Toby

Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000)

Calling All Engines! (2005)

The Great Discovery (2008)

Hero of the Rails (2009)

Misty Island Rescue (2010)

Day of the Diesels (2011)

Blue Mountain Mystery (2012)

King of the Railway (2013)

Tale of the Brave (2014)

Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure (2015)

The Great Race (2016)

Journey Beyond Sodor (2017)

Big World! Big Adventures! (2018)

Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go! (2021)

William Hope (US, 2009-present)

Colm Feore (2000; Thomas and the Magic Railroad)

Stephen Donald (2001, UK; Railway Adventures)

### Family

Unnamed brothers (deceased), Henrietta Dawes (wife, in the fanfic), Hannah Watson (sister-in-law, in the fanfic), Irene Watson (sister-in-law, in the fanfic)

### Friends

Thomas, Percy, James, Gordon, Edward, Henry, Emily, Rebecca, Nia, Sir Topham Hatt, Duck, Bill and Ben, Timothy, Rosie, Stanley, Ryan, Sonny, Diesel, Daisy, Salty, Porter, Paxton, Sidney, Philip, Victor, Skarloey and Rheneas, Whiff, Marion, Skiff, Hiro, Kenji, Mavis, Annie and Clarabel, Charlie, Billy, Terence, Bertie, Bulgy, Cleo, Ruth, Donald and Douglas, Cranky, Carly, Judy and Jerome, Elizabeth, George, Peter Sam, Sir Handel, Mighty Mac, Duncan, Freddie, Duke, Owen, Merrick, Harvey, Millie, Luke, Stephen, Glynn, Shane, Aubrey and Aiden, Tamika, Ace. Isla, Spencer, Henrietta, Hugo, Rocky, Harold, Flynn, Captain, Butch, Belle, Nelson, Jack, Alfie, Oliver, Max and Monty, Kelly, Byron, Ned, Isobelle, Patrick, Brenda, Buster, Darcy, Kevin, Oliver, Ashima, Rajiv, Noor Jehan, Shankar, Charubala, Lorenzo, Beppe, Gina, Stefano, Ester, Gabriela, Gustavo, Raul, Marcia and Marcio, Fernando, Hank, Sam, Gator, Norman and Dennis, Hong-Mei, Yong Bao, An-An and Yin-Long, Den, Dart, Beau, Toad, Duchess, Lexi, Theo, Hurricane, Merlin, Frankie, Beresford, Caitlin, Connor, Ferdinand, Bash and Dash, Emerson, Lei, Natalie, Cassia, 'Arry and Bert, Bert, Rex, Mike**All Engines Go!:** Kana, Sandy

**Fanfic:** Ten Cents, Sunshine, Theodore, Emily, Hercules, Big Mac, Warrior, Grampus, O.J., Top Hat, Big Mickey, Sally, Boomer, Frank and Eddie, Oliver, Foduck, The Dispatcher, Izzy Gomez, Captain Star, Captain Zero, Zak, Zorran, Zebedee, Zip, Zug, Mighty Mo, Lucy, Phillip and Filmore, Hank, George

### Likes

Henrietta, working on the Ffarquhar Branch Line

### Dislikes

Hannah wants him to get faster, Gordon teases him a silly little tram, being scrapped

## Character's Bio

### Nicknames

Toby the Tram EngineDirty Object (by James along with Henrietta)Fuss-pot (by Mavis)

Old teapot (by Diesel 10)

Slowcoach (by Hannah)

Silly Little Tram (by Gordon)

Number 7 (by Nia)

Shed on Wheels (by Millie and a passenger)

Garden Shed on Wheels (by Himself and a passenger)

## Physical Apearance

### Eye Colour

Black (books and cartoon)Turquoise (fanfic, as a human)

### Complexion

Brown with black cowcatchers and side plates (books)Grey-brown with grey cowcatchers and side plates (books)

Chocolate-brown with olive frames and blue side plates (books)

Brown with grey side plates and cowcatchers (cartoon)

Pale (fanfic, as a human)

### Status

Alive

**Toby** is one of *Thomas & Friends* and *The Railway Series* characters. He was an old brown steam tram who work on the Ffarquhar Branch Line with his coach Henrietta, Thomas, Annie and Clarabel. Toby is wise and always willing to share his experience and knowledge with the other engines. He is careful with every job he undertakes, causing him to rarely have any accidents.

In *The Railway Series*, Toby and Henrietta are accompanied by a coach named Victoria and a luggage van named Elsie.

In the fanfic, *The Secret & Dearest Life of Everything in Sodor*, Toby's surname, Dawes, is a similar reference to Barnaby Dawes, an overweight American henchman (in both comics and cartoons) and FBI agent (in the 2011 3D animated film) from *The Adventures of Tintin*.

## Biography

### *The Railway Series*

Toby was built by James Holden at the Great Eastern Railway's Stratford Works in Stratford, London, England on 30 June, 1914. He originally lived at Great Yarmouth Docks, Norfolk with his brothers. Sometime between June 1939 and January 1948 Toby was chosen to be an attraction at a seaside village's festival and was repainted and polished for the event. However, after helping their branch line's engine and seeing how smart he looked, the branch line was afraid that he would show them up and did not let him join in the festival. After that he worked on an unnamed tramway in East Anglia. In 1951, Toby came to work at the quarry on Thomas' Branch Line after his tramway closed, as it was found to be illegal for Thomas to go on the Quarry Tramroad without side plates or cowcatchers. At first, Toby was teased by James for his shabby paint. However, James stopped teasing him after he crashed into some tar tankers.

Toby also got into a bit of trouble with a diesel shunter named Mavis, as she was unwilling to shunt trucks where they needed to be placed. After an accident, the two engines made up their quarrel and became good friends.

When Mavis was sent to the works after her accident with a lorry, Toby did her work at the quarry, leaving Percy to do Toby's work as well as his own. Toby once came off the rails at a crossing when the earth was swollen over the rails and ended up on the road. Luckily, with the fireman guiding the driver, they managed to reverse Toby back on the rails. The Fat Controller, however, heard about it, but rather than being cross, he only joked with him and told him that he should leave the roads to what they were made for.

By 2007, Toby was having trouble taking the workmen to the quarry as Henrietta did not have enough room in her to carry them all at once. Bertie usually helped, but one day, he was ill and Henrietta was so full that some workmen even had to ride on her balcony. As he went past a part of his line that went through a town, he stopped quickly when a car came out of a side street and nearly collided with him. To make matters worse, a policeman witnessed the workmen riding on Henrietta's balcony and after he made a report, an inspector spoke to the quarry manager, telling him that passengers were not allowed to ride on coach balconies. Luckily, Thomas managed to help Toby when he found an old and worn out coach named Victoria, who was used as a summer house for many years when she was taken out of service. Victoria was eventually restored and now works with Toby and Henrietta along their line.

### *Thomas & Friends*

When the Horrid Lorries arrived on the Island, Toby found his work at the quarry being taken over by Lorry 2 and his work at the mill being taken over by Lorry 3. When the two lorries became damaged and sent back to the docks, Toby threw Lorry 2's remarks about usefulness back at him.

After many weeks of rain, Toby inspected a dam for potential damage due to rising floodwaters along his branch line. While crossing the dam, Toby found that it was breaking and tried to return to safety, but the dam collapsed just as Toby was crossing a wooden bridge, which broke off and carried Toby toward a waterfall. Harold managed to drop one end of a rope to Toby and the other end to Percy, who pulled Toby to safety. Afterwards, a party was held for Toby and the Fat Controller praised Toby's bravery.

While taking his grandchildren to the seaside, the Fat Controller decided to go with Toby for an exploration in search of a castle, which they found as well as a mine. Toby was scared of the mine's spooky atmosphere believing it was haunted and stayed on guard at night during its restoration. Thomas told Toby about the Old Warrior Ghost, who was really a narrow gauge engine named Bertram. After this, the two engines became good friends and now take visitors to and from the castle and mine. Toby once took the Fat Controller's family on vacation again, this time to a small river inlet.

Toby has had several winter escapades. The thick fog concealed Thomas' crash site from Toby's view and the foghorn had been damaged from the landslide Thomas had crashed into. Luckily for them, Cyril the Fogman managed to place a detonator on the rails to warn Toby just in time. During the holidays, Toby was unable to clear the snowdrifts by himself, so he needed Thomas' help to deliver a Christmas tree to the festivities on his branch line. During one harsh winter, Toby had to rescue Farmer McColl's lambs that were trapped on a hillside.

Toby sometimes thinks he is too old and that he is not a proper engine, like when Gordon called him a "slowcoach" when climbing up Gordon's Hill or when he thought he would be put on display in a museum.

Toby was given a temporary three-chime whistle while his bell was being cleaned at the Steamworks. It helped with warning Thomas and Gordon that the tracks were blocked. He once was scared of Knapford Junction.

He once ran out of coal while delivering scrap to Wellsworth Scrap Yard and after a few unsuccessful attempts at stopping passing engines to ask for some of their coal, Reg decided to lift Toby into the air so that the next engine would see him. However, Thomas passed by and thought Reg was about to scrap Toby. After the story spread across the island, Emily took Henrietta to the scrapyard so that Toby could explain the truth.

It was not long after Philip's arrival that Toby met him for the first time and was rather taken aback by the boxcab's talkative nature. Philip tried to talk Toby into racing with him, but the tram engine was reluctant, leading to Philip believing he Toby did not like him. However, after Toby told him that he simply prefers peace and quiet, the two became good friends after all. In the autumn, Toby became on edge when Percy told him and Thomas about a sound he heard under the watermill bridge and sent the trio into a panic when he reminded them that in a story, the little goat survived by going across the bridge first and telling the troll to eat his bigger brother. The three soon discovered that the sound was only coming from a cow.

After Toby took Henrietta to the Steamworks to get her seats refurbished, he was given a replacement carriage named Hannah. However, Toby did not like Hannah as she ordered him to go faster than what was safe and nearly made him derail. He soon became fed up and abandoned her on a siding, only for her to be picked up by James. However, Hannah broke away and crashed, so Toby took her to the Steamworks to be mended, where he learned that Hannah and Henrietta were really sisters. Toby reunited with Henrietta and began working with her once again.

Temporarily, he took over Stephen's job while he was at the Steamworks, but was ridiculed by his passengers. He later changed their minds when he stopped the theft of King Godred's crown.

### *Thomas and The Magic Railroad*

In the film, Toby told Gordon that if Diesel 10 found Lady, he would lead to the destruction of all the steam engines. After Diesel 10 eavesdropped on Thomas and Percy talking about the buffers to the Magic Railroad, Toby told them to carry on taking the Mail Train while he followed Diesel 10 to the Smelters Yard. There, he distracted Diesel 10 by ringing his bell, which resulted in Diesel 10 demolishing the shed that he, Splatter and Dodge were in.

## Personality

Toby is old, but wise, hardworking and knowledgeable enough about running branch lines to justify running Thomas' line with Daisy after Percy's accident with the trucks until Thomas came back. He is also savvy enough to control the trucks. However, his advanced age and design means that he is weaker than the other engines. While Toby is always ready to work hard without any fuss, he can be a bit temperamental sometimes, especially when young and inexperienced engines who are full of themselves make things difficult for him, particularly Mavis and Daisy. However, work at the quarry line often soothes off his moods without any cause of grief to anyone, except of course his old faithful coach, Henrietta.

Toby occasionally suffered insecurity and questioning the capabilities of his own work and uncertain about being an old steam tram, believing that he is not a proper engine, only good enough as a museum piece and not really special at all. But Toby can usually be more jovial, as well as having subtle shades of nervousness on top of being placid and easy-going, enjoying the peace and quiet of the countryside along Thomas' branch line. He even enjoys listening to the birds in the birdhouse next to his shed and is friends with the pigs at Farmer Trotter's Pig Farm.

## Technical Details

### Basis

Toby is based on a GER Class C53 0-6-0T Wisbech steam tram (reclassified as J70 by the LNER) built at Stratford Works. They were seen by the Rev. W. Awdry and Christopher Awdry on a holiday at Yarmouth, hence Toby's origins. The J70 started their career on the Great Eastern Railway and were known as C53. They spent most of their career on the Wisbech and Upwell tramway pulling slow goods trains and, until 1927, passenger trains, though several were also assigned to the docks at Ipswich and Yarmouth. The first withdrawal came in 1942. Eventually, the sole survivor of this class was withdrawn from service and scrapped at Stratford Locomotive Works by 1955. They were replaced by BR Class 04s, Mavis' class.

According to The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways and Sodor: Reading Between the Lines, Toby is BR no. 68221. This tram was built as GER no. 127 on 30th June 1914 as part of a batch of three at Stratford. Shortly after grouping on 1st January 1923, it became LNER no. 7127, this changing to no. 8221 under Edward Thompson's 1944 re-numbering scheme. Upon nationalisation on 1st January 1948, it became no. 68221. It was withdrawn on 31st May 1951 from Ipswich Shed and scrapped at Stratford shortly after.

## Physical Appearance

### Livery

In *The Railway Series*, Toby was painted brown with black cowcatchers and side plates and his company's initials (LNER) painted on his side plates in yellow before working on his tramway, where he was repainted grey-brown with grey cowcatchers and side plates. After helping James from an accident, he was repainted chocolate-brown with olive frames and blue side plates.

In the television series, Toby has always been brown with grey side plates and cowcatchers. His number (7) is painted on his sides in yellow with red lining. Throughout the first to fifth series, Toby's wheels were painted red. Starting from the sixth series, they were painted black.

In some illustrations of *The Railway Series*, Toby has a golden builder's plate on the side of his cab stating that he works on the North Western Railway, his number and the last time and place that he was rebuilt.

In various books released by Publications International, the top side of his side plates are painted red, going along with his buffer beams. In *The Railway Series*, Toby has silver buffers, while in the television series they are black.

### Fanfic

As a human, Toby's skin colour was pale, he has gray hair, wrinkled face and turquoise eyes.

In his driver uniform outfit, Toby wears a brown jacket with grey lining on each lapel and his yellow number 7 was on the left, white shirt, black necktie, brown V neck sweater vest, matching trousers and dark brown shoes.

In his night outfit, he wears pastel greenish-blue pyjamas, pale brown night robe and slippers.

## Fanfics

The Secret & Dearest Life of Everything in Sodor

Toby appears as a human in the fanfic, he becomes an old tram driver and works on the Ffarquhar Branch Line with his coach woman, Henrietta, who was portraying as his wife. Meanwhile, they saw Percy worked here driving his engine and pulling the two coaches with the two coach women Annie and Clarabel inside for Thomas when he was seriously ill of being an asthmatic and had a heavy fever.