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Bertie is a red single-deck bus who works alongside Thomas' Branch Line.
Biography[]
After Thomas became stuck in a snowdrift, Bertie came to rescue Thomas' passengers.[3] He later raced Thomas after claiming he was the faster of the two but lost after having to stop at a traffic light.[4]
When Thomas' fireman did not come into work, Bertie promised to help his passengers catch Edward's train. However, he was late at the junction and missed him at the station. Bertie chased after Edward and almost caught him at the next station, but arrived just as he left. Due to being able to climb hills better than him, Bertie finally caught up to Edward at the third station. Edward apologised to Bertie for the chase and the passengers cheered at him.[1]
When the Viaduct was being repaired, the Main Line engines were delayed in bringing Thomas his passengers, thus making Thomas late in meeting Bertie at the stations along the branch. Bertie teased Thomas about being slow because of this and even challenged him to another race, but had to eat his words after breaking down. Thomas took his passengers home and called for help at the next station. When he was repaired, Bertie apologised to Thomas for teasing him and thanked him for helping his passengers.[5]
Bertie was once chosen to take visitors to the Vicar's garden party and teased Trevor by calling him a "stick-in-the-mud" and old fashioned. However, he proceeded to get himself stuck in the mud and had to be pulled out by Terence. After that, Bertie thanked Trevor and gave him an apology for teasing him.
When Edward had an accident on the day before he was to take the Brass Band to a concert, Bertie had to take them instead but got stuck in the mud again. Luckily, Edward was repaired and took the Brass Band to their concert.
Bertie is continuously alluding to his race with Thomas and how he could win next time. He actually raced Thomas again and won after Thomas got side-tracked with collecting the sports medals.
Bertie and Thomas have seemed to continue this tradition of racing. However, in the seventeenth series, he was re-routed, giving him an advantage. Thomas is still able to beat him occasionally.
In the nineteenth series, he, Thomas and Spencer got into an argument after Mr. Percival claimed two wheels was best; Bertie argued four wheels was in fact best. He tried to prove his point by taking the Duke and Duchess of Boxford to Callan Castle after both Thomas and Spencer failed to do so, but he too failed after receiving a flat tyre. Harold eventually came to the Duke and Duchess' rescue. Bertie later teased Thomas by telling him about what was on the other side of a mountain on his branch line. Thomas was cross by Bertie's teasing and became determined to find out what was there. Thomas eventually discovered it was a roadside billboard Bertie was describing, though he got into an accident while trying to find out. Bertie visited him at the Steamworks and apologised, though Thomas was able to trick him into believing that he was getting fitted with wings.
In Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure, while he and Thomas were racing, Thomas nearly collided with Toby while Bertie nearly collided with Oliver the Excavator. At Ffarquhar, he complained that he was always getting stuck behind slow construction vehicles since the construction of a new branch line had started. He was then seen on the road by the Harwick Branch Line. Sheep were in his way, but Bertie just smiled.
In the twenty-first series, Bertie ended up breaking down while he and Thomas were racing. This ended up with Thomas taking on his passengers but ended up getting requests for lots of unscheduled stops, which made him run late. However, Bertie was soon temporarily replaced by Bulgy, leading to Thomas running on time.
After being repaired, he shared the mantle of keeping Bulgy in line. Bulgy, however, was still up to his old ways, so Bertie had to remind him that The Fat Controller brought him back to help him with the passenger service; he later broke down due to struggling with passenger transport (flourished due to train halting courtesy of Bulgy). Bulgy took his passengers while Butch towed him away.
Later, when Percy created rumours of a railway show for little engines at Ulfstead Castle, Bertie took Thomas' passengers from Ffarquhar to Knapford after Thomas abandoned his duties to attend.
Personality[]
Bertie is friendly and ready to help anyone in need. However, he can be quite cheeky and even boastful about himself, especially to Thomas, always joking around and teasing him about their races. He can sometimes be quite grumpy, always grumbling whenever he breaks down or gets stuck. He is always, however, easy-going and cheerful to everyone he sees. Unlike Bulgy, Bertie respects the railway and its engines, and serves as one of the many minds keeping the double-decker bus in line.
Technical Details[]
Basis[]
Bertie is based on the post-war Leyland Motors "Tiger", type PS-1/PS-2. Specifically, the single-decker half-cab front entrance buses were built between 1946 and 1953, with several examples surviving in preservation. Other notable Leyland Tiger Buses appear around Sodor, including the Hospital Bus.
It was previously suggested by the 2004 fansite, "The Real Lives of Thomas the Tank Engine", and by the Thomas the Tank Engine Wiki, that Bertie specifically resembled an AEC Regal "T Class" single-decker bus of the 1930s and 1940s. The 2013 Writer's Bible and 2015 Trading Cards confirm this, however, it is likely that they sourced their information from the aforementioned fansites. Algy's original design was based on this bus.[5][6]
Livery[]
Bertie is painted in the common red livery of buses in the United Kingdom, mostly famously used by London Transport. His number plate, CRD 54, refers to the fact that it was first seen in Edward the Blue Engine, published in 1954 and illustrated by C. Reginald Dalby. His interior was originally cream-coloured with red seats, but in the CGI series, he retained his red seats while his interior became red. He had black lining on his cab-door and sides up until the twenty-third series.
Appearances[]
Official Description[]
From Official Website:[1]
| “ | Bertie the Bus: Bertie has a great deal in common with Thomas. Ever since their Great Race they have been the firmest of friends. Bertie's strongest characteristic is his friendly grin and his readiness to help any engine prepared to admit that, just sometimes, roads have their uses as well as rails.
|
” |
| “ | Bertie: Bertie has a great deal in common with Thomas. Ever since their Great Race, they have been the firmest of friends. Bertie's strongest characteristic is his friendly grin and his readiness to help any engine prepared to admit that - just sometimes - roads have their use as well as rails.
|
” |
From Official Website:[4]
| “ | Bertie: Bertie and Thomas have been the strongest of friends ever since their Great Race. Bertie is a friendly bus who is always ready to help any engine, as long as they're prepared to admit roads are sometimes just as useful as rails.
|
” |
Audio Files[]
Themes[]
| Only used | Composers | Theme Song | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Series 1 | Mike O'Donnell Junior Campbell |
||
| Series 2 | Series 3 | ||
Horns[]
| First used | Last used | Sound Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Series 1 | Series 3 | |
| Series 4 | Series 7 | |
| Thomas and the Magic Railroad | ||
| Series 8 | Series 24 | |
Trivia[]
- Bertie used to be one of twelve characters, as well as the only non-rail vehicle character, to appear in every series of the television series until the twenty-second series, where he did not appear in an episode, possibly due to his model being updated for the twenty-third series. He also has the most appearances out of all of the non-rail vehicle characters in the series.
- Several of Bertie's horn sounds are stock recordings and/or shared with other characters:
- In the French dub, Bertie was known as Bertrand in the first seven series.
- In some countries such as Poland, Bertie is portrayed as a female character.
- Bertie is the only road vehicle to have visited Misty Island.
- Between the seventh and tenth series, Bertie would have moving eyes edited on.
- Bertie was the only vehicle character to retain his driver in Thomas and the Magic Railroad.
- In the 1986 annual story, Golden Oldies, Bertie is illustrated with a rear numberplate.
- Bertie is currently one of only two characters introduced in the first series to not appear in Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go, the other being Henrietta.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 T&F S2 #3 "Bertie's Chase"
- ↑ T&F Ertl Company - Money Box prototype
- ↑ T&F S1 #13 "Thomas, Terence and the Snow"
- ↑ T&F S1 #14 "Thomas and Bertie"
- ↑ T&F S2 #15 "Better Late than Never"
| Locomotives | Steam | Thomas | Percy | Toby |
|---|---|---|
| Diesel | Mavis | |
| Former | Glynn | Coffee Pots | Daisy | |
| Rolling Stock | Passenger | Annie and Clarabel | Henrietta | Hannah |
| Non-Rail Vehicles | Terence | Bertie | Harold | Bulgy | Caroline | Bulstrode | Tiger Moth | Elizabeth | The Hot Air Balloon | Cleo | |
| People | Mrs. Kyndley | Farmer Finney | Farmer McColl | Farmer Trotter | Ruth | |
| Affiliates | Toby's Branch Line | Ffarquhar Quarry Company | |
| Infrastructure | Stations | Knapford | Dryaw | Toryreck** | Sports Field Halt** | Elsbridge | Maithwaite** | Hackenbeck | Ffarquhar | New Harbour* |
| Sheds | Elsbridge Engine Sheds (Carriage Shed) | Hackenbeck Shed | |
| Tunnels and Bridges | The Valley Bridge* | Elsbridge Viaduct | Bulgy's Bridge* | The Watermill | Hackenbeck Tunnel | |
| Road vehicles | Terence | Bertie | Trevor | Bulgy | George | Caroline | The Horrid Lorries | Butch | Thumper | Elizabeth | Nelson | Jack | Alfie | Oliver | Max and Monty | Kelly | Byron | Ned | |
|
|---|---|---|
| Aircraft | Harold | Tiger Moth | Jeremy | Emerson | Isla | The Hot Air Balloon | Aeroplanes | |
| Watercraft | Bulstrode | Captain | Terrey | Krystyna | Canal Boats | S.S. Roxstar | Lucinda | Alysia | Northlight | Wharf Canal Boats | The Mayor's Yacht | Sodor Line | |
| Cranes | Cranky | Colin | Ol' Wheezy | Hee-Haw | Happy Hook | Merrick | Reg | Carly | Big Mickey | Beresford | Kobe | Cassia | Carter | |
| Others | Owen | Stefano | Trailers |