Railway engines (Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends)

This article lists, and also profiles, the regular Engine characters of the Television Series *Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends*. It should be noted that, while many characters have appeared in both the TV series and *The Railway Series* by the Rev. Wilbert Awdry, only characters who have appeared in the TV series have been profiled on this page. Also, in the case where a character has appeared in both series, only the TV Series aspect has been covered.

## List of characters

Engines listed in order of first major appearance in the series. However, Narrow Gauge engines have been placed after Standard Gauge.

### Thomas

*Main article: Thomas The Tank Engine*

**Thomas** is a 0-6-0 blue tank engine. He lives and works on the Island of Sodor, and is locomotive number 1 on the island's main railway. He has become the main star of the television series *Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends* (now known as *Thomas and Friends*). Thomas first appeared in *The Railway Series* by the Rev. W. Awdry. His appearance on TV, however, has made him arguably the most widely recognised and well-known locomotive in the world.

Thomas' character can change from time to time, from cheeky like Percy to wise like Edward. He is always, however, extremely proud to run his own branch line, and is very fond of his two coaches, Annie and Clarabel.

### Edward

*Main article: Edward the Blue Engine*

**Edward** was the first character to appear in *The Railway Series* by the Rev W. Awdry, and is part of the central group of characters in the TV Series. He is a blue 4-4-0 tender engine with red stripes, about the same size as James, and bears the number 2 on his tender.

Edward is the oldest and wisest of the engines in the core fleet, and other engines often find themselves indebted to his knowledge and experience.

### Henry

*Main article: Henry the Green Engine*

**Henry** is a 4-6-0 engine, one of the first engines to appear in *The Railway Series* books by the Rev. W. Awdry. Henry is engine number 3 on the railway, and is painted green with red stripes. In the first season, Henry had an accident caused by ice and snow, after which he underwent extensive reconstruction, giving him a new shape, which he has had ever since.

Henry's character can be difficult to pinpoint. Sometimes, he is somewhat pompous like Gordon, at other times he is sensitive, others still he is somewhat depressed. Henry has also from time to time suffered from "illness". Since the third season, however, Henry has had a more consistent character trait added, being portrayed as having an admiration for nature, particularly trees.

### Gordon

*Main article: Gordon the Big Engine*

**Gordon** is a 4-6-2 tender engine, the second engine to appear in *The Railway Series* written by the Rev. W. Awdry. He is train number 4, a painted blue with red stripes, and was the largest and strongest engine in The Fat Controller's fleet until Murdoch arrived.

Gordon has always viewed himself as the most important engine, mostly because of his size and strength, and that his main task is to pull the *Express*. At times, this can lead to him feeling superior, even to the point of uppity. However, he usually learns his lesson, realising that all engines have their place in the team.

### James

*Main article: James the Red Engine*

**James** is a tender engine from *Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends* who also featured in The Railway Series. James is engine number 5, coloured red with gold stripes & dome, and is a 2-6-0 mixed-traffic engine, which means he can pull both coaches and trucks.

While James is one of "the big engines" (a trio with Gordon and Henry), he is certainly the most junior member of this clique, often resulting in him getting too big for his boots. He often brags about his red paint, as though this makes him superior to other engines (a notion which is usually dispelled quickly enough).

### Percy

*Main article: Percy the Small Engine*

**Percy** is a part of The Fat Controller's railway on the TV series *Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends*, and in the *Railway Series* books. He is a green 0-4-0 saddle tank engine with red stripes, and has been given the number 6.

He is the youngest engine of the whole fleet, and in later seasons this youthful inexperience has been heavily portrayed. He is quite a cheeky engine, often looking to trick or tease other engines. Percy does, however, have utmost respect when it is needed, referring to The Fat Controller as "Sir" every few words when addressing him.

### Toby

*Main article: Toby the Tram Engine*

**Toby** is a tram engine who works on the same branch line as Thomas. He is a funny-shaped engine with cowcatchers and sideplates covering his wheels. Some say that he doesn't look like a steam engine at all. He doesn't mind this, just so long as nobody asks him if he's electric! His main job is taking stone to and from the quarry with his coach Henrietta, but he also helps with other jobs. He is painted brown, and is engine number 7.

Toby is old and wise, and is always willing to share his experience and knowledge with other engines. He is careful in everything he does, which means he very rarely has any accidents.

### Duck (Montague)

*Main article: Duck the Great Western Engine*

**Duck** is a character in The Railway Series by Rev. W. Awdry, as well as the TV Series Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. Although his real name is Montague, he was given the nickname "Duck", which everyone now calls him. He is a green pannier tank engine, who was given the number 8 on arrival, and works efficiently as part of The Fat Controller's fleet. He currently runs his own branch line.

Duck holds great pride in being Great Western, and this results in him having a strong work ethic. This can, however, be a cause for friction with his colleagues, when he insists that his way ("the Great Western way") is the only right way to do things, but other engines understand this, and by and large give Duck their full respect.

### Donald & Douglas

*Main article: Donald and Douglas*

**Donald and Douglas** are twin 0-6-0 tender engines who feature in both the TV Series and the Railway Series books. They came from Scotland and, although The Fat Controller was only expecting one engine (not wanting to be separated they decided to travel together and hope for the best), he decided to keep both engines in his fleet, giving them the numbers 9 and 10 respectively, as well as nameplates. They are painted black, and have red name plates with gold writing.

If not for coming to Sodor, Donald and Douglas would surely have been scrapped. Because of this, not only are they grateful to have a home, but they are always very sombre and serious when it comes to the topic of scrapping - a sensitive issue among the steam engine characters.

### Oliver

*Main article: Oliver the Western Engine*

**Oliver** is a 0-4-2 tank engine who has appeared in both the TV Series *Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends* as well as The Railway Series books. In the TV Series, Oliver was introduced in Season 3, being saved from scrap by Douglas, along with his brake van, Toad.

On arrival at Sodor, Oliver was restored, being painted olive green, and given the number 11. He was allocated to work with Duck on his branch line, *The Little Western*.

When Oliver arrived on Sodor, he was not used to handling trucks. While shunting his first ballast train, an incident resulted in Oliver landing bunker-down in a turntable well. On his return from the Works, Oliver learned how to deal with them (albeit after having pulled one truck apart! - see *S.C.Ruffey* for the full story)

Although Oliver has appeared with some regularity between Season 3 and Season 7, his character has not been given the opportunity to develop to the same extent as other engines'.

Oliver is based on a Great Western Railway GWR 1400 Class 0-4-2 tank locomotive. These engines were fitted with a mechanical system allowing the driver to control the locomotive remotely from the cab of an 'autocoach', such as Isabel.