Jack

"I'm Jack the front loader! I can load, and unload, and carry lots of things!"

- Jack, Jack Jumps In, sixth season

   Jack   Jack is a friendly and enthusiastic front loader.
 * Number: 11

Bio
When Jack first arrived on Sodor he worked with the Pack to clear room for railway lines. Jack did well with Alfie - that is, until he tried to take some stone up a ledge but lost balance and tipped over. Jack learned his lesson, and redeemed himself by holding up a collapsing bridge until Thomas had passed over, at the cost of damaging his arms. Jack has since become part of the Pack.

He, along with the rest of the Pack, helped with the restoration of Great Waterton and worked with Alfie to construct a bandstand there. Jack also helped with the restoration of Ulfstead Castle and later saved Stephen.

A magazine fact file states that he now works at the Sodor Slate Quarry.

Persona
Jack was like a toddler at first, who was still learning about the world and how to stay out of trouble. He is brave and will not take any hassle, as seen when he stood up to Max when the latter was bullying him and Alfie.

Basis
It is unclear what type of vehicle Jack is based on, but he resembles a Nuffield tractor with an added front loader.

Livery
Jack is painted red-orange with the top half of his cab and his wheels painted cream. He has the number 11 painted in white on his sides. From King of the Railway onwards, the top half of his cab is painted grey, his back wheels are painted grey and his front wheels are painted red.

Television series

 * Season 6 - Jack Jumps In and A Friend in Need
 * Jack and the Pack - A Visit from Thomas, Jack Owns Up, Percy's Scary Tale, Kelly's Windy Day, A Happy Day for Percy, Mud, Glorious Mud, A Tale for Thomas, Thomas and the Moles, The Tortoise and the Hare, Alfie Has Kittens, and On Site with Thomas
 * Season 12 - Percy and the Bandstand

Specials:
 * The Great Discovery
 * King of the Railway

Magazine stories

 * 2003 - Jack Helps Out
 * 2012 - Jack's Tracks!

He was also going to appear in the Jack and the Pack episode Snow Rescue, but the episode was cancelled.

Voice Actors

 * Steven Kynman (UK; King of the Railway onwards)
 * David Menkin (US; King of the Railway onwards)
 * Naomi Shindō (Japan; sixth season only)
 * Hideki Nakanishi (Japan; The Great Discovery)
 * Artur Pontek (Poland)

Trivia

 * In some promotional sketches of the Pack, Jack is seen with a backhoe arm and bucket. According to a SiF interview with Chris Lloyd, the arm was built, but was too problematic as it was hard to store all of the radio gear inside the model. An interview with Phil Fehrle gives a very different reason: "...if a story required Jack to be digging (using his back-hoe) and interacting with another character working at the same time, his face would be facing away from the action. For story purposes, it was important to feature the faces as much as possible; thus, the back-hoe was removed."
 * In King of the Railway, Jack's face changed from round to rectangular. His body also changed from cylindrical to a round-cornered long block shape.

Quotes

 * "Spot on, Jack! You'd make a mother proud!"
 * "And a tank engine grateful!"

- Miss Jenny and Thomas, A Friend in Need, sixth season


 * "This is a job for Jack!"

- Jack, King of the Railway

Merchandise

 * ERTL (discontinued)
 * Wooden Railway (reintroduced; coming soon)
 * Take-Along (discontinued)
 * Take-n-Play
 * TrackMaster (motorised and un-motorised)
 * My Thomas Story Library (discontinued)
 * Bandai Tecs
 * Wind-up (Japan only)
 * Nakayoshi (discontinued)