Duke

Duke, named after the Duke of Sodor and originally called The Duke, is a narrow gauge tank-tender engine, who is considered a hero amongst all the engines. He is also one of the oldest engines on Sodor.

## Bio

Duke: Always a bunch of fun to be around. Super helpful. Will bend over backwards for you!

## Personality

Duke is one of the oldest and most experienced engines of the Skarloey Railway. He is also the mentor of Peter Sam and Sir Handel, from their younger days on the Mid Sodor Railway, when they were called Stuart and Falcon respectively. Being the oldest engine on the line, Duke liked everything to be "just so". Although once lost for many years in an old shed that nature tucked away and forgot, after the Mid Sodor came to an end, he was found by rescuers, although quite by accident, when one dropped in through his shed roof. He may have a head teacher attitude and maintain his authority at all times, but can be quick to apply his knowledge and years of experience to help guide and correct any younger engine. He is proud of his name and keen to uphold the respect it merits. He can often be heard to say "That would never suit His Grace!" upon hearing or seeing something that he takes a disapproval to, or pedantically stating how he thinks someone would have adhered to the rules and regulations in his younger days. Despite their teasing ways, Sir Handel and Peter Sam have grown to become very fond of Duke and dearly nicknamed him "Granpuff" for his long service to the railway.

## Appearance

### Basis

Duke himself is based on Prince, a George England tank engine from the Ffestiniog Railway at Porthmadog, North Wales. Unlike his basis, Duke is built to 2ft 3in gauge, while Prince is built to 1ft 11½in gauge. Bertram is another member of this class.

Duke's basis
### Livery

In the Railway Series, Duke was painted red-brown with black lining. On the Mid Sodor Railway, Duke was numbered "1" and his tender bore the Mid Sodor Railway's crest. When he moved to the Skarloey Railway, he was not repainted in the Railway's standard red livery, instead being restored to his brown MSR livery with brass nameplates. He bears neither his MSR number (1) or his SR number (8) for unknown reasons. In the television series, Duke was painted brown with yellow lining and has two red plaques on either side of his saddle tank with his name written in gold.

On the Rev. W. Awdry's model railway, he had "The Duke" written on his sides and "MS" written on his tender.

## Trivia

* Duke's current grace is Richard Robert Norramby.
* Duke is the only narrow gauge engine in the Railway Series to have a tender, and, like the other Mid Sodor Railway engines, has no buffers (in order to prevent buffers locking together on tight curves).
* The Official Website and the 1986 annual states that Duke is the oldest of the narrow gauge engines. However, Skarloey and Rheneas are older, having been built in 1864 and 1865/6, respectively, while Duke was built in 1879. The mistake likely comes from Duke's basis being older than all three of them, having been built in 1863. The packaging for his Ertl model also incorrectly states he was built in 1863.
* Duke was the first narrow gauge engine on the Skarloey Railway to not be based on an engine from the Talyllyn Railway.
* Duke was going to appear in the fifteenth season episode, Kevin the Steamie, but his role never made it past the storyboard stage.
* The webseries contradicted most of his website bio, making him a ruckus-causer who is easily distracted.
* He is voiced by Brianna Plantano in the World Vacation Movie.