James

## James the Red Engine

> "*I'd rather take coal trucks than some silly old bones.*"
> ― James
>
>

**James** is a mixed-traffic engine who works on the Main Line with Gordon and Henry. He tends to be boastful and looks down on dirty work, but always means well.

## Bio

James is a red engine who works on the Main Line as a mixed-traffic engine. When James first met Thomas, he thought he was too small to be useful and teased him continuously. But one day, James' wooden brakes caught on fire, causing him to become a runaway engine and crash into a field. Thomas soon rushed to help and put James back on the rails. James was very grateful and eventually was repaired.

When Thomas left to run his branchline, James began to miss Thomas. He, along with Gordon and Henry, complained about shunting their own trains, as they thought they were too grand to shunt. One day, James had to fetch his own coaches and complained about it bitterly. Eventually, James became impatient and went too fast and damaged the brake pipe in one of the coaches, which had to be mended with a bootlace. Embarrassed by the incident and cross about shunting his own trains, James decided to go on strike with Gordon and Henry to make Sir Topham Hatt look silly. But the tables turned on the big engines when Percy was brought in to help on the Main Line. As punishment for their actions, Gordon, James and Henry were shut up in the shed, but were eventually let out after learning their lesson.

When a huge storm damaged the roof at Sodor Junction, Gordon was left in charge of the operation, much to James' dismay. Thomas wanted to help the other engines mend the roof, but the big engines only teased him saying that the smaller engines would only end up in trouble and weren't strong enough to help them. Ironically, James himself ended up in trouble as the trucks pushed him off the line, leaving him hanging dangerously over a cliff. Luckily, Thomas arrived to save James and pulled him to safety. James thanked Thomas for his help and cheered the little engine on when he arrived for the reopening of Sodor Junction.

One time, James was helping out after a storm, where he met Muck for the first time. The two got along well at first, as James took a liking to Muck's red paint, until James decided to take Muck to the washdown, thinking he would like to be as clean as he was. Muck was horrified of the soap and water and ran off, leaving James to follow him, only for the red engine to be accidentally splashed in mud by the machine. James furiously insulted Muck before leaving in a huff, only for later to get stuck under a rockslide at the quarry. Muck arrived to the rescue and freed James, before another rockslide nearly squashed them both. Ever since then, James has become good friends with Muck and is always happy to see him, despite their differences.

## Persona

James is a medium-sized engine. His six driving wheels are not as big as Gordon's and not as small as Thomas'. He has a fine scarlet coat and brass dome and likes to think of himself as a really splendid engine. This can occasionally lead to high-falutin' ideas about the sort of work suitable for such a noble creature. Invariably, they land James in trouble. Even so, James is a hard worker and is still a really useful engine.

## Livery

James is painted in the North Western Railway’s red with black lining and gold boiler bands. He has a yellow number five on his tender.

## Appearances

* Season 1 - A Really Useful Engine, Thomas, Terence and Bertie (cameo), Elephants and Bootlaces, Cheeky Little Percy, Percy in the Dark, Thomas to the Rescue, Thomas and Toby (does not speak), James’ Sticky Situation, Problems for Henry, Percy, Edward and the Icy Rails (cameo), The Trouble with Cows (cameo), James’ Mucky Friend, Percy’s Post (cameo), Duck and the Diesel Engine, Lofty and the Bullies, Oliver Gets the Bird (cameo), Cranky at the Quarry (cameo), Muck’s Double Trouble (cameo), Gordon's Revenge, The Missing Tuba Player, Stowaway Scarecrow, Famous Engines
* Season 2 - Things That Go Bump in the Night, Road Rage, Terence Takes a Trip (cameo; speaking role cut), Edward's Triumph (cameo), Oliversaurus, Helpful Harvey (does not speak), Coaches and Quarrels (does not speak), Duck's Spooky Evening (cameo), Rosie’s Fresh Start, The Good Old Days (cameo), James' Flying Fish

### Music Videos

* Season 1 - Really Useful Engine, Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover, Surprises, James the Really Splendid Engine, Engine Roll Call, It's Great to be an Engine, and Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining
* Season 2 - Shining Time Station, I've Been Working on the Railroad, Come for the Ride, Let's Have a Race

### Whistles

In various episodes and the puzzle intermissions, James incorrectly has Duck's whistle at a higher pitch.