Stepney

Stepney, named after a district in London, is a tank engine who lives and works on the Bluebell Railway. He is Boxhill's and Fenchurch's brother. His enthusiastic attitude, together with his friendliness, make him a welcome visitor on Sir Topham Hatt's railway.

In the Railway Series, Stepney lives on the Mainland and works on the Bluebell Railway. In Thomas & Friends, Stepney works on a branch line neighbouring the Skarloey Railway, also known as the "Bluebell Railway".

The Railway Series
Stepney was built at Brighton Works in Brighton, England in 1875 as an LB&SCR A1 class engine and later rebuilt as an A1X in 1912. He arrived on the Bluebell Railway on 17th May 1960, after the railway's founder Bernard Holden MBE helped to save the line for preservation. Stepney was the first engine to be rescued by the Bluebell Railway.

In 1962, Stepney came on loan to Sodor and worked briefly with Duck at Tidmouth before working on Thomas' Branch Line, which during the time he caught a cricket ball in one of his trucks while passing the Elsbridge Cricket Field. Towards the end of his stay, he returned to Tidmouth and on his last day double-headed the Express with Duck after the Diesel had failed.

Thomas & Friends
Stepney was stranded on a siding in the scrapyard at the Vicarstown Goods Depot where Rusty found him and helped arrange for him to be put back into service. He now runs the Bluebell Branch Line. He later travelled to Sir Topham Hatt's railway as a visitor after getting tired of travelling on his branch line.

Stepney later wanted to have a change from his branch line and he was sent back to Sir Topham Hat's railway (again on a visiting basis) to help Toby and Mavis at Anopha Quarry. This excursion nearly ended in disaster after 'Arry and Bert tried to scrap Stepney, luckily without success, after Stepney accidentally ventured into the Sodor Ironworks. Stepney later visited again to help Edward with the running of The Loop Line and when there was a Hot Air Balloon flying across the island, Duck accidentally ran into him due to gazing up at it. A while later, he was hit by a truck full of sugar in an incident caused by Rosie.

Personality
Stepney is a bubbly, honest and humble chap who is bursting with enthusiasm. He is very eager to please and is every engine's friend. Even if an engine might not like him at first, his personality wins them over. After being saved from scrap by Rusty and the Bluebell Railway, he now runs his own branch line, but loves visiting and helping out on the Fat Controller's Railway. He has an enthusiasm for learning and listening to advice, as well as keeping busy. Stepney can feel down in the dumps if he does not get enough work to do or if he does not get a good long run to stretch his wheels. Stepney is high-spirited, lively and is keen to see fair play. He is popular amongst the engines and is always game for more work.

Real-life History
Stepney was built by Brighton Works in 1875 and was rebuilt into an A1X in 1912. During his final working years, Stepney worked on the Hayling Island branch line, until he was taken out of service in 1960 and placed on an out-of-use siding. He was bought by the Bluebell Railway Preservation Society and arrived on the railway on 17th May, making him the first standard gauge steam locomotive in the United Kingdom to be preserved.

Since his first appearance in the Railway Series and Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends, Stepney has become one of the most popular engines on the railway, with children all across the country coming to see him. Stepney has even participated in "Day Out with Thomas" events and has carried a face for these events.

Stepney was taken out of service in 2008, after his boiler ticket expired, but underwent a fast-track overhaul and returned to working order in 2010, just in time for the line's 50th Anniversary. In March 2014, Stepney was withdrawn from service following the failure of his main steam pipe. He is currently awaiting new cylinders and significant work on his frames and boiler.

Livery
Stepney is painted in the LB&SCR goldenrod livery, formally known as "Stroudley's Improved Engine Green", with green, red, white and black lining. His name is painted on his side tanks and the number "55" is painted on the sides of his bunker, both in white. The real Stepney has a brass funnel top and brass numberplates with a blue ground. He carries two builder's plates on the sides of his splashers.

In 2010, he was painted in "Bluebell Black". On 14th January 2012, Stepney made an "only-morning" appearance in BR Lined Black with "cycling lion" crest and his BR number, 32655, for a special photographic charter. He carried the same BR Lined Black livery again on 17th April 2012 for another photographic charter; this time though with the later "ferret and dartboard" crest. He returned to "Bluebell Black" in time for his visit to the National Railway Museum's "Railfest" in the first week of June 2012.

As of August 2014, he has returned to his famous "Improved Engine Green" livery, officially being released to the public in May 2015.

In some promotional artwork and television series tie-in book illustrations, he is seen often wearing the express headcode lamps.

Appearances
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The Railway Series

 * Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine - Bluebells of England, Stepney's Special, Train Stops Play and Bowled Out
 * Oliver the Western Engine - Toad Stands By (mentioned)
 * Thomas and the Great Railway Show - Trouble on the Line (mentioned)

Companion Volumes
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 * 1972 - The Railway Series: Surprise Packet
 * 1976 - Famous Engines
 * 1979 - Annual
 * 1987 - The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways (mentioned)
 * 1980 - Annual
 * 2005 - Sodor: Reading Between the Lines (mentioned)

Thomas & Friends

 * Series 4 - Rusty to the Rescue, Thomas and Stepney, Train Stops Play and Bowled Out
 * Series 5 - Stepney Gets Lost
 * Series 6 - Percy and the Haunted Mine (cameo), James and the Red Balloon (does not speak) and Edward the Very Useful Engine (does not speak)
 * Series 7 - Edward's Brass Band (stock footage; does not speak) and Trusty Rusty (stock footage cameo)
 * Series 12 - Rosie's Funfair Special (does not speak in UK version)

He will appear in the twenty-third series.

Music Videos
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 * Series 4 - Thomas' Anthem Grand Finale, Let's Have a Race, Don't Judge a Book By its Cover and The Island Song
 * Series 5 - It's Great to be an Engine, Night Train and Come for the Ride
 * Series 6 - Little Engines and Boo! Boo! Choo-Choo
 * Series 7 - The Red Balloon, There Once Was an Engine Who Ran Away and The Whistle Song
 * Series 21 - Little Engines (mentioned)

Books

 * 2004 - Stepney and James and the Red Balloon and Other Thomas the Tank Engine Stories (mentioned)
 * 2005 - Railway Rhymes
 * 2006 - Thomas-saurus Rex
 * 2007 - Caroline
 * 2008 - Thomas' Sticker Express
 * 2011 - Caroline the Car, My Thomas Party Book, Stepney the Bluebell Engine and The Big Book of Engines

Magazine Stories
Stepney also appeared in the magazine stories, Really Useful Edward and Spotty Stepney
 * 2001 - A Special Story About Stepney
 * 2004 - Trouble for Stepney, Train Stops Play and Edward to the Rescue! (does not speak)
 * 2005 - I'll Eat My Hat!
 * 2010 - Steam Roasted (does not speak) and Fun at the Carnival!

Annual Stories

 * 1997 - Pipe Dreams (mentioned)
 * 2001 - Donald and Douglas

Video Games
Stepney also appeared in DVD Bingo.
 * 1996 - Let's Hang Out!
 * 2000 - Thomas the Tank Engine
 * 2001 - The Friends of Sodor
 * 2008 - Begins Educational Learning

Videos
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 * 2005 - Hashire! The "Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends" Steam Locomotive is Alive! (does not speak)

Voice Actors

 * Bin Shimada (Japan; fourth and fifth series)

Trivia

 * Stepney is, as of 29th March 2014, withdrawn from service, following the failure of his main steam pipe. He was repainted from his British Railways black livery with red lining, which replicates that which he carried upon his arrival at the Bluebell Railway in May 1960. He now carries his original London, Brighton and South Coast Railway "Improved Engine Green Livery". A future overhaul has not been entirely ruled out.
 * Alec Baldwin gives Stepney a Cockney accent in the US dub. This may have been intentional, as Stepney is a region of East London and the inhabitants of that area, amongst others, were known as Cockneys.
 * The prototype of Stepney's 1996 Wooden Railway toy has the original face and magnets of Thomas.
 * When the president of the Bluebell Railway Bernard Holden MBE died at the age of 104 on 4th October 2012, Stepney headed his funeral train on the 16th, due to being the first engine that the railway rescued. In 2014, Stepney also headed the funeral train for Jack Owen, who was his ex-driver.
 * At one time, the Official Website incorrectly stated that Stepney was a narrow gauge engine. Stepney was also incorrectly stated to be narrow gauge in Railway Rhymes. He was also included in a Take Along Narrow Gauge Gift Pack. The narrow gauge engines' nameboards sequence also includes Stepney. In the fourth series, Stepney's driver wore the same uniform that the narrow gauge engines' drivers wore.
 * In the Spanish dub of the show, he is known as the Hyacinth engine instead of the Bluebell engine. In the Dutch dub, he is known as the Violet engine.
 * Both of Stepney's appearances in the seventh series were made up of stock footage.
 * In the television series, he has had several whistles.
 * Stepney was featured in the music video for Tracy Ullman's "Move Over Darling" in 1983.
 * Although he has not been featured in the CGI series, Keith Wickham has voiced him in Thomas-saurus Rex.
 * Stepney's Whistle has been heard in The Simpsons multiple times.
 * According to Thomas-saurus Rex, he knew both Sir Topham Hatt and his grandfather prior to his arrival.
 * In the fourth series episode Thomas and Stepney, some illustrations in books and some merchandise ranges, Stepney is shown wearing two LNER lamps as opposed to the traditional Southern disc headcodes used on said-region.
 * From the sixth series onwards, the block under Stepney's smokebox became the same colour as his livery.
 * A Wooden Railway toy of Stepney, along with Thomas and a Fossil Truck, cameos in the second series of The Big Bang Theory, in the 13th episode "The Friendship Algorithm".
 * Stepney's television series model was on display at Drayton Manor in the UK, but as of December 2018, it has gone missing.

Merchandise
ERTL

Wooden Railway
 * ERTL (discontinued)
 * Royal Hampshire (discontinued)
 * Wooden Railway (reissued in a three-pack; discontinued)
 * Take Along (discontinued)
 * Take-n-Play (discontinued)
 * Motor Road and Rail (discontinued)
 * TrackMaster (discontinued)
 * Hornby (original release 2004; discontinued, re-released 2012; discontinued)
 * Trading Cards (discontinued)
 * My Thomas Story Library (discontinued)
 * Thomas Engine Collection Series (discontinued)
 * Thomas Town (discontinued)
 * De Agostini (discontinued)
 * Nakayoshi (discontinued)
 * Tomica (cancelled)
 * Capsule Plarail
 * Pocket Fantasy (discontinued)
 * Brio (discontinued)

External link
Stepney on the Bluebell Railway website.