Duncan

"I'm a plain blunt engine; I speak as I find! Tunnels should be tunnels and not rabbit holes! This railway is no good at all!"

- Duncan, Home at Last, fourth season

    Duncan    Duncan is a narrow gauge tank engine who came to the Skarloey Railway as a spare engine after Peter Sam's accident with the slate trucks.
 * Number: 6
 * Builder: Andrew Barclay and Co. Ltd.
 * Designer: Andrew Barclay
 * Configuration: 0-4-0WT
 * Arrived on Sodor: 1958

Bio in Railway Series
Duncan was built by Andrew Barclay at Kilmarnock, Scotland and worked in a factory in Scotland, which Peter Sam claims is the source of his strong language and volatile temper.

In 1958, Duncan was bought secondhand to Sodor as a spare engine, as the workload was too much for Sir Handel and Peter Sam to manage unassisted. He came soon after Peter Sam's accident with the slate trucks and was re-gauged to 2ft 3in. Duncan was rude and arrogant at first. However, following derailments in the tunnel and on a stretch of track south of Cros-ny-Cuirn, he began to see sense and made up his feud with Rusty, whom he had detested for being a Diesel.

He was still selfish and prone to temper tantrums and actually stalled on Rheneas Viaduct on the claims that he was overworked and not polished enough. Skarloey, fed up with his careless attitude, finally taught him sense with the story of Rheneas' single handed running of the railway and how passengers are far more important than a polish.

Duncan is currently visiting the Talyllyn Railway in Wales as a tourist attraction and is currently being overhauled. Sir Handel has been brought in to do Duncan's work until he is mended.

Bio in Television Series
Duncan has always been energetic. In the fifth season, his driver and fireman spooked him by making him think that there was a ghost engine trying to cross the old iron bridge. In the sixth season, he worked with Skarloey, Rheneas, and Rusty at the incline railway, but became very careless, resulting in him landing in a swamp. In the seventh season, he ignored Rusty's warnings about the old wooden bridge, and Rusty had to rescue him from falling into the river below. In the twelfth season, he ruined the hot air balloon that Mr. Percival had hired to take his twins for a ride in. However, the balloon repair man managed to fix it by using their birthday flag. In the sixteenth season, his rods were rattling, so Victor came to the Skarloey Railway and fixed them.

Persona
Duncan is a Scottish narrow gauge engine. He initially arrived to the Skarloey Railway as a spare engine after Peter Sam had a nasty accident with some trucks that broke free from the incline. He was prone to boisterous bouncing about, which became known as "rock 'n' roll", whenever the mood took him, which once caused him to derail in the mouth of a tunnel. He speaks with a Scottish accent and is a rather tall engine. He often grumbles and complains, usually about not being polished or being over-worked, and can be rude, rough, and bad tempered. He claims to be a plain-speaking engine who believes in plain speaking, an approach which can cause him to make callous or belligerent remarks. Duncan can be a competitive engine too, particularly with James. He can be careless and make rash decisions which usually leads to his own downfall, but is not always quick to apologise or realise the error of his ways. However, upon Skarloey recalling Rheneas' gallant act to get his passengers home, Duncan admitted he had the wrong attitude and tried hard to be a more useful, respectable engine in future. In spite of his ways, Duncan can be a little misunderstood as he is focused, confident, resourceful, and has a big heart.

Basis
Duncan is based on the Talyllyn Railway's Douglas. This engine is currently selected to be dressed up as Duncan on special events associated with the "Thomas the Tank Engine" franchise.

Livery
In the Railway Series, Duncan is painted in the Skarloey Railway's red livery with blue-and-yellow lining. In the television series he is painted golden yellow with black lining and gold boiler bands.

Appearances
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Railway Series

 * The Little Old Engine
 * Gallant Old Engine
 * Mountain Engines
 * Very Old Engines
 * Duke the Lost Engine
 * Great Little Engines
 * New Little Engine

Television series

 * Season 4 - Bulldog (cameo), Peter Sam and the Refreshment Lady (cameo), Home at Last, Rock 'n' Roll, Special Funnel (cameo), Steam Roller (cameo), Passengers and Polish, and Gallant Old Engine
 * Season 5 - Duncan Gets Spooked and Snow (cameo)
 * Season 6 - Dunkin Duncan and Faulty Whistles
 * Season 7 - The Old Bridge (cameo), The Refreshment Lady's Tea Shop (cameo), Rheneas and the Roller Coaster (cameo), The Runaway Elephant, The Grand Opening (cameo), Not So Hasty Puddings (cameo), and Trusty Rusty
 * Season 9 - Mighty Mac (cameo), Tuneful Toots, The Magic Lamp, Duncan and the Old Mine, and Skarloey the Brave
 * Season 10 - Follow that Flour (cameo), A Smooth Ride (does not speak), Duncan Drops a Clanger, Thomas' Tricky Tree, Wharf and Peace, and Duncan's Bluff
 * Season 11 - Duncan Does it All, Sir Handel in Charge, Cool Truckings, and Wash Behind Your Buffers (cameo)
 * Season 12 - Mountain Marvel, The Party Surprise (cameo), Duncan and the Hot Air Balloon, The Man in the Hills, and Push Me, Pull You
 * Season 16 - Don't Bother Victor! (mentioned)
 * Season 18 - Duncan and the Grumpy Passenger

Specials:
 * The Great Discovery

Magazines stories
Duncan also appeared in the magazine stories, Cable Car Cheer!, Hello, Skarloey!, Musical Duncan, Rock 'n' Roll Rescue, Rocking About, Roll and Rock, Smoke Signals, The Cliff Railway, and The Mountain Railway. }}
 * 1997 - Duncan
 * 1998 - Duncan Has a Spill
 * 2002 - Big Ideas! (does not speak)
 * 2003 - Mountain Rescue and Seeing Smoke
 * 2004 - Elephants and Engines, and The Grand Opening (cameo),
 * 2006 - Cold Chaos (does not speak)
 * 2007 - Uphill and Down and Cliff Ride
 * 2008 - Smokescreen
 * 2010 - Big Ideas (does not speak) and The Birthday Ride
 * 2013 - Don't Bother Victor! (mentioned)

Voice Actors

 * Tom Stourton (UK/US; eighteenth season onwards)
 * Ryōichi Tanaka (Japan; fourth - seventh seasons)
 * Chikara Osaka (Japan; ninth season onwards)

Theme Instrumental
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Trivia

 * One of Duncan's models is currently on display in Japan.
 * When the narrow gauge engines received large scale models, the wrinkles on Duncan's forehead disappeared.
 * One magazine image shows Duncan with a tender.
 * Duncan's latest wooden railway model has a lamp for a whistle.
 * When Duncan returned in the eighteenth season, he had some modifications. These include:
 * Red running board.
 * Permanent lamp, lamp iron, and brakepipe.
 * Slightly thinner funnel.
 * Slightly smaller dome and windows.
 * Smaller boiler and slightly larger cab.
 * Brass nameplate.
 * Shorter and wider sand dome.
 * Sanding gear under the cab.
 * The Reverend W. Awdry's model of Duncan is currently on display at the Narrow Gauge Museum in Tywyn.

Quotes

 * "Who is Duncan?"
 * "He came as a spare engine after my accident."
 * "Is he useful?!"
 * "He'll pull anything, and I'm sure he means well, but he's bouncy and rude. He use to work in a factory, and his language is often...strong."
 * "I understand," said Skarloey gravely.

- Skarloey and Peter Sam talking about Duncan, "Home at Last", "The Little Old Engine".

Merchandise

 * ERTL (normal and metallic; discontinued)
 * Wooden Railway (discontinued)
 * Take-Along (discontinued)
 * Motor Road and Rail (discontinued)
 * TrackMaster (normal, Duncan Does it All, and The Runaway Elephant versions)
 * My Thomas Story Library (discontinued)
 * Bandai (several versions; discontinued)
 * Trading Cards (discontinued)
 * De Agostini (discontinued)
 * Brio (discontinued)
 * Nakayoshi (discontinued)
 * Wind-up (normal and metallic)
 * Departing Now