Diesel

"*Sparkin!*"
— Diesel's catchphrase

**Diesel** is a diesel engine who lives and works on Sodor.

## Biography

Diesel is a diesel engine who lives on Sodor with Thomas and his friends. His best friends are Thomas, Percy, Nia, Kana, Carly, Sandy, and Bruno.

## Personality

Unlike the original series, where he was oily, malicious, devious, scheming, and full of ideas to get revenge, Diesel is portrayed as one of Thomas' best friends. He is Thomas' competitive friend, always trying to one-up Thomas, and inadvertently causes trouble for everyone in his quest to be "the real Number One Engine." However, he does still retain some of his original personality, like teasing others, and trying to sabotage others in order to win a race. But despite this, he still has his limits when it comes to sportsmanship, especially after he witnessed his favorite racers, Farona and Frederico try and sabotage Thomas and Kana's chance at winning the Sodor Cup.

Diesel's favorite object is an old, rusted oil can he named Rusty. Despite it being dirty and noisy, he keeps it around for sentimental value.

## Technical Details

### Basis

Diesel is based on a British Rail Class 08 diesel-electric shunter. In the real world, BR Class 08s were in fact the most successful shunting engines in the world with 996 of them built. Over seventy of them are preserved by heritage railways, such as the Dean Forest Railway and museums, such as the National Railway Museum. Around one-hundred BR Class 08s also remain in service on the national rail network.

BR Class 08
### Livery

Diesel is painted mostly black with a deep purple stripe along his side as well as a deep purple running board and wheels. His bufferbeam is painted red.

During Race for the Sodor Cup, Diesel briefly wears a special livery in support of Farona and Frederico which is similar to his normal livery, however with a few notable differences. Namely, his running board and the stripe along his side are yellow, with an additional orange stripe in the middle and a yellow box under his face. After witnessing them cheat in an attempt to preserve their chances at winning, Diesel reverted back to his normal livery after Kana and Thomas crossed the gap. However, Diesel does have his special livery again in the Let's Race videos, The Egg Race and The Bell Race.

Diesel in his special livery in Race for the Sodor CupDiesel in his special livery in The Egg RaceDiesel in his special livery in The Bell Race

## Appearances

* Television Series
* Other Media

*Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go*
* **Season 1** - A Thomas Promise, Thomas Blasts Off, License to Deliver, Rules of the Game, A Quiet Delivery, Kana Goes Slow (*does not speak*), Dragon Run, The Biggest Adventure Club, A Wide Delivery, Chasing Rainbows, Nia's Balloon Blunder (*cameo*), Capture the Flag, Super Screen Cleaners, The Joke is on Thomas, Thomas' Day Off, The Real Number One, No Power, No Problem!, The Tiger Train, Calliope Crack-Up, Tyrannosaurus Wrecks, The Super-Long Shortcut, A Light Delivery, The Paint Problem, A Wonderful World, Whistle Woes, Letting Off Steam, Something to Remember, Sandy Versus the Storm, An UnbeLEAFable Day, Ghost Train, A Rusty Rescue, Hide and Surprise!, Pop a Wheelie, Goodbye, Ghost-Scaring Machine, More Cowbell, Sir Topham Hatt's Hat, Nia's Surprising Surprise, A New View for Thomas, Skiff Sails Sodor, and Song of Sodor
* **Season 2** - Fast Friends (*mentioned in Japanese dub only*), Percy Disappears, Ashima's Amazing Arrival, Tri-and-a-Half-a-Lon, Carly's Magnificent Magnet, Carly's Screechy Squeak, Shake, Rattle and Bruno, Blackout!, Brand New Track, Stink Monster, Christmas Mountain, More Than a Pretty Engine, Snowplow Struttin', Thomas in Charge, Kana Recharges, The Big Skunk Funk, Off the Rails (*cameo*), Diesel's Dilemma, Bring it on Beresford, Sheep Shenanigans, Tunnel Troubles, The Case of the Missing Crane, Not-So-Secret Mission, A Very Percy Valentine's Day, Valentine's Hearts, Speedster Sandy, Salty's Sea Shanty, Retrieve the Kraken, Blue Engine Blues, Percy in the Middle, Not So Easy-Greasy, It All Adds Up, Bruno's Map Mishap, Seeking a Safer Sodor, Thomas for a Day, The Super Axle, The Waiting Game, All Wheels on Track, Something Broken, Someone Blue, and The Sights of Sodor
* **Season 3** - Bruno's Blustery Day
* **Season 4** - TBA
* **Short Story Adventures** - Diesel's Rules, Nia and the Ducks, Muddy Thomas, Diesel's Seagull, Surprise!, Lighthouse Disco, Horrible Hiccups, Hay, Now!, Red Light, Green Light, and Confetti Car Kerfuffle

Movies
* **2021** - Race for the Sodor Cup
* **2022** - The Mystery of Lookout Mountain
* **2024** - Untitled Third Movie

Specials
* **2023** - The Great Bubbly Build

Songs
* **Season 1** - I'm Gonna Chug, Knights of the Turntable, A Partner on the Rails, The Mail Delivery Song (*does not speak*), If I Was a Super Train (*cameo; music video only*), Get on the Laugh Track, What Brave Engines Do (*cameo; music video only*), Feet, Tailbone, Ribs, and Claws, The Number One Engine (*does not speak; music video only*), What's Awesome About This Place, A Gift to Remember, Fall Fun, My Rusty Can, Together We Can, He Should Have Given You Back (*does not speak; music video only*), Celebrate, and Song of Sodor
* **Race for the Sodor Cup** - Look It's Us (*cameo; music video only*)
* **Season 2** - A Mistake is What it Takes (*cameo*), You Can't Stop Me!, Plow to Have Fun on the Job, Feel the Hush, What I Can Do and What I Can't, Peep Peep, We're Counting Sheep, How to Solve a Mystery, What's Really Real (*does not speak*), Sandy's Strengths (*cameo; music video only*), Blues Buddy (*cameo; music video only*), Good Sports, Work Together (*does not speak*), The Waiting Game (*does not speak*), and The Sights of Sodor
* **The Mystery of Lookout Mountain** - Warning: Biggest Adventure Ahead, A Whole New Place, and Job to Do
* **The Great Bubbly Build** - Focus on the FUNction (*cameo; music video only*) and Put the Fun in Function (*cameo; music video only*)
* **Other** - All Engines Go Theme Song and Train School Song

Videos
* **Watch Out, Thomas!** - Thomas and the Dust Bunnies, The Hay Bale Delivery (*cameo*), The Relay Race (*cameo*), The Sodor Cup Final (*cameo*), Diesel's Monkey Trouble, Percy's Musical Mystery (*does not speak*), Thomas' Messy Farm Adventure (*cameo*), Percy's Spooky Delivery (*does not speak*), Thomas' Obstacle Course Fun, Thomas' Game of Hide and Surprise!, Thomas' Dragon Rescue (*cameo*), Carly and Sandy's Dino Delivery (*does not speak*), Thomas and Bruno's Loopy Delivery (*cameo*), Bruno's Easter Egg Mystery, Percy and the Mine Monster (*screaming only*), Thomas and the Pirate Treasure (*cameo*), The Great Rescue of Diesel and Cranky, The Cleaning Catastrophe (*billboard cameo*), Percy Finds a Crystal Cave Monster!, Sodor Costume Party!, Trick or Treat, and Thomas and the World's Largest Christmas Tree
* **Let's Race** - The Egg Race, The Bell Race, The Flag Race, and The Obstacle Race
* **Train School** - Under the Meadow, The Magic of Patience, The Height of Courage, The Run Down, The Team-Up Cleanup, and The Art of Sharing
* **All Aboard!** - Detective Bruno and The New Platform
* **Sodor Mystery** - Thomas and the Mysterious Delivery (*cameo*) and Mystery of the Missing Watermelons

Books
* **2021** - All Engines Go
* **2022** - The Promise Problem, Thomas and the Rocket (*does not speak*), Imagine Ink, Speedy Sticker Scenes, Meet the Engines, and Thomas the Tank Engine Character Encyclopedia
* **2023** - Thomas and Bruno, Chasing Rainbows, Thomas' Day Off, The Joke is on Thomas, Race for the Sodor Cup, Let's Go Team!, Tyrannosaurus Wrecks, The 12 Engines of Christmas, Thomas and the Christmas Mountain (*cameo*), Let's Learn Numbers, Let's Learn Shapes, and Let's Learn Letters
* **2024** - Little Learners Pocket Library, Feelings, Meet Team Thomas!, and Good Night, Thomas

Annual Stories
* **2023** - A Thomas Promise, Thomas Blasts Off, and Chasing Rainbows (*not named; does not speak*)
* **2024** - Hide and Surprise, Tyrannosaurus Wrecks, and The Biggest Adventure Club

Magazine Stories
* **2022** - Capture the Flag (*does not speak*), Shake, Rattle, and Bruno, and Thomas' Day Off (*not named; does not speak*)
* **2023** - License to Deliver (*does not speak*), A Quiet Delivery (*speaks on speech bubble only*), Tyrannosaurus Wrecks, Kana Goes Slow (*cameo*), Thomas Blasts Off! (*not named; does not speak*), Tri-and-a-Half-a-Lon (*not named; does not speak*), Skiff Sails Sodor, The Big Skunk Funk (*cameo*), Dragon Run (*not named*), Percy Disappears (*cameo*), and Snowplough Struttin'
* **2024** - The Biggest Adventure Club

Games
* **2022** - Magic Tracks and Musical Tracks
* **2023** - Go Go Thomas!

## Audio Files

### Horns

In Go Go Thomas!, Diesel incorrectly uses a stock recording of a Nathan K3L type, which he used in the original series during Misty Island Rescue to the fourteenth season.

## Trivia

* Since his last appearance in *Thomas & Friends*, Diesel has had notable changes:
	+ His forehead is now much larger.
	+ His cab doors have been re-designed.
	+ His cab windows have been removed.
	+ He now has purple irises.
	+ He lacks his outside frames.
	+ His nose is more rounded off.
	+ His brake pipe has been removed.
	+ He is diminutively smaller.
	+ His back stepladder have been removed, while his front stepladders retain a different design.
	+ He has gained a running board.
	+ The handrails on his cab have been removed.
	+ He now has grilles on the rear of his cab where his front windows used to be.
	+ He has a new horn which is a stock sound effect.
	+ He no longer speaks with a British accent in the US dub.
* Unlike the original series, Diesel is a part of the main cast of engines, and instead of being an antagonist, he is portrayed as one of Thomas' best friends and now lives at Tidmouth Sheds with the other engines.
* Due to *All Engines Go* straying away from railway realism, Diesel is now incorrectly referred to as a "tank engine". This may be justified if it refers to his internal diesel tanks.
* Diesel was the first character to have their voice actor recast in the US dub; the previous recastings happened in the UK dub.
* In the Polish dub, Diesel is called both "Diesel" and the mollification of his name "Dieselek".

## Merchandise

* Push Along
* Motorized
* Press n’ Go Stunt Engines
* Diablock
* Tomica
* Plarail
* Bath Balls
* McDonald's Toys
* Plushie

## References

1. ↑ The Magic of Patience
2. ↑ Mystery of the Missing Watermelons