Mr. Percival

"You have caused delay and confusion!"

- Mr. Percival, Duncan's Bluff, tenth season

   Mr. Peregrine Percival "The Thin Controller" Mr. Peregrine Percival, nicknamed "the Thin Controller" ("Narrow-Gauge Controller" in the US), is the current manager of the Skarloey and Culdee Fell Railways in the television series. In the magazine stories, he also runs a Cable Railway.

Bio
Mr. Percival was hired sometime between the seventh and ninth seasons to help Sir Topham Hatt manage the ever-increasing size of the railway industry on the Island of Sodor.

Mr. Percival is married to Mrs. Polly Percival and has five children. He and his family live in a cottage opposite the Depot.

He was one of the important visitors who attended Dowager Hatt's special tour of Sodor and then a party at Knapford. He later charged Peter Sam with the running of the Skarloey Railway whilst he attended a meeting with Sir Topham Hatt, and welcomed Luke to his railway.

He scolded Duncan for his grumpy disposition at Christmas time. He told Duncan that he had to be cheerful all day, but later realised that demand was too hard for the grumpy engine.

He once attended a meeting with Sir Topham Hatt at Knapford, where he sparked a debate between Thomas, Spencer and Bertie over how many wheels are best, after declaring the two wheels of his bicycle were best. On the way back from the meeting, he called for help when The Duke and Duchess of Boxford needed to get to Callan Castle when Bertie was unable to take them because of a fallen tree. He later attended Sir Robert Norramby's Christmas Luncheon at Ulfstead Castle.

Mr. Percival appears to be acquainted with the Thin Clergyman, as he was seen boarding Thomas' train with him at Kellsthorpe, speaking to him at Vicarstown and watching the events of the Great Railway Show with him.

He was one of a group of very important passengers who went on a demonstration run of Hugo.

Attire
Mr. Percival is a tall, thin gentleman. He is usually dressed in a black suit jacket with grey trousers, a yellow waistcoat, a white shirt, a black tie and a black bowler hat. He wears a pair of brown glasses.

Appearances
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Television Series

 * Season 9 - Mighty Mac, Tuneful Toots, Rheneas and the Dinosaur, Duncan and the Old Mine, and Skarloey the Brave
 * Season 10 - Follow that Flour (mentioned), A Smooth Ride, Duncan Drops a Clanger (cameo), Fearless Freddie (does not speak), Duncan's Bluff, Missing Trucks and Thomas and Skarloey's Big Day Out
 * Season 11 - Thomas and the Big Bang, Duncan Does it All, Sir Handel in Charge, Cool Truckings, Ding-a-Ling, Skarloey Storms Through, and Wash Behind Your Buffers
 * Season 12 - Mountain Marvel, Henry Gets It Wrong (not named; does not speak), The Party Surprise, Duncan and the Hot Air Balloon, The Man in the Hills (does not speak), and Push Me, Pull You
 * Season 13 - Hiro Helps Out (not named; mentioned)
 * Season 14 - Jitters and Japes (cameo)
 * Season 15 - Up, Up and Away! (cameo)
 * Season 16 - Express Coming Through (cameo) and Don't Bother Victor!
 * Season 17 - The Switch (mentioned)
 * Season 18 - Duncan and the Grumpy Passenger and Duncan the Humbug
 * Season 19 - Diesel's Ghostly Christmas (cameo) and Two Wheels Good
 * Season 20 - Engine of the Future

Specials:
 * The Great Discovery
 * Misty Island Rescue (cameo)
 * Blue Mountain Mystery
 * The Great Race (cameo, speaks only in Italian dub)

Magazine Stories
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 * 2006 - Pull Together, Really Useful Ride, Station Sounds, and Rheneas and the Dinosaur
 * 2007 - Uphill and Down, and Cliff Ride
 * 2008 - Wash Behind Your Buffers!, Ding-a-Ling! (does not speak) and Slip and Slide
 * 2009 - Thomas and the Big Bang
 * 2010 - Harold Afloat (mentioned) and The Birthday Ride
 * 2011 - Going First and Ready Steady Freddie
 * 2013 - Don't Bother Victor! (does not speak)
 * 2015 - Dusty Rusty and Duncan the Humbug

Voice Actors

 * Keith Wickham (UK; sixteenth season onwards)
 * Kerry Shale (US; sixteenth season onwards - NZ; Duncan and the Grumpy Passenger only)
 * Shōto Kashii (Japan)
 * Benjamin Morik (Germany)
 * Wojciech Chorąży (Poland)
 * Paul Disbergen (The Netherlands; Blue Mountain Mystery - nineteenth season)
 * Trond Teigen (Norway; Blue Mountain Mystery only)
 * Christian Greger Strøm (Norway; sixteenth season only)
 * Tony Marot (France and French speaking Canada)
 * Carlos Hernández (Latin America; sixteenth season onwards)
 * Jukka Voutilaninen (Finland; Blue Mountain Mystery onwards)

Trivia

 * In the US, he is exclusively referred to as Mr. Percival, whereas he is known as the Thin Controller in the UK. Sir Topham Hatt (aka the Fat Controller) has the same issue.
 * Mr. Percival's Take-Along and Take-n-Play toys both feature him inside of a car, whereas he has only ever been seen with a bicycle.
 * From the ninth to the eleventh seasons, the top of Mr. Percival's head was bald. However, since the cross over to CGI in the twelfth season, he has a full head of hair.
 * Mr. Percival wears similar attire, with corresponding colours, to the television series Fat Controller's clothes.
 * In the model series, Mr. Percival was often accompanied by a workman holding his bicycle.
 * In the ninth and tenth seasons, Mr. Percival bicycle was painted black. From the eleventh season onwards, it is painted red.
 * The Thin Controller's attire and physical appearance in the 1979 annual may have been the inspiration for Mr. Percival, as they both have the same hairstyle and wear the same clothing and bowler hat.
 * Mr. Percival's CGI model was reused for the Dockyard Manager in the twelfth season episode, Henry Gets It Wrong.

Merchandise

 * Wooden Railway (discontinued)
 * Take Along (in red car; discontinued)
 * Take-n-Play (in red car; discontinued)
 * TrackMaster (with Fearless Freddie in "Ding a Ling"; discontinued)