Bill and Ben

Bill and Ben are little yellow saddle tank engines who work at the Clay Pits.

## Biography

They teased Percy after he had an accident with a mail bag, unaware the pumpkins on their train were falling onto the tracks, which caused more problems for Percy. After Sir Topham Hatt ordered one twin to act as a back engine, Bill reluctantly went to push from behind. Ben ended up derailing near an embankment, and Percy, although he was nervous because he had lost his new lucky charm, helped Bill pull Ben back onto the tracks. After racing Connor several times (by racing, one would start the race and the other twin would be waiting at the finish) Sir Topham Hatt figured out their tricks. So people would not confuse the two or think they were the same engine, Bill was repainted blue. To continue the tricks, Ben tricked Kevin into giving him a blue coat of paint too. Since then they were repainted to their yellow schemes. They also teased Harvey about going fishing with his hook. Thomas was sent to work with the twins at the Clay Pits while a bridge on his branch line was being repaired. They ran away from him, and after he caught up, they teased him about being slow. They showed him to a line of trucks, which he was coupled up to. Thomas began pulling them, but did not realise that Timothy was on the other end, jerking the little oil-burning engine backwards. Later that day, there was a storm at the Pits, and the rain made the cliffs unstable. Thomas was near some cliffs, and saw a set of mysterious footprints. However, the area was still unstable and he was unable to investigate. Bill and Ben pushed Thomas to safety just before the three were hit by a landslide. The next morning, they were congratulated by Sir Topham Hatt. Later in the week, Thomas asked if they were playing a trick on him by scaring him with fake footprints. However, Bill and Ben thought that he thought that their rescuing him was a trick and so they puffed away, offended. The next morning at dawn, when Percy went to the clay pits to prove his bravery to James, Bill accused Ben of making puffing noises in his sleep, and when Thomas came looking for Percy, the twins assumed that they could literally hear what Timothy was dreaming. When they went to work the day, they were almost hit by a landslide, and after Marion found a fossil, Bill and Ben were both very intrigued by the concept of fossils. Later, Bill and Ben played Guess What's In My Shovel with Marion. They also teased Timothy for being an oil burning engine, but when the Clay Pits ran out of coal, Timothy went to pick up some more. They apologised for their teasing. However, they later sent Timothy on what Sir Topham Hatt referred to as a "fool's errand" to search for a rainbow-coloured truck. Timothy brought back a green truck with several colours of paint on it full of dockyard waste. Bill and Ben were sent to take it to Whiff's Waste Dump as a punishment, as well as being on waste duty. They also teased Emily and Samson. Despite the coal incident, the twins became convinced that Timothy was no help at all. So when they found out that the Fat Controller was looking for an engine to help at Brendam Docks, they volunteered Timothy. Unfortunately, the twins were too busy messing around to work on their own properly. Even later, they teased Henry when he saw a ghostly railboat on the rails the previous night, which was really Skiff.

## Personalities

Bill and Ben are Sodor's most mischievous saddle tank engine twins, who have great fun in teasing 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. They take trucks for engines on the main line 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. Edward is 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. 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 workman and Thomas from many rockslides.