Bear

**Bear the Hymek Diesel** is one of the deuteragonists and the fourth diesel on the North Western Railway.

## Backstory

Just known by his number of 7101, the Hymek was just another engine in the crowd. He'd take his goods trains and passenger trains without much complaint, but wasn't in too good of company. 7101 often ran into the likes of Diesel 10, Sadie and Delilah, and even had to divert them when he realised an innocent tank engine and brake van would be scrapped. 7101 also briefly met a friendly class 17 named Derek, who shared his views on wanting to befriend the steam engines. He also met up with 199 and 261. While both hated steam engines, 7101 managed to get through to 199 that hate on the steam engines wasn't the answer. He wasn't so lucky with 261 however, and they ended up being trailed on the NWR. While 261 - Bowler - was kicked off Sodor, 7101 - dubbed Bear by Oliver - passed his trials.

## Main Line crew

### Henry

Henry got along very well with Bear. The Hymek stood up for Henry against Bowler when he said Henry should have been burned alive. Henry also helped Bear when his injector failed, and was very happy when Bear had passed his trials. Years later, Bear is one of the engines that resides with Henry at Vicarstown sheds. According to Henry, they could chat for hours.

### Gordon

Gordon trusts Bear to take the Wild Nor'Wester when he's unavailable, and generally has a good relationship with him. Not too much else is known about their relationship.

### James

Bear was able to soothe James' ruffled feelings when he had an incident with a signal, and even joked that the signalman doesn't know the difference in engines' whistles/toots. However, Bear and James did get at odds with each other when they got effected by the frost. Bear still came to James' aid though.

### Donald and Douglas

The twins had a good first impression of Bear when they heard he slipped around to help save Oliver and Toad. Douglas didn't hold any ill will toward Bear when he had a failed injector on his trial run. Not too much else is known about their relationship.

### Emily

Emily is grateful to Bear for rescuing her from the scrapyard. Unfortunately during her bossy phase, she started to question this and wonder if Bear only did it to 'look good'. The two got into a massive argument after that. Thankfully, their relationship has been patched up in the present day.

### Murdoch

Bear and Murdoch currently reside at Vicarstown together. Though Murdoch finds Bear to be a bit of a chatterbox, the two both agree that the big engines can get a bit huffy sometimes.

### Rebecca

Rebecca was a bit intimidated by Bear's growls at first, but found him to be a very dedicated and hardworking engine. She sometimes calls him a teddy-bear, much to his embarrassment.

## Other relationships

### BoCo

Bear and BoCo generally do have positive opinions of each other, and Bear even looks up to BoCo as a role model. Sometimes, if there's a particularly hostile engine on Sodor, Bear will have his temper flare up and BoCo is the one to calm him down.

### Diesel

Diesel looks up to Bear, and admires how he was able to stand up to Bowler. He also trusted Bear with telling him the truth about what Arry and Bert did to Collet.

### Derek

Derek and Bear have met each other prior to their Sodor days, and share views on steam engines and respecting them. Bear is excited to see Derek join the NWR as part of the Brendam crew, but not too much else is known about their relationship.

### Bowler

Bear and Bowler have some bad fuel between them. Bear didn't take it well when Bowler was rude to the Sudrians. Despite most of the Sudrians being almost strangers to Bear, he stood by them and even scared Bowler off when he threatened Henry.

### 199

Bear and 199 didn't get on at first because the latter was toxic to steam engines. However, Bear managed to whip him into shape, and 199 started to realise that the steam engines aren't all that bad. Tensions will rise when the two ultimately meet each other later down the line.

## Personality

Bear isn't afraid to talk back to those who mess around, and tends to scare of hostile engines to the NWR's way of life. He's incredibly loyal to a fault, and under his tough exterior, he's a real sweetheart.

## Technical Details

### Basis

Bear is based on a British Rail (BR) Class 35 "Hymek" Bo-Bo. one-hundred and one members of this class were built from 1961 to 1964. They were known as "Hymeks" because of their Mekydro-design hydraulic transmission units. They were withdrawn between 1971 and 1975, a short life caused by British Railways designating diesel-hydraulic engines non-standard following the withdrawal of steam. Four "Hymeks" have been preserved by heritage railways, such as the East Lancashire Railway in North West England.

Bear's original number, 7101, is an in-joke: the Class 35s was only numbered up to 7100. As Beyer, Peacock and Company was the only company to build the Class 35, all were built in numerical order. Therefore it is safe to say Bear was built after D7100, who entered service on 5 February, 1964.

### Livery

Bear is painted in the BR Rail Blue with yellow window surroundings livery. He also has yellow warning panels on his front and back end. His number (D4) is painted on the sides of his cab in white.

## Differences from the books

* In the books, Bear was the third diesel to join the NWR after BoCo and Daisy. However, in this series, he's the fourth to join after BoCo, Diesel and Daisy.
* Bear was trailed with 199 in the books, not 261.
* In the books, Bear was repainted green. In this series, he retains his blue livery.
* In the books, Bear didn't play much of a role in *Crossed Lines* or *Fire Engine*. In the former, he was the one who unintentionally kickstarted James' backlash about diesels being 'improper' in their habits, and in the latter, he rescued Henry's passengers when he was caught in a fire.
* In the books, Bear came to Sodor just before Douglas rescued Oliver, Toad and Isabel. In this series, he came to Sodor well after Oliver and Toad were safe, and Isabel was on a heritage line. In fact, he sneakily helped out Oliver and Toad before coming to Sodor.
* In the books, Bear also came while Flying Scotsman was visiting Gordon. In this series, that was still going on and he was a support engine to Stepney to help them get to Sodor. He was also able to say goodbye to both engines, while in the books, Stepney arrived well before Bear did and Scotsman was gone before Bear could say goodbye.

## Trivia

* The preferred voice actor for Bear is Bill Barretta, the current voice performer of Rowlf the Dog of *The Muppets*.