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Emily

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For other uses, see Emily (disambiguation).

“Can't the engineers do something to change my shape Victor?"
"Why would you want to do that? You're a great engine, Emily; just the way you are!”
―Emily & Victor[src]

Emily is a Stirling Single tender engine who has a big heart and acts as a sisterly figure to the other engines despite being fussy and impulsive at times. Following her rescue of Gordon from a collapsing bridge and James, Percy and Rebecca from a derailment, she was rewarded with being appointed safety engine, gaining her number twelve with it.

She works mostly on the Main Line in odd jobs and mixed traffic duties and once ran the Misty Valley Branch Line. She also has her own set of coaches.

Biography

Thomas & Friends

When Emily was new to Sodor, she was ignored by the other engines for borrowing and pulling Annie and Clarabel without Thomas' permission or knowledge. The matter was resolved after she saved both Thomas and Oliver from nearly having a nasty accident on the cross-points and she was rewarded with two new coaches. Emily proved to be kind-hearted, as she was the only engine concerned about Henry when he was ill due to leaky tubes, she stuck up for Salty when Thomas and Percy were teasing him and suggested that Bulgy help the farmer deliver his vegetables around the island, after his passenger services went wrong with some naughty hens.

However, Emily has proven to be a nuisance on occasion as she bossed everyone about when they were clearing up after a storm, Thomas when he was taking passengers and Percy when he was shunting trucks. When pulling the express for the first time, Emily was determined to keep to Gordon's timing. Unfortunately, she became impatient and ran out of water.

Later on she was assigned to the Flour Mill. She soon met with James who was assigned to the Misty Valley Branch Line, primarily the Black Loch and he told her that there was a monster in the Loch. She had trouble with the Flour Mill and ended up crashing some trucks off the line. She was later reassigned to the Misty Valley Branch Line replacing James, where she discovered that the monster was just a family of seals. She is presumed to still work the line as it has never been stated otherwise.

When Thomas had to stay at Knapford Sheds, Emily did not like his company at first as she did not want any noise; she just wanted some sleep. However, she learned how comfortable it is to have the company of friends, missing Thomas when he did not return to the sheds. Originally disappointed once Tidmouth Sheds was rebuilt, she was delighted to find that the shed had gained a seventh berth and she was transferred there to be with her new shed mates.

When Molly first came to the North Western Railway, Emily laughed at her for having to haul "empties" to the coaling plant and her feelings were hurt.

It was not long until Diesel took Gordon's special coaches away and Emily chased after him because she shrugged him off earlier. She could not catch him anywhere and that made her feel silly. She told the Fat Controller what had happened. She scolded Diesel for taking the coaches when he was feeling ill, so he told her that he set a record too (to Emily’s surprise) and Diesel explained to her that he shunted more trucks in one day than any other diesel. Later, Emily got a new diesel motor for Diesel. Emily apologised to Diesel that she did not listen and acknowleged both diesels and steamies are both special.

Emily thought that Whiff was smart and useful, then she was horrified to see that he was smelly, but decided to do her job. Gordon, James, Henry, Molly, Neville and Murdoch laughed at her for working with Whiff and she was tired for being teased. Then she saw Spencer looking very cross and he explained to her that his way was blocked with several smelly rubbish trucks. Emily pulled as hard as she could, but the trucks were much too heavy for her to move on her own. She asked Gordon and James to help her, but they both disagreed with her and she got upset. She soon found Whiff and apologised to him that she ran away from him and they got to work. They moved the rubbish trucks away, so that Spencer can be on his way and she said that Whiff is her new friend too.

Like most engines, Emily can get quite puffed up in the smokebox. When she was called "Excellent Emily," she ignored the advice of Murdoch, Thomas and Duck. This ended up getting herself into trouble and she later took their advice to get her job done.

Emily tries her best to make her friends happy. When she assumed that Mavis was sad, she took flowers to the quarry which only created a mess. When she tried to help her friends with the football/soccer match, she neglected to fetch the dirty washing which turned out to be the football team's uniforms. Also, when the Fat Controller lost his top hat, Emily went to find it without success and then took the special Christmas train without permission. However, she made amends for her friends' sake.

Emily later took Paxton to Vicarstown Dieselworks after he was damaged during an accident at the Blue Mountain Quarry.

When Thomas hid his snowplough, Emily had to do Thomas' work and saved him when he got stuck in the snow again.

Thomas told Emily about the Flatbeds of Fear, but Emily did not believe in it and said there was a sensible explanation. She eventually believed in it, until Thomas told her that it was just one of Salty's tall tales. Later, she was very excited to collect a special which was a giant model of a globe of the world to take it to the Animal Park. However, it accidentally fell off and she spent some time chasing after it.

When the other engines tried to clear the tracks of snow for Connor to deliver the last train for Christmas, Emily was unable to clear them from the Sodor side. She was soon happy to see Hiro as he cleared it from the other direction and was later disappointed when they mistook Harold for Father Christmas by believing his red port lamp to be Rudolph's nose.

After Emily was informed by Paxton about the rumour that Toby was to be scrapped, Henrietta overheard this and knew it was not true. Emily took her to find Toby and once they found him safe, Emily gave him some of her coal.

When Henry confided in Emily that he feared catching chickenpox from Stephen and Bridget, she assured him that he could not get chickenpox and joked that he worries too much.

Emily became fascinated with Caitlin being able to go at such high speeds and wondered what it would be like to be fast, becoming depressed when she could not do so. However, in the end, she managed to save Caitlin who descended down a steep hill with broken brakes.

When Thomas was fed up with Diesel's selfishness during the holidays, Emily partook in Thomas' plan to mend the diesel's ways, much to her joy and amusement. She later attended the Earl's Christmas lunch with several other engines, including Thomas and a reformed Diesel.

Emily was one of the other Sodor engines that took part of the Great Railway Show and competed in the Best Decorated Engine Parade along with James, but the two lost to Rajiv. After Percy dropped out of the Shunting Challenge, she encouraged Thomas to take his place, declaring him Sodor's last chance to win.

Once, when the Fat Controller was ill, Dowager Hatt took charge of the railway. She assigned Emily to Thomas' job of pulling Annie and Clarabel while Gordon was assigned to her job of taking scrap to the scrapyards. This resulted in lots of confusion and delay, culminating with a massive hold up outside of Knapford. Emily pointed this out to the Dowager and was able to help her get things back on track before the Fat Controller returned.

Later, Emily helped Donald and Douglas pull a heavy train of steel pipes to Vicarstown, but the journey became difficult when the twins kept teasing each other and arguing about swapping places. When they stopped on Gordon's Hill, Emily was left holding the train while Donald and Douglas continued to bicker. Eventually, Emily slipped down the hill and was knocked off the rails by a giant, heavy snowball, which had formed from a lump of coal shaken out of Donald's tender when Douglas bumped him. Once Harvey had cleared up the mess, Emily took the front while both twins pushed and they reached Vicarstown without any further trouble.

Following a storm on the Island of Sodor, Emily took the Sodor Rangers on a camping trip to Callan Castle, so that Nia had more time to finish her shunting in the yards. After going over bumpy and flooded tracks, Emily ended up derailing whilst trying to get a fallen tree off of the line. Later that night, Nia brought her the truck of camping supplies she had forgotten to pick up from the yards - fortunately, the Rangers were able to set up a camp using the survival skills they had learned. Emily and Nia stayed with them throughout the night and the next morning she was put back onto the tracks.

One time at Tidmouth Town Square, an unveiling of a sand sculpture was to take place. The Fat Controller sent the Steam Team off in pairs to help out. Emily did not have anyone to work with and felt left out of not having a best friend. She got so distracted trying to find one that she nearly forgot about her job of delivering the final load of sand to finish off the sand sculpture. When Emily went back for it, her trucks were missing. She went to the unveiling and informed Thomas. Luckily, Thomas noticed Emily forgot her trucks, so he delivered them for her. Emily, feeling relieved, thanked Thomas and was happy to be surrounded by such good friends.

After fetching Rocky to save multiple engines from an accident, the Fat Controller rewarded her actions by making her the railway's official "safety engine" in addition to painting a number twelve on Emily.

Personality

Emily was introduced as being kind, caring, helpful, mature, compassionate and always sensitive to the feelings of others. If she wrongs someone, knowingly or not, she is quick to apologise.

In the eighth to twelfth series, Emily had an occasional habit of being fussy, bossy, rebellious and rude to others, such as not saying "Thank you" to Trevor and annoying Elizabeth over a fallen water tower, causing havoc whilst pulling the express, being rude to Edward, and pestering Thomas over getting his snowplough fitted. She strove to be the best and sometimes caused mishaps, but always made up for them when she realised her errors.

From Hero of the Rails, Emily seemed to revert back to her original personality from the seventh series. Along with shades of overconfidence, she often acts as a voice of reason, particularly when James gets too big for his wheels, or when a friend needs moral support. She has also been shown to be adaptable, able to think of a plan in a moment's notice. She is somewhat prone to jealousy or feelings of inadequacy, often longing for more excitement in her life when she hears of others' adventures, or for the same talents as them.

Technical Details

Basis

Emily is based on a Great Northern Railway (GNR) G3 Stirling Single 4-2-2. Designed by Patrick Stirling in 1870 with 8ft 1in driving wheels and outside cylinders, these engines were specifically built for high speed expresses between London and York. These engine were also capable of hauling 280 ton trains at 50 mph, though they could reach 85 mph on lighter services. A total of fifty-three engines were built at Doncaster between 1870 and 1895, in three series: the 42 G class engines between 1870 and 1893, the 5 G2s in 1884 featuring helical driving wheel springs and the 6 G3s between 1894 and 1895, of which Emily is one, featuring the latest Stirling boiler and an updated cab. The last was withdrawn in 1916. The only surviving member of all three classes (G class No. 1) is on display at the National Railway Museum. The engine in preservation carried a small capacity Sturrock tender, which was given in it's first restoration in 1910. Recently, a derelict original Stirling Single tender used as a water and sludge carrier was found in Peterborough and, after restoration, was paired with the engine in 2014.

Livery

Emily is painted emerald green with yellow lining and brass fittings. Her running-boards are painted chocolate brown. Her buffers were originally bronze, her buffer housings black, and her front running board dark grey; but all have since turned silver, red, and light grey. For the Great Railway Show, gold trim and flowers were added to her livery for her participation in the best-decorated engine parade. After she returned to Sodor, she was painted into her original livery.

From the twenty-fourth series episode, Emily to the Rescue onwards, Emily has her number 12 painted on the middle square on the sides of her tender in beige with chocolate brown borders.

Appearances

Thomas & Friends

Specials

Music Videos

Learning Segments

Videos

Magazine Stories

Emily also appears in the magazine stories, Arthur and Emily, Caught Out, Frying or Flying, Green Engine, Peep and Sleep, Picture Posters, Rushing Around, Seeing Steam, Take Off with Terence, The Camel Train, The Smartest Engine and Working Whistles

Annual Stories

  • 2013 - The Biggest Present of All (does not speak)

Audio Stories

Video Games

Audio Files

Themes

First used Last used Composers Theme
Series 7 Series 7 Mike O'Donnell
Junior Campbell
Series 8 Series 12 Robert Hartshorne

Whistles

First used Last used Sound Effect
Series 7 Series 7

In the eighth series, some merchandise and some games, as well as the mobile app, Read and Play! along with Thomas' Magical Birthday Wishes, Emily reuses and shares Henry's whistle.

First used Last used Sound Effect
Series 8 Thomas' Magical Birthday Wishes

From Hero Of The Rails to the first half of Series 17, Emily shares Henry's CGI whistle.

First used Last used Sound Effect
Hero of the Rails Series 17

In Calling All Engines! to the twelfth series and some mobile games, Emily reuses Edward's whistle from the fourth to the fifth series episode James and the Trouble with Trees and the game that's only available in Japan, Thomas the Tank Engine (Kids Station Game). It is also Henry's whistle, but two steps higher-pitched.

First used Last used Sound Effect
Calling All Engines! Thomas & Friends: MINIS

This is Emily's very own CGI whistle from the second half of Series 17 onwards. It sounds like a higher-pitched version of Stephen's whistle, while also sounding pretty similar to her original one from the seventh series only.

First used Last used Sound Effect
Series 17 Series 24

In the 2004 UK DVD of It's Great to be an Engine! and one scene in The Great Discovery, Emily incorrectly has Henry's whistle sound at ten steps lower-pitched.

First used Last used Sound Effect
It's Great to be an Engine! (2004 UK DVD) The Great Discovery

In the short version of Sounds and the Learning Segment, Surprise Destination, Emily is incorrectly portrayed with Gordon's whistle.

First used Last used Sound Effect
Sounds (Short Version) Learning Segment (Surprise Destination)

In Right on Time, Emily is incorrectly portrayed with Thomas' whistle sound at three and a half steps higher in pitch.

First used Last used Sound Effect
Right on Time Right on Time

In the Sing Along mode of the Engines Working Together game, Emily is incorrectly portrayed with Thomas' whistle at its normal pitch.

In one scene of Misty Island Rescue, Emily is incorrectly portrayed with Rosie's whistle.

First used Last used Sound Effect
Misty Island Rescue Misty Island Rescue

Throughout Emily and Dash, Emily has a warbling whistle.

In one scene in Thomas and the Sounds of Sodor, Emily incorrectly has Henry's whistle sound at a step and a half lower in pitch.

First used Last used Sound Effect
Thomas and the Sounds of Sodor Thomas and the Sounds of Sodor

In Five Little Railway Friends, Emily is incorrectly portrayed with a different whistle.

Voice

Trivia

  • Emily was the second female steam engine and the first female tender engine introduced in the television series, as well as the fourth female engine in the television series overall, the first being Daisy, the second being Mavis, and the third being Lady.
  • Michael Angelis, Pierce Brosnan and Teresa Gallagher have all given Emily a Scottish accent reflecting the origin of her designer. Due to one episode and one special featuring her having an English narrator, she ends up with a Scottish accent in the US dub. Other productions featuring her with a speaking role give her an American accent in the US dub. Rachael Miller retained the UK narration's Scottish accent in Thomas' Magical Birthday Wishes.
  • Emily's television series model is part of the touring Thomas and Friends: Explore the Rails exhibit and is wearing her alternative content face. It had previously been on display at Nitrogen Studios.
  • Emily is the first character besides Thomas himself to say his catchphrase, "Cinders and ashes!", which was done in the thirteenth series episode, Tickled Pink.
    • Coincidentally enough, Emily is also the first character other than Thomas to say the show's rebranded opening monologue, "All aboard for a big adventure!" She does so in Rangers of the Rails.
    • She is also the only member of the Steam Team besides Thomas to do so.
  • Some literary articles show Emily being sisterly mostly to Thomas and James. According to a magazine bio, she has a particular fondness for James and treats him like a little brother. In Railway Rhymes, the author states that Thomas and Emily act like brother and sister.
  • According to Emily's Slide Show, Emily was built around the same time as Donald and Douglas. This, however, is inaccurate; Donald and Douglas' basis was built between 1899 and 1909, and Emily's basis was built between 1870 and 1895.
  • Before Big World! Big Adventures!, Emily was the only member of the Steam Team not created by Wilbert Awdry, as well as the only female member up, the only member who was not introduced in The Railway Series and the first series, and its newest member until Nia and Rebecca's debuts. Up until the twenty-fourth series, she was also the only member to lack a number, both before and after the addition of Nia and Rebecca (and if one does not count Stanley). Despite this, she remains the only female Steam Team member not to have nameplates.
  • Prior to the twenty-third series, she was the only Steam Team member without black buffers (which happened as a goof):
    • Although she lacks black buffers in the show (outside of Chucklesome Trucks), Emily has been depicted with black buffers in many magazine stories and some pieces of merchandise as well as in Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go!.
    • Emily is one of only two characters to have bronze buffers, then gain silver ones; the other is Spencer. Likewise, she and Spencer are also the only characters introduced in the seventh series to appear in full CGI.
  • According to Robert Gauld-Galliers's concept art, Emily was originally going to have handrails on top of her smokebox, three front coupling chains and a gold builder's plate on her wheel arch. The handrails, though not present on the original model, would later be added as part of the twenty-third series updates to the Steam Team.
  • During the model series era, Emily had a total of seventeen facial expressions, two of which (disgusted and wincing) that were not used on-screen.
  • Emily is the only female engine to retain separate English voice actors throughout the CGI era of the original series.
  • Emily's name was spelled Emilie in the French dub of the seventh series.
  • Emily was the first steam engine in the series to be seen with only two drive wheels and the first engine overall to gain her number on-screen.
  • Emily's Ertl bio states her large driving wheels cause her to struggle with traction, a factor that affected her basis. However, this has never been stated nor shown in the show.
    • Another factor that affected Emily's basis was the front end's tendency to oscillate side-to-side when at speed due to the force of the pistons onto a single pair of driving wheels. This can actually be seen with her model throughout the model series.
  • Emily shares her name with Hilary Fortnam's granddaughter. Fortnam was the youngest daughter of The Railway Series creator Wilbert Awdry.
  • Emily, along with Nia, is the only character in the Steam Team not to have an English accent.
  • Emily's seventh series whistle sound would later be used for Peter Sam and Freddie from the ninth to twelfth series (for Peter Sam) and the tenth to twelfth series (for Freddie):
    • Before Thomas & Friends, the whistle sound had previously been used in the Barney & Friends episode, "All Aboard!".
    • Emily's whistle sound used in Calling All Engines! to the twelfth series is the same one Edward had in the fourth to the fifth series episode James and the Trouble with Trees and the game that is only available in Japan, Thomas the Tank Engine (Kids Station Game).
  • Unlike Rosie, Nia, Rebecca and Duchess, there appears to be no specific logic to giving Emily the number 12. The other 4 aforementioned engines were numbered based on numerical statistics related to the characters and the show. This may be an in-joke to the fandom giving her the number 12, and fan mail for the number 12 as the unofficial twelfth member of the first original eleven engines.
    • As of the end of the series, Emily is the last numbered engine whose number follows the original counting pattern, where the engines' numbers go in order.
  • By basis, Emily is the oldest member of the Steam Team, current or former.

Quotes

“The emergency siren! I must be the closest. Rocky, here I come!”
―Emily to the Rescue
“Perhaps there's something on the line..like a hay cart!”
―Emily in the Middle
“Hello, I'm Emily. I'm an emerald green engine and I'm always ready to help a friend in need.”
―Emily's website audio
“Wow! An elephant and a dinosaur! And I'm just delivering sand.”
―Emily Saves the World

Merchandise

Video

References

  1. ↑ Emily (Story Library Book)
  2. ↑ "[https://play.thomasandfriends.com/en-gb/engines/emily.html Emily character profile & bio on The Official Website"
  3. ↑ T&F S24 "Emily to the Rescue"
  4. ↑ T&F Storytime "The Story of Emily the Clever Engine"
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Magazine Story: "Emily's Slide Show"


* RWS only | ** T&F only | --- Dropped
Locomotives Steam Thomas | Edward | Henry | Gordon | James | Percy | Toby | Duck | Donald and Douglas | Oliver | Wellsworth and Suddery Railway Tank Engines* | Bloomer* | Bill and Ben** | Stepney** | Harvey** | Emily** | Arthur** | Murdoch** | Fergus** | Molly** | Neville** | Rosie** | Whiff** | Billy** | Stanley** | Hank** | Flora** | Victor** | Charlie** | Bash and Dash** |Ferdinand** | Scruff** | Belle** | Porter** | Timothy** | Marion** | Ryan** | Nia** | Rebecca** | Sonny** | The Märklin Engine**
Diesel Daisy | BoCo | Bear* | The Works Diesel* | Pip and Emma* | Diesel** | Mavis** | Derek** | 'Arry and Bert** | Diesel 10** | Salty** | Dennis** | Den** | Dart** | Paxton** | Norman** | Sidney** | Philip**
Other The Ballast Cleaner* | Peel Godred Engines* | Flynn** | Winston** | Stafford** | Dustin**
Former Coffee Pots | Hiro** | Glynn**
Rolling Stock Coaches Annie and Clarabel | Henrietta | Alice and Mirabel* | Isabel and Dulcie* | Victoria* | Old Slow Coach** | Slip Coaches** | Hannah** | Dexter** | Express Coaches | Branch Line Coaches | Old Coaches | Thomas' Special Coach* | The Quarryman's Coach* | Emily's Coaches** | Toby's Museum Coach** | Flora's Tram Coach** | Open-Topped Carriages** | Ulfstead Castle Coaches**
Trucks Troublesome Trucks | S.C. Ruffey | Elsie* | Fred Pelhay* | James' Trucks** | Thomas' Trucks** | Plank Trucks | Quarry Trucks | Utility Trucks | The Calliope** | Mine Trolleys** | Hoppers | Hector** | Vans | Mail Vans | Utility Vans | Animal Wagons** | Tankers | Flatbeds, Conflats and Wellwagons | Misty Island Log Trucks** | Ladle Trucks** | The Traveller** | Aquarium Tank Wagons**
Brake Vans Brake Vans | The Spiteful Brake Van | Toad
Other The Breakdown Train | Rocky** | Judy and Jerome** | The Circus Train | The Funfair Train** | The Flying Kipper | Gordon's Snow Machine** | Pump Trolley** | The Photographer's Draisine**
Non-Rail Vehicles Kevin** | Cranky** | Carly** | Big Mickey** | Reg**
People Sir Topham Hatt (Stephen Hatt*) | Albert Regaby* | Kevin Volley* | Old Bailey** | Mr. Conductor** | Mr. Arkwright** | Mr. Perkins**
Lines The Main Line (Main Line Loop**) | Ffarquhar Branch Line | The Little Western | Brendam Branch Line | Kirk Ronan Branch Line | Peel Godred Branch Line | Norramby Branch Line | Toby's Branch Line** | Stepney's Branch Line** | Misty Valley Branch Line** | Killdane Branch Line** | The Loop Line** | Ulfstead Branch Line** | Harwick Branch Line** | Coaling Plant Branch Line**
* RWS only | ** T&F only
Locomotives Henry | Gordon | James | Donald and Douglas | Thomas** | Emily** | Murdoch** | Molly** | Rosie** | Hiro** | Nia** | Rebecca** | Bear* | The Works Diesel* | Pip and Emma* | Philip**
Rolling Stock Express Coaches | Branch Line Coaches | Thomas' Special Coach* | Annie and Clarabel** | Emily's Coaches**
Locations Tidmouth (Harbour, Engine Sheds, Tunnel) | Knapford (Yards, Engine Sheds, Bus Yard**) | Crosby (Tunnel, Washdown**) | Wellsworth (Yards) | Suddery Junction | Gordon's Hill | Maron | Cronk (Viaduct) | Killdane | Balladrine Bridge | Kellsthorpe Road | Crovan's Gate (Works, Yards**) | Henry's Tunnel | Vicarstown (Engine Sheds, Yards, Bridge, Goods Depot**, Junction**, Dieselworks**) | Barrow-in-Furness | Lower Tidmouth** | Sodor Suspension Bridge** | West Maron Junction** | East Maron Junction** | Balladrine** | Kellaby** | Whispering Woods** (Halt) | Kirk Ronan Junction** | The Difficult Bend** | Sodor Steamworks** | Neville's Bridge** | Henry's Forest** (Wishing Tree) | The Lumber Mill** | Great Waterton** (Water Works)
Members Current Thomas | Gordon | James | Percy | Emily | Nia | Rebecca
Former Edward | Henry | Toby
Locations Tidmouth Sheds | Arlesdale End
Categories
Languages
Deutsch Español Français עברית Magyar Italiano 日本語 Polski Русский 中文
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