Troublesome Trucks

The **Troublesome Trucks** (called **Cars**, originally **Foolish Freight Cars**, in the US narration) are nicknamed so because they can be very troublesome, and love to play tricks on the engines

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## Open Wagons

   **Open wagons** are the most common**Troublesome Trucks**. They can be seen working in most places on the North Western Railway. They carry a variety of loads, including crates, stone, slate and coal. Plank trucks are the most common type of troublesome trucks.

There are also narrow gauge open wagon counterparts on the Skarloey Railway and Mid Sodor Railway.

Basis

Plank trucks are based on 5 and 7-plank open wagons. The smaller trucks are based on the Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway open wagon, scaled up accordingly. The slate trucks are based on the 2-bar wooden slate wagons of the Talyllyn Railway, scaled up accordingly.

### Livery

In The Railway Series and the early Television Series, the plank trucks were painted in a number of different liveries. Currently in the Television Series, they're predominantly painted grey. In Big World! Big Adventures!, some of the plank trucks in Brazil were painted purple-red.

## Vans

The **Vans**carry goods and freight on the North Western Railway. There are several types of anthropomorphic vans featured throughout the Railway Series and television series.

### Livery

In the early Television Series, the vans were painted primarily in grey or brown. Currently, they are predominantly painted grey. In Big World! Big Adventures!, some of the vans in Africa were painted green and dark brown.

## Tankers

The **Tankers** are used to carry a variety of liquids. Most of the tankers in The Railway Series and Television Series do not have faces. The only types to be seen with faces are the standard tankers, tar tankers, milk tankers, a fuel tanker and oil tankers.

### Livery

The Oil Tankers and Tar Tankers are painted black, with their respective symbols on their sides. The Standard Tankers are painted black with blank sides, and the Fuel Tanker from The Railway Series is painted yellow. In Big World! Big Adventures!, some tankers in Africa were painted dark purple.

## Brake Vans

**Brake Vans** are railway carriages from which the train's brakes can be controlled by the guard.

To date, only one troublesome brake van briefly appeared in the second season episode, A Close Shave. Another troublesome brake van appeared in the book, James the Red Engine and the Troublesome Trucks.

### Basis

The brake van that appeared in A Close Shave is based on a BR Standard 20 Ton van.

## Personalities

Every wise engine knows trucks cannot be trusted. Trucks could be considered the rebels and the troublemakers of all rolling stock on the railway, as most of them love to cause mischief and trouble and show no remorse for whatever they do unless they are told off by their engine or controller. If an engine is having a bad day, makes a mistake, or is naive and easily played upon, the trucks begin their wild antics of singing, name calling, holding back, shoving, bumping, giggling, teasing and so on. They will play tricks on an engine based on how they treat them. They are known to be the cause of many accidents and some of them are a form of revenge due to mistreatment and they are not known for their common sense; they will carry out their plans to pay back an engine even if they result in derailing, damaging or destroying themselves.

Trucks can also be described as territorial; when they get used to certain engines pulling them, another engine in the yard to take them may cause confusion or anger for the trucks. In the second series episode, Percy's Predicament for example, Toby and Percy switched jobs, making Toby's trucks furious and causing Percy to crash. In the third series episode, Oliver Owns Up, the trucks refused for Oliver to take them and demanded Duck or Donald or Douglas instead.

To the trucks, one engine is as good as another, as on one occasion they took their anger out on Thomas when they could not get back at James for bumping them. Another occasion was when Toby was pushed by the trucks when he took them instead of Mavis, the latter of whom had asked them to push her at the level crossing.

Trucks are also shown to be somewhat manipulative and can take advantage of other engines that do not know much about them. This was shown when they tricked Bill and Ben by telling them where to put them when they said they wanted to help, only to end up causing delays when the trucks ended up all over the sidings in messy situations, making the twins late to fetch Gordon's coaches.

The only engines the trucks are known not to play tricks on are Edward, Stepney, Salty and Hiro, as well as Tobyand Mavis from series 5 onwards. These engines have their ways of necessary sternness and knowledge of how to properly discipline them when they misbehave and only bump them when they deserve it. Salty's way of handling trucks is singing musical tunes for them to sing along, so as to keep their minds off of misbehaving. They are also afraid of Donald and Douglas after the latter crushed the Spiteful Brake Van to pieces and Oliver since he pulled a privately owned truck called S.C. Ruffey apart. Although they were all accidents, the trucks were never told that and since these incidents, they always keep in mind never to play tricks on those engines.

There have, however, been some cases where the trucks and engines are on the same side, such as when Diesel was given a third chance on Sodor, but the trucks tricked him into misbehaving and getting sent away again. They also asked Percy to help move them from an ill-mannered and obnoxious barge named Bulstrode, only to end up in his hull and damage him, resulting in him being sent to a beach.

During the thirteenth and sixteenth series, they behaved unusually well but were easily annoyed. From King of the Railway onwards, they have regained their old personalities, misbehaving and causing accidents.

In Big World! Big Adventures!, some trucks in other countries were shown to act very differently than the ones on Sodor, some being very polite and even trying to help the engines instead of causing trouble.