Thomas

Thomas is a Blue Tank Engine; he is the number 1 of the NWR

## Bio:

### Early Life and first days on Sodor:

Thomas was built on the 4th February 1915, numbered 108 as an experimental number! He was sold to the NWR, When Thomas arrived to Sodor, he met Edward (who was known back then as Emma), Winston and Victor at Vicarstown. Emma lovingly nicknamed him "Little One" as Thomas was a young engine at the time. When Thomas was sent to Tidmouth Sheds, he met Colin. When Railway Staff worker "Paul" told him that he was to be repainted, renumbered, and renamed, his first driver was called *"Thomas Banks"* and so he was renamed to Thomas, Emma also accompanied him to the works! After Thomas had been repainted and made the official North Western Railway's No.1, he was set to work as Vicarstown's station pilot. Sir Albert Hatt was the acting controller on behalf on his son Edward Hatt, made sure Emma took Thomas under their wing.

## Personality:

Thomas is a very kind engine but can be very cheeky at times.

## Appearances:

### The Start of a new beginning:

* Short 1- Henry
* Short 2- James
* Short 3- Thomas
* Short 4- Edward

## Technical Details:

Thomas is based on the London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) E2 of 0-6-0 Tank Engines. They were the first locomotives designed by Lawson B. Billington, originally intended to replace the elderly E1 Class Tank Engines (Who were designed by his predecessor, William Stroudley) on light goods/freight work. 10 locomotives were built between 1913-1916 at the LBSCR's Brighton Works, Numbered 100-109. The E2's were built in 2 batches. The first batch, consisting of locomotives 100-104, had an inadequate water supply, so the second batch of E2's, consisting of locomotives 105-109, were built with extended side tanks to compensate. Unfortunately, the E2's suffered from several problems, which included (but not limited to), mediocre brakes, and offset counterbalancing, and a few other issues. One of the most notable issues was the small size of the coal bunker, which meant that the locomotive couldn't pull trains at anything faster than walking pace. Most of them were used for heavier shunting and light goods work.

When the LBSCR became part of the Southern Railway (UK), following the Big Four Grouping of 1923, the E2's numbers were increased by 2000, with the locomotives now bearing the numbers 2100-2109. This numbering scheme would remain until the creation of British Railways in 1948, when the numbers of all former Southern Machines were increased by 30,000, with the final numbering for the E2's being 32100-32109, remaining that way until Withdrawal by BR. In the Mid-1950's, the class was used at Southampton Docks, alongside the USATC S-100 Class Tank Engines (Rosie's Basis), but the E2's longer, 16-foot wheelbase restricted them from making some of the tighter curves in the docks. The Class was withdrawn between 1961-1963, and sadly, none survived into preservation.

Thomas in particular is based the 2nd Batch of E2's with the extended side tanks, but Thomas himself has several differences in design compared to his basis, including the addition of Splashers, a shorter wheelbase, and the running board only being dipped in the front, as opposed to both sides.

Timothy the Ghost Engine, Mark and Reilly are also based on this class!

### Livery:

*(108)**(The Adventure Begins Livery)*Thomas is painted in NWR Blue! Whereas he was once painted in LBSCR Red and LBSCR Black. In 2015 to celebrate the release of the Adventure Begins film and the 70th Anniversary of The Railway Series release, Thomas was repainted in the livery he wore in the film.

## Trivia:

* The real 108 was built was built in 1916.
* Thomas uses his S1 Whistle