Duke

*"That would never suit His Grace!"*
―Duke[src]
**Duke** is a fictional character who appears in *The Railway Series.* He is an old narrow gauge tender engine, and was named after the Duke of Sodor, something which he took with great pride. Duke worked on the Mid Sodor Railway with Stuart and Falcon, whom he mentored. However, when the line was closed, Duke saw no buyers, and was sheeted up and abandoned inside the engine shed.

Years later, Duke was rediscovered by a group of rescuers who wanted to find him and restore him to working order, and he was removed from the shed and taken away to be mended. He now works on the Skarloey Railway with Stuart and Falcon, who are now known as Peter Sam and Sir Handel respectively.

## Biography

### *The Railway Series*

Duke was built at Boston Lodge in Minniford, Wales by the request of the Earl of Sodor, Sir John Arnold Norramby, and arrived to Sodor the following year. He was christened "Duke" by the Chairmen of the Mid Sodor Railway in honor of the Duke, and was rostered to pull the railway's opening train. Duke was the first engine to work on the Mid Sodor Railway.

When Stanley came to the Mid Sodor Railway, Duke tried to look out for him and warned him to be careful, but Stanley scoffed at his device and continued to derail constantly until he was turned into a pumping engine. Duke later recounted this event to Stuart and Falcon when the two engines were misbehaving.

Shortly after Falcon came to the railway, Duke was given the task of double-heading "The Picnic" with him to show him the Mountain Road. Although Duke tried to warn him about the dangers of the Mountain Road, Falcon insisted that he knew what he was doing and scoffed at him, believing him to be nothing more than a "fusspot". However, when the train reached the Mountain Road, Falcon, for unknown reasons, came off the track and hung over the edge. Duke managed to hold on, but was beginning to lose water. With the help of his passengers, crew and a platelayer, Duke's tank was refilled, and he managed to hold onto Falcon long enough for the breakdown gang to arrive. When the train reached the top station, Falcon thanked Duke for his heroic rescue and apologized to him for his rude behaviour earlier.

When Duke began to experience steaming troubles, Stuart teased him, joking that he was becoming old and that he and Falcon would have to care for him. Although Duke tried his best to pull "The Picnic" train that evening, his valves began to leak, and he found himself becoming weaker by the second, so Stuart and Falcon were called out to help him. Stuart was delighted by the situation and teased Duke endlessly, but Duke managed to get back at him; as the train made its way uphill, Duke, using all his steam and strength, pushed the train up the line with a sudden start, and managed to get the last laugh when he made Stuart cross.

For many years, Duke continued to work on the Mid Sodor Railway alongside Stuart and Falcon in harmony. However, hard times came for the railway, and one by one, the mines began to close down. When the last mine was shut down, the railway was closed in 1947, and people came to buy the engines. Stuart and Falcon were both purchased, but Duke saw no buyers, for he was too old. Although the three engines tried to remain cheerful and reassure themselves that they would see each-other again, nobody really thought that their wishes would come true.

Duke was oiled, greased and sheeted up by his Driver and Fireman, and was left alone in the engine shed at Arlesdale. Duke believed that His Grace would come and save him, but was unaware that the previous Duke had been killed during the War, and the new Duke, a boy, did not know about his special engine. Duke decided to go to sleep to pass the time, and during his decades-long slumber, his shed was buried by soil and foliage.

However, Duke was not forgotten about; Stuart and Falcon, now working on the Skarloey Railway and with new names - Peter Sam and Sir Handel respectively - would often talk to each-other about Duke, and were excited to find out that the Duke would be coming to Skarloey and Rheneas' 100th birthday in 1969, only to be disappointed when they found out that the Duke who came had only been a man

After the festivities had ended, Peter Sam and Sir Handel told the other narrow gauge engines about Duke and the adventures they had had on their old railway. Word of Duke soon spread, until eventually the Small Controller and the two clergymen had been informed. Together, the Small Controller and the Clergymen decided to team up to find Duke and bring him to the Skarloey Railway to make him happy again. The three men spent many days exploring the valleys of Arlesdale, until the Fat Clergymen accidentally fell through the roof of the buried shed and fell on top of Duke. Duke was initially annoyed, but was happy to find out that His Grace would be coming to see him and that Falcon and Stuart had remembered him.

Duke was cleaned up and was visited by Sir Robert Norramby, his new Grace, and he was taken away to Arlesburgh West by road, where he was then taken away to Crovan's Gate by rail. When Duke arrived at Crovan's Gate, he was reunited with Sir Handel and Peter Sam for the first time in twenty-two years, and he was extensively overhauled at Crovan's Gate Works. In 1982, Duke entered service on the Skarloey Railway. His return marked the first time the railway had locomotive power to spare, so Sir Handel was sent to the Talyllyn Railway as a spare engine after Duke's overhaul was completed.

Duke later attended the naming ceremony of Ivo Hugh, along with the other narrow gauge engines.

## Technical Details

### Basis

Duke is based on the Ffestiniog Railway "Small England" class, a type of narrow gauge tender engine that was built at Boston Lodge for the railway during the 1860's. It is not clear which of the Small Englands Duke is based on in particular, but he seems to be based on "Prince", as he is also named after a figure of royalty. Unlike his real-life basis, Duke was built for the 2ft3in rails of the Mid Sodor and Skarloey Railways rather than the 1'11½" gauge track the Ffestiniog Railway uses.

Duke's story of being abandoned in a buried engine shed was based on a true story of a Brazilian steam engine that was left to rust in the rain forest for over thirty years. When this engine was rediscovered, it was taken out of the rain forest and was rebuilt, running for another thirty years.

### Livery

In *The Railway Series*, Duke is painted dark brown with black lining, and his running board frames and bufferbeam are painted red. He carries two gold nameplates on each side of his saddle-tank, and during his time on the Mid Sodor Railway, he was numbered 1 and carried the railway's crest on his tender. When Duke came to the Skarloey Railway, the crest was removed and he was renumbered from 1 to 8, but for unknown reasons, he does not carry his number anywhere on his body.

In *Thomas & Friends*, Duke is painted light brown with yellow lining, and he carries two red nameplates with gold writing on each side of his saddle-tank. His footplate and running board frames are now brown instead of black and red respectively.

## Appearances

### The Railway Series

* Duke the Lost Engine - Granpuff, Bulldog, You Can't Win! and Sleeping Beauty
* New Little Engine - I Name This Engine... (*does not speak)*

## Trivia

* Duke's affectionate nickname of "Granpuff" was a nickname given to the Rev. W. Awdry by his grandchildren, as the smoke from his pipe looked like that of a steam engine's to them.
* The Rev. W. Awdry made a model of Duke for his model layout of the Mid Sodor Railway. The model, along with the rest of the layout, was on display at the Rev. Teddy Boston's Cadeby Light Railway, until the line closed down in 2005. It is currently unknown where it resides.
* Duke is the only Skarloey Railway engine in *The Railway Series* to not be painted in the line's standard red livery, and the only one to not have buffers.
* Duke's current grace is Sir Robert Norramby.

## References

1. ↑ RWS The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways
2. ↑ RWS #25 Duke the Lost Engine
3. ↑ Great Little Engines
4. ↑ New Little Engine