Oliver

**Oliver the Western Engine** is one of the main protagonists of the SeventyVerse and the eleventh engine on the North Western Railway.

## Backstory

Oliver used to run with Isabel and Dulcie as a passenger engine on a branch line on the mainland. His friend, Katrina, ran goods trains. One day, when he was out on a run, he saw a little brake van who was being bullied by some rude engines. He stood up for the brake van, and he revealed he was called Toad. Toad started to run mostly with Katrina after that, though he did run with Oliver on occasion. Later on, hard times came when diesels were coming into power, and Isabel and Dulcie were due to be withdrawn. Not too long after that, Katrina was too. Horrified, Oliver knew he had to escape with Toad to save them. While on the run, they nearly got caught by Cockade/Diesel 10, Sadie "Splatter" and Delilah "Dodge", but they were chased off by D7101. Oliver continued pressing on with Toad until they suddenly ran out of coal, and one of the Ironworks twins took him to Barrow scrapyard. Before the duo could be scrapped however, Douglas showed up that night, and managed to fool the yard foreman into letting them go. Oliver and Toad both ended up as Sodor's newest residents ever since.

## Relationships

### Little Western crew

#### Duck

Duck was thrilled to have a relative on the island. Immediately, Duck showed Oliver around the Little Western branch, and the duo call each other "cous". Oliver can sometimes get annoyed about Duck's boasting about their shared heritage, but at their core, both cousins do love each other.

#### Donald and Douglas

Douglas had related to Oliver's struggles of escaping from scrap, and was more than happy to help save his life. Since then, the two had become quite close. They also both accidentally destroying a piece of spiteful rolling stock (Old Spiteful for Douglas; S.C.Ruffey for Oliver), and Oliver found a lot of consolation in Douglas. Douglas was very concerned when Oliver went missing during his first mail run, and both were in deep denial of their budding romance with each other. Oliver returned Douglas' favour by saving him from Diesel 10, and finally the duo confessed their love. Not as much is known about Donald's friendship with Oliver, but he does tend to get more frustrated with him when his ego gets in the way.

#### Ryan

Oliver did get very cocky when Ryan had a lobster pinch him on the nose, saying he can handle the train. However, when things didn't go Oliver's way, Ryan was very sympathetic to him.

#### Jackie

Oliver doesn't know Jackie too well, but she did help out when the engines went to London. He's heard some stories about her from Duck, and is very happy to hear his friend Katrina works with her.

#### Katrina

Katrina and Oliver have worked together on the mainland for a very long time. She mentored Oliver with looking after trucks, and was something of a big sister to him, even though they're actually cousins.

#### Daisy

Oliver managed to get the upper hand with Daisy when she didn't believe him about Isabel and Dulcie being able to 'drive' him backwards. He also doesn't understand where she learned French.

#### Isabel and Dulcie

Oliver worked with Isabel and Dulcie for a long time, and loves them very much. He was devastated when they were withdrawn, and when Douglas surprised him by bringing them back to Sodor, he was overjoyed.

#### Toad

Oliver managed to scare off some bullies upsetting Toad, and the two became very close. In return, years later, Toad helped Oliver stand up to S.C.Ruffey. Though they do have disagreements, they do have each other's backs.

#### Alistair, Mirabel and Benjamin

Duck allows Oliver to take the trio, and even mentored him with how to use them. Until Isabel and Dulcie joined the railway, Oliver and Duck took it in turns with the slippies. They don't hold any ill will to him for messing up on their first run together. Unfortunately, like Duck, Oliver got caught up in the curiosity of seeing the slippies, and neglected Old Slow Coach.

## Other relationships

#### Emily

Much like with the Scottish twins' escape, Oliver's story about his escape made Emily feel doubts about herself, and she started pushing away from the other engines. She has gotten better though.

#### Diesel

Oliver's first impresses of Diesel were relatively positive, as Diesel stood up for Oliver against the trucks singing their awful song. Both gained a great respect for each other, and Oliver liked the "Little Western" nickname he had come up with for the branch line. Oliver is also very grateful to Diesel for saving his cousin from Arry and Bert, and even consoled Diesel when Rickety was crushed. Oliver is one of the few engines Diesel feels like he can be his true self around.

#### Bear

Bear distracted Diesel 10, Sadie and Delilah long enough for Oliver and Toad to be able to remain hidden and escape later. He never forgot to mention his help in his stories, and even wondered if Bear would come to Sodor one day. When he did, Oliver warmly welcomed him into the fleet, and even was the one to dub him his nickname.

#### Arry and Bert

Oliver despises Arry and Bert for trying to scrap him, Toad, Gladys, Donald, Duck and Emily. While he is scared of them, he does at least work up the nerve to tell them to back off.

#### Gladys

Previously named Old Slow Coach, Oliver ran with her on the Little Western branch for years. Unfortunately, he and Duck both incidentally neglected her when the slippies arrived. Guilt ridden, Duck and Oliver gave OSC a choice: remain with them, or become Emily's coach. She decided to be Emily's coach, but still wanted to run with Duck or Oliver once a week, showing that she had no ill feelings to them.

## Personality

Oliver might be brave and proud, but he admits everyday is a learning curve. He sometimes lets praise get to his smokebox, and that can be the cause of his downfall. However, under that exterior is a bit of a sensitive soul, especially when it comes to the topic of scrap.

## Technical Details

### Basis

Oliver is based on a Great Western Railway (GWR) 14xx Class 0-4-2T. These engines were fitted with a mechanical system allowing the driver to control the locomotive remotely from the cab of an 'Autocoach', such as Isabel. They were originally assigned numbers in the 48xx series but were renumbered into the 14xx series in 1946. Four engines of this class survive in preservation.

Oliver's number comes from a real 14xx, No. 1436, which was built at Swindon Works in August 1934 as No. 4836 and worked in the West of England, West Midlands and West London until it was withdrawn in October 1958. It was scrapped at Morkot Ltd, Caerphilly on the 1st of October, 1958. According to *The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways* and *Sodor: Reading Between the Lines*, "It is doubtful whether this (1436) was the number actually allotted to him in 1946". However, in this series, Oliver is without a shadow of a doubt No. 1436.

### Livery

Oliver is painted in NWR unlined green with the 1934 GWR crest painted on the sides of his tanks and his number (11) painted on the sides of his cab in yellow with a red outline. Unlike The Railway Series, Oliver's wheels were green in Thomas & Friends, presumably to distinguish him from Duck.

Before arriving on Sodor, Oliver was painted Great Western Railway (GWR) Mid Chrome green. He has black wheels, splashers, valences and pipes. The GWR 'shirtbutton' logo is painted on the sides of his tanks in yellow. He has brass GWR number plates with black grounds on the sides of his cab with his number (1436) on them as well as a brass safety valve bonnet.

## Differences between the episodes and the books

* Oliver came to Sodor after Bear had his trials in the books. In this series, it was before. In the TV show, Bear never arrived to begin with.
* Furthermore, Oliver arrived after Flying Scotsman was about to leave in the books. In this series, it was before he visited at all. In the TV show, Scotsman's visit was glossed over.
* Oliver is repainted into his light green livery ala the TV series in this series. In the books, he remains his dark green.
* Oliver still owns Toad in the TV show. In the books, Douglas owns Toad instead. In this series, both engines share Toad.
* In the books, Oliver had Isabel from the start and gets Dulcie later. In the TV show, he never had autocoaches at all. In this series, he had them, was separated from them, and reunited with them much later.
* Oliver is in a romantic relationship with Douglas.
* In the books, Oliver's GWR number was 1436. This series used that too.