Proteus

"Proteus's lamp was so bright you could see it for miles around!"

- Skarloey, The Magic Lamp, ninth season

    Proteus    Proteus is a legendary narrow-gauge tank engine with a magic lamp hung upon his funnel.
 * Builder: Falcon Works
 * Configuration: 0-4-2ST

Bio
Proteus was a very old engine from the hills of Sodor with a magical lamp. Legend has it that his lamp was magic and if any engine ever found it, their wishes would come true. The clues to finding the magic lamp are feeling a rush of wind when the lamp is near, hearing a strange creaking sound, and see a flickering light that shines on and off.

In the ninth season, Skarloey told Proteus' story to the narrow gauge engines. Peter Sam scoffed at the tale, but realizes that maybe just believing in the lamp will grant your wishes. In the twelfth season, Miss Marvel, a famous storyteller read stories about the legend at special show. Later, Peter Sam found a neglected statue of Proteus that was lost for many years. The statue then restored and is now preserved in a park near the Skarloey Railway.

Basis
Proteus is based on the Talyllyn Railway's Sir Haydn.

Livery
Proteus is painted bright yellow with red lining.

Television series

 * Season 9 - The Magic Lamp (does not speak)
 * Season 12 - Mountain Marvel (mentioned, appears as statue)

Trivia

 * Proteus has larger pistons than Sir Haydn and Sir Handel.
 * The TrackMaster release of Proteus shows him carrying the number 3, like Sir Handel. This may have been a factory-error of using Sir Handel's TrackMaster model with a different face.
 * All of Proteus' merchandise shows him with a nameplate, even though he never had one in the show.
 * Proteus appears to have the same model as Sir Handel, which would have likely been repainted to Proteus' livery. This may be the reason Sir Handel did not feature in the TV series from the fifth season until the tenth season.
 * His model appears to use Peter Sam's chasis, as green edges can be seen underneath Proteus' bufferbeam and cylinder.

Merchandise

 * Wooden Railway (with a working lamp)
 * Take-Along (cancelled)
 * TrackMaster (discontinued)