| For other uses, see Bill and Ben. |
Bill and Ben are a pair of yellow saddle tank engine twins belonging to the Sodor China Clay Company.
Biography[]
Bill and Ben made their first appearances listening to Percy recount the time he got caught in a flood helping Thomas, before being shooed off by Henry, as they were in a shed specifically for the Fat Controller's engines.
One day, Bill and Ben were sent to work in the yard. They got to use the turntable as a reward for their hard work, but they were both accidentally sent down the same track and they ended up buffer-to-buffer. They ended up blaming each other for the incident and refused to speak to one another. At last, Edward and BoCo lost patience and the Fat Controller heard about the incident. He gave the twins a chance to work together and sure enough, the plan worked. The twins started to speak to each other again. Bill and Ben sometimes found it dull up at the clay works and wanted something exciting to happen. They got their wish when a rockslide devastated the quarry. Luckily, Bill and Ben had taken all of the workmen and the foreman out of the quarry before the rockslide. The Fat Controller was so pleased that he called them heroes.
Later, BoCo could not handle the twins as much as he used to. This led to Sir Topham Hatt bringing in another diesel. Bill and Ben had heard from Percy that the diesel had toothache, but they soon found out that the diesel really had teething troubles. The twins and the diesel had to pull a train the next day and the diesel soon overheated. Together, the twins got the train to their destination. That night, they, BoCo and Duck talked about the diesel all night long.
When Salty was sent to work with Bill, Ben and Mavis with an important job, he impressed them with his skills for handling the trucks. Unfortunately, the twins became jealous when they learnt that this was through him singing songs and telling tales of the sea and became even crosser when Salty told them stories. Luckily for them, Salty was transferred to Brendam Docks. Bill and Ben met Salty again when they themselves went to the docks and started teasing Cranky. This time, they encouraged Salty to tell them his stories, knowing that Cranky could not stand them. The twins spent the entire night being engrossed in and fascinated by Salty's many tales and when they left the following morning, Cranky was pleased. Afterwards, Ben had to get new buffers, so he was sent to the Works. Bill became jealous and his mind drifted away from his work. After some trucks teased him, Bill crashed through the buffers at the end of the track, falling into a ditch. Ben arrived to rescue Bill who was taken to the Works to be mended.
Sometime later, Fergus was sent to help the twins at the quarry but they got tired of his "do it right" attitude. Bill and Ben collected a rock crusher from the docks and caused a rockslide. Fergus pushed them out of the way, while the twins returned the favour when they helped him out of the rocks.
In the seventeenth series, they teased Percy after he had an accident with a mailbag, unaware the pumpkins on their train were falling onto the tracks, which caused more problems for Percy. After Sir Topham Hatt ordered one twin to act as a back engine, Bill reluctantly went to push from behind. Ben ended up derailing near an embankment and Percy (although he was nervous because he had lost his new lucky charm) helped Bill pull Ben back onto the tracks.
After racing Connor several times (by racing, one would start the race and the other twin would be waiting at the finish), Sir Topham Hatt figured out their tricks. So people would not confuse the two or think they were the same engine, Bill was repainted blue. To continue the tricks, Ben tricked Kevin into giving him a blue coat of paint too. Since then they were repainted to their yellow schemes. They also teased Harvey about going fishing with his hook.
Thomas was sent to work with the twins at the Clay Pits while a bridge on his branch line was being repaired. They ran away from him and after he caught up, they teased him about being slow. They showed him to a line of trucks, which he was coupled up to. Thomas began pulling them but did not realise that Timothy was on the other end, jerking the little oil-burning engine backwards. Later that day, there was a storm at the Pits and the rain made the cliffs unstable. Thomas was near some cliffs and saw a set of mysterious footprints. However, the area was still unstable and he was unable to investigate. Bill and Ben pushed Thomas to safety just before the three were hit by a landslide. The next morning, the twins were congratulated by the Fat Controller. Later in the week, Thomas asked if they were playing a trick on him (he thought they were scaring him with fake footprints). However, Bill and Ben thought that he thought that their rescuing him was a trick and so they puffed away, offended. When Percy went to the clay pits to prove his bravery to James, Bill accused Ben of making puffing noises in his sleep and when Thomas came looking for Percy, the twins assumed that they could literally hear what Timothy was dreaming. When they went to work that day, they were almost hit by a landslide and after Marion found a fossil, Bill and Ben were both very intrigued by the concept of fossils.
In the eighteenth series, Bill and Ben played Guess What's In My Shovel with Marion. They also teased Timothy for being an oil-burning engine, but when the Clay Pits ran out of coal, Timothy went to pick up some more. They apologised for their teasing. However, they later sent Timothy on what the Fat Controller referred to as a "fool's errand" to search for a rainbow-coloured truck. Timothy brought back a green truck with several colours of paint on it full of dockyard waste. Bill and Ben were sent to take it to Whiff's Waste Dump as punishment, as well as being on waste duty. They also teased Emily and Samson.
In the nineteenth series, the twins became convinced that Timothy was no help at all. So when they found out that the Fat Controller was looking for an engine to help at Brendam Docks, they volunteered Timothy. Unfortunately, the twins were too busy messing around to work on their own property. Luckily, once Timothy was no longer required at the docks, he came back to the Clay Pits to help them clear up the mess.
In Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure, they teased Henry when he saw a ghostly rail boat on the rails the previous night, which was really Skiff.
Bill and Ben were one of the engines who wanted to go to the Great Railway Show but they were not selected.
In the twenty-second series, Harvey came to help them out when they had an accident. Rebecca was there to see Harvey arrive to help them and thought he looked cool with his crane. Later on Valentine's Day, Bill, Ben and Diesel teased Thomas and Rosie that they were a lovely couple, while Thomas and Rosie did not want to be embarrassed by the teasing.
Bill and Ben made up a game called "Hunt the Truck" and hid a truck for Nia. After Edward made them give Nia her truck, the twins attempted to get revenge on Edward by hiding his truck full of Christmas decorations and presents for Sir Robert Norramby's Christmas party. Edward knew what the twins were up to and took the truck from where they hid it. As a way to give them a taste of their own medicine, he pretended to be worried about losing the truck and how the party would be ruined, prompting the twins to go on a search for it. They eventually gave up and decided to apologise to everyone for what they did, only to run into Edward at the party and realise that he had taken the truck they hid and taught them a lesson on how it felt to have trucks hidden from them.
They were later seen in a queue of engines at Ulfstead Castle, after Percy told the latter there was to be a railway show there.
Personalities[]
Bill and Ben are Sodor's most mischievous saddle tank engine twins, who have great fun in teasing and playing jokes on other engines of the railway. They enjoy attention and love taking visitors and being photographed. They tend to work together, like most twins, but even this youthful pair can have themselves being put into argumentative feuds and can squabble with one another - particularly about whose fault one of their follies was. They are highly prone to playing tricks and being cheeky. There is no real harm to them, but even Edward admits that they are maddening at times. Bill appears to be the quicker-witted leader, while Ben seems to be the follower of the pair.
Despite their cheeky and mischievous antics, if a dangerous event occurs, such as a rockslide, they are shown to be quick-witted and capable to act to rescue anyone in trouble. This was shown when they saved a group of workmen and Thomas from many rockslides. The two also usually try to keep their jokes from becoming harmful, and will show remorse if their cheeky antics go too far. Even though they like to get on others' nerves, like all engines on the North Western Railway, they want to be Really Useful.
Technical Details[]
Basis[]
Bill and Ben are based on the Bagnall 0-4-0STs "Alfred" and "Judy" of Par, Cornwall, who are both preserved and in working order at the Bodmin and Wenford Railway. According to the foreword of Thomas and the Twins, Alfred and Judy are both Bill and Ben's twins.
Alfred was once repainted yellow for a Days Out with Thomas event, to resemble Bill.
In the television series, Bill and Ben are twice the size of their basis'; Alfred and Judy. This was so their eye mechanisms and motors could be accommodated. When they returned to CGI, they were modelled in the same larger size.
Livery[]
Bill and Ben are painted dandelion with red lining. Both have brass nameplates with yellow writing, the initials "SCC" painted on the sides in yellow and "BRENDAM BAY" on the front of their saddle tanks. In Buffer Bother, Ben has silver buffers, but they were repainted black afterwards.
From the seventeenth series onwards, the twins’ wheels were painted red instead of their original black. In the episode Bill or Ben? from the same series, the twins were painted dark blue with dark blue wheels, yellow lining and yellow lettering, but later returned to their normal yellow livery.
Both of the twins' paintwork shows signs of weathering.
Appearances[]
Official Description[]
From Official Website:[1]
| “ | Bill & Ben: Bill and Ben are twins: identical in every respect and, it is fair to say, probably the most teasing and mischievous characters of the whole Railway family. They wear big identical grins and work mostly between the clay pits of the Sodor China Clay Company and the harbour, which is just as well, since too long in their company drives the senior engines to distraction.
|
” |
| “ | Bill: Bill and Ben are twin engines and identical in every way. Bill enjoys being mischievous and teasing the other engines in the Railway, which is especially distracting to the senior members.
|
” |
| “ | Ben: Ben and Bill are twin engines, and identical in every way. Ben wears a huge devious grin most of the day, and spends his time working between the clay pits of the Sodor China Clay Company and the harbor.
|
” |
From Official Website:[4]
| “ | Bill: Bill and Ben are twin engines and identical in every way. Bill wears a huge devious grin most of the day, and spends his time working between the clay pits of the Sodor China Clay Company and the harbor.
|
” |
| “ | Ben: Ben and Bill are twin engines, and identical in every way. Ben enjoys being mischievous and teasing the other engines in the Railway, which is especially distracting to the senior members.
|
” |
| “ | Bill: Bill and Ben are twin engines and identical in every way. Bill wears a huge devious grin most of the day, and spends his time working between the clay pits of the Sodor China Clay Company and the Harbor.
|
” |
| “ | Ben: Ben and Bill are twin engines, and identical in every way. Ben enjoys being mischievous and teasing the other engines in the Railway.
|
” |
Songs[]
- Will You Won't You (partially performed)
- Where in the World is Thomas? (partially performed)
Audio Files[]
Themes[]
| Only used | Composers | Theme Song |
|---|---|---|
| Series 2 | Mike O'Donnell Junior Campbell |
|
| Series 3 | ||
| Series 6 | ||
| Series 7 |
Whistles[]
Bill[]
| First used | Last used | Sound Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Series 2 | Series 24 |
Ben[]
| First used | Last used | Sound Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Series 2 | Series 24 |
Trivia[]
- In some international dubs, Bill and Ben's names/genders were changed:
- In the first Polish dub, Bill and Ben were portrayed as females. In Stefan Knothe's redub, they were both male.
- Bill and Ben were known as Guillaume and Benjóin in the French dub during the second to seventh series.
- A behind the scenes picture of Bill's model reveals that he and Ben were to have numbers on their smokeboxes above their faces, as they did in the Railway Series.
- Bill and Ben are the first yellow engines introduced in the series.
- Sir Topham Hatt's ownership of Bill and Ben changes in the television series, as the second series episode, Percy Takes the Plunge refers to them as not being Sir Topham Hatt's engines, while the third series episode, One Good Turn refers to them as "the most mischievous engines working on the Fat Controller's railway".
- Nathan Clarke did an audio sample of Bill and Ben on his DAA Management Page.
- In an interview with SiF, Andrew Brenner stated that Bill and Ben were two of his favourite characters, along with James and Toby.
- In the Japanese dub, Bill and Ben sound very young.
- Prior to Jonathan Broadbent's departure from the voice cast, Bill and Ben were the only pair of twins to have the same voice actor longer than any other twins in the series. The reputation later went to Annie and Clarabel.
- Bill and Ben's whistle sounds are higher pitched versions of Thomas'. Bill's whistle sound is Thomas' at thirteen steps higher-pitched, while Ben's is Thomas' at eleven steps higher-pitched. In fact, they sound very similar to Percy’s whistle.
- Bill and Ben's Hornby prototype models incorrectly depict them with yellow wheels. The official releases have the correct black.
- While Ben has appeared in three episodes without Bill, Bill has never been in one by himself.
- In the Finnish Dub, Bill and Ben are called "Ville and Veikko". They were named after a well known Finnish actor from 1948 to 2004, Ville-Veikko Salminen.
Quotes[]
- “What's that?" asked Bill.
"Shh!" whispered Ben. "It's Gordon!"
"It looks like Gordon, but it can't be. Gordon never comes on branch lines; he thinks them vulgar!"
Gordon pretended he hadn't heard.
"If it isn't Gordon!" said Ben. "It's just a pile of old iron".
"Which we better take to the scrapyard!"
"No Bill, this lot's useless for scrap! We'll take it to the harbour and dump it in the sea!"
Gordon was alarmed. "I am Gordon! STOP! STOP!” - ― Bill and Ben teasing Gordon, "Wrong Road", second series
- “I remember the first time I met those two", laughed BoCo. "They nearly made my eyes pop out! Edward soon put a stop to their games".
"Edward is the only one who can keep Bill and Ben in-order", chuckled Duck. "I sometimes call them, the Bees".
"A good name!" replied BoCo. "They're terrors when they start buzzing around!” - ― BoCo and Duck talk about Bill and Ben, "Buzz Buzz", third series
References[]
- ↑ T&F S3 #17 "Buzz, Buzz"
| Locomotives | Bill and Ben | Derek** | Marion** | Timothy** |
|---|---|
| Rolling Stock | Trucks | Brake Vans | Mine Trolleys |
| People | Sir Topham Hatt** |
| Locations | Sodor China Clay Company | The "Drain" | Bill and Ben's Shed |
| Locomotives | Steam | Edward | Porter | Nia |
|---|---|---|
| Diesel | BoCo | Derek | Salty | Philip | |
| Non-Rail Vehicles | Trevor | Cranky | Reg | Big Mickey | Carly | |
| People | The Vicar of Wellsworth | The Mayor of Sodor | The Dock Managers | |
| Affiliates | Sodor China Clay Company (Bill and Ben, Timothy, Marion) | Sodor Shipping Company | Sodor Search and Rescue Centre (Belle, Flynn, Rocky, Harold, Butch, Captain) | |
| Stations | Wellsworth | Suddery | Lower Suddery | Sodor Animal Park** | Upper Brendam | Brendam | |