| For other uses, see Nia. |
- "Two engines are much better than one, you know."
- ― Nia
Nia is an orange tank engine from Kenya who lives and works on the Island of Sodor, and is the North Western Railway's number 18 engine.
Biography
Nia is a tank engine from the African country of Kenya. On her old railway, however, her shed was demolished, leaving her without a home. She then began working in Tanzania and first met Thomas in her homeland when he stopped in her yard to collect more trucks to take to Dar es Salaam while in pursuit of Ace. Noticing how heavy his train was getting, she offered to help, but Thomas sternly refused, stating he could handle it himself. However, she later arrived to help him over a steep hill when the trucks nearly caused him to slide back down it. She later encouraged the trucks to sing to raise Thomas' mood during the journey and to help soothe an elephant that tried to charge Thomas when it was blocking the tracks. When they reached Dar es Salaam, Nia had a chat with her friend Kwaku, but Thomas interrupted when Kwaku was asking Nia if she had found a new shed yet due to the fact that her old one was destroyed. After Thomas thanked her for her help, he prepared to board a ship bound for South America and the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, suggesting Nia returned home to Kenya, unaware of how Nia could not. However, Nia decided to join him, much to his chagrin, having wanted to see the world herself.[3]
Thomas remained unfriendly towards Nia throughout their journey, and Nia grew annoyed by Thomas wanting to find and keep up with Ace during his road rallies. However, they both began to warm up to each other after they rescued a crashed Ace and made it through the Amazon Rainforest after some difficulty. While continuing their journey through Central America and Mexico before reaching North America and the United States, Nia maintained her suspicion regarding Ace whenever he tried to remind Thomas of his motto of "living Free and Easy". As they made their way through Arizona, Ace tricked Nia into splitting their delivery to San Francisco between them and racing to see who was the faster of the two steam engines. Ace - who wanted to get to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah - convinced Thomas to play a trick on Nia. This caused Nia to be separated from Thomas. This indirectly led to her thinking that Thomas was in on Ace's trick and had betrayed her by wanting to stay with Ace instead of her. As a result, she became hurt and cross, and continued on alone to China, acquiring a snowplough before making her way through Zhangye Danxia and into the treacherous Himalayas.[3]
When Thomas caught up to her in the Himalayas, she refused to listen to his explanations for what happened, still hurt and upset about it. However, she heard his heartfelt apology and realised he never meant to upset her and was truly sorry for it. Before she and Thomas could fully make amends, an avalanche caused by Thomas trying to get Nia's attention swept her off the tracks and left her dangling precariously over a cliff. Thomas attempted to pull her back to safety, but a rock underneath her was dislodged and caused her to go over the edge and nearly pull Thomas with her. Thankfully, Yong Bao arrived just in time to save both of them. After Nia was lifted back onto the rails by the breakdown cranes brought by Yong Bao and The Chinese Diesel, she and Thomas prepared to return to the Island of Sodor, with Yong Bao advising they travel through Asia and Europe to get back to Sodor via the Mainland.[3]
Together, Nia and Thomas made their way back to Sodor, unaware of a signalman in India seeing Thomas and phoning ahead to let the North Western Railway know he was coming home. When they reached the Vicarstown Bridge, Thomas realised that once he crossed it, he would be home, but Nia would have to return to Kenya. However, Nia revealed what she had tried to tell Kwaku back in Dar es Salaam before Thomas interrupted them - that she no longer had a home to go back to. Sympathetic to her plight, Thomas offered Nia the chance to stay and work on the North Western Railway, knowing that Sir Topham Hatt would love to have her working on his railway. The two engines crossed the bridge, returning to Knapford to find a large group of Thomas' friends (human and engine alike) welcoming him home. After Thomas formally introduced Nia to Mr. Percival and the others, Nia prepared to enjoy her new home on the Island of Sodor.[3]
While enjoying her new life on Sodor, Nia bonded with Gordon when he was upset over Edward and Henry moving out of Tidmouth Sheds by reminding him they were still his friends, revealing to him that she felt the same way due to all of her friends being back in Africa.[4] When Sir Topham Hatt asked her to pull Thomas' coaches, Annie and Clarabel, she could not read the numbers above the platforms, or a speed limit sign, which caused her to get derailed. She revealed her dilemma to the two coaches, who then helped her to learn her numbers.[5] However, she also fell victim to Bill and Ben's tricks when they made up a game called "Hunt the Truck", and Edward had to step in to make them give back the truck they hid from her.[6]
When Darcy arrived on the Island of Sodor for the first time, Nia was asked to pick her up from Brendam Docks. Darcy was excited to work on the Island, though she became a little more hesitant after her enthusiasm caused problems for Cranky, James, Max and Monty. Following these incidents, Nia helped her to regain her confidence and show the rest of the Pack her talent in digging tunnels and gained James' admiration in the process.[7]
Later, Nia was instructed to take the Sodor Rangers on a camping trip to Callan Castle. Following a storm, she gave the job to Emily so that Emily could have her own adventure while she had more time to work in the yards. Once she had finished in the yards, she realised that Emily had forgotten the truck with camping supplies and - assuming she was in trouble - went with the truck to find her. Fortunately, Emily was unharmed - though derailed - and the rangers had set up a camp using their survival skills. Nia then spent the rest of the night on a campout with the rangers and Emily, before helping her friend back onto the rails the following morning.[8]
Another time, she and Paxton thought that Diesel was no help at all leading to the devious diesel getting covered in glow paint to make them find him hidden at the Blue Mountain Quarry. When they found him, they were very cross about his self-interested attitude and used his own trick on him to get him back to work.[9]
Once, Nia was tasked with picking up an elephant and taking it to the Sodor Animal Park. However, the elephant proved to be very difficult to handle, as it felt very uncomfortable around steam engines. Nia tried various attempts to get the elephant into her wagon, such as singing, using a truck of apples and having Belle spray water, but to no avail. The elephant eventually ran away, prompting Nia, Belle and the Elephant Carer to find it, but had no luck doing so. Nia felt that the incident was her fault, but Belle comforted her by stating that the elephant was scared and that everything on Sodor was strange to it. This gave Nia the idea of bringing another elephant to make the first elephant feel at home. After transporting both elephants to the Animal Park, Sir Topham Hatt awarded her with the job of helping out there. This included her bringing animal feed from the Docks, fruit from the farms and straw for the animals' bedding, and sometimes giving safari rides to visitors.[10]
One Christmas, Nia was asked to pick up a shipment of lights from Arlesburgh Harbour for the Earl's Christmas party at Ulfstead Castle. Whilst she was at the harbour, she learned from Skiff how lighthouses work and how they help guide ships to safety. Once Nia delivered the lights to the castle, the Earl told her to pick up a special surprise from the Sodor Animal Park, which later turned out to be reindeer. On her way back from the park, she noticed that Harold (who was bringing Sir Topham Hatt and the Duke and Duchess of Boxford to the castle) was struggling his way through a snow storm. After arriving back at the castle, and realising that Harold had not arrived yet, Nia remembered what she learned about lighthouses and suggested to the Earl that the big wheel be covered with Christmas lights. Thanks to her idea, Harold was able to see where the castle was and arrive there safely. Harold thanked Nia and called her a hero, with Nia saying that she was glad to have been really useful.[11]
Personality
Nia is an adventurous and fun engine who taught Thomas - and even Gordon - about friendship and new things during her new beginnings. Whether she is in her homeland of Africa or travelling around the world, Nia is positive, kind-hearted and caring. Her eagerness to help can sometimes irritate her friends, but her truthfulness and kind heart always win them over. She is a good problem solver, although she once had trouble reading numbers until Annie and Clarabel helped her. Nia can be very sensitive about being abandoned or ignored, and this can quite often make her give someone the cold shoulder if they maintain this type of behaviour, especially if someone is acting very rude. This does not stop her from befriending others though, and aside from playful retributions she will happily forgive any offenders if she feels they are truly sorry.
If Nia has any significant flaw, it's that she can sometimes be too eager-to-please, or optimistic to the point of naivety. She is also self-conscious about being seen as a competent, capable engine, and hates looking silly in front of others.
Technical Details
Basis
Nia is based on a Kenya-Uganda Railway (KUR) ED1 class, a class of 2-6-2 tank locomotive built by Vulcan Foundry for the Kenya-Uganda Railway between 1926 and 1930. Primarily used for shunting duties, they were also used to haul branch line trains. They were later operated by the East African Railways and were reclassified as part of the EAR 11 class. One member of this class, No. 327, has been preserved at the Nairobi Railway Museum in Nairobi, Kenya. Nia's design sheet shows that she was specifically modelled after No. 327.[12]
Nia has been modified in order to work on British railways. Whereas her original basis was metre gauge, Nia is standard gauge and she has been given buffers and screwlink couplings in order to work with the other engines.
Livery
Nia is painted orange with yellow lining. She has stripes with a Kenyan pattern consisting of red, yellow, green, black and purple painted along with her tanks and dome, as well as green and yellow lining on her cylinders. Nia has green stripes on her boiler and brake pump. Her footplate is painted red with black buffers. Her name (Nia) and her number (18) are painted on the sides of her tanks and cab respectively in yellow within black squares.
Appearances
Official Description
From Official Website[1]
| “ | Nia: Nia is a tank engine from the African country of Kenya and a new member of the Steam Team on Sodor. She's a real optimist with a great sense of fun. She's also driven by a strong moral compass and takes being fair and kind to others seriously. She's not afraid to speak her mind when she needs to. Nia is both thoughtful and practical and often comes up with very creative ideas. Her kind heart and infectious enthusiasm never fail to win over others in the end.
|
” |
Songs
- Wake Up (performed)
- We're Friends (performed)
- Don't Stop (performed)
Audio Files
Whistle
Nia's whistle is Shane's at seven steps higher-pitched.
| First used | Last used | Sound Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Big World! Big Adventures! | The Sodor Springtime Parade |
Trivia
- Nia's name means "purpose" in Swahili, which came from Arabic.
- Experts at the United Nations and The Royal African Society assisted the production team with creating Nia.
- At one point during her creation, Nia was originally going to be called Kessie. She was also going to be given a Norwegian coupling, but it was quickly changed to buffers and screwlink couplings.
- An early test trailer (with footage from it later reused for the song The Journey Never Ends) and certain merchandise lines depict her with red wheels, due to the fact that one piece of Nia's concept art shows her with red wheels. Nia was also accidentally shown with red wheels in the fantasy sequence of the twenty-second series episode, Counting on Nia.
- Nia's number 18 originates from the year her first appearance in Big World! Big Adventures! was released; 2018.
- Nia is the only member - current or former - of the Steam Team for a few things:
- The only member to arrive on Sodor from a country outside the United Kingdom.
- The only member to have a snowplough that is not the same colour as her.
- The only member not to have ever pulled the Express (although she was seen shunting some Express Coaches in the twenty-second series episode, Forever and Ever).
- The only member not to have a Bachmann model.
- Nia is the first engine to have a female crew member, as well as being the first Steam Team member to have her name painted on her side.
- Nia is the second character to get a singing double, with Marion being the first.
- Despite being shown to run on coal, Nia is incorrectly depicted with an oil tank in her bunker rather than coal railings as the class were fitted with prior to being converted to run on oil.
- This is the second time a coal-burning engine has been incorrectly modelled with an oil tank, the first example being Ashima.
- Interestingly, these tanks are not present on her design from Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go.
Quote
- "Two engines are much better than one, you know!"
- ― Big World! Big Adventures!
Video
References
- ↑ T&F Storytime "The Story of Nia the Helpful Engine"
- ↑ Why is Africa Important to Nia?
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 T&F: Big World! Big Adventures!
- ↑ T&F S22 #02 "Forever and Ever"
- ↑ T&F S22 #25 "Counting on Nia"
- ↑ T&F S22 #26 "Hunt the Truck"
- ↑ T&F S23 #16 "First Day on Sodor!"
- ↑ T&F S23 #13 "Rangers of the Rails"
- ↑ T&F S23 #20 "Diesel Glows Away"
- ↑ T&F S24 #07 "Nia and the Unfriendly Elephant"
- ↑ T&F S24 #11 "Nia's Bright Idea"
- ↑ [2]
| 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** |
| Locomotives | Steam | Edward | Porter | Nia |
|---|---|---|
| Diesel | BoCo | Derek | Salty | Philip | |
| Non-Rail Vehicles | Trevor | Cranky | Reg | Big Mickey | Carly | |
| People | The Vicar of Wellsworth | The Mayor of Sodor | The Dock Managers | |
| Affiliates | Sodor China Clay Company (Bill and Ben, Timothy, Marion) | Sodor Shipping Company | Sodor Search and Rescue Centre (Belle, Flynn, Rocky, Harold, Butch, Captain) | |
| Stations | Wellsworth | Suddery | Lower Suddery | Sodor Animal Park** | Upper Brendam | Brendam | |