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Hurricane is a large tank engine who works at the Steelworks on the Mainland along with Frankie. He is the secondary antagonist of Journey Beyond Sodor.
Biography
Hurricane works alongside Frankie at the Steelworks on the Mainland, with Hurricane using his strength to provide extra muscle. Unfortunately, the workload soon became too much for just the two of them.
Thomas arrived at the Steelworks, looking for Bridlington Goods Yard to deliver his trucks, and he met Hurricane. Upon hearing that the trucks Thomas arrived with are those of his friend James, Hurricane responded that along with being clever, he was very cheeky. Hurricane told Thomas to just leave them in a siding, as they would look after them, and he and Frankie brought Thomas inside the Steelworks. They began singing about how exciting the Steelworks is and how right it was for Thomas to stay there. This made Thomas feel excited about being there, and they even got him to agree to stay.
The following morning, Hurricane shunted Thomas out of his shed and stated that he delivered Thomas' trucks to Bridlington overnight. Thomas said he needed to head back home, but Hurricane and Frankie convinced him to stay; they stated that since they helped him, he should help them in return. So, Thomas set to work carrying molten slag out of the building and to a pit. But when Thomas accidentally bumped into some ladle trucks and spilt molten slag, Hurricane warned him that it was very hot, and if he was caught in it, it would melt his wheels.
Eventually, Thomas started to feel tired, but Frankie was pleased that Thomas was there because now she and Hurricane could do more delivery jobs. Hurricane put in that with the extra workload day in and day out, it wasn't easy to get everything done with just himself and Frankie. By this point, Thomas wanted to go home, so Frankie again convinced him that they helped them and so he must stay and continue to help them out, and they left him all alone to work.
Thomas found what he thought was a way out, but he ended up derailing on some old and unused track. Soon, Frankie and Hurricane came to his rescue, both disappointed that he tried such a stunt. Hurricane pulled Thomas back onto the tracks and back to the Steelworks, all while being scolded by Frankie for what he did. Thomas again tried breaking out of the Steelworks later that night, ramming some flatbeds into the gate and tried to use the cover of a thunderstorm to conceal his escape. The sounds woke Frankie and Hurricane up, raising the alarm, and they immediately told him to stop. Thomas broke through the gates and rushed away, and Frankie and Hurricane chased after him. Thomas escaped onto an old, overgrown siding, and he evaded them.
The next morning, when James arrived at Bridlington Goods Yard to find his trucks there, they told him that they were brought there by Hurricane. Hurricane, who just so happened to be at the same place at the same time, overheard this and got a devious idea.
Having found Thomas' friend James. Frankie and Hurricane tried to convince him that, like they had done with Thomas, this was the place for him with their singing. However, James was not convinced and demanded to know where Thomas was. They pretended they didn't know him until James pointed out that Hurricane had delivered his trucks. They realised that James had seen through their lie, and admitted they did not know where he went. But when James said he must go find him, Hurricane and Frankie again lied that Thomas was coming straight back, and they then made James stay and get to work.
When Thomas returned to the Steelworks with three experimental engines named Lexi, Theo and Merlin, Theo and Lexi provided a distraction to draw Frankie and Hurricane out of the Steelworks, and this allowed Thomas to slip inside unnoticed. However, Frankie and Hurricane were not taken by the distraction, and then noticed Merlin trying to sneak inside the Steelworks to help Thomas. They followed him inside, and saw Thomas trying to convince James to leave with him.
Seeing their two "friends" betray them, Frankie and Hurricane began forcefully attempting to make Thomas and James stay. They followed James inside and repeatedly tried to stop him, but James kept dodging their attempts. Thomas and Theo cleared James's track while Lexi and Merlin blocked Hurricane and Frankie inside. James managed to escape the building, but the trucks Theo was pushing hit a control panel and a magnet picked Thomas up and suspended him over a vat of molten slag. Theo tried to get Thomas down, but Thomas was dropped towards the molten slag, only to be knocked away by another bucket at the last minute. Thomas hit some more slag trucks, and the slag poured onto the floor, dangerously close to Thomas. Hurricane saw the danger Thomas was in, and he rocketed to Thomas' rescue, selflessly shoving him out of the way of the slag, but his wheels were caught and began to melt. Frankie was horrified, as she did not know what to do, but Merlin was able to shove Hurricane out of the slag, saving his life.
Hurricane was out of commission because of his melted wheels, and now Frankie was left to do everything alone. James and Lexi scolded her for all that she and Hurricane have caused, and Frankie began crying. She ends up admitting that she only wanted someone to help her and Hurricane, as there was too much work for just the two of them and they couldn't get any other engines to help them. Thomas got her to stop crying by saying that he knew that the experimental engines were free to help. Although Theo and Lexi were reluctant at first, Thomas and Merlin were able to encourage them to stay and help out, and so they agreed to, as did Merlin.
Hurricane later got his wheels replaced, and Lexi, Theo, and Merlin soon settled in with their new lives at the Steelworks, helping Frankie. When Hurricane was fully repaired, he joined in with his new friends once again.
Personality
Hurricane is a very big tank engine. Although he is named after the name of a dangerous storm, Hurricane is gentle, level-headed and kind. He is happy to see Thomas and treats him from the start like a new friend.
He is however very loyal to Frankie, and follows her lead, trying his best to keep up with her plans and help her realise her schemes. Hurricane turns a bit of a blind eye to the mean side of Frankie, preferring instead to see her as a loyal companion.
He is hard-working, easy-going, generally cheery and his kindness cannot help but show through. He also proved very brave and selfless as he put himself in danger to save Thomas when he was dangerously close to molten slag, getting his front wheels melted in the process.
Technical Details
Basis
Hurricane is based on the GER Class A55 "Decapod", an experimental tank engine named so for its ten driving wheels. The engine carries Hurricane's number and it was designed to prove that steam locomotives could compete with emerging electric locomotives. It achieved its goal on 26th April 1903, during stormy weather. It never entered regular service and was rebuilt to an 0-8-0 tender engine in 1906, being assigned to haul coal trains for GER's March district, remaining the only eight-coupled steam locomotive to work on GER. It was later scrapped in 1913 due to being non-standard.
Livery
Hurricane is painted reddish brown with a black running board, red lining, steam pipes and wheels. He has brass nameplates on either side of his running board, the number "20" painted on his front buffer beam in yellow and brass and red number plates on either side of his coal bunker.
Appearances
Thomas & Friends
Specials
Music Videos
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Official Description
From Official Website:[1]
“ | Hurricane: Hurricane is a very big tank engine! With ten wheels he must be one of the biggest tank engines ever, almost the same size as Gordon, but Hurricane is also a big softy. Although his name sounds like a storm, Hurricane is gentle, level-headed and kind. He is happy to see Thomas and treats him from the start like a new friend.
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Audio Files
Whistle
Hurricane reuses the same whistle sound as Trevor from the twentieth to twenty-second series.
Only used | Sound Effect |
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Journey Beyond Sodor |
Trivia
- While Hurricane is not one of the experimental engines Thomas meets en-route to the Steelworks, his real-life basis was an actual experiment.
- He, Frankie and Merlin are the first engines in the television series to have their numbers on their front bufferbeams. That feature was only exclusive to The Railway Series before they were introduced.
- According to Sam Wilkinson, Hurricane's face was desgined after Channing Tatum.
- According to Michael White, Hurricane may have been intended to appear in the twenty-fourth series double length episode, Thomas and the Royal Engine, but was dropped due to time constraints.
Locomotives | Steam | City of Truro | Flying Scotsman | Spencer | Stephen's Competitors | Connor | Caitlin | Samson | Logan | Theo | Lexi | Hurricane | Merlin | Duchess | Flying Thistle | Thirteen |
---|---|---|
Diesel | Class 40 | The Mainland Diesels | Frankie | |
Rolling Stock | Connor's Coaches | Caitlin's Coaches | Bradford | |
Non-Rail Vehicles | 040 BMC | Beresford | Tony | Mitchell | The Hawker Hurricane | |
People | Elizabeth II | The Duke and Duchess of Boxford | The Thin Clergyman | The Fat Clergyman | Baz and Bernie | |
Stations | Barrow-in-Furness | Brighton | Crewe | Victoria |