Kevin

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This article is about the crane. You may be looking for the human character, Story Library Book or the Engine Adventures book.

Kevin
Background Information
First appearance	Hero of the Rails (T&F)
Last appearance	Gordon Gets the Giggles (T&F)
Creator(s)	Sharon Miller John Lee
Voice Actors
UK voice actor	Matt Wilkinson (2009-2018) Kerry Shale (2017, 2019)
US voice actor	Kerry Shale (2009-2019)
Character Overview
Name	Kevin
Title	Kevin the Mobile Crane
Gender	Male
Country	Island of Sodor England (built)
Affiliation	North Western Railway Thomas Percy Sodor Steamworks Victor Brendam Docks Salty Cranky Vicarstown Dieselworks Happy Hook
Technical Details
Basis	Ransomes & Rapier 6 ton crane
Vehicle	Road vehicle
Type	Mobile crane
Fuel type	Petrol
Wheels	4
Top speed	30 mph (48 kph)
Builder(s)	Ransomes & Rapier
Year built	Sometime between 1923 and 1930
Railway	North Western Railway
Company	Sodor Steamworks
Owner(s)	Sir Topham Hatt

Kevin is a yellow mobile crane who works at the Sodor Steamworks alongside Victor.

Biography

Thomas & Friends

Kevin works at the Steamworks with Victor, offering help whenever possible. When Spencer was sent to the Steamworks after getting slate in his funnel, Kevin distracted him by dropping parts all around while Thomas took engine parts to Hiro. He later participated in Hiro's official restoration. Thomas was once put in charge of the Steamworks when Victor went to visit one of the Narrow Gauge engines and Kevin helped Thomas fetch parts. However, Kevin got so busy that he became confused and accidentally pushed a button which sent Spencer up in the air on the gantry crane. Soon Victor arrived and helped restore order to the Steamworks.

Cranky once had too much work to do at the docks, so Kevin was sent to help out. Unfortunately, Cranky did not want Kevin's help and told him to stay in a corner out of his way. When Cranky dropped a load of pipes and a cage full of chickens, Kevin rushed to help. This made Cranky even more cross. Thomas and Salty tried to show Kevin that Cranky did have a heart of gold deep inside, but were unsuccessful immediately. When Cranky knocked over a barrel, Kevin tried to help but ended up falling into the sea. Luckily, Cranky fished him out of the water, but not before The Fat Controller arrived and saw what had happened. He was about to send Kevin away in disgrace when Cranky spoke up, defending Kevin and proving to them both that he really did have a heart of gold. Together, Kevin and Cranky got all of the work at the Docks done. Later Ben tricked Kevin so he could be painted blue just like his twin, Bill so they could deceive Connor again.

Kevin later became fascinated with the snow, and decided to play around in it despite Victor's warnings. This led him to get stuck outside the Steamworks until Thomas spotted him waving his crane arm round, not knowing that Victor went out to search for him.

When Henry came to get repainted, Kevin accidentally gave the workmen the wrong type of paint due to being busy, resulting in Henry glowing in the dark.

Personality

Kevin is a bubbly and enthusiastic crane who works at the Sodor Steamworks, where he assists Victor in repairing engines. He is innocent, well-meaning, bursting to help and say hello and always eager and ready to lend a helping hook. Kevin is often seen dashing about and tends to be quite clumsy, having a habit of frequently dropping things from his hook and pranging objects as he buzzes about. He often exclaims that it was "a slip of the hook", something that he says so often enough to Victor - who he refers to as "boss" - that he is able to commonly finish the sentence for him. But Kevin is loveable, kind-hearted, and funny, if rather naive, and always tries his best, regardless of his inexperience.

Technical Details

Basis

Kevin is based on a 4 wheel Ransomes & Rapier 6 ton crane with an added enclosed cab. Just like Kevin, these cranes were known to be clumsy and cumbersome.

Kevin's basis

Livery

Kevin is painted in a yellow livery with black and light yellow warning stripes on his front. His hook and brake are red. He has the Sodor Steamworks logo painted on his cab door.

Appearances

• Television Series
• Other Media

Thomas & Friends Series 13 - Creaky Cranky, Slippy Sodor, The Early Bird, Play Time, Time for a Story, Toby's New Whistle (does not speak), Steamy Sodor and The Biggest Present of All Series 14 - James in the Dark, Charlie and Eddie, Henry's Health and Safety, Victor Says Yes, Thomas in Charge (cameo) and O the Indignity (cameo) Series 15 - Gordon and Ferdinand (cameo), Henry's Happy Coal (cameo), Surprise, Surprise, Stop That Bus! (cameo), Stuck on You, Kevin the Steamie and Wonky Whistle Series 16 - Race to the Rescue (cameo), Percy and the Calliope (cameo), Salty's Surprise and Welcome Stafford! (cameo) Series 17 - Kevin's Cranky Friend, Scruff's Makeover, Bill or Ben? and Santa's Little Engine (does not speak) Series 18 - Emily Saves the World (mentioned) and Samson Sent for Scrap (cameo) Series 19 - Snow Place Like Home and The Other Side of the Mountain Series 20 - Cautious Connor (cameo), All in Vain (cameo) and Henry in the Dark Series 21 - Hasty Hannah, Philip's Number, The Fastest Red Engine on Sodor and A Shed for Edward (cameo) Series 22 - What Rebecca Does and An Engine of Many Colours Series 23 - Gordon Gets the Giggles and Mines of Mystery (dropped) Specials 2009 - Hero of the Rails 2010 - Misty Island Rescue 2011 - Day of the Diesels 2012 - Blue Mountain Mystery 2013 - King of the Railway 2014 - Tale of the Brave 2015 - Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure 2016 - The Great Race 2017 - Journey Beyond Sodor Music Videos Hero of the Rails - Go, Go Thomas Series 13 - Roll Along and Sounds Misty Island Rescue - Misty Island Rescue Series 14 - All You Need Day of the Diesels - Day of the Diesels Blue Mountain Mystery - Blue Mountain Mystery Series 16 - Thomas and Percy and Go, Go Thomas King of the Railway - Working Together Again Series 17 - Hey, Hey Thomas! Thomas' YouTube World Tour - Down by the Docks and Thomas' Anthem Series 19 - There's Snow Place Like Home and Engine Roll Call Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure - We Make a Team Together Series 20 - Accidents Will Happen The Great Race - Streamlining Journey Beyond Sodor - The Most Important Thing is Being Friends (cameo) Series 21 - Set Friendship in Motion Series 22 - Engine Roll Call Videos 2015 - A Friendly Farewell (cameo) Storytime Series 1 - Kevin's Cranky Friend

Magazine Stories 2010 - Early Bird (does not speak) and Play Time (speaks in speech bubble only) 2011 - Steamy Sodor, Gordon and Ferdinand (cameo), Charlie and Eddie (does not speak), Henry's Health and Safety, and Victor Says Yes 2012 - Where's That Bus? (cameo), Wonky Whistle (cameo), and The Fat Controller's Bedtime Story (Issue 651) 2013 - Early Bird!, Kevin's Cranky Friend, and Surprise, Surprise! 2014 - Bill or Ben (speaks in speech bubble only) and Steamy Sodor 2016 - Thomas in Charge! 2017 - Steamy Sodor Books 2010 - The Big Fix-It Day, Kevin and Victor 2012 - Sound Storybook Treasury 2017 - Kevin and Victor 2019 - Five Useful Engines

Audio Files

Motor

First used	Last used	Sound Effect
Hero of the Rails	Active

First used	Last used	Sound Effect
Read and Play!	Read and Play!

Trivia

• Kevin is the only crane with a motor.
• In the UK dub of Series 13-16, he and Victor share the same voice actor.
• Kevin's 2013 Wooden Railway prototype was incorrectly painted green.
• Exactly how Kevin is driven is a mystery as he has never be seen with an operator inside him or even mentioned.
• Kevin is the first CGI introduced character that is not an engine.
• Kevin is the only character introduced in Hero of the Rails who is not originally from another country.
• Kevin's TrackMaster Revolution and Motorized variants are longer than his size on the show and run on rails despite being a road vehicle.
• According to the 2015 Trading Cards, Kevin is of Great Western Railway origins.

Quotes

“Sorry boss, slip of the hook!”

―Kevin's catchphrase

“Hello, I'm Kevin. Whatever you need, I'm here to land the helping hook.”

―Kevin's website audio

Merchandise

• Wooden Railway (discontinued)
• TrackMaster (original discontinued; redesigned in 2019)
• Motor Road and Rail (Asia only)
• My Thomas Story Library (discontinued)
• Take-n-Play (normal and oily; discontinued)
• Collectible Railway
• Mega Bloks (discontinued)
• Capsule Plarail
• Boss (discontinued)
• Adventures (discontinued)
• Engine Adventures
• Wood (redesigned in 2019)
• Push Along
• Minis
• Motorized
• Wooden Railway (2021) (coming soon)

References

North Western Railway

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* RWS only | ** T&F only | --- Dropped

Non-rail vehicles

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* RWS only | ** T&F only | *** Other Media only