Duck

*"There are two ways of doing this: the Great Western way, or the wrong way. I'm Great Western and..."
"Don't we know it!"*
―Duck and the other engines[src]
**Montague**, nicknamed "**Duck**" because of his supposed tendency to waddle, is a Great Western tank engine who works on the North Western Railway. He was brought to the railway to work as a station pilot at Tidmouth, but was transferred to the Little Western when the branch line was reopened. He owns a set of two Great Western autocoaches named Alice and Mirabel.

Duck is very proud of his Great Western heritage and is always quick to remind the engine that there is only one way of doing things right: the Great Western Way. He is a hard-working and reliable engine who stands for no nonsense and always supports his friends, but his constant mentioning of the Great Western Railway sometimes gets on the nerves of the other engines.

## Biography

### Arrival

Prior to coming to the Island of Sodor, Duck worked at Paddington station on the Great Western Railway. He was named "Montague", but he was often referred to as "Duck" due to the fact he supposedly waddled along the track; Duck preferred his nickname over his real name, and the name stuck to him.

In 1955, Duck was acquired by the Fat Controller to work as the station pilot at Tidmouth in Percy's place. He was allowed to be repainted from his British Railways livery back into his original Great Western one, as the Fat Controller was fond of the Great Western Railway. When he arrived at Tidmouth, Duck was shown around the yard by Percy, and began to put the trucks and coaches in order smoothly.

Although Duck was a hard worker, the big engines - Gordon, Henry and James - mistook his work ethic for simplicity, and used this to their advantage; at first, they would tease him by making "quacking"-like sounds with their steam, but they soon began ordering him around. Duck consulted with Percy on the matter, and the two engines decided to pay the bigger engines out by blocking the entrance to Tidmouth Sheds, preventing the engines from getting in. The Fat Controller immediately arrived and reprimanded Duck and Percy for their behaviour, but scolded the bigger engines for creating the disturbance. After this, the big engines learned not to mess with Duck.

Duck later went to England, along with the other North Western engines and the Fat Controller.

### Duck and the Diesel Engine

When City of Truro came to Sodor as a visiting engine, Duck shyly went over to speak to him. City of Truro was a kind engine, and the two stayed up all night chatting about everything Great Western. City of Truro's visit to the railway made Duck immensely proud, and he began talking all about his Great Western heritage to the other engines, much to their annoyance.

When Diesel came to the North Western Railway on trial, Duck remained suspicious of him, and left Diesel to shunt his own trucks when he began boasting about how "revolutionary" he was. Diesel attempted to move a row of rusty old vans out of a siding, but the trucks' brakes were left on, and all he succeeded in doing was derailing them, much to Duck's amusement. Duck then left Diesel to clear up the trucks himself.

After this incident, Diesel grew to despise Duck; he became determined on sending him away, and spread lies among the trucks that Duck had been insulting the bigger engines behind their backs. When James, Gordon and Henry heard about this, they refused to let Duck enter the shed, and told the Fat Controller what had happened when he arrived at the scene. After hearing all three sides of the story, the Fat Controller sent Duck to Wellsworth to work with Edward.

Although Duck was saddened by the whole ordeal, he managed to adjust to life at Wellsworth easily and took up a position as a banker, helping the bigger engines and their trains up the steep hill. However, as he was coming down the hill after helping a goods train, Duck was pursued by a row of runaway trucks that had broken away from their engine. Duck managed to slow himself and the trucks down, but was diverted onto a siding and crashed into a barber shop at Crosby. The furious barber lathered Duck's face with shaving cream, but when he found out about his heroism, he immediately rinsed his face off and apologized.

When the Fat Controller arrived at the scene of the accident, he told Duck that he would be sending him to work back at Tidmouth, and that Diesel had been sent away when he began spreading lies about Henry. When Duck returned from the Works after being mended, he was warmly greeted by the other engines.

## Background Information

### Duck in Thomas & Friends

Duck is a character in the show, *Thomas & Friends*. Like his Railway Series counterpart, he works on the Little Western and is very proud of his Great Western heritage. He has three Great Western slip coaches, which he uses instead of Alice and Mirabel.

## Trivia

* The Reverend W. Awdry owned a model of Duck for his model railway, which had a tendency to "waddle" along the track due to its uneven wheels. The engine was christened "Duck" by Awdry's children, inspiring the name for the character. The model is now on display on Awdry's Ffarquhar layout at the Narrow Gauge Railway Museum in Twywn, Wales.
* Although Duck claims that he was built at Swindon and worked at Paddington, the real engine which carried his number never did; the real 5741 was built in Glasgow, Scotland by the North British Locomotive Co., and never worked at Paddington or Swindon. The engine was only ever taken to Swindon to be cut up.

## References

1. ↑ The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Engines
2. ↑ Percy the Small Engine
3. ↑ The Eight Famous Engines
4. ↑ Duck and the Diesel Engine
5. ↑ http://www.railuk.info/steam/getsteam.php?row\_id=2674