Oliver

"Oliver's no use at all; thinks he's very clever. Says that he can manage us; that's the best joke ever! When he orders us about, with the greatest folly, We just push him down the well. Pop - goes old Ollie!"

- Troublesome Trucks, Oliver the Western Engine

    Oliver  Oliver is a Great Western tank engine who works on Duck's branchline. He has two coaches named Isabel and Dulcie and a brakevan named Toad.
 * Number: 11, previously 1436
 * Class: GWR 14xx 0-4-2T
 * Designer: Charles B. Collet
 * Builder: Wolverhampton Works
 * Configuration: 0-4-2T
 * Arrived on Sodor: 1968

Bio in the Railway Series
Oliver worked on the Great Western Railway. Sometime during the 1960s, he ran away for fears of being scrapped with Isabel and a brakevan named Toad, and were forced to hide between signalboxes and rely on the goodwill of signalmen to pass at safe times. When control got wind of the runaways, they hid in an old quarry branch and had the cutting blocked by rubbish to avoid being spotted of the diesels outside. The runaways decided it was safe to leave at some point, but before they could reach the greener pastures of Sodor, Oliver ran out of coal. Luckily, Douglas was able to rescue Oliver and hid him on a siding at Crovan's Gate. The Fat Controller soon found out and arranged for the three to be repaired and painted in Great Western colours. Toad decided to be Douglas' brakevan to thank him, and the Fat Controller rescued an autocoach named Dulcie and gave her to Oliver.

Oliver was then sent to work on the Tidmouth-Arlesburgh branchline, but became conceited after the big engines gave him their respect in recognition of his adventures and pushed his weight around, prompting several ballast trucks to push him into a turntable well. Oliver received little respect from the trucks after the incident, but got his own back by pulling the ringleader, Scruffey, apart. Oliver is now well-respected by the trucks, for fear they will be pulled apart too.

Bio in the television series
Oliver and Toad were saved from scrap by Douglas and brought to the North Western Railway. Oliver later ignored Duck and Donald's advice about trucks and several pushed him into the turntable well. Upon his return from the Works, Oliver regained his respect after pulling the ringleader of the trucks, Scruffey, apart. Oliver has since had many adventures, such as running Thomas' branchline during the engines' trip to England, discovering an abandoned house which was later turned into a tea-house and spending a night as a snowman after crashing into one in the village.

Persona
Oliver is considered brave and a good role model by the engines. This went to his smokebox and led to his incident with the ballast trucks, but Oliver has since then learned his lesson and started to behave like a real role model.

Basis
Oliver is based on a GWR 14xx 0-4-2T.

Livery
In the Railway Series, Oliver is painted in the GWR's green livery with yellow lining, black wheels and a brass GWR numberplate on his cab side. In the television series, his paint had faded by the time he was rescued, leaving him a rusty-red colour. After his rescue, he was repainted green and has remained so since.

Appearances
Oliver's Railway Series appearances are listed below, in chronological order:
 * "Enterprising Engines"
 * "Oliver the Western Engine"
 * "Duke the Lost Engine" (cameo)
 * "Jock the New Engine" (mentioned)
 * "Henry and the Express" (cameo)
 * "Wilbert the Forest Engine" (non-speaking role)

In the television series Oliver appeared in:


 * Season 3 - Escape, Oliver Owns Up, and Bulgy
 * Season 4 - Four Little Engines (cameo), Toad Stands By, Thomas and the Special Letter (does not speak), and Mind that Bike (cameo)
 * Season 5 - Gordon and the Gremlin (cameo), Oliver's Find, Make Someone Happy, and Busy Going Backwards
 * Season 6 - The World's Strongest Engine (cameo), Scaredy Engines (cameo), Percy and the Haunted Mine (cameo), Percy's Chocolate Crunch (cameo)
 * Season 7 - Emily's New Coaches, James and the Queen of Sodor (cameo), Snow Engine, Bulgy Rides Again (cameo), and Best Dressed Engine (cameo)
 * Season 12 - Steady Eddie (does not speak) and Gordon Takes a Short Cut

He also made a cameo in the eighth season music video, Surprises.

Quotes

 * "Yon's an enterprising engine," Douglas thought. "I won away here with Donald; but I'd've been feared to do it on my own."

- Douglas, Enterprising Engines

Merchandising

 * ERTL (discontinued)
 * Learning Curve Wooden (two versions; discontinued)
 * Take-Along (normal and metallic)
 * TOMY/TrackMaster
 * My First Thomas (normal and talking)
 * Hornby
 * My Thomas Story Library
 * Brio (discontinued)
 * Bandai Tecs
 * Di Agostini

Trivia

 * Recent information has revealed that there really was a 1436 on the Great Western Railway.
 * In the Japanese narration of Thomas and Friends Oliver is voiced by Hikaru Midorikawa.
 * In Season 12, Oliver was given a Welsh accent in the UK version; in the US version, he was given a British accent.
 * In the story "Oliver Gets the Bird" from the 1985 Thomas and Friends annual, Oliver was incorrectly depicted as an 0-4-4. In Wilbert the Forest Engine, Oliver was incorrectly depicted as an 0-6-0.