Bill and Ben

**Bill** and **Ben** are tank engine twins belonging to the Sodor China Clay Company. They are young and cheeky and love playing jokes on the bigger engines, but are kept in order by Edward and BoCo. They work in the china clay works and at Brendam Docks, where they are kept busy shunting trucks.

In Thomas & Friends, they briefly worked at Anopha Quarry, thus the task of keeping them in order fell upon Mavis.

## Appearances

Bill and Ben are twin engines like Donald and Douglas. Except they're tank engines. They each have four red wheels, tiny chimneys and domes, and small squat cabs. They have large buffer beams and they have lamps mounted on their left sides. They are both painted yellow, and they have brass nameplates with yellow writing, "SCC" written on both sides in yellow and "Brendam Bay" on the front of their saddle tanks.

## Personalities

Bill and Ben are Sodor's most mischievous saddle tank engine twins, who have great fun in teasing and playing jokes on other engines of the railway. The two have four wheels, a tiny chimney and dome and a small squat cab. They often work in the China Clay pits and quarries. Their loads of clay can be used for many things such as paper, paint and pottery. They take trucks for engines on the mainline and ships in the harbour and are regularly seen around Brendam Docks. They enjoy attention and love taking visitors and being photographed. They tend to work together, like most twins, but even this youthful pair can have their arguments among themselves and can squabble with one another - particularly about whose fault one of their follies was. They are highly prone to playing tricks and being cheeky. They have even teased Gordon on more than one occasion. Duck has called them "the bees" before, for being terrors when they start buzzing around. Edward and BoCo are the only engines who can really keep them in order enough to put a stop to their games and make them scamper along and behave. There is no real harm to them, but even Edward admits that they are maddening at times. Bill appears to be the quicker-witted leader, while Ben seems to be the follower of the pair.

Despite their cheeky and mischievous antics, if a dangerous event occurs, such as a rockslide, they are shown to be quick-witted and capable to act to rescue anyone in trouble. This was shown when they saved a group of workmen and Thomas from many rockslides. The two also usually try to keep their jokes from becoming harmful, and will show remorse if their cheeky antics go too far and like all engines on the North Western Railway, they want to be Really Useful.

## Technical Details

Bill and Ben are based on the Bagnall 0-4-0STs "Alfred" and "Judy" of Par, Cornwall, who are both preserved and in working order at the Bodmin and Wenford Railway. According to the foreword of Thomas and the Twins, Alfred and Judy are both Bill and Ben's twins.

Alfred was once repainted yellow for a Days Out with Thomas event, to resemble Bill.

## Trivia

* Bill and Ben's names are likely a reference to Bill and Ben the Flower Pot Men, a pair of mischevious twins from the 1952 British children's show, Flower Pot Men.
* Sir Topham Hatt's ownership of Bill and Ben changes in the television series, as the second series episode, Percy Takes the Plunge refers to them as not being Sir Topham Hatt's engines, while the third series episode, One Good Turn refers to them as "the most mischievous engines working on the Fat Controller's railway".
* In "Bill or Ben?", Bill was sent to the Steamworks to be repainted blue, while Ben remained yellow. But Ben soon tricked Kevin into painting him blue, making him identical to Bill. But the twins were repainted to their original yellow livery afterwards.
* They are good friends with Lana and Lola Loud.