Hiro

**Hiro** is an old and wise Japanese tender engine, who is famously known as the "**Master of the Railway**".

## Biography

Hiro is an old steam engine who has been on Sodor for a while and was originally known as the "Master of the Railway". He is grand, masterful, mature, wise, enormously kind and is able to find good in any engine he meets. Hiro fell victim to neglect when waiting upon parts to arrive for him from his home country, when he began to break down and became lost. He was eventually rediscovered by Thomas, who, despite some problems in worrying about sharing the discovery of Hiro with the Fat Controller, helped Hiro to be fully restored to his former glory.

Hiro continues to be gentle, wise and graceful, as well as a useful engine and a good friend to the other engines, especially Thomas. He does not appear to hold a grudge; in Hero of the Rails, he helped Spencer after an accident, despite Spencer previously trying to send Hiro to the smelter's yard. Hiro also knows that even in a different location, his Sodor friends will always be his friends.

Hiro lived on the Ōigawa Railway in Japan. He was the strongest engine on his railway and was famously known as the "Master of the Railway". He was shipped to Sodor in 1951 to help with the increased workloads. However, he began to break down and the workmen did not have the necessary parts to repair him. To escape being scrapped, he was put on a siding, where he had to wait for the parts to come from his homeland. However, the parts never came and Hiro was all but forgotten.

Thomas eventually found him and fearing Hiro would be scrapped if he was not really useful, promised to bring him back to his former glory while keeping him a secret from Sir Bertram Topham Hatt. Thomas also had the rest of the Steam Team help in the restoration and Hiro quickly gained their friendship. After breaking down again while trying to avoid Spencer, Hiro was hidden away in another siding, where the engines visited him and kept him company.

When Sir Bertram Topham Hatt found out about the situation, Hiro was brought to the Sodor Steamworks, where Victor oversaw his restoration. Once Hiro was overhauled, he helped Spencer after his accident and worked with him and Thomas to finish The Duke and Duchess of Boxford's summer house. Despite everything, the Fat Controller arranged for him to be sent back to his homeland.

## Basis

Hiro is based on a Japanese National Railways (JNR) Class D51 2-8-2 "Mikado" built by Kawasaki and popularly known as "Degoich" in Japan.

## Livery

Hiro is painted black with gold lining, boiler bands and fittings and red wheels. His number (51) is painted on the sides of his tender in white and he has gold nameplates, with his name in black on the sides of his smoke deflectors.

His "patchwork" colour scheme consists of a blue boiler with gold lining, a green feedwater heater, a green left smoke deflector, a purple right smoke deflector, a bronze dome, green pistons and rusted-red coloured wheels except for the right rear driving wheel which was rusted-blue. Two more parts, the part between his lamp and funnel and the part under his face, were also green.

## Trivia

* Hiro is the first 2-8-2 in the series.
* His name has four meanings: 裕 means "abundant". 寛 means "generous, tolerant" and 浩 means "prosperous".
* Hiro is the only international engine to return to his home country after moving to work on Sodor.
* Hiro is the second character in the series to have smoke deflectors, the first being Murdoch.
* Hiro is one of the three engines to be saved from scrap. The others being Oliver and Glynn.