Gina

Gina is an Italian tank engine who once participated in the Shunting Challenge at the Great Railway Show.

Biography

Thomas & Friends

Gina, along with the other international engines, accidentally arrived on Sodor when the ferry they were travelling on stopped at Sodor instead of the Mainland. After the engines realised their mistake, Gina ordered the engines back onto the ship. She was also the first to notice that one of the international engines, Ashima, was missing from the ship.

Gina competed in the Shunting Challenge alongside Ivan, Raul, Thomas and Ashima. During the competition, her flatbeds were derailed by Vinnie when he was chasing Philip throughout the yard.

After the Great Railway Show ended, Gina left the Mainland and returned to Italy.

Personality

Sweet and stylish, Gina can match the boys pound for pound when it comes to shunting trucks in the yard. She is very proud of her Italian heritage, and loves working on archaeological digs to uncover more about the history of her cherished homeland. Gina does not suffer fools gladly, and will often grow irritable when someone acts like they know it all - particularly about her areas of expertise. She also doesn't like it when someone implies that she "huffs and puffs". Nonetheless, she is loyal and caring, and will always set grudges aside for the sake of helping others. She also shows that despite Thomas's mishaps, she truly enjoys his visits to Italy. Despite her passion for archaeology, Gina has a soft side for music, and can be heard singing with Beppe when he's paired with her instead of Lorenzo.

Technical Details

Basis

Gina is based on the Ferrovie Nord Milano 200 0-4-0T. These engines were ordered by the Società Ferrovie Del Ticino (SFT) and built by Couillet, a Belgian locomotive manufacturer, for use on the Como-Varese-Laveno and Saronno-Malnate routes. Seven engines were built by Couillet and numbered from 200 to 206. In 1888, the two routes were acquired by the Ferrovie Nord Milano and the engines became part of the railway, being re-numbered 201 to 207 (subsequently re-numbered again as 200-01 to 200-07). They were used for local service and slowly relegated to menial tasks with the arrival of more powerful engines and from the 1920s, electrification. In the mid-1930s, they were used only for shunting, especially at Milano Cadorna station and were finally withdrawn in the 1960s. In 1974, engine 200-05 was restored and used on heritage train services and is now the second oldest operating engine in Europe. Another engine, numbered 200-02 has been placed on a plinth at Saronno, but it is actually 200-04.

According to the behind the scenes video of The Great Race, Gina was originally going to be an FS electric locomotive.

Gina's basis

Proposed Basis

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Livery

Gina's livery is that of her basis. She is painted green with a black boiler, gold lining and red wheels. She has her name written in white lettering on her nameplates.

Appearances

Voice Actors

• Teresa Gallagher (UK/US; The Great Race only)
• Anna Francolini (UK/US; twenty-third series onwards)
• Keiko Nemoto (Japan)
• Karla Falcón (Latin America; The Great Race only)
• María Fernanda Morales (Latin America; twenty-third series onwards)
• Jennifer Böttcher (Germany)
• Paqui Horcajo (Spain)
• Olga Golovanov (Russia)

Trivia

• Gina's Adventures toy has a nameplate only on the left side.
• Since her introduction, Gina has gone through some aesthetic changes in the television series:
  • Series 23:
    • The square plate on her bunker side changes from green to gold.
    • The lining on her back window changes from green to white.
• Gina is the only Italian character to appear in all of the twenty-third series episodes set in Italy.
• Her name means "Queen" in Italian.

Quotes

Merchandise

• Wooden Railway (Race Day Relay Set exclusive; discontinued)
• Take-n-Play (cancelled)
• Adventures (sold only in Diamond Run 4-Pack, and Around The World Friends 10-Pack; discontinued)
• Collectible Railway
• TrackMaster
• Motor Road and Rail (coming soon)
• Capsule Plarail (coming soon)

Video

Meet the Characters - Gina! (UK)

UK version

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