| For other uses, see Salty. |
- “Ahoy mateys! Salty, pride of the seven seas. I'm a new diesel and I'm here to give you some help.”
- ― Salty
Salty is a crimson red diesel shunter who works down at Brendam Docks.
Biography
Salty worked on an unnamed coastal railway for many years, where he acquired his vast collection of stories, songs and possibly his sailor's accent, before coming to Sodor to work at Ffarquhar Quarry with Mavis, Bill and Ben. Salty was upset, being used to working near the sea, but he soon won the trucks over with his tales and sea shanties and as a reward for his hard work was sent to work at Brendam Docks.
Salty's presence at the docks led to Cranky having a huge distaste for Salty's stories. Cranky snapped at Salty when he pulled up and when Salty thought that Cranky needed company, this made him recall a story about a lonely old Grand Banks lighthouse keeper. He started to tell this story to Bill and Ben (who had not heard it before) which infuriated Cranky and led to him dropping a load of pipes he had which knocked over the Brendam Docks sheds. With Salty, Bill and Ben being trapped at Brendam Docks, Salty decided to tell the twins many stories all night. When Harvey arrived to clear their line the next day, Cranky was very grateful.
Gordon once told Salty to keep his distance in case he made his paint sooty, but Salty pointed out that his job requires him to get sooty and Gordon does not know that because he's too full of himself. When Gordon had to pull trucks, he decided to "show Salty how an express engine pulls trucks". Unfortunately, he ignored a "go slow" sign and had a nasty accident. Salty apologised for teasing him and Gordon apologised for being too full of himself.
Later, he and Fergus saved a ship from crashing into the rocks when the lighthouse lamp went out. He and Harvey later asked Murdoch about his past, which annoyed him.
Salty has shared many stories with his fellow engines that have often come into play later on. He told Percy that the carpet he was delivering was apparently magic and odd happenings convinced Percy and Gordon that it was.
Once, he accidentally ran over a flagpole that Henry was meant to deliver to the Scottish Castle.
He also told a story about a treasure on Sodor and Thomas followed all of Salty's clues and eventually found the treasure, just as the new Maritime Museum opened.
He later introduced Thomas to Billy, was one of the first engines to meet Stanley, looked at the docks for Thomas when he was missing, cheered when Thomas was found and tried to take some woodsmen into the forest, but was blocked by trucks.
Salty later told the engines about the "strange engines" (Bash, Dash and Ferdinand) that lived on Misty Island, a mysterious island not far from Sodor. He also told Thomas that the Star of Knapford could be magical.
He later told Percy about the "Monster of Brendam" and Edward tried to find him a present.
When Kevin was sent to work at Brendam Docks, Salty tried to make him feel better about working with Cranky. Later, Salty started experiencing engine trouble. However, he refused to go to the Dieselworks as he was worried that the Fat Controller was going to send him back to the quarry if he was not useful. This concern was strengthened with the arrival of Porter. Salty went to the Dieselworks, but ended up crashing into a flatbed of fuel cans in his hurry to return to the Docks. The fuel made his wheels slip and he ended up colliding with a shipment of party decorations. Salty was certain that he would be sent away. But, to his relief, the Fat Controller told him that he was meant to work with Porter, who had been sent to help him.
One foggy day, he told the engines about the flatbeds of fear. When Percy was missing Gator, Salty encouraged him to get on with his work. Salty and Porter both almost had a collision with Bill and Ben and also helped Timothy to play a trick on the twins.
Much later, Salty had been sent to work on the Mainland as they were short of an engine, but he was afraid to go on a ship and travel by sea. However, he overcame his fears thanks to Thomas, who reminded him of his past tall tales which scared the other engines. He later pretended to be the Ghost of Christmas Past to frighten Diesel and reminded him of his past mistakes.
He also told Edward, Henry, James, Cranky and Porter about a "lost pirate" when Henry saw Skiff and Sailor John and mistook them for a ghost boat the previous night.
Salty, Porter and Cranky were among the few who mistook Henry for a ghost, when the big green engine was accidentally given "glow-in-the-dark" paint at the Sodor Steamworks.
When the Great Railway Show was being held, Salty, amongst the other engines, wanted to compete in the events, but he was not chosen. He was also at the docks when the international engines competing in the competition came to Sodor by mistake on the ferry, one of which accidentally bumped into Thomas, causing him to dangle over the ferry and she saved him. Thomas was too speechless to say anything because of how beautiful the engine looked, so Salty introduced Thomas to the engine (to Thomas' embarrassment), who introduced herself as Ashima.
When Harvey's crane stopped working completely when he was at Brendam Docks, he was too shy to ask Salty or Cranky for help. So, to settle things, he decided to play a game of I-Spy while attempting to sneak out of the docks. After Harvey derailed at a tunnel (with nobody being hurt), Salty almost collided into him, while finally being able to figure out what Harvey had spied. He also told the story of the Sea Serpents, who eventually worked together to get what they wanted; this convinced Cranky and Carly to start working together. He also thanked Nia for sorting out the trucks at the docks.
Later, Cranky accidentally knocked Salty off of the docks and into the sea. When he was finally lifted out, Thomas took him to the Dieselworks to be repaired. During his stay there, Salty (along with many of the other diesels) got trapped when the doors malfunctioned as a result of Den slipping on some seaweed that had fallen off of Salty.
Personality
Unlike some diesels, Salty is an easy-going, jolly, friendly and very practical diesel who very rarely gets upset. He also enjoys telling stories revolving around the sea and fantasy. His seafaring ways and nautical accent are sometimes ridiculed and teased by the other engines (though Percy and Thomas imitated his accent since they thought he is amazing), but his usefulness almost always helps the others overlook that. He can work with trucks like no other engine; this is due to his enjoyment of working to a musical rhythm like the trucks and also may be due to his vast collection of sea shanties. He loves the sea so much that he pines for it when he is away from it for long periods of time. He was once afraid to travel by ocean due to his knowledge of sea tales, but he overcame that.
While Salty is normally very patient and easygoing, certain levels of tomfoolery like Cranky and Carly arguing or Gordon trying to leave without any buffers can provoke a far more stern reaction from him. For most other cases, however, Salty normally deals with issues in a playful manner; his response to Gordon's boasting was to make jokes at the big engine's expense, while he willingly went along with Thomas' plan to make Diesel behave at Christmas.
Technical Details
Basis
Salty is based on a British Rail (BR) Class 07 diesel-electric shunter. The number he has, D2991, is a real BR number belonging to a member of the class; built in 1962, this locomotive escaped the cutter's torch by becoming a static generator at Eastleigh Railway Works and is still working there under the ownership of Knights Rail Services as of March 2007. This class of locomotives worked at Southampton Docks, where they replaced the older SR USA (Rosie's class) and LB&SCR E2 (Thomas' class) tank engines. The Class 07 was notorious for having their axleboxes run hot whenever they were operated at high speeds. Salty has not been shown to have this problem.
Livery
Salty is painted crimson with scarlet warning stripes along his body, yellow and black hazard stripes on his front and rear and yellow buffer beams with signs of rust. At the top of his forehead, he has the brim of a skipper's hat. His name is painted on his rear section in black and his number 2991 is painted on the sides of his cab, also in black.
In the sixteenth series episode Salty's Surprise, it is revealed that due to a shortage of red paint, he was once painted green. This takes place sometime between the twelfth series and the fifteenth series.
Appearances
Official Description
| “ | Salty: Salty, The Dockside Diesel loves to tell tales of his life by the sea. He often works in the quarry, but is happiest down by the docks. Salty has a big heart and will always rush to the aid of any engine, be it steam or fellow diesel.
|
” |
From Official Website[4]
| “ | Salty: Salty, The Dockside Diesel, is a hard working engine who loves to tell tales of his life by the sea. He will occasionally work in the quarry and other areas on the Island, but is happiest down by the docks.
|
” |
From Official Website[5]
| “ | Salty: Salty, the Dockside Diesel, is a hard working engine who loves to tell tales of his life by the sea. He will occasionally work in the quarry and other areas on the island, but is happiest down by the docks. Salty is a little rough around the edges but has a great big heart and will always rush to the aid of any engine, be it Steamie or fellow Diesel.
|
” |
Audio Files
Themes
| First used | Last used | Composers | Theme Song |
|---|---|---|---|
| Series 6 | Series 7 | Mike O'Donnell Junior Campbell |
Horns
| First used | Last used | Sound Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Series 6 | ||
| Series 7 | Series 9 | |
| Series 8 | Thomas and the Treasure | |
| Toby's Afternoon Off | Series 12 | |
| Day of the Diesels | Series 24 | |
Trivia
- Salty has been cut from more episodes than any other engine, being cut from a total of four episodes, with those being It's Only Snow, Emily's New Route, Thomas and the New Engine and Emily's Rubbish.
- Several of Salty's horn sounds are stock recordings and/or shared with other characters:
- Salty's horn sound from the seventh series is shared with Diesel 10 in Calling All Engines! and Patrick in Jack and the Sodor Construction Company.
- Salty's horn sound from the eighth series to Thomas and the Treasure is Derek's horn sound at two steps higher-pitched.
- Salty's horn sound from Toby's Afternoon Off to the twelfth series is the same one used for Bert in the eighth series episode Percy's New Whistle.
- Salty's horn sound from Day of the Diesels to the twenty-fourth series is Derek's horn sound at its regular pitch.
- Salty's horn sound from the seventh series was used for him in most of his merchandise, except for Wooden Railway, in which his model used his current horn sound, and My First Thomas, where he had a two-tone horn similar to his original horn sound from the sixth series.
- Salty consistently speaks with a West Country English accent, which matches his bio and his deep love for the sea.
- In the US dub of the sixth series, Alec Baldwin gives Salty an Irish accent.
- Some of Nitrogen Studios' promotional renders of Salty lack the rust on his bufferbeams.
- Salty is the only diesel whose Nakayoshi toy has not been discontinued.
- In the Polish dub, Salty was called Sylwek until the eleventh series, though he was mistakenly referred to as Sławek on multiple occasions. His name was changed to Bosman (Polish for Boatswain) in the twelfth series.
- According to the Thomas and Friends Writers' Bible and various merchandise bios, Salty has worked at docks all across the world.
Quotes
- “Don't take me away from the sea boys... Don't take me away from the sea!”
- ― Salty and Porter singing, Away from the Sea, seventeenth series
- “Clattering Columbus! The world is heading straight for us!”
- ― Salty, Emily Saves the World, eighteenth series
- “We wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas and a Salty new year!”
- ― Salty singing, A Cranky Christmas, nineteenth series
- “Every creak is another step near the scrap yard.”
- ― Salty
References
- ↑ T&F S6 #1 "Salty's Secret"
| 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 | |