Oliver

**Oliver Carter** is a green GWR auto tank engine.

## Biography

Oliver worked on the Great Western Railway with his friends. He knew Duck and Maggie when he was starting out, and the former had given him advice. As shown in Thief, Oliver, Duck and William gave Wendell a hero's welcome when he returned from his 15-day sentence, but Shunted shows that Oliver was not too pleased with his shunted colleague.

During the Second World War, Oliver served as a "tapper engine", as in radio-tapping. He worked with Toad as a mobile listening station that their radio-operater, Blair, would use to monitor enemy communications. After being cut off in an ambush, the three of them became stuck in a factory behind enemy lines overnight when Oliver ran out of coal. They were found by Thomas and Douglas, who also were cut off. The next day, when their group launched a counterattack on Heldenbergen, they made a break for it, though not without being chased by two DRG Class 01 locomotives, which Edward, Henry and Lily destroyed with a railgun. Despite the escapees' resolve, they were only allowed to return to active duty after being examined.

Sometime after nationalisation in 1948, Oliver had an encounter with Glenn at the Turnmouth Coal Mine. Glenn claimed that Oliver could not take the coal trucks from the siding he was told to collect them from, as they were apparently supposed to be part of a train that Glenn was yet to shunt. Despite Oliver's sympathy for the supposed problems Glenn suffered, he still had to take his shipment to Low Fell. When Charles showed up for his readily-assembled train, Oliver wondered if any of Glenn's story was true. Charles then ran over a coupling that fell off a truck earlier, trapping Oliver in a siding and delaying him even further. In the following episode it appears as though Oliver and Glenn's resentment towards each other persists, as seen when Edward describes how industrial engines like Glenn have a reputation for not being regarded as "proper" engines.

By 1960, Oliver and Duck's branch line was completely overrun by diesels that would break down regularly. Whenever Oliver and Duck came to the rescue of diesels like Dennis, Splatter and Dodge, they never gave thanks and even sometimes mocked them. Because of this, the two tank engines were happy when they were sent to build and subsequently run the new Waterton branch on the west coast of the Island of Sodor, going out of Tidmouth. The two of them would be assisted by engines from the Ffarquhar branch two at a time, as well as George.

Things went well until a fumbling workman named Maurice caused Oliver to fall into a turntable well. This incident exacerbated several underlying issues, so it took several weeks longer than expected to fix Oliver.

## Livery

Oliver is painted in the North Western Railway's green livery with the 1934 GWR crest painted on the sides of his tanks and the number "11" painted on the sides of his cab in yellow.

## Basis

Oliver is based on a GWR 14xx Class 0-4-2T. 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. They were originally assigned numbers in the 48xx series, but were renumbered into the 14xx series in 1946.

## Trivia

* While Oliver and Toad remain friends in The Stories of Sodor, Toad isn't necessarily "Oliver's brakevan" as he is in the television series.

## Appearances

### The Stories of Sodor

#### Season 1

* Prologue *(cameo)*
* Scrap *(cameo)*

#### Season 2

* Inspection *(cameo)*
* Thief *(cameo)*
* Spectre *(cameo)*
* Shunted *(cameo)*

#### Season 3

* Controller *(cameo)*
* Nationalisation
* Industry *(cameo)*

#### Season 4

* Diesel *(mentioned)*
* Diplomacy *(cameo)*
* Animosity
* Revelations *(cameo)*
* Relationships
* Beeching *(cameo)*
* Dieselisation
* Return

#### Season 5

* Vandalism *(cameo)*
* Competition
* Preservation *(cameo)*
* Training *(cameo)*
* Experiment *(cameo)*
* Fallout *(cameo)*

#### Sodor Shorts

* Coal *(cameo)*
* Monster *(cameo)*
* Song *(cameo)*
* Justice
* Remembrance *(does not speak)*
* Mask
* Update *(in the new intro)*
* Sins *(cameo)*
* Adaptation *(cameo)*
* Money
* Annoying
* Greed
* Glutton
* Crypto
* Embarrassed