Nia

Nia is a Kenyan tank engine who befriends and accompanies Thomas during his journey around the world.

Thomas & Friends
Nia is a tank engine from the African country of Kenya and a new member of the Steam Team on Sodor. She is a real optimist with a great sense of fun. She is also driven by a strong moral compass and takes being fair and kind to others seriously. She is not afraid to speak her mind when she needs to. Nia is both thoughtful and practical and often comes up with very creative ideas. Her kind heart and infectious enthusiasm never fail to win over others in the end.

She first meets Thomas in her homeland of Kenya when he stops in her railyard to collect more African Troublesome Trucks to take to the Dar es Salaam Docks while in pursuit of Ace. Noticing how heavy his train is getting, she offers to help, but Thomas sternly refuses, stating he can handle it himself. However, she later arrives to help him over a steep hill when the trucks nearly cause him to slide back down it. She later encourages the trucks to sing to raise Thomas' mood during the journey, and to help soothe an elephant that tries to charge Thomas when it was blocking the tracks. When they reach Dar es Salaam, Nia has a chat with her friend Kwaku, but Thomas interrupts before Nia can reveal that her shed was destroyed and she was looking for a new one. After Thomas thanks her for her help, he prepares to board a ship bound for South America and the city of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. However, Nia decides to join him, much to his chagrin, having wanted to see the world herself.

Thomas remains unfriendly with Nia throughout their journey, but begins to warm up to her after they rescue a crashed Ace and made it through the Amazon rainforest after some difficulty, continuing their journey through Central America and Mexico before reaching North America and the United States. As they make their way through the Grand Canyon, Ace is able to trick Thomas and Nia into splitting their delivery to San Francisco between them and race to see who is the faster of the two steam engines. Thanks to Ace, who wanted to get to the Bonneville Salt Flats, Nia is separated from Thomas, and as a result, thinking that Thomas was in on Ace's trick, she becomes hurt and cross, and continues on alone to China.

When Thomas catches up to her in the Himalayas, she refuses to listen to his explanations for what happened, still hurt and upset about it, but hearing his heartfelt apology, she realises he never meant to upset her and is truly sorry for it. Before she and Thomas can fully make amends, an avalanche caused by Thomas trying to get Nia's attention sweeps her off the tracks and leaves her dangling precariously over a cliff. Thomas attempts to pull her back to safety, but her size and weight cause her to go over the edge and nearly pull Thomas with her until Yong Bao arrives just in time to save both of them. After Nia is lifted back onto the rails by the Chinese Breakdown Cranes brought by Yong Bao and The Chinese Diesel Shunter, she and Thomas prepare to return to the Island of Sodor, with Yong Bao advising they travel through Asia and Europe to get back to the Island of Sodor via The Mainland.

Together, Nia and Thomas make their way back to Sodor, unaware of a signalman in India seeing Thomas and phoning ahead to let the North Western Railway know he was coming home. When they reach the Vicarstown Bridge, Thomas realises that once he crosses it, he'll be home, but Nia will have to go home to Kenya. However, Nia reveals what she had tried to tell Kwaku back in Dar es Salaam before Thomas interrupted her, that she no longer has a home to go back to. Sympathetic to her plight, Thomas offers Nia the chance to stay and work on the North Western Railway, knowing that Sir Topham Hatt would love to have Nia working on his railway. The two engines cross the bridge, returning to Knapford to find a large group of Thomas' friends, human and engine alike, welcoming him home. After Thomas formally introduces Nia to Mr. Percival and the others, Nia prepares to enjoy her new home on the North Western and the Island of Sodor.

Personality
Nia is an adventurous and fun engine who teaches Thomas about friendship. Whether she is in her homeland of Africa or travelling around the world, Nia is positive and thoughtful. Her eagerness to help can sometimes irritate her friends, but her truthfulness and kind heart always win them over.

Basis
Nia is based on the KUR ED1 class, a class of 2-6-2 tank locomotive built by Vulcan Foundry for the Kenya-Uganda Railway between 1926 and 1930. Primarily used for shunting duties, they were also used to haul branch line trains. They were later operated by the East African Railways and were reclassified as part of the EAR 11 class. One member of this class, No. 327, has been preserved at the Nairobi Railway Museum in Nairobi, Kenya.

Nia has been modified in order to work on British railways. Whereas her original basis was metre gauge, Nia is standard gauge and she has been given buffers and screwlink couplings in order to work with the other engines.

Livery
Nia is painted orange with yellow lining. She has stripes with an African pattern consisting of red, yellow, green and purple painted along her tanks and dome, as well as green and yellow lining on her cylinders and green stripes on her brake pump and her footplate is painted red. Her name and the number "18" are painted on the sides of her tanks and cab respectively in yellow within black squares.

Appearances
Television Series=

Thomas & Friends

 * Season 22 - Forever and Ever, Confusion Without Delay, Samson and the Fireworks, Thomas' Animal Ark (does not speak) and Counting on Nia

Specials

 * 2018 - Big World! Big Adventures!

Voice Actors

 * Yvonne Grundy (UK/US)
 * Patricia Kihoro (UK/US: singing voice)

Trivia

 * Nia's name means "purpose" in Swahili.
 * Experts at the United Nations assisted the production team with creating Nia.
 * Several trailers and merchandise packaging for Big World! Big Adventures!, Nia can been seen in one of her original designs.
 * According to concept art, Nia's wheels were originally planned to be red. Her Railway Pals model also depicts her with red wheels.

Merchandise

 * Wood (cancelled)
 * TrackMaster (normal and Hyper Glow)
 * Adventures
 * Railway Pals (coming soon)