Thomas the Tank Engine Wiki
Advertisement
This article is about the character. You may be looking for the Story Library book.

"Bulstrode is a disagreeable barge. He never stops complaining!"
Percy's driver[src]

Bulstrode is a motorised barge who used to work at Knapford Harbour.

Biography

Bulstrode used to carry coal and stone to Knapford Harbour, but always complained about not being loaded fast enough, which annoyed the trucks. One day, Bulstrode's role as a barge came to an end when Percy accidentally pushed some trucks off the quay and into Bulstrode's hold. He was then towed to a beach, where he was turned into a children's play structure. He remains there today, most likely still grumbling.

Personality

Bulstrode was grumpy, rude, and always found something to complain about. Judging from the way he treated the trucks, he was not above bullying others for things beyond their control.

Technical Details

Basis

Bulstrode is based on a 1920s motorised sea-going barge.

Livery

Bulstrode is painted with a cream cab, light brown deck, a black hull and a red keel. His name is painted on his bow in white. In the "My First Thomas" range he is painted blue, red and yellow.

Appearances

Thomas & Friends

Faceless

Music Videos

His faceless model made numerous appearances at the Norramby Fishing Village in the fifth series. His surprised face was also used on some trucks in the eighth and tenth series episodes, Fish and The Green Controller respectively.

Books

Magazine Stories

Bulstrode also appeared in the magazine stories, Boat Afloat and Pirate Passengers.

Official Description

From Official Website:[1]

Bulstrode: Bulstrode is an old, bad mannered, motorised sea going barge. He's only happy when he's chugging around with a full load otherwise he's grumpy and rude. Percy and some Trucks, who were fed up with all his moaning, soon taught him a lesson and now Bulstrode is a "Special Attraction" on a local Sodor beach.


Historical Note: Bulstrode is a motorised, self-steering sea-going barge as can still be widely seen in general maritime use.

From Official Website:[2][3]

Bulstrode: Bulstrode is an old, ill-tempered motorized sea-going barge. He is often rude to the engines, moaning and groaning that they are too slow. It seems the only time Bulstrode is happy is when he's sailing about with a full load.


Fun Fact: After Percy and the Troublesome Trucks taught Bulstrode a lesson, he ended up "all washed up" as a Special Attraction on a local Sodor beach.

From Official Website:[4]

Bulstrode: Bulstrode was an old, ill-tempered motorized sea-going barge who was found down at the harbor. He was often rude to the engines, moaning and groaning that they are too slow to load him.


Fun Fact: After Percy and the Troublesome Trucks taught Bulstrode a lesson, he ended up "all washed up" as a Special Attraction on a local Sodor beach.

Audio Files

Horn

In Something in the Air, Bulstrode's faceless model shares its horn sound with the Salvage Tugboats and Bert (Series 14).

Only used Sound Effect
Something in the Air

In the video game, Thomas Saves the Day, Bulstrode seems to have a stock horn of unknown origin.

Only used Sound Effect
Thomas Saves the Day

In the flap-book, Find That Freight, Bulstrode has a horn that is sourced from the RMS Queen Mary at a much higher pitch.[1]

Only used Sound Effect
Find That Freight!

In the book, 10 Stories from Thomas & Friends, Bulstrode has yet another stock horn sound.

Only used Sound Effect
10 Stories from Thomas & Friends

Trivia

  • Bulstrode's appearance in the television series is rather different from his appearance in The Railway Series: in The Railway Series he has two square cargo holds, six bumpers on each side, and his face is the same colour as his cab and rectangular, while in the television series he has only one rectangular hold with three bumpers on each side and a square standard grey face.
  • Bulstrode's original model began to deteriorate during the production of the fifth series, and was subsequently damaged while being shipped to/from Canada during the production of Thomas and the Magic Railroad. The damage can be seen in certain Series 5 episodes where his model is used with noticable damage. A new model of Bulstrode was built to replace the original and had different dimensions. The newer model of Bulstrode never ended up being used in the television series outside of a promotional image for No Sleep for Cranky, but it is currently on display at Drayton Manor on a beach near Bluff's Cove and wore his shocked face from 2009-early 2020. During early 2020, Bulstrode's unused happy face was fitted on his newer model, which he now wears.
  • Bulstrode was the only non-human character created by Christopher Awdry to be introduced into the television series.
  • According to Abi Grant, Bulstrode was meant to have a large scale model built for the Wharf, but this never happened due to budget concerns.
  • Bulstrode is one of the few characters to have a happy face that was never used in an episode. It was, however, used for the Rocking Bulstrode rides at Drayton Manor and Thomas Land, merchandise such as his TrackMaster and 2013 Wooden Railway toys and his actual model on display at Drayton Manor as of 2020.
  • Bulstrode's original model had windows with lights at the back of the model. When the model was replaced after Thomas and the Magic Railroad, these windows were removed.
  • In the Norwegian VHS dub, Bulstrode is called "Sinnataggen", which could translate to "grumbler" or "crosspatch".
  • Bulstrode is frequently paired with Cranky in merchandise, magazines, and video games, despite having been written out of the series before Cranky's introduction.
  • Bulstrode is depicted with his shocked face in almost all promotional material and merchandise, much like Annie. Following the introduction of CGI-styled merchandise of Bulstrode, this appears to have ceased.
    • In instances where a happy expression was required he would be depicted with either Cranky's face or a rectangular version of Percy's.
  • Bulstrode had a nameboard but it was never used in any of the intermission segments along with Toad's nameboard.
  • In the Russian Dub, Bulstrode is depicted as a female.

Quote

"I'm Bulstrode. I'm happiest floating around with a full load of cargo. I'm the largest boat in the harbour."
― Thomas and the School Trip (My First LeapPad book)

See also

Non-rail vehicles

* Other Media only | --- Dropped

* David Mitton map only | ** Sam Wilkinson map only
Advertisement