Terence

* II
* I

United States (*built*)

*“What ugly wheels you've got.""They're not ugly, they're caterpillars. I can go anywhere;* I *don't need rails.”*
―Thomas and Terence meet for the first time[src]
**Terence** is an orange caterpillar tractor who usually works near Thomas' Branch Line. He is owned and driven by Farmer Finney.

## Contents

* 1Biography
* 2Personality
* 3Technical Details
	+ 3.1Basis
	+ 3.2Livery
* 4Appearances
* 5Trivia
* 6Gallery
	+ 6.1The Railway Series
		- 6.1.1Main Series
		- 6.1.2Companion Volumes
		- 6.1.3Behind the Scenes
* 7References

## Biography

Thomas insulted Terence for having caterpillar tracks but regretted it and befriended Terence after he pulled him out of a snowdrift.

Terence befriended Duck while Thomas was at Crovan's Gate Works.

Terence did Percy's shunting work at Ffarquhar while Percy was at Knapford Harbour.

Terence helped to build a barn the day Victoria was sent back to Thomas' Branch Line. After swerving for a boulder by the Hackenbeck tunnel, Terence's trailer fell down the cutting and balanced dangerously on a bush.

## Personality

Terence is an assertive, orange tractor with caterpillar tracks. The engines find these very unusual, but Terence is very capable of proving that he does not need rails and that his tracks allow him to go practically anywhere. He takes any teasing in the name of fun and is happy to get on with his job, usually partaking in agricultural work. Terence never hesitates to assist in emergencies or sticky situations, road or rail, due to his helpful, forgiving nature. His tracks are particularly invaluable in harsh winter conditions when snow can affect transport across the Island. He may be slow, but he is versatile, adaptable and helpful.

## Technical Details

### Basis

Terence is based on a Caterpillar Model 70, the largest and last design of petrol-powered tractors in the Caterpillar Tractor Company's range. Compared to the real vehicle, Terence's design was given notable modifications; he is longer in length, his mudguards go all the way across the top of his tracks, and his engine is concealed to a greater extent. The construction tractors are also based on this tractor.

Terence's basis

### Livery

Terence is primarily painted orange. The colour of his exhaust pipe, engine and front frequently differ between illustrations, switching between being either black or orange.

## Appearances

* Railway Series

The Railway Series

Tank Engine Thomas Again - Thomas, Terence and the Snow and Thomas and Bertie (mentioned)

More About Thomas the Tank Engine - The Runaway (mentioned)

Toby, Trucks and Trouble - Toby Takes the Road

Thomas and Victoria - Toby's Vintage Train

Companion Volumes

1976 - Famous Engines

1984 - Thomas the Tank Engine and the Tractor and Thomas's Christmas Party

1987 - The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways (mentioned)

1992 - Thomas and the Hurricane

1996 - Thomas the Tank Engine: The Complete Collection and Annual

2005 - Sodor: Reading Between the Lines (mentioned)

2007 - Thomas the Tank Engine: The New Collection

## Trivia

* According to The Thomas the Tank Engine Man, Terence was originally going to be called "**Terry**", but was later changed to the current and more formal version of the name. His original name is seen on the 1971 Railway Map of the Island of Sodor and on the first map of the Ffarquhar Branch in The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways.
* Terence is the first non-rail character introduced in the entire series, discounting Sir Topham Hatt or any other Human Characters.
* Terence is the first non-rail character to have an American basis used for a character design.
* Terence is drawn with a cab, but without his widow's peak, in the book *Thomas's Christmas Party*.

## Gallery

### *The Railway Series*

#### Main Series

Terence in the Railway Series

Terence helping Thomas

#### Companion Volumes

Thomas and Terence illustrated by Edgar Hodges

## References

1. ↑ RWS "The Thomas the Tank Engine Man"

## Terence the Tractor

### Country

Island of Sodor

United States (*built*)

### Affiliation

* Ffarquhar Branch Line
	+ Thomas
	+ Farmer McColl

### Owner(s)

Farmer Finney

*“What ugly wheels you've got.""They're not ugly, they're caterpillars. I can go anywhere;* I *don't need rails.”*
―Thomas and Terence meet for the first time[src]
**Terence** is an orange caterpillar tractor who usually works near Thomas' Branch Line. He is owned and driven by Farmer Finney.

## Contents

* 1Biography
* 2Personality
* 3Technical Details
	+ 3.1Basis
	+ 3.2Livery
* 4Appearances
* 5Trivia
* 6References

Ad

## Biography

As in the Railway Series, Terence rescued Thomas when he got stuck in the snow. He later helped Mrs. Kyndley when her house was snowed up and looked after it when she went with the engines to a Christmas Party. In the second series, Terence befriended Duck while Thomas was at the works and attended the Christmas Party at Tidmouth.

When a storm destroyed much of the forest, Terence helped with the planting of new trees and assured Henry that the forest would look better than ever before. Later, when Bertie got stuck in the mud at the Vicar of Wellsworth's party, Terence used strong ropes to pull him out. During the winter, when villagers were stranded by snow, Terence helped them by ploughing the snow away.

In the fifth series, he warned James about the damage that trees can do and reminded Percy that Mrs. Kyndley's daughter was to get married. He was also seen working at Boulder Quarry.

In the sixth series, he helped clear away fallen rock on the line which had derailed Thomas and almost Toby. He was later seen ploughing in a field when Duncan lost his whistle trying to surprise him.

In the seventh series, he helped clear away a tree that had fallen on the line and pulled Elizabeth out of the snow.

In The Great Discovery, when Thomas went missing, Terence helped with the search for him and once Thomas was found, Terence along with Trevor informed Harvey of the news.

Once, when Terence was collecting Christmas trees for the holiday market, Thomas had requested a large tree for the party at Ulfstead Castle. Terence took a shortcut across a frozen lake to get to the tree, but on the way back, the ice began to break. Thomas managed to pull Terence free from the water, but the tree was lost.

Sometime later at McColl Farm, he stared confused at some diesel parts that Rebecca had dropped off there and took the produce train that Paxton was supposed to collect, unaware that this was part of Diesel's trick until Rebecca told Sir Topham Hatt about what Diesel did.

## Personality

Terence is an assertive, orange tractor with caterpillar tracks. The engines find these very unusual, but Terence is very capable of proving that he does not need rails and that his tracks allow him to go practically anywhere. He takes any teasing in the name of fun and is happy to get on with his job, usually partaking in agricultural work. Terence never hesitates to assist in emergencies or sticky situations, road or rail, due to his helpful, forgiving nature. His tracks are particularly invaluable in harsh winter conditions when snow can affect transport across the Island. He may be slow, but he is versatile, adaptable and helpful. He can usually be found transporting agricultural produce or cheerily ploughing fields beside Thomas' branch line. Sometimes, though, he can get a little overconfident and forget to listen to his own advice: "You have to be sensible if you want to stay safe!"

## Technical Details

### Basis

Terence is based on a Caterpillar Model 70, the largest and last design of petrol-powered tractors in the Caterpillar Tractor Company's range. Compared to the real vehicle, Terence's design was given notable modifications; he is longer in length, his mudguards go all the way across the top of his tracks, and his engine is concealed to a greater extent. The construction tractors are also based on this tractor.

Terence's basis

### Livery

Terence is painted orange with a black engine and exhaust pipe. He also has two black bands near the front and back of his bonnet; between the second series and *The Great Discovery*, he had an additional stripe along the top of each side, which was removed when he returned in CGI.

## Appearances

* Television Series
* Other Media

### *Thomas & Friends*

* **Series 1** - Thomas, Terence and the Snow, Thomas and Bertie (*mentioned*) and Thomas' Christmas Party (*does not speak*)
* **Series 2** - Thomas and Trevor (*mentioned in Swedish dub*), The Runaway, Ghost Train (*deleted scene*) and Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree (*cameo*)
* **Series 3** - Henry's Forest, Mavis (*cameo*), Edward, Trevor and the Really Useful Party and Thomas and Percy's Christmas Adventure
* **Series 4** - Four Little Engines (*cameo*)
* **Series 5** - James and the Trouble with Trees, Happy Ever After and Rusty and the Boulder (*cameo*)
* **Series 6** - The Fogman (*cameo*) and Faulty Whistles (*does not speak*)
* **Series 7** - Toby's Windmill (*does not speak*) and Not So Hasty Puddings (*does not speak*)
* **Series 21** - Terence Breaks the Ice
* **Series 22** - School of Duck (*Caterpillar treads only; fantasy*)
* **Series 23** - Diesel Do Right

#### Specials

* **2008** - The Great Discovery (*speaks only in Polish dub*)

#### Music Videos

* **Series 3** - Thomas' Anthem
* **Series 4** - Thomas' Anthem Grand Finale, Don't Judge a Book By its Cover and Thomas' Christmas Song
* **Series 5** - The Snow Song and Harold the Helicopter
* **Series 6** - Winter Wonderland
* **Series 7** - The Whistle Song
* **Series 10** - H is for Harold, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Jingle Bells
* **The Great Discovery** - Where, oh Where is Thomas? and Thomas, You're the Leader
* **Thomas' YouTube World Tour** - Thomas' Anthem (*mentioned*)

### Magazine Stories

* **1987** - Thomas' Christmas Party and Thomas, Terence and the Snow
* **1988** - Thomas and Bertie (*mentioned*) and The Runaway
* **1989** - Clearing Up (*does not speak*)
* **1990** - Trouble in the Tunnel and Henry's Forest (*does not speak*)
* **1991** - Percy and Terence
* **1992** - Going Slowly!
* **1993** - Trevor to the Rescue!
* **1994** - The Hot Soup Special!, The Nature Bus! (*does not speak*), Thomas Keeps a Secret! and Treasure Hunting Tractor!
* **1995** - Night Lights
* **1996** - The Hay Engine! and Pulling and Ploughing!
* **1997** - Size Wise (*does not speak*)
* **2000** - Terence and Trevor!, A Special Story About Terence and Painting the Shed (*mentioned*)
* **2001** - Mister Mighty!, Midnight Mavis (*does not speak*), A Special Story About Stepney and Pulling the Post
* **2002** - The Winning Shot (*does not speak*)
* **2003** - Slip and Grip!, A Foggy Friend (*cameo*) and Really Fast Food!
* **2004** - Terence's Little Lamb, Henry's Forest, Proud and Loud (*cameo*) and Frying Tonight (*does not speak*)
* **2005** - Sweet Scent (*cameo*), Tunnel Trouble (*cameo*), Tractor Engine and Naughty or Nice?
* **2007** - Blown About!, The Lost Spring, Wheely Useful and Wet Wait
* **2008** - Funny Faces! (*does not speak*)
* **2010** - Farm Fun! (*does not speak*) and Pulling the Post
* **2011** - Terence and Trevor!, Wet Wait, Market Day (*does not speak*), Really Red (*does not speak*), Snow Play, Party Time and Perfect Plough
* **2012** - Sand Express (*does not speak*) and Messy Monster! (*does not speak*)
* **2013** - A Friend in Need, Bulgy's Back, Seeing Red! (*does not speak*) and The Seaside Special (*does not speak*)
* **2014** - Prickly Pig! and Fever! (*mentioned*)

Terence also appeared in the magazine stories, Christmas Puddings, Diesel Display, Good Games, Bad Sport!, Holiday Havoc!, Rude James, Take Off with Terence and The Huge Horses!.

### Annual Stories

* **1985** - Thomas and the Important Visitor (*does not speak*) and Unhappy Landing (*mentioned*)
* **1986** - Terence Takes a Bath
* **1987** - Lost in the Snow (*mentioned*)
* **1988** - Thomas and Trevor (*mentioned*) and Terence Turns Pot Hunter
* **1990** - Hosepipes and Shunters
* **1993** - Thomas and the Snow Block (*does not speak*)
* **1994** - Bertie the Snow Bus
* **1996** - James Gets Cracking (*does not speak*)
* **1999** - Leaves on the Line (*does not speak*)
* **2001** - Donald and Douglas (*does not speak*)

### Books

* **1993** - Learn with Thomas
* **2003** - Terence
* **2010** - Easter in Harwick, The Big Fix-It Day and The Snowy Surprise
* **2012** - Sound Storybook Treasury
* **2017** - The Snowy Surprise
* **2021** - Thomas Saves Christmas (*cameo*)

## Trivia

* In some international dubs, Terence's name was changed:
	+ In early Spanish translations of the Random House books, Terence was known as *Terencio*.
	+ In the French dub of the first seven series, Terence's name is *Thierry*.
	+ The Polish Story Library book Terence is named *Teodor*, though his name in the Polish dub is *Tymcio*.
* In some merchandising and books, Terence's name is sometimes misspelt as "Ter***r***ence". Other people misspell Terence as Terance or Terrance making the orange tractor one of the most misspelled characters in the franchise.
* During the production of the first series, Terence was nicknamed "**Drac the Trac**" by the production crew.
* Up until the twenty-second series, in which Bertie was absent, Terence was the only character introduced in the first series to be absent from any series afterwards.
* Up until the twenty-first series, Terence never had any eyebrows in the television series, although he has eyebrows in some illustrations and merchandise. Only a black widows peak was present above his eyes in the franchise and in some of his merchandise.
* In the 1995 annual story, James Gets Cracking, Terence's driver was revealed to be named Farmer Finney. However, he has been driven by Jem Cole, Farmer McColl and Farmer Collett once before. In a deleted scene of Ghost Train, Terence was driven by Sam the Farmer. Farmers on the Skarloey Railway have also been seen using Terence for plowing fields.
* According to a magazine article, Terence sometimes works on Farmer Trotter's Pig Farm.
* Terence, along with Bertie, were the only vehicle characters in Thomas & Friends to have pupils. They had them in Season 1 and 2, but they disappeared after that.
* Terence’s model was on display at Drayton Manor, but it was removed in July 2022.

## References

1. ↑ The making of Thomas, *Model Railway Constructor* December 1984, page 630