Diesel

Martin Sherman (US 2013-2015)

**"Devious" Diesel**, as his name implies, is a sinister diesel shunter who originates from the Other Railway, and is the first diesel engine (at least standard gauge-wise) to arrive on Sodor. In the television series, Diesel becomes a permanent resident of Sodor.

## Appearance

Diesel is a black diesel shunting engine, who came to help out on Sodor. He has six wheels with black siderods, and he has red buffers on the front and back.

## Personality

Diesel is, in essence, the average pantomime villain. He is oily, malicious, devious, scheming and full of ideas to get revenge. He views himself and any other diesel as highly above the steam engines and believes that all diesels are "revolutionary" - he has also claimed diesels should be "rough and tough", as an excuse for bullying the other engines. His antics give diesels on Sodor a bad reputation, which causes most steam engines (particularly Duck and Thomas) to mistrust him. His rough demeanour also affects his fellow diesels, who are often victims of his tricks alongside steam engines, mainly diesels who are friendlier to steam engines and are just nice in general, with Paxton being a prime example.

However, despite his antics, Diesel still wants to prove himself to be a Really Useful Engine. He is also very proud to be the first diesel on Sodor and seems to have a soft spot for cute ducklings.

Lately, Diesel is portrayed as a typical bully with a lack of forethought. While sinisteringly cunning, he usually neglects to think of what would happen if things were found out and due to the transparency of some of his plans, he always gets his comeuppance in the end. His distaste for Steam Engines has also been dropped, being replaced by a mean-spirited prankster nature and inflated arrogance. He also shows several hints of manipulative and self-serving tones, which happened for example almost ruining Sonny's new life on Sodor when the former was having his second chance upon arriving.

So, even though Diesel may not be the nicest engine, he still wants to be really useful.

## Trivia

* Diesel was the first diesel to be introduced in both the Railway Series and the television series.
	+ He was created when Eric Marriott, the editor of the Railway Series at the time, suggested that Awdry should introduce a diesel in order to keep the books up to date.
* In some merchandise lines, he is referred to as "Devious Diesel". It was not until the seventh series episode, Fergus Breaks the Rules that he was referred to by this name on-screen.
* In Series 2 and 3, Diesel's coupling rods were silver, but from Series 6 onwards his coupling rods are black.
* Between the thirteenth and sixteenth series, Diesel was the only character from the model series to still be voiced by the narrator in the CGI Series. However, this was only in the US narration.
* As revealed in the tenth series episode, Emily and the Special Coaches, Diesel is a record holder for most trucks shunted in a single day.
* Diesel had a total of sixteen facial expressions, one of which (a weary face) was never shown on-screen.
* Diesel has travelled at well over his top speed of 20 miles per hour on numerous occasions in the television series.
* Throughout voicing Diesel:
	+ In the US narration, Martin Sherman gave him a New Jersey accent. Whilst Michael Brandon gave him a gruff American accent.
	+ In the UK narration of the thirteenth series onwards and the US narration of the nineteenth series onwards, Kerry Shale gives Diesel a faint hoarse Cockney accent.
	+ Although Diesel does not have any in-canon number, he has been portrayed several times to have the number 1 in the Thomas Creator Collective, most notably in *The Return of Diesel* when he becomes the leader of a group of diesel shunters on the Mainland.
	+ Additionally, Diesel refers to himself as "Diesel number one" during a parody of the Series 22-onwards intro sequence in the twenty-third series episode, Diesel Do Right.
	+ Diesel was the only diesel engine who does not appear in the fifth series.
	+ Diesel's horn sound from Misty Island Rescue was reused for Mavis in the fifteenth series onwards (excluding Day of the Diesels and the sixteenth series episode, Thomas and the Sounds of Sodor).

## Quotes

* **Your worthy Sir Topham Hatt thinks I need to learn. He is mistaken. We diesel's don't need to learn. We know everything. We come to a yard and improvement. We are revolutionary.**
* **I can’t understand it Sir. To think that Duck of all engines… I’m dreadfully grieved Sir; but know nothing.**
* **Everyone knows that tenders are a mark of distinction, but I'm afraid that no amount of tenders will save you in the end. We diesels are taking over, and we don't need tenders to make us important, not even one.**
* **How absurd. Depend upon it Mavis, anything steam engines can do, we diesels can do better.**