For other uses, see Mavis. |
- "One in the headlamp for fusspot Toby!"
- ― Mavis
Mavis is a privately owned diesel shunter who works for the Ffarquhar Quarry Company.
Biography[]
Mavis was supplied by the Drewry Car Company to the Ffarquhar Quarry Company. Mavis was particularly fond of putting the trucks at Ffarquhar Quarry in different places, despite Toby's protests. Toby finally lost patience and left Mavis to her own devices. Mavis - urged by Daisy - started to ignore Toby's advice and ended up looking silly when she got stuck in the middle of a crossing outside Ffarquhar.
Mavis was then forbidden to leave the quarry, but when a thaw increased production at Ffarquhar Quarry, Mavis persuaded the manager to let her go up to the first crossing in order to shunt trucks quicker and formulated a plan to pass the level crossing with help from the trucks. However, the plan backfired when the trucks decided to bump Toby instead and he ended up being suspended by flimsy rails over a rushing stream and Mavis had to help. Mavis confessed, but the the Fat Controller and Mavis' manager were pleased by Mavis' courage and honesty and allowed her occasional trips to Ffarquhar.
In 1987, Mavis was involved in a collision with a lorry and Toby had to do her work while she was absent. She returned to the quarry for the next few years until 1991 when she took Toby's stone trains while Thomas was in York and in 1995 attended the Golden Jubilee of the Railway Series at the Big Station.
Personality[]
When Mavis first came to Sodor, she was naïve, arrogant and did not take advice very well. She was mostly interested in her own ideas but was brought down to earth after her embarrassing incident at the Ffarquhar crossing. Still, she wanted to see more of the line and schemed to have the trucks push her past the level crossing beyond the quarry - this inadvertently resulted in a near accident for Toby. After rescuing him, Mavis resolved to change her ways for good. She is now more mature and capable of keeping the trucks in line and more willing to take advice.
Unlike many Diesels, Mavis shows respect for the steam engines and unlike most engines, hauling trucks makes her feel important. She is a reliable, honest, and hard-working engine.
Technical Details[]
Basis[]
Mavis is a based on a British Rail (BR) Class 04 0-6-0 diesel locomotive. She is more specifically based on the BR Class 04's that worked on the Wisbech and Upwell Tramway, as they were fitted with additional cowcatchers and side plates so they could run near public roads. Twenty of these locomotives are preserved, including one "tramway" example.
Livery[]
Mavis is painted black with yellow hazard stripes on her front and rear and red buffer beams. Her name is painted on the sides of her cab in white and "THE FFARQUHAR QUARRY CO LTD", is painted on her side plates, also in white.
Appearances[]
The Railway Series
Companion Volumes
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Official Description[]
From Official Media:[1]
“ | Mavis: A 0-6-0 Drewry diesel/mechanical locomotive, bought by the Ffarquhar Quarry Company mainly to shunt in the sidings up at Anopha Fell. She behaved somewhat unreliably at first, but now that this tendency has been corrected, she has been allowed from time to time to visit Ffarquhar station and assist Toby by shunting there. | ” |
From Official Media:[2]
“ | Mavis: Though Mavis is not strictly owned by the North Western Railway, this seems the logical place to include a note about her. She is a Drewry Class 04 0-4-0 diesel shunter who actually belongs to the Ffarquhar Quarry Company. Her basic work is up in the quarry, but she managed to get an agreement to go down to Ffarquhar station occasionally, an arrangement which undoubtedly suits both parties. Like Daisy, she has her own ideas about things (particularly trucks) and the two of them like nothing better than the chance for a good gossip. Several locomotives of this type have been preserved. | ” |
Trivia[]
- Awdry's model of Mavis was actually made in 1964. It was not until eight years later in 1972 that Mavis debuted in The Railway Series itself.
- Prior to her debut in Tramway Engines, Mavis appeared in The Railway Series: Surprise Packet, which released a year earlier.
- Mavis was named after an old neighbour of Rev. W. Awdry.
- Mavis was the last character Wilbert Awdry created before he retired from writing The Railway Series.
- She along with Diesel are the only standard gauge diesels in The Railway Series to have grey faces.
References[]
Locomotives | Steam | Thomas | Percy | Toby | Bloomer |
---|---|---|
Diesel | Daisy | Mavis | |
Former | Coffee Pots | |
Rolling Stock | Passenger | Annie and Clarabel | Henrietta | Victoria | Thomas' Special Coach | The Quarryman's Coach | Observation Saloon Coaches |
Goods | Elsie | Old-King Coal | Suncole | Milk Van | |
Non-Rail Vehicles | Terence | Bertie | Harold | Caroline | Bulstrode | Murphy | |
People | Mrs. Kyndley | Terence's Owner | Kevin Volley | Tom Tipper | |
Affiliates | St. Pedroc's Dairy | Ffarquhar Quarry Company | |
Infrastructure | Stations | Knapford (Harbour) | Dryaw (Goods Station) | Toryreck | Elsbridge | Hackenbeck | Ffarquhar |
Sheds | Knapford Sheds | Ffarquhar Sheds (Carriage Shed) | |
Tunnels and Bridges | Knapford Harbour Bridges | Elsbridge Viaduct | Hackenbeck Tunnel | Hackenbeck Bridge |
Locomotives | Steam | The Little Blue Tank Engine* | Coffee Pots | W&SR Tank Engines* | Arlesdale Tramway Engines* | The Dark Green Tank Engine* | Lady** | Sodor Tramway Engines** |
---|---|---|
Diesel | Mavis | |
Other | Ministry of Defence Engine* | Skarloey Funicular Railway Trams* | Vicarstown Tramway Engines** | |
People | Burnett Stone** | |
Locations | Anopha Quarry | The Magic Railroad** | Sodor Tramways** |