Mavis

**Mavis** is a privately-owned diesel shunter who works for the Ffarquhar Quarry Company, based at Ffarquhar Quarry. In the television series, she also works at the Sodor Slate Quarry.

## Appearance

Mavis is a diesel engine, who's painted black with yellow hazard stripes on her front and rear. Her name is painted on the sides of her cab in white and her company's name, "**The Ffarquhar Quarry Co. Ltd.**", is painted on her side plates, also in white.

And like Toby, Mavis has cowcatchers and side plates that cover six driving wheels.

## Personality

When Mavis first came to Sodor, she was naïve, arrogant and did not take advice very well. She was mostly interested in her own ideas but was brought down to earth after her embarrassing incident at the Ffarquhar crossing. Still, she wanted to see more of the line and schemed to have the trucks push her past the level crossing beyond the quarry - this inadvertently resulted in a near accident for Toby. After rescuing him, Mavis resolved to change her ways for good. She is now more capable of keeping the trucks in line and more willing to take advice.

Unlike many Diesels, Mavis shows respect for the steam engines and unlike most engines, hauling trucks makes her feel important. She is a reliable, honest, and hard-working engine.

Over the course of time, Mavis has matured and acts as a motherly figure to the other engines. As a result, she keeps a stern attitude with the troublesome trucks and holds zero patience towards troublesome antics like those from Diesel. Although Mavis means well, she can at times feel cooped up in the quarry, but always cheers up at the chance to stretch her wheels.

## Trivia

* The Australian Engine and The American Diesels share the exact same horn sound as Mavis' current one from the fifteenth series onwards and its the same one used for Diesel, but in Misty Island Rescue to Series 14 and it was also used for him in some merchandise and some games (maybe).
* Awdry's model of Mavis was actually made in 1962. It was not until ten years later in 1972 that Mavis debuted in the Railway Series itself.
* Mavis was the last character Wilbert Awdry created before he retired from writing the Railway Series.
* Mavis' television series model is currently on display at the Hara Model Railway Museum in Japan and is wearing her concerned face mask.
* Mavis' cross face mask is now owned by Twitter user TomsProps.
* In the Railway Series, Mavis' brake pipe is on the right side, but in the television series, her brake pipe is on the left side.
* At The Train Shed, Mavis wore one of Toby's face masks.
* Mavis used to be one of the characters to appear in every series of the television series since her introduction until the twenty-second, twenty-third and twenty-fourth series, in which she did not appear in any episode.
* Mavis has had six different horn sounds over some years:
* In Series 3 only she had a two-toned horn sound, similar to BoCo, but at some steps higher-pitched.
* In Series 4 only, she had the same horn sound as Class 40.
* In Series 6 only, she had Derek's horn sound.
* In Series 7 only, she had Daisy's original horn sound from Series 2.
* In Calling All Engines! to the sixteenth series episode "Thomas and the Sounds of Sodor", she had a new horn sound and it was also used for her in some games.
* In Series 15 onward, she has Diesel's horn sound from Misty Island Rescue to Series 14.
* In the game, Engines Working Together and on the Diesel's Locomotion Mayhem ride at Drayton Manor Theme Park, she incorrectly had Diesel's horn sound, however her horn sound from Calling All Engines! can be heard when Every Cloud has a Sliver Lining still plays there.
* Her horn sound from Calling All Engines! would later be reused for Norman in Day of the Diesels only.
* Mavis had a total of seven facial expressions during the model series era.

## Quotes

* **Fiddlesticks!**
* **Toby says only steam engines can manage trucks.**
* **One in the headlamp for fusspot Toby!**