In the Railway Series, several diesels from British Railways have appeared.
Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine
These diesels appeared in the fourth illustration of Bluebells of England looking at Stepney.
D701
- This section is about D701. You may be looking for D7101.
The first diesel is painted in BR Brunswick green and cream and had a yellow face. He is based on a BR Class 31 Brush Type 2. 31120 is another member of this class. This diesel's number is D701 and its head code is "4F12".
Class 52
The second diesel is painted maroon and is based on a BR Class 52 "Western". All diesels of this class were given two-word names, the first word being "Western" and thus the type became known as Westerns.
D782
The last diesel is painted in BR Brunswick green with a white rooftop. He is based on a BR Class 40. Class 40 and Old Stuck-Up are also members of this class. This diesel's number is D782.
Appearances
The Railway Series
- Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine - Bluebells of England (do not speak)
Companion volumes
- 1996 - Thomas the Tank Engine: The Complete Collection (do not speak)
Trivia
The first diesel
- Over two-hundred-sixty-three of this class was built from 1957 and 1962, twenty-six of these diesel engines survived into preservation.
- Ten more of these engines were in preservation but were scrapped from either accidents or to give spare parts to other engines.
- These diesels were given two nicknames, first being "Toffee Apples" because of the shape of their control lever and the second "Skinheads" because the first few engines didn't have the codebox on the front of the roof.
- His number is completely fictional as none of the Class 31s wore this number.
- His number is similar to Bear's former number, 7101.
The second diesel
- Over seventy-four was built between 1961 and 1964, seven of these diesel engines have survived into preservation.
- These engines where given the nickname "Westerns" because they commonly worked on the Western region of British Railways.
The last diesel
- Over two-hundred of this class was built from 1958 to 1962. Seven have been preserved.
- These engines were given the nickname "Whistlers" because of the strange whistling noise their engines made.
- His number is completely fictional as none of the Class 40s wore this number.
Gallery
Enterprising Engines
These diesels appeared in Escape three were alongside a signal box near an old quarry branch where Oliver, Isabel and Toad briefly hid to escape scrap, and another one was at Barrow-in-Furness.
Class 08
The first diesel is painted in BR black with yellow and black hazard stripes on the back of his cab and is based on a BR Class 08. Unlike most Class 08s featured in the Railway Series and Thomas & Friends, his/her face appeared to be descending from his/her cab, rather than his/her front end.
D5701
The second diesel is painted in BR Rail Blue with large yellow warning panels, and is based on a BR Class 28. BoCo and D5705 are also members of this class. He appears to be D5701, since that engine was the only Class 28 to be painted in Rail Blue during the class' existence.
The Third Diesel
Upon closer inspection of the main line going away from the signal box, a third diesel engine can be seen in the background. His/Her class is unknown.
The Fourth Diesel
The fourth diesel was from Barrow-in-Furness. He/she shouted a warning that Oliver was escaping. When Douglas was helping Oliver, Isabel and Toad escape from scrap, he/she witnessed the event. Douglas told the stowaways to take no notice of the diesel. This diesel was not seen in any illustrations, making it unknown what his/her basis was.
Appearances
The Railway Series
- Enterprising Engines - Escape (do not speak) and Little Western (mentioned)
Companion volumes
- 1996 - Thomas the Tank Engine: The Complete Collection (do not speak)
Trivia
- In Thomas & Friends, the models of Diesel, BoCo, and Mavis were used to represent the diesels.
- In the My Thomas Story Library book Oliver the fourth diesel's role is filled by Class 40.
Gallery
James and the Diesel Engines
Several diesels from British Railways have visited the Island of Sodor on several different occasions. Visiting diesels are known to be particularly haughty, as they feel superior to steam engines and often put the steam engines down.
Known visiting diesels include Diesel, Class 40, D199 and Old Stuck-Up.
Appearances
The Railway Series
- James and the Diesel Engines - Old Stuck-Up (mentioned)
Companion volumes
- 2007 - Thomas the Tank Engine: The New Collection (mentioned)
Thomas and the Great Railway Show
This diesel appeared in the third illustration of Not the Ticket, pushing Thomas onto a lorry when he was being taken to the National Railway Museum in York.
Basis
The diesel is painted in BR black and is based on a BR Class 08. Over seventy members of this class survive today in preservation, while around 100 remain in service on the national rail network. They were in fact the most successful shunting engines in the world, with 996 of them built.
Appearances
The Railway Series
- Thomas and the Great Railway Show - Not the Ticket (does not speak)
Companion volumes
- 2007 - Thomas the Tank Engine: The New Collection (does not speak)