Percy/Behind the Scenes

Green Caterpillar
The Reverend W. Awdry and C. Reginald Dalby did not get along very well. Awdry considered Dalby's drawings "toy-like;" this relationship was worsened by the creation of Percy, who was depicted as an Avonside 0-4-0ST/GWR 1340 Trojan with a bunker.

When Percy the Small Engine was published, Awdry wrote to Dalby, criticising his illustrations and claiming Percy resembled "a green caterpillar with red stripes." This was too much for Dalby and he promptly resigned. However, the insult was not forgotten: Thomas called Percy "a green caterpillar with red stripes" in Tramway Engines as well as the televised episode Woolly Bear.

Arrival
It is debated as to what year Percy arrived. The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways states that Percy was made the station pilot at Tidmouth in 1949, somewhat implying that he arrived on Sodor in that year. However, Henry is said to have been rebuilt in 1935 and Percy makes several appearances before Henry's overhaul. This suggests that either Henry was rebuilt later on or that Percy arrived before 1935. A post on SiF states that Christopher Awdry affirmed the arrival date in The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways to be incorrect and that Percy came to Sodor before 1935.

James' Twins
The Mid-Hants Railway repainted a Southern Railway N Class 2-6-0, No. 31874, into the livery of James. The engine retained this colour scheme for many years and participated in the Railway Series Golden Jubilee celebrations at the National Railway Museum. However, following the withdrawal of the N Class in 1998, the Mid-Hants Railway quickly repainted its cousin-engine, a Southern Railway U Class 2-6-0, No. 31625, into James for the 1999 season. After the withdrawal of the U Class, the N Class reprised its role as James, only wearing a face during Thomas events. However, due to the fact that both of these engines were privately owned, they left the Mid-Hants Railway in 2014. For the Mid-Hants Railway's "Steam Railway" supported gala in September 2012, it was decided to repaint N Class No. 31874 in wartime black to carry its Southern identity of No. 1874; this meant that James no longer appears at the Thomas events at the Watercress Line.

However, the repainting of the engine created a stir among railway enthusiasts, who felt that it was wrong to paint a historic main line locomotive in such a garish livery. Nevertheless, the locomotive was popular with the railway's younger visitors.

On the East Lancashire Railway, the unrestored LMS 2MT 2-6-0 No. 46428 has been painted as James, although his face only appears during Day Out with Thomas events.

Voice Actors

 * Michael Angelis (Thomas and the Magic Railroad; original workprints only)
 * Linda Ballantyne (Thomas and the Magic Railroad)
 * Keith Wickham (UK; Hero of the Rails - Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure, excluding the nineteenth season)
 * Nigel Pilkington (UK; nineteenth season onwards, excluding Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure)
 * Martin Sherman (US; Hero of the Rails - eighteenth season)
 * Christopher Ragland (US; nineteenth season onwards, UK singing voice; The Great Race)
 * Chisato Nakajima (Japan; first-eighth seasons)
 * Chie Kōjiro (Japan; Calling All Engines! onwards)
 * Anders Sundstedt (Norway; Hero of the Rails - seventeenth season, excluding King of the Railway)
 * Erik Skjøld (Norway; King of the Railway and Tale of the Brave only, excluding the seventeenth season)
 * Ingve Connolly Gran (Norway; eighteenth season onwards)
 * Frédéric Millaire-Zouvi (French speaking Canada; Thomas and the Magic Railroad)
 * Tony Marot (France and French speaking Canada; sixth season onwards)
 * Mattia Nissolino (Italy; twelfth season - eighteenth season)
 * Chiara Oliviero (Italy; nineteenth season onwards)
 * Diana Santos (Latin America; Thomas and the Magic Railroad)
 * Gabriel Gama (Latin America; Thomas and the Magic Railroad; TV Version)
 * Javier Olguín (Latin America; Hero of the Rails - The Great Race, excluding the twentieth season)
 * Héctor Ireta de Alba (Latin America; twentieth season onwards, excluding The Great Race)
 * Frank Schröder (Germany; Thomas and the Magic Railroad)
 * Robin Brosch (Germany; Hero of the Rails onwards)
 * Achim Schülke (Germany; Audio Books only)
 * Grzegorz Drojewski (Poland; Hero of the Rails onwards, excluding Samson at Your Service)
 * Jarosław Domin (Poland; Samson at Your Service only)
 * Reinder van der Naalt (The Netherlands)
 * Yehonatan Magon (Israel)
 * Troells Toya (Denmark)
 * Bruno Marçal (Brazil; Hero of the Rails onwards)
 * María Rubio (Spain; Hero of the Rails - seventeenth season)
 * Carmen Gambín (Spain; Tale of the Brave onwards)
 * Taisto Oksanen (Finland; Hero of the Rails onwards)
 * Olga Kuznetsova (Russia)
 * Um Sang-hyun (South Korea)
 * Adam Fietz (Sweden; Hero of the Rails onwards)