Edward

True Blue No. 2

Steady Eddie

Edward the Steady (Himself)

Old Blue Slowcoach (By James)

Useless Old Steampot (By Gordon)

Spoilsport (By Bill)

Boring (By Bill and Ben)

Little Edward (By Gordon)

Best Friend (By Emily, along with Henry, Philip and Marion)

**Edward** is a blue mixed-traffic tender engine. He runs on the Brendam Branch Line with BoCo, Bill and Ben. He's also one of the oldest engines on the Island of Sodor.

## Appearance

Edward is a steam tender engine that's blue like Thomas, and the same size as James. Edward has two small leading wheels and two big driving wheels. Like Thomas and Gordon, he's painted in NWR bright future blue with red and yellow lining. His number 2 is painted on the sides of his tender in yellow with red lining and the lining around his cab windows is yellow.

## Personality

Edward is very kindhearted, mature, wise and keen to help a friend in need. The small engines trust him to lend a listening ear and sympathetic advice. He is a hard worker too and always does his best to finish a job. If ever an engine misbehaves or acts out, it is Edward that the Fat Controller turns to in order to soothe things out. As he runs a branch line, Edward knows the responsibilities it takes to be successful doing so, including shunting. This sometimes puts him at odds with Gordon, James and Henry, who firmly believed that tender engines are too important for menial jobs such as shunting. Because of this, Edward found himself treated harshly for his shunting duties until Sir Topham Hatt shut the big engines up in their sheds.

Unfortunately, the big engines, especially Gordon, often see Edward as old-fashioned and slow. While it is true he is one of the oldest engines on the North Western Railway (which he helped build), he has proved time and time again that he is more than capable of working as hard as any engine. He and BoCo have been the only engines who can look after Bill and Ben and know how to put them in their place should they misbehave. Like any otherwise old engine, he stands for no nonsense from anyone, especially from the bigger engines.

Edward had occasionally suffered insecurity within himself, such as keeping secrets from the other engines and Sir Topham Hatt, when he was once leaking steam and likewise when he was told to pull the post train whilst Percy was being repaired. He also had an occasional habit of being rude and cheeky, such as disbelieving Rocky when he thought he did not need help with his goods train and being unwelcome to Harvey when he was new to the railway. However, Edward has moved past all of that and he overall keeps his best wheel forward forever and always no matter the circumstance.

## Trivia

* Edward was the very first character created for the *Railway Series*, in 1942.
* Edward is one of few characters to appear in every series of the television series and one of even fewer characters to have a speaking role in each one.
* Edward is the only engine whose crew has been named in the *Railway Series*. In the foreword of "Edward the Blue Engine" their names were given as Charlie Sand (driver) and Sidney Heaver (fireman). Their surnames came from their duties (one of the driver's jobs is to sand the rails when they are slippery to let the engine's wheels grip, while the fireman "heaves" coal to the firebox); their first names came from an engine crew from the Wisbech and Upwell Tramway.
* One of Edward's television series models is on display at the Hara Model Railway Museum in Japan and is currently wearing his smiling face mask (previously on display at Nitrogen Studios in Canada). Another was on display at Drayton Manor, but it was removed in early 2020. Both are the brass models of him made during the tenth series.
* Edward's original perspex model, along with his smiling, tired, mad and shocked faces are owned and preserved by Twitter user ThomasTankMerch.
* Edward's neutral face was on his television series brass model when he first arrived in 2009 and was put on display at Drayton Manor, only to be replaced with a replica smiling face expression.
* In "Steady Eddie", "Charlie and Eddie" and "Edward the Hero", Edward refers to himself as Eddie. Charlie also refers to him by this name. Eddie also happens to be Edward's real name in the Greek and early Hebrew versions and in Italy from the fifteenth series onwards; however, in the Engine Roll Call he is referred as Edward.
* In the French dub, Edward is called *Edouard* in the first to seventh series.
* Edward is Michael White's favourite character.
* Edward, along with Henry and Toby, are the first characters to be removed from the Steam Team, beginning with the twenty-second series.
* Edward's 2014 TrackMaster toy and the story Edward Cracks a Nut incorrectly depicts him with a 2-6-0 wheel configuration, instead of a 4-4-0, as does his redesigned Motor Road and Rail toy.
* Edward's normal whistle sound was reused for a few different engines:
	+ Oliver had Edward's whistle sound, but only in the third series episode, "Bulgy."
	+ Thomas had Edward's whistle sound in some episodes and some scenes of the fourth and fifth series. He also had it in one scene in the eighteenth series episode, "Old Reliable Edward."
	+ Gordon had Edward's whistle sound in the seventh series episode, Edward's Brass Band, the eleventh series episode, Toby's Triumph, an intermission segment from Series 8, one scene in The Whistle Song, the game Decorate Tidmouth Sheds and Follow the Whistle on The Great Discovery UK DVD
	+ Arthur had Edward's whistle sound in the interactive segment, "Arthur's Tricky Travels" until the twelfth series.
	+ Henry had Edward's whistle sound, but at Tidmouth Sheds at Drayton Manor Theme Park only since 2014 and one page in The Fat Controller in the mobile app, Read and Play!. However, his normal whistle sound can be heard when Sir Topham Hatt and Every Cloud has a Sliver Lining still plays.
	+ James had Edward's whistle sound, but one scene in James the Red Engine in the mobile app, Read and Play!.
	+ Victor had Edward's whistle sound, but in Blue Mountain Mystery in the mobile app, Read and Play!.
	+ Percy had Edward's whistle sound, but in one page in The Fat Controller in the mobile app, Read and Play!.
	+ Edward's whistle sound from the fourth to the fifth series episode James and the Trouble with Trees and Thomas the Tank Engine (Kids Station Game) was reused for Emily in *Calling All Engines!* until the twelfth series.
* It is possible that Edward's new series theme is a musical variation of "Flower" by Moby.
* Edward's CGI Model was reused for *Big World Big Adventures* and for many other background engines.
* In Drayton Manor Theme Park from 2008-2014, Edward had his normal whistle sound, but in 2014, after Edward and Henry swapped their shed berths, the former incorrectly had the latter's whistle sound, whilst Henry incorrectly had Edward's whistle sound.
* Edward had a total of fourteen facial expressions during the model series era.

## Quotes

* **Edward the steady, is at the ready.**
* **I will do it, I will do it! I will do it!**
* **Oh, dear. But I must say, you don't seem very reliable, always getting stuck on your own hill.**
* **Why is Gordon so ungrateful? He doesn't even say 'thank you' when I give him a push! He only says how old and unreliable I am!**