Thomas the Tank Engine Wikia
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This article is about the engine. You may be looking for the Story Library Book.

“Rosie is a lively little tank engine. She's very quick. She also likes to be very busy. Any job is a good job for Rosie.”
― The narrator describing Rosie[src]

Rosie is a lively little tank engine who lives and works on the Island of Sodor, and is the North Western Railway's number 37 engine. She originally wore a lavender livery and primarily worked in Knapford Yards. She has since been repainted red and is now the head shunter at Vicarstown.

Biography[]

Rosie began idolising Thomas to the point that she would try to imitate him. This only served to irritate Thomas whilst he was trying to deliver a special birthday post train to Alice at High Farm. He initially tried to avoid her, but after having an accident while delivering the train, Rosie helped him and they have since become friends.[2]

Rosie was later called to help Thomas shunt trucks at the Coaling Plant during Hector's first day on Sodor, until the latter frightened her away.[3]

Rosie was tasked with acting as a back-engine to Emily when she was to take the funfair special. Wanting to take the train herself and thinking she was doing Emily a favour, Rosie ended up causing confusion and delay on a grand scale, but eventually she set things right.[4]

Rosie rescued Thomas when his fire went out after playing a game of "Splish, Splash, Splosh".[5] She later let Diesel take her train of flowers which was headed for market.[6]

One day Rosie had a cracked wheel, so Thomas and Butch brought her a new one.[7]

On Sodor Surprise Day, Thomas bumped some coal trucks to surprise Gordon, but ended up surprising her instead. She was later cleaned up with Whiff at the washdown and joined Gordon and Thomas at Callan Castle to see Harold decked out in bright lights to make Gordon laugh.[8]

Rosie was later transferred to be the head shunter at Vicarstown and was given a new red livery as well as the number 37. Shortly after she gained her new colours, James challenged her to a race. When Rosie realised that there was something wrong with James' brakes, she warned him to go to the Steamworks to have them checked before they got worse. James did not follow her advice and as a result, when he sped down Gordon's Hill, his brakes would not work. Rosie attempted to chase him down when he passed through Knapford Yards, but was unable to catch him before he crashed into the wall at the end of Tidmouth Sheds.[9]

After Henry had an accident, James went to Vicarstown Yards, looking for his train to take to the Mainland, only for Rosie to inform him that Thomas had already taken it.[10]

During Valentine's Day, Diesel bumped her while Cranky was loading her flatbed with a crate of roses, spilling them across the tracks. Thomas - who had seen him - told Diesel off, but was only teased by him, Bill and Ben for being Rosie's "special friend", much to both engines' embarassment. Thomas later avoided her at Crosby Washdown so that he would not be teased again, embarassing Rosie in front of the other engines. Rosie was later tasked with taking some vans to Vicarstown where she would meet up with Thomas. When the two ended up front-to-front at Vicarstown, they made up for the recent events and found out that their specials were for Lady Hatt's Valentine's Day surprise.[11]

When the diesels at the Dieselworks were put out of action, Rosie briefly returned to Knapford Yards to help Stanley with shunting.[12]

Rosie later heard from Paxton that there was due to be a railway show for little engines at Ulfstead Castle and passed on the news to Thomas to attend. Though she was not physically seen at the show, she did abandon her duties at Vicarstown to attend, leaving Henry to shunt his own train and causing him to be late.[13]

Rosie was the first engine to greet Sonny when he first arrived on Sodor, though his cold demeanour left her feeling upset.[14]

Personality[]

Rosie is a friendly, clever, feisty and energetic tomboy with a good sense of humour. She is free-sprited, quick, and loves having fun. Rosie enjoys racing, surprises and playing the "Splish, Splash, Splosh" game in particular. She used to idolise Thomas and would attempt to imitate him, but has since become more independent while maintaining a good friendship with Thomas. Rosie likes hard work and being really useful, and is very eager to prove her worth.

Though she may appear childish at first glance, Rosie is much stronger and more capable than she appears. She is also a very determined and dependable engine, who will always go the extra mile to help her friends out when they are in a spot of bother.

With the passage of time, Rosie became more focused and mature. She stands no nonsense for teasing or rudeness towards others or herself. Although she is now a much wiser engine than when she first arrived, she retains her tomboyish personality, good sense of humour and enjoyment of racing.

Technical Details[]

Basis[]

Rosie is based on the Southern Railway (SR) USA Class. The class originated as the United States Army Transportation Corps (USATC) S100 Class, which were designed and built for shunting duties in Europe during the Second World War. After the war ended, fifteen of the S100s were sold to the Southern Railway, who modified them for use as dockyard shunters at Southampton. There, they worked alongside the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) E2s (Thomas' class). The SR USA Class was replaced by British Rail (BR) Class 07 diesels (Salty's class) in 1962, however some members of the class remained in service on departmental duties until 1967.

Four members of SR USA Class are preserved, including one at the Bluebell Railway. Over one-hundred of the USATC S100 Class - of which the SR USA Class are a derivative of - still remain, or are preserved, in various conditions in some European countries, the United States, China and Egypt. In addition, several Yugoslavian-built copies of the S100 design also exist, including two that have been shipped to England and modified to represent USA Class members.[15]

Unlike her real-world basis, Rosie's main rods from her cylinders connect to her middle set of driving wheels instead of the back ones. Additionally, her whistle is situated between her cab and rear sand dome, rather than on the side of her steam dome.

Livery[]

From her debut up until The Great Race, Rosie was painted lavender with light grey tank panels, red lining and gold boiler bands. Her wheels were red with light grey rims. She wore pink makeup, with lip gloss and blush.

Starting from Journey Beyond Sodor onwards, Rosie is repainted cherry red with dark raspberry tank panels, gold boiler bands and light grey lining. The area above her wheels and around her ladder are painted gold. Rosie has her company's initials (NWR) painted on her tank panels in light grey with a gold shadow, along with her number 37 also in light grey with gold shadow under her side cab windows. She still retains her original red buffer beams and wheels with light grey rims, however. Her makeup had also been removed.

The font style of Rosie's NWR initials and number 37 is the same font that is used on fellow SR USA Class, Vulcan 4446, now No. 30072 of Keighley and Worth Valley Railway.

Appearances[]

Thomas & Friends

Specials

Music Videos

Learning Segments

Videos

Official Description[]

From Official Facebook [1]

Rosie: Rosie is feisty, fun and very free spirited. Rosie is a tomboy tank engine! She's almost the same size and has the same capability as Thomas - whom she idolizes! She seeks to copy his every action and follow his every mood - with great charm and equal persistence. This drives Thomas crazy. He just wants to be left alone to be Really Useful. But why, thinks Rosie, can't they be Really Useful together!?


Fun Fact: Rosie is based on a SR USA Class 0-6-0T.

From Official Website[2] [3]

Rosie: Rosie is a tomboy tank engine - feisty, fun and very free spirited! She idolizes Thomas and wants to copy his every move. While this sometimes drives Thomas crazy, he has come to realize they can Really Useful Engines together.


Fun Fact: Rosie is based on a SR USA Class 0-6-0T.

From Official Website[4]

Rosie: Rosie is an energetic, fun and free spirited tank engine! She works as a shunting and mixed traffic engine and loves to race just as much as she loves to be Really Useful.


Fun Fact: Rosie is based on a SR USA Class 0-6-0T.

Audio Files[]

Theme[]

First used Last used Composer Theme Song
Series 10 Series 12 Robert Hartshorne

Whistles[]

Rosie's whistle is Thomas', but twelve steps higher pitched.

First used Last used Sound Effect
Series 10 Series 12
Series 13 Series 24

Trivia[]

  • Rosie is the first engine of several things:
    • The first engine of an American class introduced in the television series and the second such engine (after Stanley) in the franchise overall.
    • The first engine in the television series to have their debut livery changed permanently and the second character in the television series overall, the first being S.C. Ruffey.
    • The first engine in the television series to receive a number who did not already have one, the second being Emily.
    • The first engine in the television series to be lettered for the North Western Railway. She is the second in the franchise overall after Emma.
  • Rosie is the fourth female steam engine introduced in the television series after Lady, Emily and Molly.
  • Despite her basis being an American class of locomotive, Rosie has never spoken with an American accent in the UK dub. In the US dub, she originally had an American accent as provided by narrator Michael Brandon and later voice actress Jules de Jongh, but lost it after Nicola Stapleton was cast as Rosie's new voice actress in 2017.
  • In the magazine story Red for Rosie, one illustration incorrectly depicts her with a tender.
  • A magazine fact file from before she was repainted red states that she works on Thomas' Branch Line, although she has never been seen doing so in the television series.
  • Rosie is one of only two characters introduced in the tenth series to make the transition to full CGI, the other being Rocky.
  • Most merchandise lines depicted Rosie without the lip gloss and blush that she wore prior to Journey Beyond Sodor.
    • This is likely a result of merchandise teams being sent early reference photographs, as Rosie was not originally planned to wear make-up.
  • Since her debut, Rosie has appeared in every series and special except The Adventure Begins - which was set before she arrived on the railway - and the twentieth series, possibly due to her model being reworked.
  • In Journey Beyond Sodor, Rosie was given the number 37, this is a reference to her being the thirty-seventh standard gauge engine to be introduced in the television series.
  • Due to an abundance of fan mail asking for more of Rosie, the production team decided to completely rebuild her from scratch. The process took four months, most likely between January and April 2016.[16]
  • According to tweets from the Sodor Island Fansite (SiF):
    • Rosie was intended to have at least one other episode in the twenty-first series. This episode, along with seven others, was cancelled to make way for production of the twenty-second series.
    • Other new liveries considered for Rosie included blue and green. However, these were eventually rejected in favour of the red livery.[17]
  • The Railway Pals toy of Rosie was the first piece of merchandise to introduce her in her new red livery.
    • Though not given her red livery, Rosie's new number first appears on her Minis Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles variant, which was announced before her new look was revealed.
  • Since her change in livery, most merchandise ranges depict Rosie's wheels and buffer beams as being cherry red, although in the show, they still retain their original light red livery.
  • It was never explained in universe why Rosie was repainted to red.
  • In 2014, Rosie and Gordon's whistle sounds at Drayton Manor Theme Park were accidentally swapped when they changed shed berths with each other.
  • Unlike many other characters, Rosie was not outright stated as being a new engine in her debut episode, implying that she arrived on Sodor beforehand.
  • In the French dub, Rosie has a strong lisp.

Quotes[]

“Rosie was a cheerful, chirpy little tank engine. She was always pleased to meet Thomas. She liked him so much that she wanted to be just like him.”
The narrator introducing Rosie, Thomas and the Birthday Mail, tenth series
“Hello, I'm Rosie. I want to be just like Thomas, a really useful engine.”
― Rosie's website audio

References[]


--- Dropped | * 1991-1994 maps only | ** 2014 map only
International Characters

* RWS only | ** T&F only | ✦ Changed location
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