James

**James** is a red mixed-traffic tender engine who works on the North Western Railway, usually working along the Main Line. He can be vain and sometimes boastful, but means well and is a hard worker.

## Biography

James was designed by George Hughes and built by Horwich Works at some point in 1912. He was designed as an experimental variation of the Class 28 locomotives, with a front pony truck installed at the front and 5'6" sized driving wheels instead of the class' usual 5'1". These were added in an attempt to cure the "nose-diving" the class experienced when travelling at high speed. The experiment did not entirely produce the results hoped for and after the Grouping, James was sold to the North Western Railway.[3] Shortly after he arrived on the Island of Sodor, James was damaged in a crash when his trucks pushed him down the line and his wooden brake blocks caught on fire. After being recovered from the wreck, James was sent to Crovan's Gate Works, where he was repaired, repainted into a new red livery and gained functional brakes. He presumably gained his Fowler tender around this time.

When James returned from the Works, he became vain and troublesome. While double-heading a passenger train with Edward, he accidentally showered water on the Fat Controller's new top hat, almost forgot to stop at the station and disturbed an elderly lady with his hiccups. After being threatened by the Fat Controller with a coat of blue paint, James became grumpy and started bumping the coaches around aggressively, though this backfired on him when one of the brake pipes began leaking and needed to be mended with a bootlace and some newspapers. Following this incident, James was shut up in the shed until he could learn his lesson. When he was finally let out by the Fat Controller, James was assigned to pulling a goods train to Killdane. Although he had some trouble when some of the trucks broke away, James managed to keep the train under control and deliver it to the station and was allowed to keep his red paint after the Fat Controller had seen everything.

Even though he had proven to be useful, James was still teased by Gordon and Henry for his past mistakes. However, after Gordon got lost and wound up at Tidmouth, James was allowed to take the express in his place. He did so successfully and he and Gordon became firm friends.

When Thomas left Tidmouth to run the Ffarquhar Branch Line, James, Gordon and Henry became irritated, as they now had to fetch their own trains. After an incident on the turntable that left him humiliated, James, along with Gordon and Henry, decided to go on strike, refusing to leave the shed and behaving badly when they had to work. The Fat Controller eventually shut them up in the shed and made Thomas and Edward pull their trains, though he allowed them to come out when they were sorry.

On more than one occasion, James has been forced to accept help from those he insulted. When Toby and Henrietta came to work on Thomas' branch line, James insulted them by calling them "dirty objects" and boasting about how his red paint is never dirty. But later, some trucks pushed him down Gordon's Hill and he crashed into two tar wagons, spoiling his paint. Toby and Percy pulled James away, but not before Toby teased James about never having dirty paint.

Later, James was impatient with Edward for his clanking and being slow and late, comparing him unfavourably to "a lot of old iron". But when two boys played with James' controls and caused him to run away without anyone in his cab, Edward and an engine inspector came to his rescue and caught him. A weary James gratefully apologised to Edward for his insults and Edward forgave him.

When Diesel arrived on trial, James gained the nickname "Rusty Red Scrap-Iron". Believing that Duck was behind the insults, James, along with Gordon and Henry, turned against him. However, when Diesel was exposed and Duck was proven innocent, James and the other engines were sorry and welcomed him back. James later recalled the events of Diesel's visit to Duncan, though he greatly exaggerated certain parts of the tale, making it seem as though *he* was the one who sent Diesel packing.

James continued to treat diesel engines with hostility, long after the other steam engines had already accepted them. Although he liked BoCo and Bear, James was openly nasty to other diesels, believing them to be inferior. However, when his injector froze one wintry day and he had to be rescued by the Works Diesel, James decided to give up his prejudiced views, as the diesel had been friendly to him.

In 2011, James was chosen by the Fat Controller to go to the Mainland to collect a bust of the Thin Clergyman and deliver it to Tidmouth. James did so, but on the way back the entrance to Henry's Tunnel collapsed. Thankfully, James had gone through the tunnel before it collapsed and made it to Tidmouth with the bust. He attended its unveiling alongside the other engines.

## Personality

James is very proud of his splendid red paintwork. He dislikes pulling trucks and believes that he should only pull coaches. He is so self-centred that he thinks himself superior to the others and can be shallow, boastful, overconfident, arrogant, prideful, naughty and vain, particularly to those who appear old-fashioned, weak, slow or dirty. This has caused him to have somewhat of a rivalry with Edward, Percy, Toby and Duck, as well as Thomas, Gordon, Henry and even Philip lately on occasion. He has acted like this even before he was repainted red. However, on a number of occasions, he has found himself in need of help from those whom he has insulted and is, in the end, apologetic.

James was the last of the steam engines to retain a prejudice against diesels. However, after stalling on a cold day, he was rescued by the Geoff and had to admit that nothing was wrong with diesels. This appears to be one of the few lessons that have stuck.

James has also been portrayed as a prankster, often tricking or scaring the other engines for fun or to get out of jobs he dislikes doing. However, following a particularly mean-spirited prank he played on Percy in the time he scared with a monster made of scrap, this gimmick seems to have died down. As of the meeting videos, he has been labelled as the "Joker" of the Steam Team by Thomas.

Despite all of that, James has shown a caring side to him. He has a heart of gold and wants to help anyone in a time of need. He is normally hard-working and, like everyone else, wants to be responsible, reliable and really useful on Sir Topham Hatt's railway. Although his vanity can hide it, James actually is capable of realizing when he crosses the line, though in most cases, it takes scolding from others to make his penny drop.

## Technical Details

### Basis

James is based on the L&YR Class 28, a class of 0-6-0 mixed-traffic tender locomotive designed by George Hughes for the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway and built by Horwich Works between 1909 and 1912. It was a rebuild of Aspinall's Class 27, with the addition of a Belpaire firebox, a Schmidt/"twin-plug" superheater and the extension of the footplate and front sandboxes.

According to *The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways*, James is an experimental member of the Class 28s; he is fitted with a front pony truck (thus making him a 2-6-0 instead of an 0-6-0), 5'6" driving wheels instead of the class' original 5'1" ones and a Fowler tender. His front sandboxes also appear to be mounted underneath his footplate rather than joined to his leading splashers.

The Rev. W. Awdry's original model of James was modified from that of a G&SWR 403 Class 2-6-0 and materials related to Awdry's model layout indicate this was originally considered to be James' prototype.

## Appearances

### Season 1

* Whistle Trouble (cameo)
* A Near Miss For BoCo (cameo)
* Daisy the Royal Diesel Rail-Car (cameo)
* Henry's Nightmare (mentioned)
* Rowdy Singing
* The Screaming Woman (does not speak)
* Taking The Plunge Again?
* Donald, Douglas and the Presents Train (cameo)
* Diesel's Christmas Carol

### Season 2

* Toby and the Express (cameo)
* Not a Toy! (does not speak)
* Vandalised (cameo)
* Whistling Rescue
* Blue Engine for Sale (does not speak)
* A Sticky Situation for Gordon and James
* A Cow in the Tunnel (cameo)
* Gordon Forgets
* The Flaming Kipper
* A Christmas for Diesel
* A Midnight Ride for Thomas (cameo)
* Thomas and the New Bell (cameo)
* Happy Hogmanay (does not speak)

### Season 3

* First Impressions (does not speak)
* Hunters
* Fireman for the Night
* Engine Who
* A Gronk and Bucket Rivalry (does not speak)
* The Past Is In The Past (cameo)
* Fear (does not speak)
* Technology
* Stop and Smell the Roses
* NWR 100 (does not speak)
* Emily and the Trespasser (cameo)
* James' Branch Line
* A New Boiler for James
* William (episode) (cameo)
* The Sodor Blitz (cameo)
* Heavy Goods (cameo)
* Diesel Returns (cameo)
* A Kyndley Christmas

### Season 4

* High Speed Sneeze (cameo)
* The Fishy Smell (cameo)
* BoCo's New Driver
* Derek (episode) (cameo)
* Oliver and the Enthusiast (cameo)
* Thomas the Cheeky Tank Engine (does not speak)
* Dynamite For The Quarry (cameo)
* The 'Unlucky' Engine (cameo)
* Tender Engines Don't Shunt (does not speak)
* Respect (does not speak)
* The First Visit
* Hard Work Brings Success (cameo)
* Jim (episode) (does not speak)
* Neil (episode) (cameo)
* Gordon and the Pigs
* Rumours and Reveals
* A Christmas Wish
* New Year, New Life

### Season 5

* Stationmaster Cat (cameo)
* Thomas and the Cleaner (cameo)
* Daisy and the Sick Passenger
* Goodbye Percy (does not speak)
* Who's The Favourite? (cameo)
* Timothy the 'Ghost' Engine
* Dennis and the Passengers (cameo)
* The Train Protection and Warning System (mentioned)
* Jim & The North Western Railway (does not speak)
* Gordon and Scott (cameo)
* The Legacy Of Glynn The Coffee Pot Engine (cameo)
* The Fat Controller's Bad Day

### Season 6

* Percy and the Queen (does not speak)
* The Last Mail Run (does not speak)
* Whistle Trouble (5th Anniversary Episode) (cameo)
* Pip and the Trucks (does not speak)
* The Box-cab and the Pacific (cameo)
* Philip and the Windy Runaway (does not speak)
* Slow Down, Gordon! (does not speak)

### Season 7

* No Laughing Matter (cameo)
* Mavis' Impatient Driver (cameo)
* Toby's Easter Egg Hunt (cameo)
* The Earl's Coffee Pot (does not speak)
* Thomas and Percy's Field Trip (does not speak)
* Percy "Spots" James
* Bill and Ben's Christmas Rescue (cameo)

### Season 8

* Paxton (episode) (does not speak)
* Changed? (cameo)
* Typical Engines (cameo)
* The Law is the Law! (cameo)

### Season 9

* A New Coat for Rheneas (does not speak)
* Save Our Norramby! (cameo)
* A New Friend For Trevor (cameo)
* BoCo and the Brake Tender (does not speak)
* Philip's Royal Rescue
* Gordon and the Bluebell Railway (mentioned)
* Percy and the Express (mentioned)
* Christmas Day Emergency!

### Season 10

* Auld Faker (cameo)
* Harold the Really Useful Helicopter (cameo)
* James and the Turntable
* Elizabeth (cameo)
* Seasons E-Greetings? (cameo)

### Season 11

* Don't Mess with Oliver (cameo)
* Really Useful Engine (cameo)
* The Ugly Diesel
* Abagail the 'Quiet' Carriage
* Oliver and BoCo (cameo)
* Diesel's Christmas Carol (10th anniversary remake)
* A New Year for Toby & Algy (cameo)

### Season 12

* Ballast Train
* Gordon's Fallout (*cameo*)
* Framed!
* A Stuffed Friend for Duck
* A Cranky New Year! (*music video cameo*)

### Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends

#### Series 1

* James Makes a Mistake
* Trial of Trust
* Thomas and Timothy
* Cursed Coaches (cameo)
* Engines and Egos
* No Stone Unturned
* Thomas' Bad Day (cameo)
* The Secret Benefactor
* Edward's Precious Passenger
* Bear Reads a Book
* The Missing Coach
* Duck Comes Around
* Preservation (cameo)
* Fireless Engines (cameo)
* Diesel's Demons (cameo)
* A Missing Van (cameo)
* Oliver's Faithful Friend (does not speak)
* The Tale of the Bad Engine
* Goods Engines (cameo)
* In Demand (cameo)

### Annual Adaptations

* Toby Saves the Day (cameo)
* Thomas and the Snowplough (does not speak)

#### Series 2

* Thomas and the Old-Timers (cameo)
* Across the Bridge
* Toby's Trial (cameo)
* Gordon's Trucks (cameo)
* Diesels and Dogma (mentioned)
* One Bump Too Many
* The Bakery Express (does not speak)
* Percy's Ploy