Proteus

"Long, long ago, there was an old engine called Proteus. His lamp was so bright you could see it for miles around! Proteus said it was a magic lamp. He promised that if any engine found his lamp, their wishes would come true!"

- Skarloey, The Magic Lamp

Proteus is a legendary narrow-gauge tank engine with a magic lamp hung upon his funnel.

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 later realised that maybe just believing in the lamp will grant your wishes.

In the twelfth season, Miss Mary Marvel, a famous storyteller, read stories about the legend at a special show. Later, Peter Sam found a neglected statue of Proteus that was lost for many years. The statue was then restored and is now preserved in a park near the Skarloey Railway.

Basis
Proteus is based on the Talyllyn Railway's Sir Haydn, a Hughes Falcon 0-4-2ST. Sir Handel and Albert share the same basis.

Livery
Proteus is painted bright yellow with red lining. All of Proteus' merchandise shows him with nameplates, even though he never had any in the television series. Proteus' TrackMaster model depicts him with gold side rods instead of his original, silver ones.

Appearances
Television Series=

Thomas & Friends

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

Learning Segments
Other Media=
 * Sodor's Special Places

Books

 * 2008 - Steam Engine Stories
 * 2011 - My Thomas Party Book

Magazine Stories
Proteus has also appeared in various magazine articles.

Trivia

 * Proteus is likely to be named after Proteus, a legendary sea-god from Greek Mythology.
 * Proteus uses the same model as Sir Handel, however he has larger cylinders. This is because his model appears to use Peter Sam's chassis, as green edges can be seen underneath Proteus' bufferbeam and cylinder.
 * The statue of Proteus is missing his signature lamp.
 * Some TrackMaster releases of Proteus shows him carrying the number 3, like Sir Handel. This may have been a factory error of using Sir Handel's TrackMaster toy with a different face and added headlamp.
 * His Wooden Railway and TrackMaster toys depict him with name plates despite not having any in the show.

Merchandise

 * Wooden Railway (with a working lamp, discontinued)
 * TrackMaster (discontinued)