Isabel and Dulcie

**Isabel and Dulcie the Autocoaches** are Oliver's coaches and two of the deuteragonists of the SeventyVerse.

## Backstory

Isabel and Dulcie used to work with Oliver on passenger runs on a branch line on the mainland whilst Katrina and Toad handled the goods work. Later on, the rise of the diesels and competition from the buses led to Isabel and Dulcie being withdrawn, much to Oliver's dismay. Fortunately, the two autocoaches would end up on the Rolling Hills Railway with Katrina and she became their primary engine there. Oliver was relieved to learn that when Katrina came to help out while the Sodor engines went to London. Years later, Oliver started to miss them after Duck was reunited with Alistair, Mirabel and Benjamin, so Douglas spoke to Sir Charles Topham Hatt about bringing Isabel and Dulcie to Sodor. Arrangements took their time but one day, Oliver woke to up to a  wonderful surprise - his old autocoaches were on Sodor. Although Daisy was jealous of them at first, Isabel and Dulcie soon proved themselves when Daisy's front bogie was derailed by a stone on the line. Since then, Isabel and Dulcie have welcome additions to the Little Western.

## Relationships

### Oliver

Oliver worked with Isabel and Dulcie for a long time, and loves them very much. He was devastated when they were withdrawn, and when Douglas surprised him by bringing them back to Sodor, he was overjoyed.

### Katrina

Katrina had known the autocoaches for a very long time on the branch line, and had become their primary engine on the Rolling Hills Railway. She does appreciate them very much, but could never figure out how to work them as an autotrain despite some of her siblings being able to do that.

## Personality

Isabel and Dulcie are very clever as they always keep a good look out when Oliver is pushing his train and cannot see where's he going. Isabel is shown to have a good sense of humour as she joked about a road engine to Skiff, yet she's more of the motherly and cautious one of the pair. Dulcie is a bit more of a daredevil, as she encourages Oliver to go fast.

## Technical Details

### Basis

Isabel and Dulcie are based on British Railways (BR) Hawksworth autocoaches, which were used in push-pull service on branch lines - while designed by Hawksworth for the Great Western Railway (GWR), they were never built until after BR was formed. The autocoaches were efficient because it eliminated the need for the engine to run around to the other end of the train to turn around. Fifteen Hawksworth autocoaches are preserved by heritage railways, such as the Llangollen Railway in North Wales.

### Livery

Isabel and Dulcie are painted in the GWR chocolate brown with cream window surrounds livery. Their rooftops are pained light grey.

## Differences between the Railway Series, the tv series and the SeventyVerse

* In the Railway Series, Isabel was part of Oliver's escape run and they were joined by Dulcie after Sir Topham Hatt bought them. Isabel and Dulcie did not appear in the tv series. In the SeventyVerse, they were withdrawn from service before Oliver's escape, after which the two coaches joined the Rolling Hills Railway fleet for a few years before transferring to the North Western Railway and reuniting with Oliver.

## Trivia

* The preferred voice actresses for Isabel and Dulcie are:
	+ Tabitha St. Germain (Isabel; Mrs. Cake from *My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic*)
	+ Teresa Gallagher (Dulcie; Miss Daredevil from *The Mr. Men Show*)