Duncan

**Duncan** is a grumpy Scottish narrow gauge well tank engine who came to the Skarloey Railway as a spare engine after Peter Sam's accident with some slate trucks.

## Biography

Duncan is a Scottish narrow gauge engine with rough manners and a strong temper, making him the least social of the Skarloey Railway fleet. He was prone to boisterously bouncing about, which became known as "rock 'n' roll", whenever the mood took him, which once led to wedging in the north mouth of Rheneas Tunnel (probably caused by keystones knocked down by his funnel) and derailing on a stretch of line near Cros-ny-Cuirn.

While Duncan means well, he often grumbles and complains (usually about not being polished or being over-worked) and can be rude, rough, stubborn and bad-tempered. This can easily be seen in his dislike for Christmas for some reason. He claims to be a plain engine who believes in plainly speaking, an approach that can cause him to make callous or belligerent remarks. Duncan can be a competitive engine too, particularly with James. He can be impulsive, even more so than Sir Handel, and make rash decisions that usually lead to his downfall, (such as getting in arguments or short-lived feuds with Rusty). He is not always quick to apologise or realise the error of his ways. However, upon Skarloey recalling Rheneas' gallant act to get his passengers home, Duncan readily admitted he had the wrong attitude and tried hard to be a more useful, social and respectable engine in the future. When Rusty helped him after his derailment near Cros-ny-Cuirn, Duncan apologised to him and extended a wheel of friendship, proving he has gratitude.

Despite his rough ways, Duncan is often focused, confident, resourceful, kind, and has a big heart. He is always willing to lend a helping hand whenever he can and wants to be really useful.

In 1958, Duncan was purchased secondhand by Mr. Percival as a spare engine, as the workload was too much for Sir Handel and Peter Sam to manage unassisted. He came soon after Peter Sam's accident with the slate trucks. Duncan was rude and arrogant at first. However, following accidents involving the tunnel and a worn stretch of track south of Cros-ny-Cuirn, he began to see sense and made up his feud with Rusty, whom he had detested for being a diesel.

He was still selfish and prone to temper tantrums and actually stalled on Skarloey Viaduct on the claims that he was overworked and not polished enough. Skarloey, fed up with his careless attitude, finally taught him sense with the story of Rheneas' single-handed running of the railway and how passengers are far more important than polish.

## Basis

Duncan is based on the Talyllyn Railway's Douglas, an Andrew Barclay "E" or "Light" Class 0-4-0WT.

## Livery

Duncan is painted golden yellow with black lining and gold boiler bands and a golden yellow running board. He also has a brass and black nameplate on the side of his boiler and a black number plate (6) on the side of his coal bunkers.

## Appearances

### Season 4

* Home At Last
* Trusty Rusty
* Rock n’ Roll
* Special Funnel
* Steam Roller
* Passengers and Polish
* Gallant Old Engine

### Season 5

* Duncan Gets Spooked
* Snow *(cameo)*

### Season 6

* Faulty Whistles
* Dunkin’ Duncan

### Season 7

* The Trestle Bridge
* The Runaway Elephant
* The Grand Opening *(cameo)*
* The Refreshment Lady’s Tea Shop *(cameo)*

### Season 9

* The Magic Lamp
* Cool Truckings
* The Great Discovery

### Season 10

* Blue Mountain Mystery
* Don’t Bother Victor

### Season 12

* Duncan and the Grumpy Passenger
* Emily Saves the World
* Duncan the Humbug

## Gallery

Duncan’s current livery (1958-present)Duncan’s NameplateDuncan’s Number 6
## Trivia

* Duncan's tendency to do "Rock-n-Roll" that resulted in incidents such as scraping tunnels with his cab and derailing were inspired from his real-life basis Douglas, who was known for being a "Rough Rider" with its short wheelbase.