Henry

**Henry** is a big, green tender engine who works on the North Western Railway. He is the railway's number 3 engine. He works on the main line, where he pulls stopping passenger trains and goods trains like the Flying Kipper, and even pulls the express on occasions.

## Biography

Henry was built from drawings stolen from Sir Nigel Gresley at Doncaster in 1919 by an anonymous locomotive builder who held a grudge against him. The spy, however, blundered and took the wrong drawings. The mistake was realised too late, and Henry was built with many resulting flaws, one of which was an undersized firebox, making Henry an unreliable shy steamer. The Fat Controller was looking to buy a Great Central Railway Robinson Atlantic locomotive but was tricked into buying Henry instead.

Henry arrived in 1922, and as the railway was facing a motive power crisis the Fat Controller, out of desperation, had no choice but to keep him. Henry was one of the engines who made fun of Edward when he was left in the sheds. He was later vain and stopped in the Ballahoo Tunnel and refused to come out, believing that his paintwork would be spoiled by the rain. After several attempts to move him failed, he was bricked up in the tunnel for a duration of time, between several weeks to a few months, until Gordon broke down while pulling the Express. As Edward was unable to move the train himself, the Fat Controller offered to let Henry out of the tunnel to help. Henry eagerly accepted and was later freed.

Henry continued to suffer from steaming troubles, and one day he fell ill, so Thomas had to take his train (although he failed). Later, Thomas had an idea and helped Henry by pushing him without the bigger engine knowing. Unfortunately, Henry was to suffer humiliation when he was pushed out of a tunnel and later hosed with water by an escaped elephant. After Gordon and James had suffered humiliations of their own (and all three had become thoroughly fed up having to do their own shunting and fetch their own coaches), the big engines went on strike. The Fat Controller naturally disapproved of this nonsense and locked them up in the shed for several days, leaving them miserable. However, they were let out again after promising to work hard.

The poor engine and his system - which was already finicky at best due to design flaws - never really recovered from his stay in the tunnel. Henry developed steaming problems, which he complained about constantly, though he found little sympathy from the engines, especially when it caused him to run late. A period came when the Main Line engines were supplied with a poor delivery of coal and Henry had a very difficult time of it indeed. He had strength to pull trains only sporadically, in spite of numerous part replacements, and there was talk of being replaced by another engine. At last, the Fat Controller looked into it personally and asked for the opinion of Henry's fireman, who told him about the poor coal and Henry's firebox being too small to burn it efficiently. The fireman also suggested purchasing the high-grade Welsh coal used on the Great Western Railway. Sir Topham Hatt agreed to purchasing some in order to give Henry 'a fair chance'.

When the Welsh coal came, Henry's performance vastly improved, such that he was comparable to Gordon. He continued to use the coal until he had a collision with a goods train near Killdane while pulling the Flying Kipper and was sent to Crewe to be rebuilt in around 1935. Henry was rebuilt into a Stanier 5MT. The Fat Controller had connections with Sir William Stanier, so this is likely the reason he managed to get Henry rebuilt so quickly. Besides being given a new shape, Henry also received a larger firebox, allowing him to use regular coal again.

After returning, Henry was added to the rotation for the Express and pulled it so well that he made Gordon jealous. Gordon tried to get even by rudely criticising Henry for whistling loudly at stations, but he had to eat his words later that day after his own whistle valve jammed open. Sometime later, Henry was taking a slow train. As he passed under a bridge, three boys he had assumed to be railfans threw stones at him and his coaches. He paid them out on his return journey by "sneezing" ashes that collected in his smokebox at them.

When Queen Elizabeth II was due to visit Sodor in 1953, Henry assumed that he was the Fat Controller's choice to pull the Royal Train. But the day before, while he was idling at the station, his smoke blinded a painter, who fell along with his paint pot onto Henry. The paint splashed over Henry's boiler and as painting over it would take too long, Gordon was given the job instead.

## Personality

Henry is an easily irritable engine, often being quick to snap if an engine makes fun of him or poses a threat. He doesn't believe it dignified to have to fetch his own trains, much like the other big engines. However, Henry does get along with other engines when he needs to, having respect for his fellow big engines. Henry also has a soft spot for nature, finding it calm and peaceful.

## Appearances

* **Series 1** - Edward's Day Out (not named), Edward and Gordon (cameo), The Sad Story of Henry, Edward's Express, Edward, Gordon and Henry, Thomas' Train (doesn't speak), Thomas' Trick, A Streak of Blue, Thomas and the Breakdown Train (mentioned), James and the Express (doesn't speak), Thomas and the Guard, You've Never Run A Branch Line, Shocked! (mentioned), Henry and the Elephant, Tenders and Turntables, Trouble in the Shed (doesn't speak), Push-Pull Percy (mentioned), Express Coming Through (doesn't speak), Percy Runs Away, Coal, James' Special Coal, It's Good to be Gordon, The Flying Kipper, Gordon's Whistle, Henry's Sneeze, Percy and the Trousers, Presents for Percy, Thomas's Christmas Party, Off the Rails, Paint Pots and Queens

## Trivia

* The Reverend Wilbert Awdry once attempted to remove Henry from the series, but ended up deciding to keep him.