Harold

"Stupid thing. Why can't it go and buzz somewhere else?"

- Percy, Percy the Small Engine

  Harold undefined Harold is a helicopter who patrols the Island looking for problems.

Bio
When Harold first met Percy, he stated that railways were "slow and out-of-date", but was proven wrong when Percy beat him in a race. When Thomas' brakes failed while boarding at a station, with an inspector Harold chased him down the line. Christmas that year Harold brought Santa Claus to the party at Tidmouth Station. Harold also dropped hot drinks for Percy's crew when they were stranded in a floating river and made friends with Duck after rescuing an injured sailor.

Harold lives at Dryaw airfield by Thomas' Branch Line. He keeps a watchful eye over Sodor in case of trouble and speeds to the rescue of anyone in distress.

As of Misty Island Rescue, he has joined the Sodor Search and Rescue team and lives in his own hangar at the Sodor Search and Rescue Centre. Since joining the team he has been involved in a search for Thomas when he got lost, saving Bertie from the Shake Shake Bridge and helping to recapture an escaped elephant. Once, Harold's rotors became jammed, so Thomas and Duck took him to the Sodor Search and Rescue Centre.

Persona
Harold speaks in a manner reminiscent of an RAF pilot, using terms such as "wizard" and "old chap" in conversation.

Harold somewhat tends to be full of himself as he feels that "railways are slow", but he always gets his comeuppance in the end.

Basis
Harold is based on a Sikorsky S-55 helicopter, built in the UK as the Westland Whirlwind. He has added floats.

Livery
Harold is painted white with red lining.

Appearances
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Railway Series

 * Percy the Small Engine
 * More About Thomas the Tank Engine (does not speak)
 * Thomas Comes Home (does not speak)
 * Thomas and the Fat Controller's Engines (cameo)
 * Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree (does not speak)

Television series

 * Season 2 - Percy and Harold, The Runaway, and Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree (does not speak)
 * Season 3 - Percy's Promise, Thomas, Percy and the Post Train, All at Sea, and Thomas and Percy's Christmas Adventure
 * Season 4 - Trucks!
 * Season 5 - Baa! (does not speak), Toby and the Flood, Thomas and the Rumours (does not speak), Oliver's Find, Sir Topham Hatt's Holiday, and Make Someone Happy
 * Season 6 - A Bad Day for Harold the Helicopter and Percy's Chocolate Crunch
 * Season 7 - Emily's New Coaches (cameo), Harold and the Flying Horse, Best Dressed Engine (cameo), The Grand Opening (does not speak), and Three Cheers for Thomas
 * Season 8 - Don't Tell Thomas
 * Season 9 - Thomas and the Rainbow (does not speak), The Magic Lamp, and Bold and Brave
 * Season 10 - Topped Off Thomas (does not speak), Thomas and the Birthday Mail, and Thomas and the Treasure
 * Season 12 - Henry Gets It Wrong and James Works It Out
 * Season 14 - Henry's Health and Safety (cameo), Being Percy (cameo), Jumping Jobi Wood! (does not speak), Jitters and Japes (cameo), and Merry Misty Island
 * Season 15 - Toby and Bash (cameo), Edward the Hero, James to the Rescue (cameo), Happy Hiro (cameo), Henry's Happy Coal (cameo), Let it Snow, Stop that Bus!, Stuck on You, and Fiery Flynn (cameo)
 * Season 16 - Race to the Rescue (cameo), Express Coming Through (does not speak), Sodor Surprise Day (does not speak), and Welcome Stafford (cameo)
 * Season 17 - Not Now, Charlie!, The Thomas Way, and Too Many Fire Engines (does not speak)

Specials:
 * Thomas and the Magic Railroad
 * Calling All Engines!
 * The Great Discovery
 * Misty Island Rescue
 * Day of the Diesels (cameo)
 * King of the Railway (cameo)

Magazine stories
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 * 1988 - Percy and Harold and The Runaway
 * 1989 - Diesel's Christmas (does not speak) and An Important Visitor (cameo)
 * 1990 - Rumours and Speculation (does not speak)
 * 2000 - A Special Story About Harold (does not speak), Harold's Race!, and Harold's View
 * 2001 - The Eyesight Test (mentioned), A Special Story About Harold, The Kite Contest, and Harold Goes Quiet
 * 2002 - Henry (cameo)
 * 2003 - Henry's Dizzy Day, Flying Fish! (cameo), Queen of the Road!, Mountain Rescue, and Broken Bridges (cameo)
 * 2004 - Going for a Swim!, Special Signal, Holiday Hat (cameo), and Emily Saves Henry (cameo)
 * 2005 - Mine Mystery (cameo)
 * 2006 - Monster Mistake (does not speak), and Passenger Plane
 * 2007 - Airship (does not speak), Autumn Leaves (does not speak), Blown About!, The Telescope (does not speak) and Rusty's Rescue!
 * 2008 - Snow Trouble!, Mystery Music (cameo), Big is Beautiful, and Percy's Post!
 * 2009 - New Delivery (cameo)
 * 2010 - Henry Gets It Wrong! (does not speak), Harold Afloat, Misty Island Rescue (cameo), Saving Santa!, Thomas Takes Off!, Thomas and the Rainbow! (does not speak), and In a Spin
 * 2011 - Monster Mistake (does not speak), Misty Island Rescue (cameo), Rosie's Rocks, Harold and the Kites, Pictures in the Sky (cameo), Splashdown!, and Tidy Thomas (cameo)
 * 2012 - Edward the Hero (does not speak), Operation Rescue, The Fat Controller's Bedtime Story (Issue 639) (does not speak), Making Hiro Happy (cameo), Where's That Bus?, Happy Harold, and Operation Rescue
 * 2013 - Hover Bother!, Sodor Surprise Day (does not speak), Henry's Scary Passenger! (cameo), Toby to the Rescue, and All in a Day's Rescue (mentioned)

Voice Actors

 * Kevin Frank (Thomas and the Magic Railroad)
 * Keith Wickham (UK; Misty Island Rescue onwards)
 * Kerry Shale (US; Misty Island Rescue onwards)
 * Kai-Hendrik Möller (Germany; Misty Island Rescue onwards)
 * Yūki Satō (Japan; second-eighth season)
 * Wataru Hatano (Japan; Calling All Engines! onwards)
 * Christoffer Staib (Norway; Misty Island Rescue onwards)
 * Waldemar Barwiński (Poland; Misty Island Rescue onwards)

Trivia

 * In the second season, Harold's spinning rotors were achieved using a transparent disk.
 * Harold's television series model did not have moving eyes until the tenth season.
 * One of Harold's models is currently on display in Canada at Nitrogen Studios.
 * In season 12, Harold was the only (non-human) character to be fully CGI-animated.
 * In the early seasons, Harold would sometimes be given a searchlight, such as in Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree and Thomas, Percy and the Post Train. From the eighth season onward, the light has been added permanently.
 * In the television series, Harold has never had eyebrows.

Merchandise

 * ERTL (normal and Gold Rail; both discontinued)
 * Wooden Railway (normal and with magnet)
 * Take-Along (normal and with magnet; discontinued)
 * Take-n-Play
 * Motor Road and Rail (discontinued)
 * TrackMaster
 * My First Thomas (normal and talking)
 * Bachmann
 * Lionel (discontinued)
 * Bandai (several versions; discontinued)
 * Trading Cards (discontinued)
 * Mega Bloks
 * My Thomas Story Library (discontinued)
 * Nakayoshi
 * Wind-up (normal and metallic)
 * Discover Junction
 * LEGO (discontinued)
 * Diablock