Percy

**Percy the Small Engine** is one of the main protagonists of the SeventyVerse and the sixth engine on the North Western Railway.

## Backstory

No. 50 had worked at a shunting yard with four very jerkish tank engines; Rodney, Roxanne, Nathan and Lawrence. Despite his best efforts, the little tank engine never earned himself a name. That was until Sir Topham Hatt came into his life. He bought the little tank engine and dubbed him Percy, after his late father. Overjoyed, Percy joined the North Western Railway as their No. 6, and made fast friends with Edward, Thomas, Annie and Clarabel.

## Ffarquhar team

### Thomas

Considered his best friend, Percy sees Thomas something of a big brother. Percy had never had anyone stand up for him until Thomas came along, and he started to lean on him for support. Perhaps a bit too much, as Percy had eventually come to rely on Thomas, and not stand on his own wheels. This strained their relationship during *Tale of the Brave*. Ultimately, after Percy saved James from the avalanche, (details regarding Flatbeds of Fear to be added) Thomas has been allowing Percy to fight his own battles, but also be a supportive friend and brother figure.

### Toby

Percy saw Toby as more of a mentor figure than Thomas did, and has immense respect for the tram engine. Toby can be a bit snarky and cheekily watch infighting with Thomas and Percy sometimes, but when things get serious, Toby is the one to straighten the duo out. Once, Percy had saved Toby from a washout under the River Els.

### Annie and Clarabel

Percy often looks after Annie and Clarabel when Thomas is busy or at the works. As a matter of fact, Percy was the first engine Thomas entrusted Annie and Clarabel to after an impressive performance during the strike. The relationship with the trio is pretty strong, as Annie and Clarabel often make Percy feel better if he's upset.

### Daisy

Percy was very annoyed with Daisy's diva antics during her trial on the branch and wasn't afraid to show it. His rant almost convinced Sir Topham Hatt to kick Daisy off the island. However, when he got back from the works and heard how Daisy improved, Percy managed to put in a good word for her for Thomas. The two's relationship has been decent after that, even after her transfer to Harwick.

### Rosie

Not much is known about Percy and Rosie's relationship, but the former was grateful for the latter's help when Arry and Bert were derailed. Rosie has also helped out on the Ffarquhar branch during the London trip. The two have stayed in touch since Rosie's transfer to Vicarstown.

### Nia

Percy isn't as close to Nia as Thomas is, but he did stand up for her when Gordon was ranting about her 'replacing Edward in the sheds'. He also told her the story of how he and Harold had their first race together, and he was interested to learn about her home country, Kenya.

### Harold

The rivalry is mostly one-sided on Percy's end, as for some reason, Harold knows how to push Percy's buttons. However, Harold takes his job as a rescue helicopter very seriously, and gave Percy's crew some hot drinks to help when he was caught in a flood. The two also worked together to save Toby from a washout.

## Other relationships

### Edward

Edward took Percy under his wing and started mentoring him. The saddle tank greatly looks up to Edward, and even wheeshed steam at Gordon when he tried to wheesh at Edward. Edward also admires Percy for his bold streak and kindness.

### Henry

Percy was very happy to see Henry return from Crewe in good health, and appreciated his cheerful whistling. The duo also worked with Duck to stop Gordon and James from ordering him about. Their relationship is somewhat like the relationship between Thomas and Gordon, except they were much quicker to make friends.

### Duck

Percy and Duck, though working on separate branch lines, are quite close. Percy and Duck (along with Henry) worked together to stop Gordon and James from ordering them about in the yards. Percy also suspected Duck did not start the nicknames and realised the trucks were too quiet on the Ffarquhar branch. He was also very protective of Duck when Diesel arrived back on Sodor in *Not-So-Devious Diesel* and was horrified when Diesel reported Duck had almost died in *Diesels and Westerners*.

## Romance

### Mavis

Percy found Mavis to be cheerful, feisty and very eager. At first, he just saw Mavis as a friend. But as time went by, they steadily grew closer together. Percy admired Mavis for speaking her mind and her bold streak, as well as her kindness, and Mavis found herself finding those qualities in Percy too. They realised their crushes on each other during Sophia Hodges (nee Kyndley) and Jack Hodges' wedding, but it wasn't until later they were able to confess. In fact, Percy assumed Mavis had a thing for Salty, but it turned out they were friends all along.

## Personality

Percy is cheeky, naïve, yet is very bold and loyal to the core. However, this stronger side took a severe hit due to some insecurities and trauma setting in. Since *Tale of the Brave*, his bolder side has been setting back into him. More of this started coming through during the *The Great Railway Show*, where he partook in the Shunting Challenge of the Great Railway Show.

## Technical Details

### Basis

Percy is an 0-4-0 saddle tank believed to have been built by the Avonside Engine Company of Bristol, but prior to being purchased second or third hand by the Fat Controller he acquired components from Hunslet of Leeds and other builders. He doesn't have a confirmed real life counterpart though.

### Livery

Percy is painted in NWR green with red lining around saddle tank and yellow lining around his windows. His number (6) is painted on his bunker in yellow with a red outline. He has a white running board with red bufferbeams and valences. His coal rails are painted black and he has a gold dome.

Before arriving on Sodor, he was painted GWR Dark Green with no lining and the number 50 in brass plates.

## Differences between the episodes and the books

* Percy went through a phase of being more timid and shy, due to trauma during [spoilers] and Thomas stepping in one too many times prior to the events of *Flatbeds of Fear*.
* Percy is in a romantic relationship with Mavis.
* Percy used to be a darker green with the number 50 (a reference to the year *Troublesome Engines* was published) before being bought for Sodor. In the books, he had no number.
* Percy was named after Sir Bertram Topham Hatt's deceased father, Sir Percival Topham Hatt.

## Trivia

* The preferred voice actor for Percy is Nigel Pilkington, who took over the UK role from Keith Wickham in 2015.