Mavis

**Mavis** is a diesel shunter who works for the Ffarquhar Quarry Company at Anopha Quarry. She also works at the Sodor Slate Quarry.

## Biography

### *The Railway Series*

Mavis was supplied by the Drewry Car Company and sent to Sodor in 1962. Mavis was particularly fond of putting the trucks at Anopha Quarry in different places, despite Toby's protests. Toby finally lost patience and left Mavis to her own devices. Mavis, urged by Daisy, started to ignore Toby's advice and ended up looking silly when she got stuck in the middle of a crossing outside Ffarquhar.

Mavis was then forbidden to leave the quarry, but when a thaw increased production at Anopha Quarry, Mavis persuaded the manager to let her go up to the first crossing in order to shunt trucks quicker and formulated a plan to pass the level crossing with help from the trucks. However, the plan backfired when the trucks decided to bump Toby instead and he ended up being suspended by flimsy rails over a rushing stream and Mavis had to help. Mavis confessed, but the Fat Controller and the Manager were pleased by Mavis' courage and honesty and allowed her occasional trips to Ffarquhar.

In 1987, Mavis was involved in a collision with a lorry and Toby had to do her work while she was absent. She returned to the quarry for the next few years until 1991 when she took Toby's stone trains while Thomas was in York and in 1995 attended the Golden Jubilee of the Railway Series at the Big Station.

### *Thomas & Friends*

When she was introduced, just like in the Railway Series, Mavis continuously put Anopha Quarry's trucks in different places, much to Toby's frustration. Toby finally left Mavis to put the trucks wherever she wanted. Mavis was supported to do so by Diesel and took the trucks to a level crossing, where the trucks held her back and she got stuck on the crossing, trapping Bertie and Terence. Mavis was rescued by Toby and sent back to the quarry. She felt embarrassed after the accident and upset when she was forbidden to leave the quarry. Percy tried to knock some sense into her, but she refused to listen. She eventually made a plan with the trucks to go as far up the line as possible, but this resulted in putting Toby in danger. Mavis rescued Toby and the Fat Controller let her go further down the line occasionally.

In the fourth series, Mavis was one of the engines who took over the jobs of the engines who went to England. In the fifth series, she had clearly matured and she and Toby received help at the quarry from Stepney, who was visiting the railway.

In the sixth series, she was able to keep Bill and Ben in order. When Salty came to work at the quarry, he was upset that he was not working by the sea, so Mavis did her best to comfort him, while trying to stop Bill and Ben from complaining about Salty's talent with working with trucks. Mavis tried to stop Bill from being so jealous and grumpy when Ben went to get new buffers.

In the seventh series, Fergus was sent to help Mavis and the twins. Mavis got on well with Fergus and helped him out of a rockslide caused by Bill and Ben. In the eighth series, Mavis was one of the diesels given bad fuel, which resulted in her and the other diesels breaking down. Thomas collected new fuel and helped them.

When the steam engines and diesel engines were arguing, Thomas turned to Mavis for help as she was one of the few nice diesels and the two organised a meeting to sort things out. She also helped with the construction of the Sodor Airport, including taking away rubble from the wrecked tower.

In the ninth series, Mavis was involved in a collision with Percy and Toby. In the tenth series, Toby went to Mavis for help with his jobs, but Mavis was too busy. In the eleventh series, Mavis was left without fuel when Billy forgot to deliver it. In the twelfth series, Mavis was having a wash at the Sodor Slate Quarry, when she was derailed by Thomas, who was racing with Diesel.

When Spencer got on the verge of discovering Hiro, Mavis distracted him from Thomas and Percy, by guiding him to back up right underneath the operating slate hopper so he had to be taken for repairs at the Steamworks. In the thirteenth series, Mavis was awoken early by Thomas, comforted Percy who was upset about having no job, was given flowers as a surprise from Emily, who assumed she was upset and attended Hiro's welcome party. She was later convinced by Thomas to shunt trucks at Brendam Docks to impress a Railway Inspector alongside Percy.

Mavis broke down one day and was taken to the Dieselworks by Salty, where she was surprised to see Percy there. In the fifteenth series, she told Spencer, who could not see properly due to heavy fog, that he was at the quarry when he thought he found the Duke and Duchess of Boxford's Summer House. She later broke down again and this time Diesel helped her. In the sixteenth series, she told Gordon to get his bufferbeam mended, even when he tried to convince her he was fine without it and helped a composer with his song alongside Thomas and some of the Steam Team.

In the eighteenth series, Diesel took her to see the sights of Sodor, while Thomas did her job at Ffarquhar Quarry.

In the nineteenth series, she got damaged by stones from the hopper and had to go to the Dieselworks to be repaired and Den was sent to the quarry to replace her. She comforted Dart when he started to miss Den and once she was fixed, she went back to the quarry.

In the twenty-first series, Mavis is one of the engines who spread Den and Dart's rumours about Daisy being prepared to be scrapped when the duo could not acquire a spare spring to repair Daisy.

## Personality

When Mavis first came to Sodor, she was naïve, arrogant and did not take advice very well. She was mostly interested in her own ideas, but was brought down to earth after her embarrassing incident at the Ffarquhar crossing. Still, she wanted to see more of the line and schemed to have the trucks push her past the level crossing beyond the quarry - this inadvertently resulted in a near accident for Toby. After rescuing him, Mavis resolved to change her ways for good. She is now more capable of keeping the trucks in line and more willing to take advice.

Unlike many Diesels, Mavis shows respect for the steam engines and unlike most engines, hauling trucks makes her feel important. She is a reliable, honest and hard-working engine.

Over the course of time, Mavis has matured and acts as a motherly figure to the other engines.

## Technical Details

### Basis

Mavis is a based on the BR Class 04 0-6-0 diesel locomotive. She is more specifically based on the BR Class 04's that worked on the Wisbech and Upwell Tramway, as they were fitted with additional cowcatchers and sideplates so they could run near public roads. 18 of these locomotives are preserved, including one "tramway" example.

Mavis' Basis

### Livery

Mavis is painted black with yellow hazard stripes on her front and rear. She has her name and "**The Ffarquhar Quarry Co. Ltd.**" written in white on her cab and sideplates respectively.

## Appearances

* Railway Series
* Television Series
* Other Media

### *The Railway Series*

* **Tramway Engines** - Mavis and Toby's Tightrope
* **James and the Diesel Engines** - Fire-Engine (*mentioned*)
* **Toby, Trucks and Trouble** - Mavis and the Lorry and Toby Takes the Road (*mentioned*)
* **Thomas Comes Home** - Snow Problem (*does not speak*) and Toby's Megatrain (*does not speak*)
* **Thomas and the Fat Controller's Engines** - Golden Jubilee (*does not speak*)
* **Thomas and his Friends** (*prototype cover only*)

#### Companion Volumes

* **1972** - The Railway Series: Surprise Packet (*does not speak*)
* **1987** - The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways (*mentioned*)
* **2005** - Sodor: Reading Between the Lines (*mentioned*)

### *Thomas & Friends*

* **Series 3** - Mavis, Toby's Tightrope and Escape (*cameo*)
* **Series 4** - Rusty to the Rescue (*cameo*) and Thomas and the Special Letter
* **Series 5** - Stepney Gets Lost and Oliver's Find (*cameo*)
* **Series 6** - Salty's Secret, A Bad Day for Harold the Helicopter (*cameo*), Percy's Chocolate Crunch (*deleted scene cameo*) and Buffer Bother
* **Series 7** - Bill, Ben and Fergus and James and the Queen of Sodor (*cameo*)
* **Series 8** - Thomas to the Rescue
* **Series 9** - Emily Knows Best
* **Series 10** - Toby's Afternoon Off
* **Series 11** - Dream On and Don't be Silly, Billy
* **Series 12** - Don't Go Back
* **Series 13** - The Early Bird, Percy's Parcel, A Blooming Mess, Thomas and the Runaway Kite (*cameo*) and The Biggest Present of All (*does not speak*)
* **Series 14** - Charlie and Eddie (*cameo*), Thomas in Charge and Thomas and Scruff (*cameo*)
* **Series 15** - Toby and Bash (*cameo*), James to the Rescue (*does not speak*), Henry's Happy Coal (*cameo*), Surprise, Surprise (*cameo*), Spencer the Grand, Kevin the Steamie (*cameo*), Wonky Whistle (*stock footage cameo*), Tree Trouble (*does not speak*) and Fiery Flynn (*does not speak*)
* **Series 16** - Race to the Rescue (*cameo*), Thomas Toots the Crows, Bust My Buffers!, Thomas and the Sounds of Sodor, Sodor Surprise Day (*cameo*) and Whiff's Wish (*does not speak*)
* **Series 17** - Henry's Hero (*cameo*) and Away From the Sea
* **Series 18** - Not So Slow Coaches, Signals Crossed (*cameo*) and Thomas the Quarry Engine
* **Series 19** - The Truth About Toby (*cameo*), Den and Dart and No Help at All (*mentioned*)
* **Series 20** - Toby's New Friend (*cameo*)
* **Series 21** - Springtime for Diesel and Daisy's Perfect Christmas

#### Specials

* **1992** - Thomas and the U.K. Trip (*does not speak*)
* **2005** - Calling All Engines!
* **2008** - The Great Discovery (*does not speak*)
* **2009** - Hero of the Rails
* **2010** - Misty Island Rescue (*cameo*)
* **2011** - Day of the Diesels
* **2012** - Blue Mountain Mystery
* **2015** - Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure (*cameo*)
* **2016** - The Great Race (*cameo*)
* **2017** - Journey Beyond Sodor (*cameo*)
* **2018** - Big World! Big Adventures! (*cameo*)

#### Music Videos

* **Series 3** - Thomas' Anthem
* **Series 4** - Toby
* **Series 5** - It's Great to be an Engine and Come for the Ride
* **Series 6** - Boo! Boo! Choo-Choo
* **Series 7** - There Once Was an Engine Who Ran Away, Salty and The Whistle Song
* **Calling All Engines!** - Trying and Together
* **Jack and the Sodor Construction Company** - The Work Song and One Friendly Family
* **Series 10** - Doing it Right and There's Always Something New
* **The Great Discovery** - Where, oh Where is Thomas? and Thomas, You're the Leader
* **Series 13** - Roll Along and Sounds
* **Series 14** - All You Need
* **Day of the Diesels** - Day of the Diesels
* **Series 15** - Hear the Engines Coming
* **Series 16** - Go, Go Thomas
* **Series 17** - Hey, Hey Thomas!
* **Series 18** - The Best Friends Express
* **Thomas' YouTube World Tour** - Down by the Docks and The Whistle Song
* **The Adventure Begins** - Troublesome Trucks
* **Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure** - We Make a Team Together
* **Series 20** - Accidents Will Happen
* **The Great Race** - I'm Full of Surprises (*cameo*)
* **Journey Beyond Sodor** - I Want to Go Home (*cameo*)
* **Series 21** - Doing it Right and Trying
* **Big World! Big Adventures!** - Where in the World is Thomas? (*cameo*)
* **Series 22** - All the Girls Around the World

#### Learning Segments

* **Series 8** - Steamies and Diesels Sounds
* **Calling All Engines!** - Thomas Looks for Mavis and Which Diesel Engine with Which Steam Engine?
* **Series 9** - Where Can Neville Find Salty? and Which Engine with Which Job?
* **Series 10** - Help From Your Friends, Percy's Story, Diesels and Steamers, Mavis is a Steam Engine and Where is Salty's Favourite Place to Work?

### Magazine Stories

* **1996** - Proud Mavis!, The Little Line and Really Useful Oliver!
* **1997** - Star Story!
* **2000** - A Shock for Mavis, Rude James and A Special Story About Henrietta (*cameo*)
* **2001** - Soak Joke, Diesel Day! (*does not speak*), The Eyesight Test (*mentioned*), Midnight Mavis (*does not speak*) and Diesel's Ditch
* **2002** - The Fat Controller's Diesels! (*does not speak*) and Diesel's Drums
* **2003** - Seaside Salty and Special Delivery!
* **2004** - Fergus' Funnel (*does not speak*), Sky Shapes, Toby's Troubles! (*does not speak*), Buffer Bother!, Engine Trouble (*cameo*) and Rock Shock!
* **2005** - Working Christmas (*cameo*), Pop Goes the Diesel (*cameo*), Cool Idea, A Treat for Trying, Tractor Engine and Salty and the Trucks
* **2006** - Shower Power, Emily Knows Best and Disgusted Diesels
* **2007** - BoCo the Brave (*does not speak*), Bridge Bother and Everyone's Friend
* **2010** - Percy's Parcel, The Best Present of All (*cameo*), Early Bird (*does not speak*), Magpie Mavis, Piggy-in-the-middle!, Proud Puffers (*cameo*) and Disgusted Diesels (*does not speak*)
* **2012** - Bedtime Tale, Early Bird (*does not speak*), Thomas and the Sound of Sodor (*does not speak*) and Thomas Toots the Crows (*does not speak*), The Best Present of All (*cameo*), Jack's Tracks! (*mentioned*) and Flaming Flynn (*mentioned*)
* **2013** - Early Bird! (*does not speak*) and The Fat Controller's Bedtime Story (Issue 662) (*mentioned*)
* **2014** - Confusion and Delay and Leaves on the Line! (*mentioned*)
* **2015** - The Perfect Present (*cameo*), Bust My Buffers! and Thomas Saves the Day
* **2017** - Thomas Saves the Day and Den and Dart

Mavis also appeared in the magazine stories, Diesel Display, Percy's Stories, Pirate Passengers, Seal Passenger, Special Statue, Spotting Shapes, Stone Shapes, Stone Signal, The Poorly Engine! and The Strongest.

### Annual Stories

* **1990** - Hosepipes and Shunters (*mentioned*)
* **1994** - Thomas and the Tickles (*mentioned*)
* **1996** - Rings a Bell!
* **2013** - The Biggest Present of All (*cameo*)

### Videos

* **2014** - Welcome to the Island of Sodor Logan! (*stock footage cameo*)
* **2015** - A Friendly Farewell (*cameo*)

## Trivia

* The Australian Engine and The American Diesels share the same horn sound as Mavis' current one.
* Awdry's model of Mavis was actually made in 1962. It was not until ten years later in 1972 that Mavis debuted in the Railway Series itself.
* Mavis was the last character Wilbert Awdry created before he retired from writing the Railway Series.
* Mavis' television series model is currently on display at the Hara Model Railway Museum in Japan and is wearing her worried face mask.
* In the Railway Series, Mavis' brakepipe is on the right side, but in the television series her brakepipe is on the left side.
* At The Train Shed, Mavis wore one of Toby's face masks.
* In the CGI series, Mavis gains a Cornish accent in the UK narration and in the US narration from the seventeenth series onwards.

## Merchandise

* ERTL (*discontinued*)
* Wooden Railway (*discontinued*)
* Take Along (*discontinued*)
* Motor Road and Rail (*discontinued*)
* TrackMaster (*discontinued*)
* My First Thomas (*discontinued*)
* Bachmann
* Limited Edition Collection (*discontinued*)
* Thomas Engine Collection Series (*discontinued*)
* Mini Die Cast Collection (*discontinued*)
* Thomas Town (*discontinued*)
* Capsule Collection
* Take-n-Play (*discontinued*)
* Collectible Railway
* Nakayoshi (*discontinued*)
* Tomica (*cancelled*)
* Capsule Plarail (*normal and clear*)
* Mini Mini Plarail (*discontinued*)
* Pocket Fantasy (*discontinued*)
* Trading Cards (*discontinued*)
* Mega Bloks (*discontinued*)
* Micro Rubber Engines
* MV Sports (*in three pack with Thomas and Toby; discontinued*)