Gina

**Gina the Italian Tank Engine** is a supporting character in the Seventyverse and comes from Italy.

## Backstory

Gina was selected to participate in the Great Railway Show as part of the Shunting Challenge and was on the same ship as Ashima, Rajiv, Shane, Vinnie, Yong Bao, Etienne, Axel, Frieda, Ivan, Carlos, Raul and Gabriela. Unfortunately, they would end up stranded on Sodor when the ship they're on breaks down. During this time, the engines helped around the island, with Gina helping Victor and Kevin at the Steamworks. During the Great Railway Show, Gina was annoyed by Raul's showboating and messed up her turn, resulting in her coming fourth. Two years later, Gina would compete again and when Hong Mei bragged about her win, Gina said that she was too competitive for her own good (albeit in her native language).

## Personality

Sweet and stylish, Gina can match the boys pound for pound when it comes to shunting trucks in the yard. She is very proud of her Italian heritage, and loves working on archaeological digs to uncover more about the history of her cherished homeland. Gina does not suffer fools gladly, and will often grow irritable when someone acts like they know it all - particularly about her areas of expertise. She also doesn't like it when someone implies that she "huffs and puffs". Nonetheless, she is loyal and caring, and will always set grudges aside for the sake of helping others. She also shows that despite Oliver's antics and mishaps, she truly enjoys his visits to Italy. Due to working on archaeological jobs, Gina has developed a sense of annoyance towards superstitious beliefs, and often rolls her eyes over topics such as luck as she prefers to follow common sense ways of doing things.

## Technical Details

### Basis

Gina is based on the Ferrovie Nord Milano 200 0-4-0T. These engines were ordered by the Società Ferrovie Del Ticino (SFT) and built by Couillet, a Belgian locomotive manufacturer, for use on the Como-Varese-Laveno and Saronno-Malnate routes. Seven engines were built by Couillet and numbered from 200 to 206. In 1888, the two routes were acquired by the Ferrovie Nord Milano and the engines became part of the railway, being re-numbered 201 to 207 (subsequently re-numbered again as 200-01 to 200-07). They were used for local service and slowly relegated to menial tasks with the arrival of more powerful engines and from the 1920s, electrification. In the mid-1930s, they were used only for shunting, especially at Milano Cadorna station and were finally withdrawn in the 1960s. In 1974, engine 200-05 was restored and used on heritage train services and is now the second oldest operating engine in Europe. Another engine, numbered 200-02 has been placed on a plinth at Saronno, but it is actually 200-04.

### Livery

Gina's livery is that of her basis. She is painted green with a black boiler, gold lining and red wheels. She has her name written in white lettering on her nameplates. She has the number 200-06 on her sides. This engine was built in 1888, but it's withdrawal and scrapping date is unknown.

## Differences between the episodes and the series

* In the original special, Gina was mostly a background character, but would later play a bigger role in Dig and Discoveries, which was set in Italy. In the adaptation, Gina and the other international engines were all stranded on Sodor, thus giving her a bigger role.
* It's not revealed what place Gina came in the original special. In the rewrite, she came fourth due to getting the wrong rolling stock by mistake.
* In the original series, Thomas visits Italy. In this series, Oliver and Toad visit Italy, as set up in *The Great Railway Show* rewrite.

## Trivia

* The preferred voice actress for Gina is Anna Francolini who voiced Gina in the *BWBA* era.