| For other uses, see Bulgy. |
- “Free the roads!”
- ― Bulgy's catchphrase
Bulgy is a double-decker bus with an ideological opposition to railways.
Biography
When he first came to Sodor, Bulgy attempted to steal Duck and Oliver's passengers by pretending to be a railway bus, but later got stuck under a bridge in the process. After Duck took his passengers back when he found Bulgy under the bridge, his lies were exposed. He was subsequently converted into a henhouse and placed in a field near the bridge.
Bulgy was soon later given a second chance and brought back to the road to help with passengers while Thomas and Emily needed repairs. However, his driver brought him back to his field for the night after he was restored, and the chickens who had once lived in him before now nestled on his luggage racks and caused lots of trouble the following morning. Under Emily's suggestion, he decided to become a mobile vegetable stand. Bulgy enjoyed his new green livery and his work delivering vegetables — they do not lay eggs and they never complain. Throughout the rest of the model series, Bulgy made few appearances in both his green and red liveries.
Bulgy returned, much to Thomas' confusion, to which Bulgy explained that he was put back into service; this was to help Thomas while Bertie was being mended. Bulgy expressed his belief that it would still be better if passengers simply used roads instead of railways, but Sir Topham Hatt reminded him not to return to his anti-rail ways, because he would find some chickens that needed a place to stay, so Bulgy relented and apologized.
Once, Bulgy accidentally caused a chain reaction that catapulted a bag of soil into a nearby water tower and contaminated the water that Thomas took on. Bulgy was the only one to witness, but instead of telling Thomas not to take it, he decided to use it to his advantage as an opportunity to take more passengers while the engines became ill and unable to work. When Bertie's engine was damaged due to the large amount of passengers he was carrying, Bulgy offered to take his passengers for him. However, Bulgy took on more than he thought he could handle and eventually broke his axles. The engines were soon well enough to work and much to Bulgy's dismay, he had to be taken to the repair garage by Thomas.
In his last appearance, Bulgy met up with Cleo.
Personality
At first, Bulgy was a very grumpy, bad-tempered, formerly cold-hearted, cynical, rude, mean and arrogant double-decker bus who firmly believed that roads were very superior to railways and would occasionally lie to get himself out of trouble. However, after being restored, he saw the error of his way of being and changed his attitude.
Nowadays, he means very well and works very hard, but he still believes passengers should travel by road — only if the chance comes, he is willing to take advantage of an engine's inability to take passengers, even if it means sabotaging them if he thinks he can actually get away with it. However, Sir Topham Hatt keeps a close watch on him and makes sure that he is on his very best behaviour, gently reminding Bulgy about what happened when he is not behaving well. Bertie also serves to mediate his opposing personality.
According to the "Character Cube" bonus features of several US DVDs and magazine bios, Bulgy has no scruples, knows how to tell a lie when he is in a tight jam and is good friends with Diesel.
Technical Details
Basis
Bulgy is based on an AEC Regent V double-decker bus with an open rear platform. Bulgy's Friend, the Special Bus Service, the Open Top Bus and the Australian Buses are also members of this class.
Bulgy's destination boards and headcode box are based on the predecessor buses; the AEC Regent III and AEC Regent III RT.
Livery
Bulgy is painted red and cream. He has a green sign on his left side reading "RAILWAY BUS" and a yellow sign on his right side reading "JOIN THE ANTI-RAIL LEAGUE". He also has black signs on his front and back, reading "FREE THE ROADS" and a nameplate above his rear door.
For a brief time, Bulgy was painted green and cream while acting as a vegetable bus. When he was repainted, the signs on his sides were replaced with green ones reading "MOBILE GROCERY STORE" in white. In a tenth series Learning Segment, he was repainted back into his original red and cream livery.
Appearances
Thomas & Friends
Specials
Music Videos
Learning Segments
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Magazine Stories
Bulgy also appeared in the magazine stories, Bulgy's Bridge and Holiday Havoc! Annual Stories
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Official Description
From Official Website:[1]
| “ | Bulgy the Double Decker Bus: Bulgy is a bad tempered and miserable double decker bus. He has no scruples and when in a tight corner has been known to tell lies. He gets on very well with Diesel. Bulgy is currently in use as a hen house, but has hopes that one day someone might restore him.
|
” |
From Official Website:[2]
| “ | Bulgy: Bulgy is a bad-tempered double-decker bus who is out to close down the rails and "Free the Roads". He has no scruples and knows how to tell a lie when he is in a tight jam.
|
” |
| “ | Bulgy: Bulgy is a bad-tempered double-decker bus who is out to close down the rails and "Free the Roads". He has no scruples and knows how to tell a lie when he's in a tight jam, which is why he and Diesel are friends.
|
” |
From Official Website:[5]
| “ | Bulgy: Bulgy was a bad-tempered double-decker bus who was out to close down the rails and "Free the Roads." He has no scruples and knows how to tell a lie when he's in a tight jam.
|
” |
Audio Files
Theme
| Only used | Composers | Theme |
|---|---|---|
| Bulgy Rides Again | Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell |
Horns
| Only used | Sound Effect |
|---|---|
| Series 7 |
|
| Only used | Sound Effect |
|---|---|
| Best Dressed Engine |
Bells
| First used | Last used | Sound Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Series 3 | ||
| Series 21 | Series 24 | |
Trivia
- Bulgy's nameboard was filmed as part of Thomas and the U.K. Trip and was released exclusively in Japan. It is featured at the ends of two episodes in the Japanese dub, those episodes being Bulgy and Bulgy Rides Again.
- Even though Oliver states that he only calls Bulgy such in his debut episode, his nameplates still read Bulgy.
- In the Railway Series, one of Bulgy's catchphrases was "down with railways". This phrase was omitted in the television series until he returned in Unscheduled Stops, in which he uses the phrase at the end.
- According to the clearance sign that appears on the bridge, Bulgy is approximately fourteen feet and nine inches tall.
- Bulgy's third series behind the scenes photos artwork and the beginning of his debut episode depict him with his "Railway Bus" and "Join the Anti-Rail League" switched around on the second deck, just like in the Railway Series. This also carried over into promotional art and merchandise.
- Bulgy uses Dunlop branded tyres.
- In the UK dub, Bulgy developed a nasal voice in the seventh series. In the US dub, he developed a stuffy-nosed voice.
- Bulgy’s horn in Bulgy Rides Again is derived from a Morris 8 (1938). It is the same horn as Sir Topham Hatt’s car’s from the sixth to seventh series.
- Bulgy’s bell from the third series is Toby’s from the second to third series, but faster and at eight steps higher-pitched. The sound is derived from a ship's bell.
- According to the magazine story, Playbus, Bulgy and Bertie are cousins.
- The Official Website mistakenly stated that he was converted into a refreshment stand rather than a vegetable bus.
- In the magazines, he has been converted into a playbus and a greenhouse.
- Bulgy has had some name changes throughout the international dubs:
- In the German dub, Oliver gave Bulgy the nickname "Pfau", which is German for peacock. But since the twenty-third series he is referred to by his original name.
- In the Norwegian television dub, he is called "Viktigper", which translates to "show-off" or "know-it-all".
- In the first Polish dub, he is called "Grubas", which is a derogatory term for obese people. In the second Polish dub he is called "Smrodek", which means "stinky".
- Bulgy's sad face is currently owned by Twitter user ThomasTankMerch.
- His face was used by Rocky during the Days Out with Thomas events.
- A Tomy Wind-up Bulgy briefly appears in the Baby Einstein video, "Baby Newton - All About Shapes" in the colours and shapes segments during the rectangle segment.
- Bulgy is the last non-human character to be re-introduced in the CGI series after a period of absence.
- According to Sodor Island Fansite (SiF), Bulgy was intended to be the main character of an episode in the twenty-first series. This episode, along with seven others, was cancelled to make way for the production of the twenty-second series.
- Bulgy was only seen in his green livery in two episodes, those being Bulgy Rides Again and Follow that Flour. He was reverted back to his red livery in a tenth series learning segment and Excellent Emily.
References
| Locomotives | Duck | Donald and Douglas | Oliver | |
|---|---|---|
| Rolling Stock | Passenger | Old Slow Coach | Slip Coaches |
| Goods | Toad | S.C. Ruffey | |
| Non-Rail Vehicles | Bulgy | Bulgy's Friend | Skiff | |
| People | Captain Joe | The Museum Manager | |
| Stations | Tidmouth | Tidmouth Hault | Tidmouth Town Hall** | Haultraugh** | Bluff's Cove** | Arlesburgh West** | |
| 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 | |