Yong Bao

"Wow! Have you ever seen such a spectacular looking engine? Strong, sleek, and steamy! This engine is a tiger! A sheer delight!"

- The Announcer, Meet the Contenders

  CGI Series=  Yong Bao (勇寶)   Yong Bao (Chinese: 勇寶) is a Chinese engine who took part in The Great Railway Show, competing in the Best Decorated Engine parade.
 * Class: Chinese Railways RM
 * Builder: Sifang Locomotive Works
 * Built: Sometime between 1958 and 1966
 * Configuration: 4-6-2
 * Top Speed: 70 mph

Bio
Yong Bao was invited to take part in the Great Railway Show's Best Decorated Engine Parade. He, along with the other eleven contenders, accidentally arrived on Sodor after the rail ferry they were on made a wrong stop at Brendam Docks instead of England. Yong Bao promptly returned to the ferry after realising this.

At the Great Railway Show, Yong Bao participated in the Best Decorated Engines Parade along with Rajiv, Carlos, Emily and James, but ended up losing the event to Rajiv. After the show was over, Yong Bao returned home with the other international engines (bar Ashima).

Persona
Yong Bao is a kind and faithful tender engine from China, who pulls passenger coaches. He may not be the biggest tender engine or the strongest, but he once cleverly diverted an accident saving hundreds of passengers. Yong Bao was decorated for his bravery and painted bright red, which is a color that symbolises celebration and happiness. Painted on his tender is a tiger which incites a sense of awe and admiration. Like Yong Bao, the tiger is full of life and embodies the spirit of being driven to achieve and make progress. These qualities make Yong Bao a Really Useful Engine.

Basis
Yong Bao is based on a Chinese Railways RM class 4-6-2 Pacific, which were built by CSR Sifang Co Ltd between 1958 and 1966. Used in passenger service, these engines were eventually taken out of service by more powerful steam and diesel locomotives on the Chinese rail system. Three members of this class have been preserved; 1001 is on display at the Beijing Railway Museum, 1163 is preserved in Aioi, Japan, and 1247 is on display at the Shenyang Railway Museum.

Livery
Yong Bao is painted red with yellow lining on his smoke deflectors and boiler, and his running board is painted green. His name is written on the sides of his cab in Traditional Chinese, and the design of a tiger is painted on his tender. He also bears a dragon face on the front top of his funnel.

Television Series
Specials:
 * The Great Race (cameo)

Yong Bao was also featured in a Meet the Contenders segment.

Trivia

 * In Chinese, his name means "brave precious".
 * Yong Bao has been partially modified to work on British railways, he has been given buffers.
 * Two of Yong Bao's colours: red and yellow, represent luck and power respectively. Interestingly, these are also the two colours of the Chinese national flag. In addition, green represents money.
 * The tiger anchored on Yong Bao's funnel was actually those found on three year old children's clothing during the Qing dynasty.
 * Yong Bao has Traditional Chinese characters on his cab, though in China, Simplified Chinese characters are used standardly. However, his Take-n-Play model uses Simplified Chinese characters.
 * His whistle is Luke's at a deeper pitch.
 * In real life, Yong Bao would be too large for the British loading gauge.

Merchandise

 * Take-n-Play
 * Collectible Railway (coming soon)
 * Motorized Railway (coming soon)