Thomas

"*Well it's lucky you're not fueled by deviousness. Your petrol tank would burst if it did!*"
— Thomas to Diesel, Ghost

## Character Information

### Works at:

Elsbridge & Knapford Railway (1905-1922)
London and North Eastern Railway (1923-1947)
North Western Railway (1948-1965)

### Relatives:

* Stepney (cousin)
* Kate (ex-girlfriend)

### Number:

* Nor'easters #1 (formally)
* NWR 1 (formally)

### Configuration:

0-6-0

**Thomas Grady** was a cheeky blue tank engine who worked as a shunter for the LNER, and later for the North Western Region of BR. He was built by and formerly worked for the Elsbridge and Knapford Railway.

## Biography

Thomas was the first engine to be built by Crovan's Gate Works in 1905. He worked with Toby to build then operate the Elsbridge & Knapford Railway and taught Edward how to handle trucks when he first came to Sodor.

After the grouping in 1923, Thomas became part of the LNER's Sudrian division, nicknamed the Nor'Easters. He and his friends were eventually joined by Gordon, Henry, and James. Despite some minor tiffs between him and these new arrivals, Thomas became good friends with them too.

In 1934, the Nor'Easters were told by their director, Mr. Star that he had managed to secure the contract for a ship called the Duchess and had also arranged for a new shunter called Percy to join them. He assigned Thomas to show the new arrival around. Thomas had some trouble finding Percy but eventually ran into him (literally) at Knapford station. He took him on a fuel delivery to Marston Heights coal mine where he introduced him to Sally, the mine owner's daughter. He and Percy then went to the harbor to help with the Duchess job, but Toby told them that the boat had arrived early and Henry was missing. Thomas found him at the lumber yard, where he had derailed after Adam and Colin set some points against him.

Henry told Thomas to go back to the harbor and help pull the train. Thomas was a little apprehensive but eventually did as he was told. Toby marshaled him upfront with James, while Percy pushed from behind. They managed to pull out of the yard, but Diesel hit Percy with a runaway truck and caused the train to split after a coupling broke. The resulting delays meant they had lost the contract for the train to the Midis, much to the Nor'Easters grief. The next day, Thomas defended Percy from Gordon after the express engine berated him, but was caught off guard when the big blue engine demanded proof that Percy wasn't at fault. Thomas found the proof after talking to Duck, who had seen Diesel push the truck into Percy. With their reputation restored and the Midis tarnished, the Nor'Easters welcomed Percy to the island, with Thomas leading the cheers.

In 1935, Thomas was taking workers to build Elsbridge Harbour as part of the Sodor Construction Scheme when he spotted smoke in the distance and feared the worst. He rushed there to find Mickey, who explained it was only a drill. However, a real fire would break out later that day thanks to the recklessness of James, who was also bringing a train to the harbour. Over the following week, the Nor'Easters had to take on extra work to pay for the damage; Thomas helped the Midis upgrade the yard at Wellsworth as part of the construction scheme. Colin accidentally started a fire at the yard, so he, Diesel and Thomas ran before the fire hit the tar tankers. Realizing Cooper the workman was left behind, Thomas ran back to save him, only for his safety valve to burst. Luckily, Colin also ran back to pull Thomas out of there. Ever since this incident, Thomas has considered Colin to be a friend.

In the winter of 1937, before the incident with Arthur's Ghost, Thomas was introduced to an engine called Kate who was working as the shunter of the Marsten Heights Coal Depot. Kate explained to Thomas that she was given her "Lady" nameplate as a commemoration to her late wife's builder. The two engines gradually found that they were becoming closer and closer over the years, and their bond only strengthened in 1939 when they ended up serving sentences in Rail Gate Prison at the same time (him for racing Bertie and her for dangerously tricking Diesel).

During WW2, Thomas, emboldened by Colin's death at the hands of Nazi planes, became a member of the 110th Platoon. He met Oliver and Blair of Burke and Blair when the Battle of The Bulge trapped him behind enemy lines. The group managed to make it back to Allied lines, but Adam's murder of countless civilians (later revealed to be criminals) caused the platoon to be sent home in disgrace.

Eventually, following WW2, all railways were nationalized and the LNER and Midis, effectively ending the long-standing rivalry between the now-defunct rail companies.

Once The Fat Controller took charge, he organised a Reshuffle of the railway so that engines would run specific jobs and maximize efficiency. Thomas got to spend more time on his branch line but, when Henry, James, and Douglas started to bring oil deliveries to the Coal Mining Company, Thomas began to see less and less of Kate. Eventually, in 1947, a full month had passed and he was deeply worried that both he and Kate were starting to drift apart. This led him to lash out at James one morning after he was accused of being late, prompting Toby to talk to Sir Topham Hatt about it later that afternoon. That night, The Fat Controller confronted Thomas in his shed and decided to timetable it so that the oil deliveries would be given to Percy, Thomas and Toby, but not before giving him a dressing down about his behavior.

However, Thomas and Kate's relationship would take a sour turn when news of Henry and Emily's marriage spread in 1958. When Kate brought up getting married, Thomas pointed out her flaw of being jealous whenever he was in proximity to another woman. From that point onwards, Thomas and Kate began to argue every time they saw each other. This came to a head in 1962 when Thomas heard from Terence that Kate's nameplate was actually dedicated to her builder's dog and called her a liar. He was delighted when Kate broke up with him, but he quickly regretted his words when he learned that Terence's faulty intel came from a disgruntled ex-employee who was sacked after Kate reported him for drinking on the job.

In 1965, Thomas and Kate encountered each for the first time since their breakup. With an awkward vibe between them, Thomas apologized for saying what he said, but Kate admitted that her jealous behavior gave him a reason to, whereas he never gave her a reason to distrust him. With neither wanting to get back together, they agreed to try to be friends. Kate explained to Thomas that she was sold to BR and will be transferred to the Little Western. As part of helping Kate get acquainted with the routines and regularities of ordinary railway life, Thomas and Toby showed Kate the ropes of their branch line.

Later on in 1965, at Brendam Docks, after Benson accidently started a fire by carelessly moving, Thomas tried to move a burning tanker out of the harbour that was caught on fire. It ended up being too dangerous so he tried to escape, however the tanker blew up before he had the chance. He did survive the explosion, but would later succumb to his injuries at Crovan’s Gate Works. His remains were sent to Barry Island Scrapyard in Wales.

## Persona

Thomas was a rather cheeky, but kind engine, and generally behaved well. Despite his somewhat young age, he served as a good mentor for engines like when he taught Edward how to manage trucks. He loved teasing the others, especially the midis, but can become irritable when they tease him. If he was ever talked down to by a bigger engine being boastful, like Gordon, Thomas wasn't shy of talking back. He could also have a slight tendency to rush into a situation regardless of the danger, like when he charged into a fire to save a workman. Despite this, he had high respect for his superiors and friends, and even maintained a tiny bit of respect for the midis. This bit of respect blossomed into camaraderie in the advent of WW2 and Nationalization.

## Livery

Thomas was painted sky blue with red lining. His number was painted on his tank sides in yellow with red lining, and the lining around his cab windows is yellow.

## Basis

Thomas was based on the LB&SCR Class E2 0-6-0T, particularly the second batch of locomotives built with extended side-tanks. These engines were built by Brighton Works between 1913-1916 to replace the ageing Stroudley E1 class and were primarily used for heavy shunting and short-distance freight trains in the London area and on the south coast. During their final working years, the E2 class worked as shunting engines at Southampton Docks, until they were replaced by the BR Class 07 diesel shunters. All of the E2s were scrapped, with none surviving into preservation.

## Trivia

* In The Stories of Sodor episodes based on episodes from TUGS, Thomas almost always takes the role of Ten Cents. The only exception is Jinxed (Stuart).
	+ In Expansion, one of Falcon's lines is similar to a line of dialogue from Ten Cents in the TUGS episode "Munitions".
* In this series, Thomas is supposed to be a prototype of the LBSC E2 locomotive, However the original E2s, at least the first batch of them, did not have Extended Side Tanks.
* As revealed in Propaganda, Thomas' full name is **Thomas Grady**, a likely nod to actor Mike Grady, who voiced Sir Robert Norramby in the CGI series of *Thomas & Friends*.
* In Fallout, Thomas was the first character in the main Stories of Sodor canon to have visible damage to his face.
* Thomas is the first RWS canon character to die in the Stories of Sodor, and the second TVS canon character overall.
* Thomas’ death conflicts with Wilbert’s decision not to include the dead in his books, as he would go on to appear in “Tramway Engines”, which was published in 1972, 7 years after his death.
* Thomas' remains are at Barry Island Scrapyard, a place in which hundreds of engines were salvaged from scrap. Victor Tanzig stated on several occasions that Thomas will be back, however, it is unknown if how this will play out, if Thomas is not really dead, if he will be rebuilt back to life (possibly by The SCP Foundation), or if an identical replica will be built (as with Arthur).

## Appearances

### The Stories of Sodor

#### Season 1

* Prologue *(cameo)*
* Percy
* Legality
* Fire
* Passengers
* Goods
* Branch Lines
* Mainline
* Scrap
* Ghost
* Cows
* Quarantine
* Carriages
* Sting *(does not speak)*
* Jinxed *(does not speak)*
* Luck *(cameo)*

#### Season 2

* Visitor
* Inspection
* Thief
* Trapped
* Strike
* Spectre
* Sabotage
* Smuggling
* Prejudice *(does not speak)*
* Maintenance
* Shunted
* Armaments
* Affection *(does not speak)*
* Parade

#### Stories of War

* Evacuation *(cameo)*
* Blitz
* Combat
* Espionage
* Atrocity

#### Season 3

* Aftermath
* Replacements
* Management
* Controller *(cameo)*
* Reshuffle
* Books
* Choices
* Amends *(does not speak)*
* Industry *(cameo)*
* Services
* Trial
* Extension *(cameo)*
* Fog

#### Season 4

* Diesel
* Modernisation *(does not speak)*
* Mountain *(cameo)*
* Diagnosis *(cameo)*
* Prototypes *(mentioned)*
* Secrets *(cameo)*
* Aviation
* Animosity *(cameo)*
* Lamp *(flashback appearance; cameo)*
* Revelations
* Relationships
* Beeching
* Storm
* Dieselisation *(cameo)*
* Return

#### Season 5

* Vandalism *(cameo)*
* Enthusiasts *(cameo)*
* Preservation
* Training
* Revenge *(cameo)*
* Munitions
* Fallout *(does not speak; death)*

#### Sodor Shorts

* Bruce
* Sound
* Coal
* Monster
* Busters
* Song *(cameo)*
* Swagman
* Schadenfreude
* Rap *(cameo)*
* Greeting
* Marc
* Switch
* Costume
* Teacher
* Spoilers
* Bludger
* Why
* Rivalry *(cameo)*
* Tutorial
* Preview
* Bequeath
* Remembrance *(does not speak)*
* Australia
* Siege *(does not speak)*
* Mask
* Firefighting
* Test *(as a TOMY Trainz Character; does not speak)*
* Update *(in the new intro)*
* Pets
* Triggers *(does not speak)*
* Adaptation
* Resolution *(does not speak)*
* React
* Escape
* Incarcerated
* Adjusted
* Appearances
* Bandwagon
* Patreon
* Annoying
* Dictatorship *(cameo)*
* Revolution
* Hypnotised *(cameo)*
* Shakespeare
* Heartbreak
* Evil *(mentioned)*
* Pride
* Wrath *(cameo)*
* Gaffe *(cameo)*
* First
* Glitch *(as a giant engine)*
* Roast
* Selection
* Incentive
* Tyranny
* Propaganda
* Chosen
* Unresolved
* Hole
* Sandwich *(does not speak)*
* NFT *(cameo)*
* Typical

#### Sodor Specials

* Non-Faceless Vehicles *(cameo)*
* A History of its Railways *(cameo)*

## References

1. http://ttte.wikia.com/wiki/Thomas
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G98zBz\_xKrQ
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmGhBkjOCuc

## See Also

**LNER**

**Rail Gate Prison**

*\* = Crime Unknown*

 Residents/Workers