Percy

"That's the one. If I choose you, will you work hard?" "Oh, sir! Yes, sir!" "That's a good engine. I'll call you Percy. "Yes, sir! Thank you, sir!"

- Sir Topham Hatt and Percy, Trouble in the Shed, first season

 CGI Series= |-|Model Series= |-|Railway Series=   Percy    Percy is a cheeky green saddletank engine who was brought to Sodor to help run the railway during the big engines' strike. His favourite job is to deliver the Post Train. He works on Thomas' Branch Line as a goods engine.
 * Number: 6
 * Designer: Avonside Engine Company
 * Builder: Avonside Engine Company
 * Built: circa 1900
 * Configuration: 0-4-0ST
 * Arrived on Sodor: Sometime between 1925 and 1935

Bio
Percy was most likely built by Avonside sometime around the 1900's and had gone through a subsequent rebuild in the years preceding his second-hand sale to the North Western Railway. He is said to have been found wearing Hunslet parts, according to workers at Crovan's Gate.

When Gordon, James and Henry went on strike in protest of the extra work they had to do since Thomas left to run his branch line, the Fat Controller decided that the railway needed another tank engine. Going to the engine workshop, the Fat Controller saw a green saddletank and when the engine confirmed he was willing to work hard, the Fat Controller bought him and named him Percy. Bringing him back to Sodor, Percy was charged with running the branch line while Thomas ran the Main Line with Edward and was allowed to stay after the big engines surrendered and returned to work. At first, Percy liked to annoy the big engines. Percy was later waiting at Tidmouth, but forgot to whistle to the signalman, and thus was startled when Gordon came running towards him with the express. Gordon managed to stop in time, but Percy was so frightened, he ran away and ended up stuck in a sandbank. He was rescued by Gordon and took up the duty of station pilot at Tidmouth.

Percy was still a cheeky engine and often liked to play jokes on Gordon and James, but one day the other engines got their revenge when Percy failed to recognise a "backing signal". After this, Percy was subject to bullying from the big engines until Duck arrived and helped Percy to put the big engines in their place, although Percy still received a reprimand from the Fat Controller for it.

With Duck's arrival, Percy was sent to Thomas' Branch Line to help build Knapford Harbour and has stayed there ever since as a goods engine. He met a self-centred helicopter named Harold who said that railways were "slow and out-of-date", so he decided, to race him, of which he won. When Percy had to take the Sunday School children home, he came across a flooded paddock which swashed away his fire. Thankfully, with a little help from Harold, who had dropped supplies of hot drinks for his crew and the passengers, he was able to get the children home.

Despite being really useful, Percy was prone to having accidents, sometimes for acting naughty, and others for carelessness. He was naughty when he asked the trucks to push him past a danger notice, only to end up in the water until he could be lifted out and taken to the works by Henry. When a diesel railcar named Daisy came to look after Thomas' Branch Line, she constantly kept leaving behind the milk van every time Percy shunted it for her. Fed up with taking the milk for her, Percy offered to take Toby's trucks for him while he took the milk. However, the trucks were unfamiliar with Percy, and when he ordered them about, they decided to seek revenge by pushing him onto a line of stone trucks.

In Tale of the Brave, Thomas tells Percy about some mysterious footprints that he saw at the China Clay Pits. Percy convinces himself that it must be footprints of a monster that is roaming Sodor. Continuing to be anxious for a few days, he causes lots of confusion and delay such as: mistakenly referring to Gator, the new engine as the monster, failing to delivery his mail on-time and running off before The Fat Controller finished talking to him. After talking with his new friend Gator, he understands what being brave is like and later uses this courage to save James from a huge landslide. He later learns that the monster was really a dinosaur a long, long time ago, which had now become a fossil. He also understood that the footprints Thomas saw, were also only fossils left from the dinosaur. Percy later says goodbye to Gator, who has to return to the mainland, but the two friends are certain they will meet again someday.

In the eighteenth season, Percy was starting to miss Gator and tries to forget him by working hard and not think about him. When he had to deliver trucks full of precious sculptures and paintings for a special exhibition, he didn't stop to be coupled and the Troublesome Trucks are rolling to the Old Mine. He thinks about Gator and his advice of how to be brave. Percy goes into the mine and rescues the trucks. Percy reunited with Gator on Christmas.

In the nineteenth season, he was to take the Mayor of Sodor to the Search and Rescue Centre to present a new alarm bell to celebrate their one thousandth rescue. Diesel overheard Percy talking about it at the Docks and he played a trick on him, sending Percy to the Old Quarry which resulted him ending up on a badly flooded railway line and after Diesel unsuccessfully attempted to pull him out of the flood, he too also ended up getting stuck in the water after it badly damaged his generator. The rescue of Diesel and Percy marked the Sodor Search and Rescue Centre Crew's one thousand and first rescue. Later, after he finished his mail run to took longer to complete, he hurried to collect the livestock wagon as he bumped so hard and bashed into a flatbed. Percy collects very important sheep from Farmer McColl as he carefully set off, as he takes on water, a lamb leaps through the hole in the wagon onto the tracks. Every time he stops or slow down, a few sheep escape from his wagon, as Thomas stops on every time to collect the very important sheep that he left behind. Percy arrived at the fair in Maithwaite, the Farmer McColl realise his wagon is empty, he apologises to Farmer McColl as Thomas pulls up behind and Percy thanks Thomas for helping him. Once, he saw a painters at Knapford, they talking about the Fat Controller is leaving Sodor, packing the things away to the temporary office and even a telephone, he hurried returned to the sheds, to tells the engines that the Fat Controller is leaving Sodor and even the telephone. Thomas tells the engines that they will going on strike until the Fat Controller stays on Sodor. As the engines is going on strike, the Fat Controller explained the engines that he not leaving on Sodor.

In the twentieth season, he takes the letters to Vicartown to Hiro to the Mainland for Northpole, Harold tries to stop Percy that they got one more letters of left behind, as he raced to the tunnel, the snow was falling and blocked the tunnel, he ask Harold to take the letters to Hiro for Northpole. Percy found Harold on the Mainland where he got stuck in the snow after the snow was fallen. Then, he brings the fuels to Harold in time for goodwill. Later, he was take the Mail train at night, as he comes across the Watermill, he hears a moaning sound which give him a fright. Percy tells Thomas and Toby that remembering the story of The Three Billy Goats Gruff, thinks it's a troll that live under the bridge.

In The Great Race, Percy takes Thomas's place in The Shunting Competition of The Great Railway Show after Thomas has an accident and is left on Sodor. However, Thomas manages to make it to The Mainland after all and Percy drops out of the competition so his best friend can compete.

Persona
Percy is a somewhat silly and timid, but sweet, cute, funny, pleasant and kind little green tank engine. Sometimes he acts cheeky, but always learns his lesson.

As the television series has progressed, Percy has been dumbed-down in order to teach viewers difficult words: he would say "dingy-fried" where anyone else would say "dignified",or make "Demonstration" into " Dimer-station". He is also shown to make silly mistakes, but then fix them upon realising what he has done before further damage is caused.

Percy is incredibly accident-prone and has many accidents, sometimes due to his own silliness or his tricks backfiring. He holds the dubious record of the most accidents in one season - five, in the second season - crashing into some buffers, falling into the sea, being pushed onto a brake van, colliding with a cart, and being hit by a falling crate of treacle. So far, his silliest accident yet was in the sixth season, when he slipped on oily rails, crashed through the chocolate factory and emerged covered in chocolate. Despite this, he always tries to do his best, learn from his mistakes and get his jobs done, a loyalty which Sir Topham Hatt has praised him for on several occasions.

Although their friendship has been turbulent at times, Thomas is generally portrayed as Percy's best friend, he is also good friends with Toby as well.

Since the second season, Percy has had a small rivalry with Harold, stemming from their race. However, they are always willing to help each other when in trouble.

He also had held a grudge from the big engines about their tricking him into misinterpreting a signal, but silenced this with some help from Duck. This shows that, when nonsense goes too far, Percy will not stand for it and seek help to settle the matter for good, even if he faces a reprimanding from Sir Topham Hatt for it.

Basis
Percy is primarily based on a Avonside 0-4-0ST with Hunslet underframes and valve gear, a smokebox protruding from his saddletank, external cylinders and motion, and sandboxes underneath the tanks on his footplate.

Modifications made to Percy's shape include the angled smokebox supports and possibly a coal bunker.

A similar looking engine painted red, lived with Percy at the Workshop where he used to live before arriving on Sodor, in the My Thomas Story Library book, The Fat Controller.

Livery
Percy is painted NWR green with NWR red-and-yellow lining and a "6" painted on his bunker sides in yellow with red lining.

In the Railway Series, he carries two builder's plates, one on either side of his cab.

Green Caterpillar
The Reverend W. Awdry and C. Reginald Dalby did not get along very well. Awdry considered Dalby's drawings "toy-like"; this relationship was worsened by the creation of Percy, who was depicted as an Avonside 0-4-0ST/GWR 1340 Trojan with a bunker.

When Percy the Small Engine was published, Awdry wrote to Dalby, criticising his illustrations and claiming Percy resembled "a green caterpillar with red stripes". This was too much for Dalby and he promptly resigned. However, the insult was not forgotten: Thomas called Percy "a green caterpillar with red stripes" in Tramway Engines as well as the televised episode Woolly Bear.

Arrival
It is debated as to what year Percy arrived. The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways states that Percy was made the station pilot at Tidmouth in 1949, somewhat implying that he arrived on Sodor in that year. However, Henry is said to have been rebuilt in 1935 and Percy makes several appearances in the presence of the pre-rebuild Henry, suggesting that either Henry was rebuilt later on or that Percy arrived before 1935. A post on SiF states that Christopher Awdry affirmed the arrival date in The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways to be incorrect and that Percy came to Sodor before 1935.

Voice Actors

 * Michael Angelis (Thomas and the Magic Railroad; original workprints only)
 * Linda Ballantyne (Thomas and the Magic Railroad)
 * Keith Wickham (UK; Hero of the Rails - Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure, excluding the nineteenth season)
 * Nigel Pilkington (UK; nineteenth season onwards, excluding Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure)
 * Martin Sherman (US; Hero of the Rails - eighteenth season)
 * Christopher Ragland (US; nineteenth season onwards, UK singing voice; The Great Race)
 * Chisato Nakajima (Japan; first-eighth seasons)
 * Chie Kōjiro (Japan; Calling All Engines! onwards)
 * Anders Sundstedt (Norway; Hero of the Rails - seventeenth season, excluding King of the Railway)
 * Erik Skjøld (Norway; King of the Railway and Tale of the Brave only, excluding the seventeenth season)
 * Ingve Connolly Gran (Norway; eighteenth season onwards)
 * Frédéric Millaire-Zouvi (French speaking Canada; Thomas and the Magic Railroad)
 * Tony Marot (France and French speaking Canada; eighth season onwards)
 * Mattia Nissolino (Italy)
 * Eduardo Garza (Latin America; Thomas and the Magic Railroad; TV Version)
 * Javier Olguín (Latin America; Hero of the Rails - The Great Race)
 * Héctor Ireta de Alba (Latin America; twentieth season onwards)
 * Frank Schröder (Germany; Thomas and the Magic Railroad)
 * Robin Brosch (Germany; Hero of the Rails onwards)
 * Achim Schülke (Germany; Audio Books only)
 * Grzegorz Drojewski (Poland)
 * Jarosław Domin (Poland; Samson at Your Service only)
 * Reinder van der Naalt (The Netherlands)
 * Yehonatan Magon (Israel)
 * Troells Toya (Denmark)
 * Bruno Marçal (Brazil; Hero of the Rails onwards)
 * María Rubio (Spain)
 * Taisto Oksanen (Finland; Hero of the Rails onwards)
 * Olga Kuznetsova (Russia)
 * Um Sang-hyun (South Korea)

Trivia

 * One of Percy's models is currently on display in Japan at the Hara Model Railway Museum (previously on display at Nitrogen Studios). His large scale model used for the spin-off series, The Pack, is also on display in Japan at the Hara Model Railway Museum (previously on display at Thomas Town).
 * Percy is the only engine who is known to have been named by the Fat Controller.
 * According to Abi Grant on her website, Percy is her favourite character.
 * Britt Allcroft stated he was also her favourite (due to him being green and cheeky).
 * He is also Mark Moraghan's favourite character, alongside Cranky.
 * Percy is the first character to say the infamous line "and then there was trouble."
 * Percy has had three cameos in the American sit-com Everybody Loves Raymond.
 * Percy's whistle sound is actually Edward and Henry's in a higher pitch.
 * Percy is the first character other than Thomas to be the protagonist in a special, which he would later do again.
 * Percy went through several aesthetic changes in the television series:
 * Season 3:
 * His whistle changed shape (now being more of a cylinder shape).
 * His whistle is one tone lower later in the season.
 * Season 4:
 * His whistle changes back to its original tone.
 * In some episodes towards the end of the season, one of the two black sections extending from under his smokebox to the end of the footplate is missing.
 * Thomas and the Magic Railroad:
 * He gained a permanent lamp
 * A stand underneath his smokebox.
 * His eyebrows change shape.
 * Season 6:
 * His cab was blacked out (except for cab shots filmed on a larger model).
 * Jack and the Sodor Construction Company (Large Scale Model Only):
 * The step ladders on his running board are painted red.
 * His whistle is taller than his cab.
 * The Great Discovery:
 * His large scale model's dome is painted gold.
 * Season 12:
 * His large scale model's stepladders were painted green.
 * Hero of the Rails:
 * His cab became open again
 * The counterweights on his wheels vanished.
 * Season 19:
 * His side rods become silver.
 * Season 21:
 * His red lining on his tank becomes gold.
 * In Thomas and the Rumours, Percy is stated to have a branch line.
 * Percy was featured on the 1986 single cover of Oh L'amour, a song by English synthpop duo Erasure.
 * One of Percy's original face masks is owned by Twitter user ThomasTankMerch.

Quotes

 * "Do you know what?" asked Percy.
 * "What?" grunted Gordon.
 * "Do you know what?"
 * "Silly," said Gordon crossly, "Of course I don't know what, if you don't tell me what 'what' is."

- A conversation between Percy and Gordon, "Percy the Small Engine"


 * "Nobody listens to me now! They think I'm a silly little engine, and order me about. I'll show them."

- Percy, "Percy the Small Engine"


 * "Wheeeeeeeeeeesh!" Percy gave his ghostly whistle. "Don't be frightened, Thomas," he laughed, "it's only me!"
 * "Your ugly fizz is enough to frighten anyone," said Thomas crossly. "You're like..."
 * "Ugly indeed! I'm..."
 * "A green caterpillar with red stripes," continued Thomas firmly. "You crawl like one too."
 * "I don't."
 * "Who's been late every afternoon this week?"
 * "It's the hay."
 * "I can't help that," said Thomas. "Time's time, and the Fat Controller relies on me to keep it. I can't if you crawl in the hay 'till all hours."

- An argument between Percy and Thomas, "Tramway Engines"


 * "Harold told me you were a ..... uh wizard. He says he could beat you at some things but not at being a submarine. I don't know what you two get up to sometimes but I do know you are a really useful engine."

- Sir Topham Hatt, after Percy took a swim in "Percy's Promise"


 * "I can't see any," said Percy. "Where are they?"
 * "Any what?" said Gordon.
 * "Ideas above the station - the sky is empty."
 * "Like your smokebox, Percy!" laughed James.

- A brief example of Percy's curiosity, "A Better View for Gordon", fifth season

"And then there was trouble!"

- Percy breaks the fourth wall with the infamous quote, "Reds vs. Blues", nineteenth season

Songs

 * Will You Won't You (performed)
 * Be Who You Are And Go Far (performed)

Merchandise

 * ERTL (normal, Gold Rail, and metallic, all discontinued)
 * Wooden Railway (several versions)
 * Take Along (discontinued normal, metallic, and lights and sounds)
 * Take-n-Play (normal, pull back, talking, push 'n' puff, and glow racers)
 * My First Thomas (normal and talking)
 * Motor Road and Rail (normal, talking, and chocolate-covered; discontinued outside Asia)
 * TrackMaster (normal, talking, greatest moments, and RC)
 * Hornby
 * Bachmann (HO and large scale)
 * Lionel
 * Märklin
 * Tomix
 * Tomica
 * Woody Capsule Series
 * Trading Cards
 * My Thomas Story Library (discontinued)
 * Engine Adventures (discounted)
 * Thomas Engine Collection Series (discontinued)
 * Mini Die Cast Collection (normal and with Santa hat; discontinued)
 * Departing Now (discontinued)
 * Thomas Town (discontinued)
 * Capsule Collection
 * Wind-up
 * Pocket Fantasy (discontinued)
 * Brio (discontinued)
 * Pez
 * LEGO Duplo (discontinued)
 * Mega Bloks (discontinued)
 * Meccano (discontinued)
 * Around Town with Thomas
 * Discover Junction
 * Diablock (large and mini)
 * Nakayoshi
 * Boss (normal and pullback; discontinued)
 * New Block
 * Collectible Railway
 * Motorized Railway
 * De Agostini
 * Push Along
 * Aquadraw
 * Pullback Racers
 * Padlock and Key
 * Micro Rubber Engines
 * Pull 'n' Spin
 * Pico Pico
 * Interactive Learning Railway
 * Minis
 * Classic Minis
 * Metallic Minis
 * Racers Minis
 * Dino Minis
 * Spooky Minis
 * DC Super Friends Minis (As Robin, Red Tornado and Reverse-Flash)
 * Warrior Minis
 * Core Moments Minis (Chocolate Percy)
 * Glow in the Dark Minis
 * SpongeBob SquarePants Minis (As Patrick Star)
 * Tootsie Minis (Tootsie)
 * Animals Minis (Tiger)
 * Aquatic Minis (Octopus)
 * Monster Minis (Blob)
 * Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers Minis (As the Green Ranger)
 * Bath Toys
 * Choro-Q
 * Switch-On Keychains (normal and chocolate covered)
 * MV Sports (in figure of 8 set; discontinued)
 * Pre-Cut Model Engine Books (with Clarabel; discontinued; re-released separately; re-discontinued)
 * Big Buddy (discontinued)
 * Rail Rollers
 * Adventures
 * Waku Waku