Kwaku

Kwaku is a large Tanzanian Garratt engine. He is close friends with Nia.

Biography
Kwaku once had to bring a goods train to Dar es Salaam docks and was present when Ace and the other rally cars were racing around the dockyard. He met up with Nia and Thomas when the two brought a goods train to Dar es Salaam and he took the time to catch up on recent events with Nia. Kwaku was last seen hauling another goods train when Sir Topham Hatt had arrived at Dar es Salaam trying to find Thomas, with the former having little to no luck.

Personality
Kwaku is a kind and friendly engine with a good sense of humour. He is good friends with Nia and was aware that she had lost her engine shed and had nowhere else to go. Like Nia, he is always making sure that his friends' boiler, wheels and any other engine parts are in good working order and that they are being treated well.

Basis
Kwaku is based on the East African Railways (EAR) 59 class, a class of 4-8-2+2-8-4 oil-fired Garratt locomotives built by Beyer, Peacock & Co. which entered service in 1955-56. These were the largest, heaviest and most powerful steam locomotives to operate on any metre gauge railway in the world and were the mainstay of freight services from Mombasa to Nairobi until the 1970s. Two surviving locomotives, No. 5918 Mount Gelai and No. 5930 Mount Shengena, are preserved by the Nairobi Railway Museum in Nairobi, Kenya.

Kwaku has been partially modified from his original basis. Whereas his class is metre gauge, Kwaku has been scaled up to standard gauge. Additionally, he has been fitted with buffers and screw-link couplings, allowing him to work with British rolling stock.

Livery
Kwaku is painted red with light yellow lining. His cylinders are painted black with red lining.

Appearances
Thomas & Friends=

Thomas & Friends

 * Series 22 - Forever and Ever (indirectly mentioned)

Specials

 * 2018 - Big World! Big Adventures!

Videos

 * 2018 - Why is Africa Important to Nia?

Voice Actors

 * Abubakar Salim (UK/US)
 * Kenta Miyake (Japan)
 * Otar Saralidze (Poland)

Trivia

 * Kwaku's name is an Akan name for "born on a Wednesday".
 * Kwaku is the first Garratt locomotive to be introduced in the television series. If Really Useful Around the World counted, he would be the second instead, as the first would have been the Australian Engine.
 * Kwaku would be too large for the british loading gauge, seen by his large height.

Gallery
