Hiro

## Hrio

**Hiro** is a wise Japanese engine, who is famously known as the "**Master of the Railway**". And is the husband of Princess Luna and the father of Princess Yuna, Snowdrop, and Moon Starlight.

## Bio

### Personality

Hiro is an old steam engine who has been on Sodor for a very long time and was originally known as the "Master of the Railway". He is grand, masterful, mature, wise, very dignified, enormously kind and is able to find good in any engine he meets. He has an appreciation for serenity and order and often thinks fondly of his homeland, far away, where he was once one of the strongest engines. Hiro fell victim to neglect when waiting upon parts to arrive for him from his home country, when he began to break down and became lost. He was eventually rediscovered by Thomas, who, despite some problems in worrying about sharing the discovery of Hiro with the Fat Controller, helped Hiro to be fully restored to his former glory. Hiro continues to be gentle, wise and graceful, as well as a useful engine on the railway and a good friend to the other engines, especially Thomas. He does not appear to hold a grudge; in his first appearance, he helped Spencer after an accident, despite Spencer previously trying to send Hiro to the smelter's yard.

And after marrying Princess Luna, Hiro swore on his life to protect her and his family at all costs, no matter what the cast is, as shown when he fought many of the villains that tried to harm them.

## Basis

Hiro is based on a Japanese National Railways (JNR) Class D51 2-8-2 "Mikado" built by Kawasaki and popularly known as the "Degoich" in Japan. These were primarily used as goods locomotives and were an adaptation of the earlier Class D50. In addition to Japan, members of this class have been built for export to South Korea, China, Taiwan and the USSR, totalling 1,184 locomotives. Hiro is standard gauge, while most D51s were built for 3'6" gauge (cape gauge), though the two examples of his class exported to South Korea (KNR Class Mika7) were built to standard gauge. Over 170 of these engines are preserved throughout Japan, two of which are in working order, while four are preserved in Taiwan and eleven in Russia.

Though Hiro's number is a reference to his basis' name, there is a D51 with the number 51. However, unlike Hiro, the real engine is an earlier build of the D51 class, with its dome flush with its funnel. It is preserved at Torokko Saga Station in Kyoto, Japan. Hiro also has a buffer-beam fitted on his front and on the back of his tender.

## Physical Appearance

Hiro is painted black with gold lining, boiler bands and fittings and red wheels. The number "51" is painted on the sides of his tender in white and he has gold nameplates, with his name in black on the sides of his smoke deflectors. His "patchwork" colour scheme consists of a blue boiler with gold lining, a green left smoke deflector, a purple right smoke deflector, a brown dome, green pistons and rusty-red coloured wheels except for the right rear driving wheel which was blue. Two more parts, the part between his lamp and funnel, and the part under his face, were also green.

When in equine form, Hiro is an alicorn stallion with a midnight black coat, and black mane and tail. And has blue eyes and his number 51 as a cutie mark

When in Trainbot form,

## Main Weaponry

### Trainsformer

* 2 Daishō swords
* Japanese Naginata
* Nunchuks
* Shuriken Ninja stars
* Sai
* Hook Swords
* Phaser cannon
* Teal Samurai Trainbot Saber

## Trivia

* Hiro will meet the Mane 6, Spike, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders in Twilight Sparkle's Adventures of Thomas & Friends: Hero of the Rails.