name and number plates on the sides of his saddle tank and coal bunkers respectively.

## Appearances

* Season 1 - Luke and Millie's Day Off and A Present for Millie
* Season 2 - Famous Little Engine (*does not speak*)
* Specials - Attack of the Philips

## Trivia

* In *The* *Railway Series*, Sir Handel, along with Peter Sam, did not have buffers in *Duke the Lost Engine* and *Four Little Engines* but later received oval-shaped ones by the time of *The Little Old Engine*.
* In the twelfth series, Michael Brandon gave Sir Handel a voice that sounds like an impression of late actor Marlon Brando.
* Sir Handel‘s current whistle was sourced off of the miniature engine 1001 the Monarch.
* In *The* *Railway Series*, along with his ERTL and 1997-2005 Wooden Railway toys, Sir Handel is depicted with Sir Haydn's original cab design, which meant his cab was only open on his right side until *Great Little Engines* and his coal bunkers were not visible until *New Little Engine*. In the latter book, while his coal bunkers became visible, he retained the old cab design. In the television series, he is depicted with Sir Haydn's post-1968 and current, cab design.
* In various merchandise and books, Sir Handel's name is often misspelt as "Sir Handle".
* Sir Handel's original Motor Road and Rail toy had grey wheels.
* Despite Sir Handel being a narrow gauge engine, his TrackMaster toy comes with updated versions of the red branch line coaches which are standard gauge.
* Sir Handel, along with Duke, were the only Skarloey Railway engines introduced at the time, not to make an appearance in the fifth series.
* So far, Sir Handel's trailing wheels were referred to as 'Steamroller Wheels' in only two episodes; *Steam Roller* and *The Great Little Railway Show*.
* Sir Handel is the only narrow gauge engine not to have a speaking role in the eighteenth series. Ironically, he is the only Skarloey Railway engine to have more than one speaking role in the twentieth series.