Philip

"Hello there! My name's Philip! I'm a diesel boxcab!"

- Philip, The Little Engine Who Raced Ahead

   Philip  
 * Number: 68
 * Class: PRR Class A6
 * Builder: Altoona Works
 * Built: Circa 1930
 * Configuration: 4w
 * Top speed: 15-20 mph

Philip is a cheery little diesel boxcab.

Bio
Philip came to the Island of Sodor as the new shunting engine at Knapford. During his first day of work, he was eager to impress Gordon by showing him how fast he was, but nothing he did was enough to impress him. He challenged Gordon to a race and took off out of the yard, racing all the way to Brendam Docks. However, he seemed oblivious to the fact that Gordon had not actually competed.

Philip continued to be proud of his speed and boasted about how many trucks he could pull. After taking a train of empty trucks to the quarry, he found James hanging over the top of a tunnel, having had an accident after trying to prove to Philip how many trucks he could pull. Just before he could go to get help, Philip ended up under James when the latter fell down and landed on top of his cab roof. When James was rescued and sent to the Steamworks, Philip proudly told the engines of his rescue.

In The Great Race, Philip represented Team Sodor as its mascot and flag carrier. At The Great Railway Show, a series of incidents occurred between him and Vinnie. First, Philip got into Vinnie's way while the North American engine was on his way to the track where the strength competition was to take place. After Philip escorted Gordon to the track for the Great Race event, he got in Vinnie's way again. Vinnie chased him briefly before getting covered in coal from a hopper where Carlos was taking on coal. Vinnie, infuriated, chased Philip around the railway show yard, eventually winding up in the middle of the Shunting competition. Vinnie smashed through two of Gina's flatbeds before trying to force the little shunter into a turntable well. Thomas and Ashima, both of whom were competing in the Shunting competition, then managed to couple up to the big tender engine and pull him away, allowing Philip to escape. After this, Thomas' coupling snapped, launching Vinnie off the tracks and into an electric pylon. Philip then joined the other engines from Sodor to watch Thomas compete in the rest of the Shunting competition.

Later, he thinks that Toby is a diesel boxcab just like himself and wants to become friends, but Toby doesn't like doing the same things as Philip and finds him persistent and rather overwhelming.

Persona
Philip is a little diesel boxcab engine with a big personality. Philip is a comic character and a bit of a clown. He is very eager and full of enthusiasm and he has an innocent, but very overblown sense of his own capabilities. Philip can be very funny, but some of the bigger engines have very little patience for the little boxcab. Philip is strong and can pull lots of trucks, but not that many trucks compared to the really big engines. He is fast and likes to hurry about, but he is clearly not as fast as most of the other engines. But Philip's confidence is as big if not bigger than anyone's and he is always willing to try and definitely believes in himself. His actions and attitude soon won him many new friends on Sodor, especially Thomas and Percy, but Gordon and James find his bragging a little hard to accept.

Basis
Philip is based on the Pennsylvania Railroad's diesel-electric Class A6 "boxcab" switcher with an added back door and a circular back.

Livery
Philip is painted green and yellow with the number 68 on his sides in black, surrounded by a white circle.

Television Series

 * Season 19 - The Little Engine Who Raced Ahead and Philip to the Rescue
 * Season 20 - Toby's New Friend

Specials:
 * The Great Race

Voice Actors

 * Rasmus Hardiker (UK/US; nineteenth season onwards)
 * Daiki Kobayashi (Japan)
 * Bartosz Wesołowski (Poland)
 * Sergio Morel (Latin America)

Trivia

 * Philip has been modified for use on British railways with loose couplings and added buffers.
 * Philip is the first American diesel engine to be introduced in the series.

Quotes

 * "See James? I told you I was very strong!"

-Philip speaking to James after his accident, "Philip to the Rescue".


 * "The point is, that you can do anything you want to Thomas, if you just put your mind to it".

-Philip encouraging Thomas to go to the Great Railway Show, "The Great Race".


 * "S-O-D-O-R. What does that spell? Sodor!"

-Philip cheering on Team Sodor, "The Great Race".

Merchandise

 * Wooden Railway
 * Take-n-Play
 * TrackMaster
 * Thomas and Friends Adventures (coming soon)