| For other uses, see Henry (disambiguation). |
- “No one ever lets me forget the time I wouldn't come out of the tunnel in case the rain spoilt my paint!”
- ― Henry
Henry is a green mixed-traffic tender engine who lives and works on the Island of Sodor, and is the North Western Railway's number 3 engine. He originally had a smaller firebox and needed special Welsh coal to operate properly. Following his accident when pulling the Flying Kipper, Henry underwent an extensive rebuild, giving him a new shape and a better performance.
Biography
When Henry first came to Sodor, The Fat Controller was unhappy because Henry could not steam properly due to a smaller firebox. Then few years later when it was raining on the Island of Sodor, he was vain and stopped in his Tunnel and refused to come out, believing that his paintwork would be spoiled by the rain. After several attempts to move him failed, he was bricked up in the tunnel for a duration of time, between several weeks to a few months, until Gordon broke down while pulling the Express. As Edward was unable to move the train himself, the Fat Controller offered to let Henry out of the tunnel to help. Henry eagerly accepted and was later freed from being bricked up.
Henry would prove to be a poor steamer. One day, when he was ill, Thomas had to take his train for him. He, along with Gordon and James, would also go on strike. The Fat Controller naturally disapproved of this nonsense and locked them up in the shed for several days, leaving them miserable. However, they were let out again after promising to work hard.
A period came when the Main Line engines were supplied with a poor delivery of coal and Henry had a very difficult time of it indeed. He had strength to pull trains only sporadically, in spite of numerous part replacements, and there was talk of being replaced by another engine. At last, the Fat Controller looked into it personally and asked for the opinion of Henry's fireman, who told him about the poor coal and Henry's firebox being too small to burn it efficiently. The fireman also suggested purchasing the high-grade Welsh coal used on the Great Western Railway. Sir Topham Hatt agreed to purchasing some in order to give Henry "a fair chance".
When the Welsh coal came, Henry's performance vastly improved, such that he was comparable to Gordon. He continued to use the coal until he had a collision with a goods train while pulling the Flying Kipper and was sent to Crewe to be rebuilt. Besides being given a new shape, Henry also received a larger firebox, allowing him to use regular coal again.
After returning, Henry was added to the rotation for the Express and pulled it so well that he made Gordon jealous. Gordon tried to get even by rudely criticising Henry for whistling loudly at stations, but he had to eat his words later that day after his own whistle valve jammed open. Sometime later, Henry was taking a slow train. As he passed under a bridge, three boys he had assumed to be railfans threw stones at him and his coaches. He paid them out on his return journey by "sneezing" ashes that collected in his smokebox at them.
When Duck arrived to take over Percy's duties as station pilot, Henry - along with Gordon and James - teased him and tried to give him orders, as they had been doing to Percy. With Percy's help, Duck blocked the big engines from entering the shed. The Fat Controller arrived and told the two tank engines off for causing a disturbance. Henry and the others laughed - until the Fat Controller shouted for silence and told them that they had been worse, as they had made the disturbance. He told them that Duck was right - he, Sir Topham Hatt, is in charge and he gives the orders; Henry respected Duck more after that.
Henry's good opinion of Duck would be briefly spoilt shortly afterwards. He and the other main line engines were growing very tired of Duck's incessant talk about the Great Western Railway. When Diesel was first sent to the island on trial, he quickly developed a grudge against Duck and spread nasty stories about the main line engines to the trucks, stories he falsely claimed that Duck had told him. Furious at being called "Old Square Wheels", Henry joined Gordon and James in barring Duck from the shed just like what Duck and Percy had done previously. He felt sorry a few days later and when Duck returned after preventing an accident, Henry cheered for him loudly.
Henry loves visiting the forest. Because of how much he loves it, he helped to replant trees after it was destroyed by a storm.
When Gordon started feeling upset, Henry - who thought Gordon was just moaning and groaning - teased him and told him to get a wash-out and then would feel much better. When Gordon's brother Flying Scotsman visited Sodor, Henry was jealous of the visitor's second tender. Although Duck and Donald explained this (which Henry understood), he still was vain enough to want an additional tender. Deciding to bring Henry down to earth, Duck told the big engine that he had in his possession not one, but six spare tenders, which, as a tank engine, he had no need of. Henry accepted and all the engines waited to see him go past. But instead of a splendid sight, the tenders were old, rusted and full of boiler sludge. Gordon mocked him with a comment about wash-outs.
When Queen Elizabeth II was due to visit Sodor, Henry assumed that he was the Fat Controller's choice to pull the Royal Train. But the day before, while he was idling at the station, his smoke blinded a painter, who fell along with his paint pot onto Henry. The paint splashed over Henry's boiler and as painting over it would take too long, Gordon was given the job instead.
One night, Henry had to take a train to Peel Godred, and Edward warned him about how when an owl hooted, a mist would roll in. Henry ignored Edward's warning. However, on his way along the branch line, the mist soon settled in. Henry would also notice a sign saying "Beware of the viaduct," a closed crossing gate, a red signal, a coat discarded on a tree branch and a light flickering at a station. Henry and his crew were spooked, and headed back. The following night, when taking the train, Henry and his crew noticed crossing gates close and signals turning red by themselves. This spooked them so much, that they charged down the line, with a mysterious figure watching them from an abandoned station. Eventually, they ran right into a landslide in front of the viaduct. The trucks hit the rubble, derailed and plunged into the ravine under the viaduct. The mysterious figure soon arrived on a pump trolley; it was actually the fogman, Old Bailey, who revealed that he placed all the items around the line as a way of warning Henry about the viaduct. As a way of apologising to Old Bailey for ignoring his warnings, the old station was restored and he was appointed its stationmaster.
When the tracks along Tidmouth Beach were eroded due to high tides, warning lamps were placed to prevent bigger engines from travelling along it. Thomas tried to warn Henry of the danger whilst at Knapford Harbour, but Henry simply ignored him, and set off with the Flying Kipper. However, due to Henry taking the Coastal Run, he was in danger of running across the damaged track. A heavy fog had also settled in, and the tracks had been fully submerged by this point. As Henry went along the line, he and his crew were unable to see the track ahead due to the fog, and by the time they did notice it, it was too late. Henry soon plummeted right into the sea, and spat out a mouthful of seawater. The following morning, Henry was lifted out of the water and into a barge full of fish. By the time Henry was back on the rails, he apologised to Thomas for ignoring his warning.
He also has had to go back to the railway works on several occasions, such as when his tubes were leaking and after he had an accident with some trucks. But the reason most often given for Henry's poor state is that he needed special coal again, even though this was corrected in the first series. This error began with the tenth series episode Toby's Afternoon Off and in It's Good to be Gordon, Henry had to use ordinary Coal, since Gordon took his Special coal, but this has been fixed as of King of the Railway as Toby stated that the fact that Henry needing special coal was fixed years ago. The last time Henry was stated to need special coal was in the fifteenth series.
In the seventeenth series, he got agitated by how Scruff smelled, took on some bad coal with Hiro, allowed Caitlin to pull the Flying Kipper for him at night, challenged James to deliver the fresh fish for him and almost got hit by Connor.
During one winter, he was tasked with working with Spencer to deliver trucks to Vicarstown. But Spencer teased him by making him think there was an abominable snowman on Sodor. After they had delivered their trucks, they both saw a strange white figure stumbling around on the tracks in front of them. Thinking it was the abominable snowman, Spencer tried to run away. Unfortunately, his valves burst, and Henry stood his ground to try and to make the snowman go away. Luckily, it was only Sir Topham Hatt who ended up running into trouble in the heavy snow.
One night, he saw Sailor John and Skiff rolling along the line and got a big fright, thinking Skiff was a ghost ship. Some of the engines teased him about it, even though he insisted the boat was real.
In the twentieth series, Henry had to pull the express for Gordon who was having his firebox cleaned in the morning. He was initially hesitant but enjoyed himself, especially after the passengers complimented on how well he pulled it. Later, Henry was having a repaint at the Steamworks when Kevin gave him the wrong paint. Henry puffed into the night, his new paintwork glowing in the dark, causing his friends to think they had seen a ghost train. The Fat Controller realised that Henry had the wrong paint and told him to return to the Steamworks for some proper green paint, while praising Henry for being the only engine working as all the others were too scared to come out of the shed.
Henry would later go to the Mainland and be a part of the Great Railway Show, competing in the Strongest Engine Race. After the race, he met up with the other engines and informed them that he came in fifth. Philip congratulated him, only for Henry to reveal that there were only five engines.
In Journey Beyond Sodor, Henry was due to go back to the Mainland with a goods train. However, a faulty signal caused him to crash into the back of Hiro's train. After being rescued by the Breakdown Train, the Fat Controller arranged James to take his train while Henry is being repaired. However, Thomas took it before James could and James only went when Thomas did not return. Henry was soon fully repaired and returned to the sheds while the others finished singing The Most Important Thing is Being Friends, to which he asked, "What did I miss?"
Sometime after, Henry was relocated to Vicarstown Sheds with Rosie per his request. His old berth at Tidmouth Sheds was filled by Rebecca.
During the following Christmas, the boiler at the Sodor Animal Park broke down. Henry suggested taking the animals to the Steamworks to keep warm, but this was initially ignored by the Fat Controller.
Later, when Percy created rumours of a railway show for little engines at Ulfstead Castle, Henry was left to shunt his own train after Rosie abandoned her duties at Vicarstown to attend, making him run late.
When Thomas and Sir Topham Hatt went to London to meet the Queen again, Gordon voiced his displeasure at not being the engine chosen. Henry responded by teasing Gordon about his poor understanding of the names of the stations in London.
Personality
Henry is generally well-behaved and friendly, but is sometimes arrogant. Henry is, at heart, a very hard worker, but his frequent bouts of illness hinder his work. His illnesses almost always have something to do with his boiler. Unlike Gordon and James, Henry does not mind pulling trucks, especially as he is a mixed traffic engine, although when he is given the job of pulling the express whenever Gordon is unable to, this can get to his smokebox and he can act full of himself. While he does not usually mind pulling trucks, Henry dislikes having to shunt his own trains, a trait which he shares with Gordon and James.
Of the big engines, Henry is the most likely to be respectful to engines such as Thomas, Edward, Percy and Toby on a regular basis. He does not frequently antagonise his fellow friends like Gordon and James do, and usually shows remorse for his actions. These traits also make him more level-headed than his fellow big engines, who often find him trying to keep them in line, being the trio's voice of reason.
Despite Henry's grumpy and arrogant attitude at times, he has been shown to be a nature-lover, with a deep appreciation for the forest. He has, on occasion, gone out of his way to help try and save trees he fears are in danger of being cut down, and has been shown to become depressed when the forest is damaged by storms.
Between the fourteenth and nineteenth series, Henry became a more worrisome and a easily-scared engine. This worrisome personality was also featured in The Adventure Begins, which greatly contrasts to the original version of The Sad Story of Henry. Despite this, he has shown to still be capable and confident on occasions, particularly during the seventeenth series and from the twentieth series onwards.
Technical Details
Basis
Following his rebuild at Crewe, Henry is based on a London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Stanier 5MT "Black Five" 4-6-0.
In the real world, eighteen members of the LMS Stanier 5MT class have survived into preservation. Several members of this class survived until the end of steam on British Railways in 1968. Three class members, 44781, 44871 and 45110 were used to haul the Fifteen Guinea Special on August 11, 1968. 44871 and 45110 have survived into preservation whereas sister engine 44781 was purchased for use in the film, The Virgin Soldiers, and was scrapped after being used in a train scene disguised as a Malayan Railway L class locomotive (with the number 531.03).
Before his rebuild, Henry is a freelance design, combining aspects of the Black Five shape and his original shape in The Railway Series, as budgetary constraints prevented the crew from constructing two separate models for him. Changes made to Henry's model for his old shape include a tapered firebox, inside steam pipes and the topfeed being removed. Additionally, Henry originally lost his splashers following his rebuild, however these were later added back in the second series. Contrary to how his old shape was portrayed in The Railway Series, Henry does not have a sloped running board and is depicted as having always been a 4-6-0, while in the books he was originally a 4-6-2.
Henry's tender also appears to be somewhat of a hybrid, with the curvature at the front resembling a Stanier tender while the back half resembles how his original tender was illustrated in The Railway Series.
Livery
Henry is painted in NWR green with red lining on his cab, splashers, tender, cylinders and boiler and yellow lining around his windows. His number (3) is painted on his tender in yellow with a red outline. He has a white running board with red bufferbeams and valences.
Appearances
|
Official Description
From Official Website:[1]
| “ | Henry: Henry is a long, fast engine. He has a thoroughbred look and like all thoroughbreds, tends to be somewhat highly sprung and prone to illness. But he has his new shape now, and sympathetically driven, he'll give any engine a run for its money.
|
” |
Audio Files
Themes
| First used | Last used | Composers | Theme Song |
|---|---|---|---|
| Series 1 | Mike O'Donnell Junior Campbell |
||
| The Flying Kipper | |||
| Series 3 | Series 4 | ||
| Series 7 | |||
| Series 8 | Series 12 | Robert Hartshorne | |
| Series 15 | |||
Whistles
Standard
| First used | Last used | Sound Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Series 1 | Thomas & Friends: Adventures! | |
| Hero of the Rails | Series 24 |
Other
In some scenes in the second series, his Take-n-Play and TrackMaster talking toys, Henry has Duck's whistle at five steps higher in pitch.
| First used | Last used | Sound Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Duck Takes Charge | TrackMaster |
In Thomas and the Magic Railroad, Henry shares Percy's whistle from the same movie.
| Only used | Sound Effect |
|---|---|
| Thomas and the Magic Railroad |
In one scene of Henry's Good Deeds, Henry uses his whistle, but two steps lower-pitched.
| Only used | Sound Effect |
|---|---|
| Henry's Good Deeds |
Trivia
- In the 1997 annual story, We Wish You a Merry Christmas!, Henry's fireman was revealed to be named Ted. In the magazine story, Henry Helps, Old Bailey is Henry's driver.
- In some international dubs, Henry's name was changed:
- In the Greek dub of the first to seventh series, Henry is called "Charlie". From the thirteenth series onwards, Henry has been referred to with his original name, possibly to avoid confusion with Charlie.
- Henry was called Henri (pronounced "Unree") in the French dub of the first to seven series.
- On early Spanish translations of the Random House books, Henry was known as Enrique.
- The only pieces of merchandise to depict Henry in his original shape are a small pull back toy [1] and a prototype for the Thomas Engine Collection Series.
- When nameboards were still used in the series, Henry never had a nameboard shot where he was in his new shape.
- Martin Sherman said in an interview with Sodor Island Fansite, that he auditioned to voice Henry, along with Thomas and Percy, but Kerry Shale got the part instead.
- Henry, Thomas and James are the only characters to speak in every special. They, along with Gordon, are the only characters to appear in every special.
- According to the online video "Still the Best of Friends", the official reason Henry relocated to Vicarstown was to be closer to his work, referring to his taking trains to the Mainland in Tale of the Brave and Journey Beyond Sodor.
- Although he does not have a Fowler tender in the television series, some merchandise of him have him with said tender.
- Henry is the only former Steam Team member who does not appear in the Meet the Steam Team videos.
- Henry's original whistle was the same shape as Gordon's.
- Henry's whistle sound is a low pitched version of Edward's. It was also shared with Emily in the eighth series and again from Hero of the Rails to the seventeeth series episode, The Lost Puff.
- In 2014, Henry and Edward's whistle sounds at Drayton Manor Theme Park were accidentally swapped when they changed shed berths with each other.
- Tim Staffell (former model maker for the first series and lead vocalist for early Queen band Smile) stated that Henry was his favourite character and that he might have one of his faces he made somewhere in his house.
- Henry is the only member of the original Steam Team not to appear in the original model version of the Island of Sodor opening sequence. In the HD model and CGI versions, this distinction is shared with Percy.
![[1]](/wiki/File:PullBackOldshapeHenry.png){kind=link}
Quotes
- “Once, an engine attached to a train was afraid of a few drops of rain. It went into a tunnel and squeaked through its funnel, and wouldn't come out again.”
- ― The narrator introducing Henry: The Sad Story of Henry
- “When Henry came back, he felt much better.”
- ― The narrator after Henry left his tunnel: Edward, Gordon and Henry
- “I suffer dreadfully, and no-one cares.”
- ― Henry prior to receiving Welsh coal: Coal
- “Stupid bird!”
- ― Haunted Henry
- “I wasn't scared of that ghost train! And yes, I have seen it, but it didn't frighten me at all.”
- ― Henry in a bad mood: Henry in the Dark
- “Hello, I'm Henry. The number three green engine. I'm ready to be really useful and off to collect a special special.”
- ― Henry's website audio
Video
See also
References
- ↑ T&F S2 "Dirty Work"
- ↑ T&F S10 "Big Strong Henry"
- ↑ T&F S15 "Henry's Happy Coal"
| Locomotives | Steam | Thomas | Henry | Gordon | James | Donald and Douglas | Emily | Murdoch | Molly | Nia | Rebecca |
|---|---|---|
| Diesel | BoCo | |
| Former | Edward | |
| Rolling Stock | Passenger | Annie and Clarabel | Emily's Coaches | Green Express Coaches | Red Express Coaches |
| Former | The Spiteful Brake Van | Slip Coaches | |
| Trains | Passenger | The Express | The Local | The Great Waterton Special |
| Goods | The Flying Kipper | The Midnight Goods | |
| Infrastructure | Stations | Tidmouth | Lower Tidmouth** | Knapford | Crosby | Wellsworth | Maron | Cronk** | Killdane** | Balladrine** | Kellaby** | Whispering Woods Halt** | Kellsthorpe Road** | Crovan's Gate | Great Waterton** | Vicarstown | Barrow-in-Furness** |
| Sheds | Tidmouth Sheds | Tidmouth Yard Sheds | Knapford Sheds | Crovan's Gate Sheds* | Vicarstown Sheds | |
| Tunnels and Bridges | Tidmouth Tunnel (South) | Henry's Tunnel | Crosby Tunnel** | Crosby Bridge* | The Viaduct | Sodor Suspension Bridge** | Maron Bridge* | Standard Gauge and Narrow Gauge Viaduct | Vicarstown Bridge** |