D4711

The Diesel/D4711

For the TV series character, see: D261

This diesel came to Sodor to help out whilst Stepney was on the railway. He did not make a good impression on his arrival, as he told the engines that they should be scrapped and replaced by diesels like him. He soon got his comeuppance when he accidentally sucked in a Railway Inspector’s bowler hat during a maintenance check. He left soon afterwards, saying goodbye to no-one.

D4711 is based on a Class 40 diesel locomotive. His number is entirely fictitious and does not correspond to the numbering sequences used for any class of diesel locomotive on British Railways. The television series used the number D261, which would have been correct for a Class 40.

He made his one and only appearance in Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine. In that story he was referred to as "Diesel", but the television series revised this to "the Diesel" to avoid confusion with an earlier character by that name (although he is still sometimes referred to as "Diesel").