Thomas

For other uses, see Thomas (disambiguation).

Thomas is a blue tank engine who works on the North Western Railway. He originally worked as the station pilot at the Big Station but longed to leave his yard to go out and see the world. After helping to rescue James from a nasty accident, Thomas was rewarded with two new coaches, Annie and Clarabel and was given the responsibility of running the Ffarquhar Branch Line, where he works there to this day.

Biography

The Railway Series

Details of Thomas' arrival on the North Western Railway in 1915 are mostly undocumented and it is unknown exactly how he turned up on Sodor. The most popular theory put forward, however, is that he was sent to Sodor in a wartime mix-up.^[1] His driver and fireman got along well with the local people and married Sudrian women. By 1920, neither one wanted to leave the Island or their beloved engine.

During an inquiry, Topham Hatt found out that the LB&SCR had written off Thomas as being "lost on war service". Rather than face complications resulting from a change in their books, the LB&SCR quietly sold Thomas to the North Western Railway for a "nominal sum".^[2]

Thomas originally worked as the station pilot at Vicarstown, shunting trains for the bigger engines on the main line to take out. He enjoyed teasing the other engines, especially Gordon, who he would quietly sneak up on and whistle loudly at while Gordon dozed on a siding. Eventually, Gordon managed to get back at Thomas by pulling out of the station before he could be uncoupled from his coaches, dragging him down the line at a tremendous speed. Thomas vowed to never tease Gordon again. Perhaps as a result of his brief excursion beyond his boundaries, Thomas longed to see more of the world and become a part of it and became jealous of the bigger engines for having the chance to pull trains.

On an occasion when Henry fell ill, Thomas took his morning passenger train since there were no other engines available, much to his delight. However, for unknown reasons, Thomas left the station before he could be coupled to his train, leaving behind the coaches, the passengers and their luggage. Thomas was not aware of his mistake until he was stopped by a signalman who asked where his train was. Ashamed and humiliated, Thomas returned to the station and collected his coaches. Subsequently, the incident made him a laughing stock among the other engines.

Thomas continued to grumble to the other engines, though they took no notice of him. However, Edward felt sorry for him and allowed him to take his goods train to Wellsworth while he handled his shunting duties in the yard. Although Edward warned him to be careful around the trucks, Thomas took no notice and bumped the trucks as he started. When they reached Gordon's Hill, the trucks pushed him down the line, causing him to lose control. Thomas raced through Maron station and came to a stop, where he was confronted by the Fat Controller. Sometime after this, Thomas was relocated to Wellsworth to learn more about handling trucks.

Thomas was present in the yard when James ran out of control with his trucks and derailed in a field outside the station. Thomas fetched the Breakdown Train and rushed to James' aid and he helped to clean up the broken trucks and bring James back to the shed when he was re-railed. As a reward for his actions, Thomas was given two new coaches, Annie and Clarabel and was given the responsibility of running the Ffarquhar Branch Line, much to his delight.^[3]

Thomas loved his branch line dearly and had many adventures during his first days on the line. He once left his guard behind by accident and on another occasion he accidentally swallowed a fish in his tank when he took on water from the lake, causing him tremendous pain. During the autumn series, Thomas met Terence and teased him for his caterpillar tracks, though he later came to regret this after he became stuck in the snow and had to be pulled out by him. Thomas later met Bertie and was challenged to a race to Ffarquhar. Although he was behind for most of the race, Thomas managed to overtake Bertie and won.^[4]

After a compliment by his driver went to his smokebox, Thomas became conceited, believing that he no longer needed his driver to control him. The next morning, Thomas found himself moving on his own after a careless cleaner had meddled with his controls, but he was unable to stop and crashed into the Ffarquhar stationmaster's house. Thomas was sent to the Works to be mended and received some changes to his design, including a new footplate that was now level from smokebox to bunker. When Thomas returned to the branch line, he began looking after the passenger trains with Daisy.^[5]

In 1990, Thomas was invited by the National Railway Museum to represent the North Western Railway in the Great Railway Show, an event showcasing many famous engines across the UK. Thomas was excited, but the journey to York was shaky; he damaged his front bufferbeam when he hit a crossing gate and the lorry he was travelling on was booked for parking illegally. Thomas was repaired when he arrived at the Museum and befriended Green Arrow while he was being mended, though he continued to have bad luck when he ran into a bag thrown onto the line and frightened a small child. Fortunately, Thomas managed to make up for his bad luck when, as he was double-heading a railtour with Green Arrow, he noticed the line up ahead was damaged and stopped the train. As a reward for his actions, Thomas was made an honorary member of the National Railway Museum and received a commemorative plaque.^[6] Afterwards, Thomas left York and returned to Sodor.^[7]

In 1995, during the Golden Jubilee of the Railway Series, Thomas derailed on his branchline after rabbits had been undermining the track. He was rescued and managed to attend the Jubilee at Tidmouth, or be it after being delayed at Knapford Junction after a points and signal failure.

In 2007, during which Toby was having to handle the overflow of quarry workers, Thomas discovered an old carriage named Victoria, who he asked to be restored and help Toby. He brought her up from the Junction to Ffarquhar to meet Toby, after having to bypass Terence's toppled cart that had nearly blocked the line.

In 2011, Thomas had been crossing the river bridge near Elsbridge, when he was forced to stop due to an injured swan laying on the rails. He escorted it to Ffarquhar where it was taken to a vet and after recovery, Thomas brought it back to Elsbridge where the swan was freed. Later, he attended the Thin Clergyman's centenary.

Thomas & Friends

Before coming to Sodor, Thomas lived at Brighton, where he worked alongside several other engines. He was brought to the North Western Railway when the Fat Controller was in need of a new tank engine to shunt trains at Knapford and was originally painted teal-green before receiving his blue livery.

Thomas was cheeky at first and enjoyed teasing Gordon by waking him up while he was resting at Knapford. Gordon managed to get back at Thomas by leaving the station too quickly before he could be uncoupled and though Thomas learned his lesson about teasing Gordon, he wanted to see more of the world and go beyond the yard at Knapford station. He was given the chance to pull his first passenger train when Henry became ill but left the station too early when he mistook the guard's whistle for Edward's train for his own, leaving behind his coaches and passengers. Thomas was stopped by a signalman and he went back to the station to fetch his train.

Thomas was teased relentlessly about this mistake by Gordon and James, though Edward felt sorry for him and offered to let Thomas take his goods train while he took care of his shunting duties in the yard. Thomas could hardly contain his excitement and was too excited to listen to Edward's warning about the trucks, believing that he could handle them easily. However, as he reached the top of Gordon's Hill, the trucks began pushing Thomas down the line, causing him to run out of control and nearly crashed until he stopped in a siding.

Upon noticing that Henry had not come out of the sheds to pull his train during a rainy day, Thomas raced back to Tidmouth Sheds and managed to convince a paranoid Henry that the rain would not hurt him, finally helping him get over his fear of the rain. Thomas continued to work in the yard and over time, he became more skilled at shunting. While taking a break in the yard one day, Thomas saw James being pushed by his trucks unable to stop due to his burning brake blocks. Thomas bravely chased after James abandoning his Punishment and tried to stop him, but unfortunately, James derailed and landed in a field. Thomas rushed back to Knapford and retrieved Judy and Jerome, who helped him, re-rail James. As a reward for his heroic actions, Thomas was rewarded with his own branch line and two coaches of his own, Annie and Clarabel. From that point on, Thomas began proudly working on his branch line.^[8]

Personality

Thomas is described as being a cheeky and fussy engine. He often gets into scrapes, usually by being over-eager to do things best left to bigger and more sensible engines. But clouds never last long in Thomas' life and he is soon bustling about again, playing his part in the yard and on his very own branch line, of which he is extremely proud.

He loves teasing the others, especially the bigger engines, such as Gordon and on occasion brags about his superiority, but is always brought down to earth in due course by anyone willing to correct him, especially the Fat Controller and his two coaches, Annie and Clarabel. If Thomas has one major character flaw, it is that he is forgetful and rather impatient. However, he is also optimistic, idealistic and altruistic with a heart of gold.

While he might drive others away, Thomas is very good at luring back friends should the situation demand it.

Despite all this, he does have his pride and will sometimes take wrong advice at the wrong time - such as from Sailor John or Ace, as well as refusing help even when he needs it.

Technical Details

Basis

Thomas is based on the LB&SCR Class E2 0-6-0T, particularly the second batch of locomotives built with extended side-tanks. These engines were built by Brighton Works between 1913-1916 to replace the ageing Stroudley E1 class and were primarily used for heavy shunting and short-distance goods trains in the London area and on the south coast. During their final working years, the E2 class worked as shunting engines at Southampton Docks alongside the USATC S100 Tank Engines (Rosie's basis), until they were replaced by the BR Class 07 diesel shunters (Salty's basis). All of the E2s were scrapped, with none surviving into preservation.

Thomas has several major differences from the original E2 class. He is much shorter in length than his original basis, he has two extra windows on the sides of his cab and he has wheel splashers, something the original E2 class lacked. In early volumes of The Railway Series and the television series, Thomas' footplate is dipped at the front, but oddly enough is not dipped at the back. In Branch Line Engines, his footplate was leveled out from smokebox to bunker.

Livery

Thomas is painted in NWR bright blue with red lining. His number is painted on the sides of his tanks in yellow with red lining and the lining around his cab windows is yellow.

In The Adventure Begins, Thomas was originally painted teal-green with white lining. He had the initials "LBSC" and the number 70 painted on the sides of his tanks and cab respectively in yellow with red lining and his wheel rims were painted white.

In the first three series of the television series, Thomas had the red lining on the back of his coal bunker, but during the production of the third series episode, All at Sea, the lining was removed. The lining was reapplied in The Adventure Begins.

Appearances

Songs

• I Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside (performed)
• Never Overlook a Little Engine (performed)
• We Wish You a Merry Christmas (performed)
• Will You Won't You (performed)
• Streamlining (performed)
• You Can Only Be You (performed)
• Be Who You Are, and Go Far (performed)
• Who's Thomas? (performed)
• The Hottest Place in Town (performed)
• I Want To Go Home (performed solo)
• The Most Important Thing is Being Friends (performed)
• Where in the World is Thomas? (performed)
• Wake Up (performed)
• We're Friends (performed)
• Sometimes You Make a Friend (performed solo)
• Don't Stop (performed)

Audio Files

Themes

First used	Last used	Composers	Theme Song
Series 1	Series 2	Mike O'Donnell Junior Campbell
Series 8	Series 12	Robert Hartshorne

Whistles

First used	Last used	Sound Effect
Series 1	Series 12

First used	Last used	Sound Effect
Hero of the Rails	Active

First used	Last used	Sound Effect
Thomas and the Magic Railroad	Thomas and the Magic Railroad

In some episodes of the fourth and fifth series, Thomas is incorrectly portrayed with Edward's whistle.

First used	Last used	Sound Effect
Series 4	Series 18

In Steam Roller, Thomas is incorrectly portrayed with James' whistle.

First used	Last used	Sound Effect
Four Little Engines	Steam Roller

Trivia

• Thomas was the first character in the Railway Series to have a number. According to Brian Sibley, Awdry used the number one because it was the easiest to draw.
• Thomas was the first character introduced in the television series.
• From the first to twelfth series during the model era, Thomas had three different facial expressions: furious, jovial and triumph; that were not used on-screen. However, his unused second series jovial face mask was used in The Great Festival Adventure game, where Thomas was teasing Gordon about being on the turntable.
  • Also in the tenth series episode, Topped Off Thomas, his unused third series enraged face was used where Thomas was arguing with Spencer about going or not going faster than the wind.
  • Thomas also had an elderly face mask, created by model maker Jeremy King, which was originally made as a joke to David Mitton during filming of Thomas and the Magic Railroad.^[9]
• Christopher Awdry lost the original Thomas toy when he was in the United States. However, a replica was made for a 70th-anniversary sizzle reel. The second version of the original toy was made as a "thank you" gift by Michael White.
• In the American and Finnish cast, Thomas is the only character voiced by Joseph May and Juha Varis in the series.
• Thomas' LBSC number, 70, was actually carried by a real LB&SCR locomotive, an A1 named "Poplar" currently preserved by the Kent & East Sussex Railway. The number also represents the 70th anniversary of the Railway Series. All the actual E2s, however, were only numbered from 100 to 109.
• According to Sir Topham Hatt on the 2001 version of the official website, Thomas was given his name by the engine workshop which built him. 
• Thomas is one of the few characters to have a speaking role in every series and special.
• A Wooden Railway toy of Thomas, along with one of Stepney's, appeared in the second series of The Big Bang Theory in an episode called "The Friendship Algorithm."
• An ERTL toy of Thomas along with one of James' also appeared in the sixth series of Full House in an episode called "Be True to Your Preschool."
• Following Mr. Conductor in Thomas and the Magic Railroad, Thomas became the second character to narrate in first-person.
• In Calling All Engines!, Thomas sleep-whistles. This is apparently the steam engine version of snoring, though instead typical snoring sounds, Thomas makes warbling whistles after pausing before the next toot. This was only mentioned in Calling All Engines.
• He has the most on-screen nicknames of any character, with seven in total. However, he has the third-highest amount overall behind Percy with eight and Gordon with ten.
• He is the first Sudrian engine with a separate driver in international locations.
• He is the only vehicle character with headwear (a nightcap in the series 9-12 closing segments, a party hat in the ninth series episode Thomas' Milkshake Muddle, an aviator pilot hat in the tenth series episode Sticky Toffee Thomas, and a top hat in the same episode and the eleventh series episode Smoke and Mirrors, if you can also count The Fat Controller's top hat in Topped Off Thomas), not counting the glasses of Whiff and The Ballast Spreader or Darcy's visor (or the Santa caps on all the vehicles in the early Christmas episodes).
• Thomas is the first character in the show to have lost his voice onscreen with the twenty-third series episode, Too Loud, Thomas!. With this, he is the third character on the show with a speech impediment (albeit temporarily) after Fergus and Theo.
• He has been seen going well over his top speed of 50 miles per hour.

Quotes

“Cinders and ashes!” ―Thomas' catchphrase “Hello! I'm Thomas, and I'm the number one blue engine! I work on Sir Topham Hatt's/The Fat Controller's railway and everyday I make sure I'm a really useful engine!” ―Thomas' website audio “Hello, everyone! Today, I learned a very important lesson about...” ―Thomas' intro for Learn with Thomas “All aboard for a big adventure!” ―Thomas' intro for the Series 22 episodes

References

↑ RWS "Sodor: Reading Between the Lines" ↑ RWS "The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways" ↑ RWS #2 "Thomas the Tank Engine" ↑ RWS #4 "Tank Engine Thomas Again" ↑ RWS #16 "Branch Line Engines" ↑ RWS #35 "Thomas and the Great Railway Show" ↑ RWS #36 "Thomas Comes Home" ↑ T&F "The Adventure Begins" ↑ SiF's interview with Robert Gauld-Galliers