Rheneas

"You're a gallant little engine!"

- The Thin Controller, Gallant Old Engine, The Railway Series

   Rheneas   Rheneas is the Skarloey Railway's second engine. Dolgoch from the Talyllyn Railway is his twin, and Skarloey is his brother.
 * Built: 1865
 * Builder: Fletcher, Jennings and Co.
 * Gauge: 2ft 3in
 * Configuration: 0-4-0WT
 * Arrived on Sodor: 1865

Bio in the Railway Series
Rheneas was built by Fletcher, Jennings, and Co. at Whitehaven and arrived on the Skarloey Railway between May and October 1865. Unlike Skarloey, Rheneas was stern and thoughtful and fell out with Skarloey after the latter called him a "stick-in-the-mud" following an argument over cabs. The two reconciled after Rheneas saved Skarloey from a landslide in 1867.

Rheneas literally saved the railway by keeping service through a very lean period in the late 1940s. By 1950, Skarloey was in need of repairs, leaving Rheneas to run the line. He managed to pull a full train home one rainy day despite having a jammed valve gear and was rewarded with an overhaul. His overhaul took place in 1961 and was returned to the Skarloey Railway soon after. Because of his bravery, he earned the nickname "Gallant Old Engine" by railway staff.

Bio in the Television Series
Rheneas has generally been depicted as a gallant engine. In the fifth season, he, Skarloey, and Rusty were chased by a boulder when it had rolled off from its cliff. In the sixth season he was able to save the Skarloey Railway from near abandonment with the help of Elizabeth, Rusty, and Skarloey. In the seventh season, he worried about how he could make a school trip special, but after being sent down the wrong track, Rheneas gave the children the time of their lives.

However, between the ninth and twelfth seasons, he acted more like a young engine; he became careless and silly. Some examples of this include the time he thought he could pull a dinosaur skeleton without Skarloey's help; when he and Skarloey raced Freddie down the mountains (causing him to derail), and the time he and Skarloey had a contest to see who was stronger.

While working the Blue Mountain Quarry, his paintwork was severely damaged after becoming a runaway; this was the result of having gone too fast over the collapsing Blondin Bridge. This resulted in the brief period when he was painted yellow with blue lining.

He currently works at the Blue Mountain Quarry as well as on the Skarloey Railway, along with Skarloey, Sir Handel, Peter Sam, Rusty, Duncan and Luke.

Persona
Rheneas has been called a "gallant old engine" before and deserves such a title. Rheneas is highly determined, brave, courageous, and a long-time friend of Skarloey. He is a tough, committed worker despite his age and takes great responsibility in his work. He is keen to keep his friends smiling and, although he is a level-headed engine, he can be a bit of an adventurer too. Though he may often try to struggle on alone, Rheneas knows when it is time to call on the help of his friends. Nevertheless, Rheneas is always highly dedicated to the task at hand.

Basis
Rheneas is based on the Talyllyn Railway's Dolgoch, a Fletcher, Jennings Class Bb 0-4-0WT. In the Railway Series, Dolgoch is Rheneas' twin. Smudger is another member of this class.

Livery
In the Railway Series Rheneas is painted in the Skarloey Railway's red livery with blue and yellow lining.

In the television series, Rheneas is painted red with black lining. As for the ninth season onward, he is painted vermilion with gold and black lining. In early magazine illustrations, he was painted carmine. This carried over to nearly all his merchandise. In Blue Mountain Mystery, he was repainted yellow with blue lining to play a joke on Thomas. He was painted back into his original colours soon afterwards.

Appearances
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Railway Series

 * Four Little Engines (does not speak)
 * Gallant Old Engine
 * Mountain Engines
 * Very Old Engines
 * Duke the Lost Engine (does not speak)
 * Great Little Engines
 * New Little Engine

Television series

 * Season 4 - Granpuff (cameo), Sleeping Beauty (cameo), Four Little Engines (does not speak), A Bad Day for Sir Handel (does not speak), Peter Sam and the Refreshment Lady (cameo), Trucks! (cameo), Special Funnel (cameo), Steam Roller (cameo), Passengers and Polish (does not speak), Gallant Old Engine, and Fish (cameo)
 * Season 5 - Bye George! (does not speak in US version), Toby and the Flood (cameo), Toby's Discovery (cameo), and Rusty and the Boulder
 * Season 6 - Dunkin Duncan, Rusty Saves the Day (does not speak), and Faulty Whistles
 * Season 7 - Toby's Windmill (cameo), The Old Bridge, The Refreshment Lady's Tea Shop (cameo), Rheneas and the Roller Coaster, The Runaway Elephant (cameo), The Grand Opening (cameo), and Trusty Rusty (cameo)
 * Season 9 - Tuneful Toots (does not speak), Rheneas and the Dinosaur, The Magic Lamp (cameo), and Skarloey the Brave
 * Season 10 - Follow that Flour (cameo), Duncan Drops a Clanger, Fearless Freddie, Which Way Now? (cameo), Wharf and Peace, and Missing Trucks
 * Season 11 - Thomas and the Big Bang (does not speak), Sir Handel in Charge (cameo), Cool Truckings (cameo), Skarloey Storms Through, and Wash Behind Your Buffers
 * Season 12 - Mountain Marvel (cameo), The Party Surprise (cameo), Duncan and the Hot Air Balloon (cameo), The Man in the Hills, and Push Me, Pull You
 * Season 16 - Don't Bother Victor! and The Christmas Tree Express
 * Season 17 - Luke's New Friend and The Switch
 * Season 18 - Disappearing Diesels (cameo), Duncan and the Grumpy Passenger, Long Lost Friend (cameo), Duncan the Humbug, Emily Saves the World and Samson at Your Service

He will appear in the twentieth season.

Specials:
 * The Great Discovery
 * Blue Mountain Mystery
 * King of the Railway

He also cameoed in an eighth season song.

Magazine stories

 * 1997 - The Colourful Engine
 * 1998 - Really Useful Rusty! (cameo)
 * 2000 - Creepy Cutting!
 * 2002 - Big Ideas! (does not speak)
 * 2004 - Windsurfing and The Grand Opening (cameo)
 * 2006 - Rheneas and the Dinosaur
 * 2007 - Cliff Ride and Works Outing
 * 2008 - Wash Behind Your Buffers!
 * 2009 - Thomas and the Big Bang (does not speak)
 * 2010 - Big Ideas (does not speak)
 * 2011 - The New Works and Flight Sight
 * 2012 - The Fat Controller's Bedtime Story (Issue 645) (cameo) and Blue Mountain Mystery (speaks in speech bubble only)
 * 2013 - Don't Bother Victor! (does not speak) and Christmas Tree Express
 * 2014 - Edward the Helpful Engine and Whistle-Stop Tour (speaks in speech bubble only)
 * 2015 - Dusty Rusty (mentioned) and Duncan the Humbug (cameo)

Rheneas also appeared in the magazine stories, Boat Bother, Duncan Gets Upset, Hello, Skarloey!, Rusty's Plan, The Balloon Race, and The Mountain Railway. }}

Voice Actors

 * Ben Small (UK/US; sixteenth season - eighteenth season)
 * John Hasler (UK/US; twentieth season onwards)
 * Ryōtarō Okiayu (Japan; fourth - seventh seasons)
 * Daiki Nakamura (Japan; ninth season onwards)
 * Jesse Grimm (Germany)
 * Stan Limburg (The Netherlands)
 * Anders Sundstedt (Norway; sixteenth season only)
 * Sigbjørn Solheim (Norway; seventeenth season only)
 * Stig Krogstad (Norway; Blue Mountain Mystery onwards, excluding the seventeenth season)
 * Noé Velázquez (Latin America; Blue Mountain Mystery onwards)
 * Bartosz Martyna (Poland; Blue Mountain Mystery - seventeenth season)
 * Artur Pontek (Poland; eighteenth season onwards)
 * Józef Pawłowski (Poland; Emily Saves the World and Samson at Your Service)
 * Juan Navarro Torelló (Spain)

Trivia

 * In New Little Engine Rheneas is depicted as an 0-4-2.
 * His name is Sudric for "Divided waterfall".
 * During production on the fourth season, Rheneas had Sir Handel's face and vice-versa.
 * Until the sixteenth season, Rheneas had no visible whistle, despite it being heard.
 * Rheneas has had many modifications throughout the television series. These include:
 * Season 5:
 * Silver buffers as opposed to grey ones.
 * Season 16:
 * Accurate bufferbeam to his basis.
 * Differently designed wheel-arches.
 * Longer wheelbase.
 * Added whistle on his steam dome.
 * His cutout windows gained brass frames and contained glass.
 * The portholes on the side of his cab became larger.
 * Added handrail on top of his boiler as in the Railway Series.
 * Riveting detail on the cab and smokebox.
 * Added sanding gear.
 * Slightly thinner funnel.
 * Season 17:
 * Lamp, lamp iron and a tail lamp, all of which were added at the request of Sam Wilkinson.
 * One of Rheneas' models is currently on display at the Hara Model Museum in Japan (previously at Nitrogen Studios).
 * The Reverend W. Awdry's model of Rheneas is currently on display at the Narrow Gauge Museum in Tywyn.
 * Rheneas was built at Fletcher, Jennings, and Co. at Whitehaven, the same place as Skarloey, Captain Baxter, Talyllyn, and Dolgoch.
 * Rheneas is the only narrow-gauge engine who visited Misty Island.

Quotes

 * "I tried hard, but I couldn't do much. But Rheneas understood.
 * "Its my turn now," he said. "You've done more than your share of hard work."
 * He was often short of steam, but he always tried to struggle to a station and rest there. That is most important with passengers!"

- Skarloey telling Peter Sam and Duncan about Rheneas, "Gallant Old Engine", "Gallant Old Engine".


 * Everyone cheered, but Rheneas heard nothing.
 * "The Thin Controller is relying on me! If I fail the railway will close! It mustn't, it mustn't. I'll get there or burst!"
 * Everything blurred. He was really too tired to move another yard. But he did! And another, and another, and another. Till...
 * "...I've got there at last!" he sighed with relief."

- Rheneas bravely pulls his train home, "Gallant Old Engine", "Gallant Old Engine".

Merchandise

 * ERTL (normal and metallic; discontinued)
 * Wooden Railway (normal and repainted versions)
 * Take Along (discontinued)
 * Take-n-Play (normal and repainted)
 * TrackMaster (normal and repainted versions)
 * My Thomas Story Library (discontinued)
 * Thomas Engine Collection Series (discontinued)
 * Mini Die Cast Collection (discontinued)
 * Departing Now (discontinued)
 * Trading Cards (discontinued)
 * Nakayoshi (discontinued)
 * Wind-up Trains (normal and metallic)
 * Pocket Fantasy (discontinued)
 * Trading Cards (discontinued)