Thomas the Tank Engine Wikia
Tag: Source edit
Tag: Source edit
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===[[Magazines|Magazine Stories]]===
 
===[[Magazines|Magazine Stories]]===
 
* '''1987''' - [[Thomas and Gordon (magazine story)|Thomas and Gordon]], [[Thomas and the Bird's Nest]], [[The Sad Story of Henry (magazine story)|The Sad Story of Henry]], [[Thomas and the Windy Day (magazine story)|Thomas and the Windy Day]], [[Thomas' Train (magazine story)|Thomas' Train]], [[Hello, Thomas! (magazine story)|Hello, Thomas!]], [[Thomas and the Trucks (magazine story)|Thomas and the Trucks]], [[Thomas and the Breakdown Train (magazine story)|Thomas and the Breakdown Train]], [[Thomas in a Hurry]], [[Thomas's Christmas Party (magazine story)|Thomas' Christmas Party]], [[Thomas and the Tree]] and [[Thomas, Terence and the Snow (magazine story)|Thomas, Terence and the Snow]]
 
* '''1987''' - [[Thomas and Gordon (magazine story)|Thomas and Gordon]], [[Thomas and the Bird's Nest]], [[The Sad Story of Henry (magazine story)|The Sad Story of Henry]], [[Thomas and the Windy Day (magazine story)|Thomas and the Windy Day]], [[Thomas' Train (magazine story)|Thomas' Train]], [[Hello, Thomas! (magazine story)|Hello, Thomas!]], [[Thomas and the Trucks (magazine story)|Thomas and the Trucks]], [[Thomas and the Breakdown Train (magazine story)|Thomas and the Breakdown Train]], [[Thomas in a Hurry]], [[Thomas's Christmas Party (magazine story)|Thomas' Christmas Party]], [[Thomas and the Tree]] and [[Thomas, Terence and the Snow (magazine story)|Thomas, Terence and the Snow]]
* '''1988''' - [[James and the Troublesome Trucks (magazine story)|James and the Troublesome Trucks]] {{Cameo}}, [[Thomas and Harold]], [[Thomas and the Guard (magazine story)|Thomas and the Guard]], [[The Lost Coach (1988 magazine story)|The Lost Coach]], [[Thomas Goes Fishing (magazine story)|Thomas Goes Fishing]], [[Thomas and Bertie (magazine story)|Thomas and Bertie]], [[The Train Spotters]], [[Tenders and Turntables (magazine story)|Tenders and Turntables]], [[Trouble in the Shed (magazine story)|Trouble in the Shed]], [[The Golfers]], [[Percy Runs Away (magazine story)|Percy Runs Away]] {{Does not speak}}, [[Coal (magazine story)|Coal]] {{Not seen}}, [[Railway Inspectors]], [[A Late Start for Thomas]], [[Thomas in Trouble (magazine story)|Thomas in Trouble]], [[A Surprise for Thomas (1988 magazine story)|A Surprise for Thomas]], [[Thomas and the Cows]], [[Thomas Down the Mine (magazine story)|Thomas Down the Mine]], [[Thomas, Percy and the Coal (magazine story)|Thomas, Percy and the Coal]], [[The New Coaches]], [[Bertie's Chase (magazine story)|Bertie's Chase]] {{Not seen}}, [[The Cold Waiting Room]], [[Saved from Scrap (magazine story)|Saved from Scrap]], [[Old Iron (magazine story)|Old Iron]], [[Thomas and Trevor (magazine story)|Thomas and Trevor]], [[Percy and the Signal (magazine story)|Percy and the Signal]], [[Thomas and the Horse]] [[Percy and Harold (magazine story)|Percy and Harold]], [[Thomas Takes the Mail]], [[The Runaway (magazine story)|The Runaway]] {{Does not speak}}, [[Percy Takes the Plunge (magazine story)|Percy Takes the Plunge]], [[A Close Shave (magazine story)|A Close Shave]] {{Mentioned}}, [[Ghost Train (magazine story)|Ghost Train]], [[Thomas and the Hedgehog]], [[Woolly Bear (magazine story)|Woolly Bear]], [[Better Late Than Never (magazine story)|Better Late Than Never]], [[Thomas and the Fish]], [[Thomas Comes to Breakfast (magazine story)|Thomas Comes to Breakfast]], [[Daisy (magazine story)|Daisy]] {{Mentioned}}, [[Percy's Predicament (magazine story)|Percy's Predicament]] {{Mentioned}}, [[Wrong Road (magazine story)|Wrong Road]] {{Mentioned}}, [[Thomas Loses His Driver]], [[Thomas and the Blue Wheel]], [[Percy's Night Out]], [[The Brass Band]], [[A Bump on the Line]], [[Thomas Spoils the Washing]], [[Thomas Saves the Washing]], [[The Missing Christmas Tree (magazine story)|The Missing Christmas Tree]], [[Thomas's Present]], [[A Special Christmas Santa]] and [[Thomas's Christmas]]
+
* '''1988''' - [[James and the Troublesome Trucks (magazine story)|James and the Troublesome Trucks]] {{Cameo}}, [[Thomas and Harold]], [[Thomas and the Guard (magazine story)|Thomas and the Guard]], [[The Lost Coach (1988 magazine story)|The Lost Coach]], [[Thomas Goes Fishing (magazine story)|Thomas Goes Fishing]], [[Thomas and Bertie (magazine story)|Thomas and Bertie]], [[The Train Spotters]], [[Tenders and Turntables (magazine story)|Tenders and Turntables]], [[Trouble in the Shed (magazine story)|Trouble in the Shed]], [[The Golfers]], [[Percy Runs Away (magazine story)|Percy Runs Away]] {{Does not speak}}, [[Coal (magazine story)|Coal]] {{Not seen}}, [[Railway Inspectors]], [[A Late Start for Thomas]], [[Thomas in Trouble (magazine story)|Thomas in Trouble]], [[A Surprise for Thomas (1988 magazine story)|A Surprise for Thomas]], [[Thomas and the Cows]], [[Thomas Down the Mine (magazine story)|Thomas Down the Mine]], [[Thomas, Percy and the Coal (magazine story)|Thomas, Percy and the Coal]], [[The New Coaches]], [[Bertie's Chase (magazine story)|Bertie's Chase]] {{Not seen}}, [[The Cold Waiting Room]], [[Saved from Scrap (magazine story)|Saved from Scrap]], [[Old Iron (magazine story)|Old Iron]], [[Thomas and Trevor (magazine story)|Thomas and Trevor]], [[Percy and the Signal (magazine story)|Percy and the Signal]] {{Mentioned}}, [[Thomas and the Horse]], [[Percy and Harold (magazine story)|Percy and Harold]], [[Thomas Takes the Mail]], [[The Runaway (magazine story)|The Runaway]] {{Does not speak}}, [[Percy Takes the Plunge (magazine story)|Percy Takes the Plunge]], [[A Close Shave (magazine story)|A Close Shave]] {{Mentioned}}, [[Ghost Train (magazine story)|Ghost Train]], [[Thomas and the Hedgehog]], [[Woolly Bear (magazine story)|Woolly Bear]], [[Better Late Than Never (magazine story)|Better Late Than Never]], [[Thomas and the Fish]], [[Thomas Comes to Breakfast (magazine story)|Thomas Comes to Breakfast]], [[Daisy (magazine story)|Daisy]] {{Mentioned}}, [[Percy's Predicament (magazine story)|Percy's Predicament]] {{Mentioned}}, [[Wrong Road (magazine story)|Wrong Road]] {{Mentioned}}, [[Thomas Loses His Driver]], [[Thomas and the Blue Wheel]], [[Percy's Night Out]], [[The Brass Band]], [[A Bump on the Line]], [[Thomas Spoils the Washing]], [[Thomas Saves the Washing]], [[The Missing Christmas Tree (magazine story)|The Missing Christmas Tree]], [[Thomas's Present]], [[A Special Christmas Santa]] and [[Thomas's Christmas]]
  +
* '''1989''' - [[A Very Windy Day]], [[Thomas and the Whistle]], [[James and the Shovel]], [[Trouble on the Track (1989 magazine story)|Trouble on the Track]], [[Thomas and the Nuns]], [[The Balloon Race (1989 magazine story)|The Balloon Race]], [[Thomas and the Sheepdog]], [[The Seaside Special (1989 magazine story)|The Seaside Special]], [[Thomas and the Scarecrow]], [[Clearing Up]], [[A Picture of Thomas]], [[Gordon Learns a Lesson]] {{Mentioned}}, [[Thomas For Sale]], [[An Important Visitor]], [[Clarabel's New Friend]] {{Mentioned}}, [[Too Many Trucks (magazine story)|Too Many Trucks]] {{Does not speak}}, [[Thomas and the Baby (magazine story)|Thomas and the Baby]], [[Daisy and the Tunnel]] {{Does not speak}}, [[A Surprise for Thomas]], [[Thomas and the Cyclist]], [[A Fishy Smell]], [[Thomas and the Bottles]], [[Diesel's Plan]], [[Thomas and the Campers]], [[Thomas's Trick]], [[Thomas and the Bees (magazine story)|Thomas and the Bees]], [[The Old Station (magazine story)|The Old Station]], [[The Picnic (magazine story)|The Picnic]], [[The Fastest Engine]] {{Not seen}}, [[Thomas and the Kite]], [[Fire]], [[The Wrong Van]], [[The County Fair]], [[Thomas and the V.I.P.]], [[The New Timetable]], [[Thomas and the Ambulance]], [[Gordon is Pushed Aside]] {{Mentioned}}, [[The Missing Holly!]] and [[The Party]] {{Does not speak}},
* '''1989''' - [[Fire]], [[The Party]] {{Does not speak}}, [[Thomas and the Whistle]], [[An Important Visitor]], [[Clearing Up]], [[Clarabel's New Friend]] {{Mentioned}}, [[The Missing Holly!]], [[A Surprise for Thomas]], [[Thomas and the Cyclist]] and [[A Fishy Smell]]
 
 
* '''1990''' - [[Thomas and the Umbrella]], [[Thomas For Sale]], [[Timetable Trouble]], [[Daisy and Diesel]] {{Mentioned}}, [[The Backlog]], [[Percy and the Dragon]], [[Too Hot]] {{Cameo}}, [[Emergency!]], [[After the Last Train]] and [[Go Easy]]
 
* '''1990''' - [[Thomas and the Umbrella]], [[Thomas For Sale]], [[Timetable Trouble]], [[Daisy and Diesel]] {{Mentioned}}, [[The Backlog]], [[Percy and the Dragon]], [[Too Hot]] {{Cameo}}, [[Emergency!]], [[After the Last Train]] and [[Go Easy]]
 
* '''1991''' - [[Duck's Service]], [[Gordon Forgets]] {{Mentioned}}, [[BoCo and the Trucks]] and [[Daisy in Distress]] {{Mentioned}}
 
* '''1991''' - [[Duck's Service]], [[Gordon Forgets]] {{Mentioned}}, [[BoCo and the Trucks]] and [[Daisy in Distress]] {{Mentioned}}

Revision as of 03:58, 16 July 2021

For other uses, see Thomas (disambiguation).

Thomas is a little blue tank engine who works on the North Western Railway. He worked as the station pilot at the big station, while having greater ambitions. After helping to rescue James from a nasty accident, Thomas was rewarded with two new coaches, Annie and Clarabel, and was tasked with running the Ffarquhar Branch Line, where he works to this day. Aside from branch line work, Thomas performs several jobs on the railway not restricted to Ffarquhar Station, namely pulling passenger and goods trains and the occasional shunting and odd jobs around Sodor, including small errands. Thomas also pulls the post train alongside Percy when multiple engines are required, and he sometimes travels to railways in foreign countries.

Biography

The Railway Series

Details of Thomas' arrival on the North Western Railway in 1915 by mistake. How this happened is unknown, but it is believed 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.

Through an inquiry, Sir 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 formerly 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 while Gordon dozed in 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 confused, 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 the Blue Engine 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. He only just managed to stop the train before hitting a set of buffers in Wellsworth Yard, where he was confronted by the Fat Controller. So that Thomas could learn about trucks almost as much as Edward, the Fat Controller kept Thomas there, continuing the swap with Edward, and could easily keep an eye on things, as he lives at Wellsworth.

While Thomas worked there, he saw the Breakdown Train. Shortly after he learned what its purpose was, James ran right past him, out of control thanks to his trucks, and derailed in a field west of the station. Thomas fetched the Breakdown Train and rushed to James' aid, 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 - called Annie and Clarabel - and the responsibility of running the Ffarquhar Branch Line, much to his delight.[3]

ThomasandtheGuardRS1

Thomas on his branch line

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 season, Thomas met Terence and teased him for his caterpillar tracks, though he soon 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]

In 1960, Thomas crashed into the Ffarquhar stationmaster's house after a careless cleaner had meddled with his controls. Being unable to stop on his own, this incident taught Thomas that he still needed his driver to control him, as opposed to when an earlier compliment by his driver had gone to his smokebox. Thomas was sent to Crovan's Gate 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 buffer beam 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 branch line after rabbits had been undermining the track. He was rescued and managed to attend the Jubilee at Tidmouth albeit after being delayed at Knapford Junction after a set of points and a signal failed.

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

TheAdventureBegins82

Thomas in his original livery

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 formerly 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.

TheAdventureBegins613

Thomas on his branch line

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 and happily working on his very own branch line.[8]

Thomas and the Magic Railroad

ThomasAndTheMagicRailroad15

Thomas in Thomas and the Magic Railroad

Thomas was pulling his coaches to Killaban, but he was late due to repairs on the Main Line Loop. When he arrived to connect his passengers with Gordon's train, the latter scolded him for being late and told him that engines are really reliable and right on time. After talking about Mr. Conductor coming to be in charge of Sodor while Sir Topham Hatt is on a holiday, Diesel 10 rushed by, spreading dust all over the two engines. Thomas reminded Gordon about Diesel 10, who used to be on Sodor.

Later at Tidmouth Sheds, Thomas accidentally bumps into some buffers; James warned him about it and Thomas reminded him that buffers are for stopping engines from crashing and getting into accidents. After Diesel 10 arrived and announced his plan to destroy a lost engine and replace Sodor's steam engines with new diesels taking over, Thomas was confident that diesel engines would not take over as long as Mr. Conductor was around and headed off to find him, leaving James confused.

On his branch line, Thomas met Mr. Conductor, who was concerned about his journey from Shining Time keeps getting bumpy. Thomas comforted him and told him all about Diesel 10's arrival. After arriving at Knapford, Thomas shunted some Troublesome Trucks at Tidmouth Sheds, talking to James and Gordon, who boasted that Thomas is too small to collect Mr. Conductor. After hearing the other engines conversation about Lady, Thomas was confident that little engines like him, could find her. Harold accidentally spread Sneezing Powder all over Thomas, Splatter and Dodge, dumped by Diesel 10. Thomas was sure that Diesel 10 was still causing trouble.

At the sheds, Thomas and the other engines were soon asleep with Mr. Conductor, until Diesel 10 attacked the sheds and demanded the lost engine's whereabouts. Mr. Conductor, however, threatened Diesel 10 with a bag of sugar, seizing him up if pouring it in his fuel tanks.

Meanwhile, Thomas was with the other engines for the meeting about their individual concerns about Diesel 10 destroying Lady when he set off to find Mr. Conductor. Then Bertie offered a race with him, but Thomas apologised to him when he was unable to accept Bertie's offer for a race and decided to help Mr. Conductor solve some mysteries.

That night as Percy arrived at Knapford with the Mail Train, Thomas and Percy talked about how Mr. Conductor travelled to Sodor on a magic railroad by a set of magic buffers as Diesel 10 overheard them. Then, Toby told them to carry on taking the Mail Train while Toby followed him to the Smelter's Yard and distracted Diesel 10, Splatter and Dodge.

Throughout the film, Thomas spent all his time, making sure he is really useful. Thomas worked very hard, taking passengers on his branch line and the Main Line Loop, as well as trying to find and help Mr. Conductor find the source of his gold dust, in order to keep the two worlds together.

After a coal truck for Henry disappeared through The Magic Buffers, Bertie called out to Thomas about. This led to Thomas and Percy realise that the buffers lead to the Magic Railroad and the lost engine. Thomas suggested they protect the buffers from Diesel 10. Later, Thomas met Lily and Junior and Thomas told Annie and Clarabel that Percy would pick them up, leaving Annie and Clarabel behind and took them to the windmill, where Mr. Conductor was looking for the clue. After Junior was flung away with Diesel 10, Mr. Conductor, Lily and Thomas discussed Lady and Burnett Stone and wondered if he could help them too. After Percy alerted Thomas about Splatter and Dodge finding the magic buffers before Diesel 10 destroyed the Magic Railroad, Mr. Conductor advised Thomas to take Lily to her grandfather, through the buffers, because he is really useful and would find a way.

Thomas was reluctant but bravely agreed. The two, guided by The Tumbleweed, went through the magic buffers and explored the Magic Railroad. Thomas found the coal truck and coupled up to it as a clue. When the two arrived at Muffle Mountain, Lily ran off to find her grandfather. However, a wind blew very high, knocking Thomas loose, into another portal of The Magic Railroad.

When Lady and the Magic Railroad were restored, Thomas met up with Lady and steamed through the Magic Buffers, meeting Mr. Conductor and Junior at the Sodor Wishing Well, until the two engines were found by Diesel 10, Splatter and Dodge. Thomas and Burnett bravely decided to help Lady. Thomas, Burnett and Lady were chased by Diesel 10, throughout the Kirk Ronan line. Thomas reminded Lady that little engines can do big things before they reach the viaduct. Lady and Thomas bravely made it across, whistling cheerfully as Diesel 10 fell off the viaduct and landed into a barge full of sludge. Thomas and Lady arrived back safely and helped out with more of the clues. After the gold dust was restored, Thomas and Lady thanked each other and learnt the valuable lesson of magic. Thomas happily puffed back home to Tidmouth Sheds to tell Sir Topham Hatt and the other engines all about his magical adventure.

Personality

Thomas is described as being a cheeky 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 cheerful, optimistic, idealistic, altruistic, kind-hearted, supportive and helpful.

A friend to all engines and a popular member of the Fat Controller’s railway, Thomas is No.1 and does his best every day to live up to that through helping his friends and those that he cares about. He lives to be a Really Useful Engine and encourages everyone else to do the same. He likes to be better than James and Bertie in races. He can, however, also get annoyed about being useful such as the time when Rosie followed him around because she idolized and loved him so much.

Because of his popularity amongst his fellow engines and the people of the railway, Thomas often likes to view himself as a leader to the other engines. He is quick to take action when necessary and - despite the dangers or fears he might experience - has a strong sense of bravery and will never leave any of his friends behind, even despite any previous conflicts. Because of this, the other engines often follow in his tracks. However, he can feel jealous or threatened if he feels a newer tank engine is trying to replace him, as shown with Stanley and Ryan. But in the end, Thomas is always willing to make amends with those whom he previously distrusted, proving his leadership.

Thomas is infamous to the other engines for his dislike of wearing a snowplough, often claiming his to be heavy and uncomfortable. On numerous occasions, he has shown he has no problems with doing anything to avoid wearing one, from banging it around to leaving it in disrepair and leaving it to be buried by snow. He does always get his comeuppance for these deeds, however, and knows that having a snowplough is important in bad snowy weather. He tolerates wearing a plough much better in the present day, but Thomas will still groan about it if given the chance, particularly when other engines make fun of him for this.

While most of the other engines and especially Annie and Clarabel tolerate his slight ego to a bare minimum, Thomas has often found himself going too far, driving away even close friends such as Percy, Toby, and even Edward. When these occasions happen, Thomas is very good at luring back friends when motivated, often pulling through his personal distastes to help others out and rekindle friendships.

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. Thomas also highly despises the smell of fish, and as such, when he once had the job of delivering fish, he wanted to finish quickly to avoid the smell, and ignored instructions, causing confusion and delay doing so. His dislike of fish is most prominent in the eighth series to the twelfth series, and less prominent in the first series to the seventh series and thirteenth series to the twenty-fourth series.

In other cases, Thomas can be highly curious and positive, with slight hints of scepticism, stubbornness, and forgetfulness, including tendencies to daydream. He is also however depicted with a subtle tone of wisdom, helping engines like Sonny and Rajiv be really useful, despite their difficulties or insecurities in the past. Thomas also has a high perspective on odd objects or people, quickly growing suspicious upon seeing the tiger hunters' hidden cage, Diesel 10's plans to take over the railway of steam engines with his fellow diesels and Baz and Bernie's whispering. Backing up his perception is a very high sense of creativity, allowing him to quickly adapt to a tricky situation.

Technical Details

Basis

Thomas is based on a London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (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 LB&SCR 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 (except for Thomas).

Thomas has several major differences from the original E2 class. He is much shorter in length than his original basis (making his water tanks shorter as well), he has two extra windows on the sides of his cab, he does not have the ladders near his front buffer beam, his bunker is notably longer and he has wheel splashers, something the original E2 class lacked. In the 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 levelled out from smokebox to bunker. Reginald Payne also illustrated Thomas without the additional cab side window and also gave him a southern railway-style smokebox saddle and lowered his front bufferbeam. These features were removed when C. Reginald Dalby re-illustrated the book.

The grey tank engine is also based on an LB&SCR Class E2 and has the same modifications as Thomas.

Livery

In The Railway Series, Thomas is shown to be a dark blue color with a number 1 in damp yellow on his side tanks. He has red lining along his tanks and wheel covers. In the earlier stories, he is illustrated to be a bright blue, reminiscent of the TV show.

In the television series, Thomas is painted in NWR bright blue with red and yellow lining. His number 1 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 formerly painted teal green with white lining. His company's initials, LBSC were painted on the sides of his tank and his number 70 was painted on the sides of his cab, both in yellow with red lining. His wheel rims were painted white. In real life, the E2s were painted in either LB&SCR Goods Black, with at least 3 members of the class confirmed to have been painted in the LB&SCR Umber Livery at some point in their career, Southern Railway Maunsell Green, Southern Railway Black, or BR Goods Black with its British Railways number painted on either the coal bunker or the side tanks.

In the first three series of the television series, Thomas had 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. This also happened in The Railway Series once Clive Spong took over as illustrator. The lining was reapplied in The Adventure Begins.

Appearances

The Railway Series

Companion Volumes

Thomas & Friends

Specials/Movies

Thomas will appear in the Untitled Marc Forster Film. He was also going to be appearing in the film titled The Adventures of Thomas.

Music Videos

Learning Segments

Videos

Magazine Stories

Thomas also appeared in the magazine stories, A Colourful Christmas, A Good Hiding Place, A Hole in One, A Job for James, A Long Way Up!, A Puzzle for Percy, A Rocket for Thomas, A Special Story about Guards and Porters, A Special Story about Steam, A Strange Squeak, An Old Friend, Animal Antics!, Back-to-Front, Behind Schedule, Bill and BoCo, Bulgy's Dream, Bulstrode the Engine, Catch!, Christmas Puddings, Clean Getaway!, Clever Carriages, Clever Climbers!, Clowning Around, Danger Signs!, Deep Dive, Diesel Causes Delay, Double Attraction, Dressing Up, Engine Plates, Fair Scare!, Fast Food!, Feeding Time, Fish and Chips, Fish and Fog!, Fishy Diesel!, Flag Day, Fun and Games!, Funnels and Tunnels, Gordon the Town Engine, Guard Duty!, Harold and the Broken Tree, Harvest Time, Henry's Soaking!, Henry Goes Round, Holiday Havoc!, I Spy with my Little Eye, In the Bag, Jack Frost, Just Right, Keeping Dry Lazy Wheels, Letting off Steam!, Lights On, Looking Splendid, Lost and Found, Misbehaving, Monster Surprise, Platform Picture, Parking? No Problem!, Party Time!, Percy's House, Percy's Spooky Tooth, Percy and the Trucks, Picnic Surprise, Picture Posters, Pigeon Passengers!, Pink Cows, Pirate Passengers, Pot Luck!, Proud Percy!, Railway Open Day, Really Important Luggage, Really Useful Edward, Really Useful Rosie, Reindeer Cheer!, Rhyming Engines, Road Train, Road and Rails, Santa Special, Scaredy Puffer!, Seeing Steam, Slick Trick!, Snap Happy, So Much to See, Sodor's Strong Man, Sodor's Strongest Engine, Sodor Goes Pop!, Sodor Rock, Special Bus Service, Special Passengers, Special Places, Special Treats, Spooky Station, Station Mystery, Steaming Along!, Stick with Steam, Stormy Weather, Summer, Sunny Smile, Taking Toby, The Balloon Race, The Best Band, The Best Bridge, The Best Engine, The Big Ship, The Christmas Sacks, The Craft Show!, The Flying Broomstick, The Great Statue Robbery, The Hallowe'en Special, The Huge Horses!, The Lighthouse Light, The Mystery Tour, The Open Top Bus, The Poorly Engine!, The Round-up, The Runaway Percy, The Smugglers, The Strongest, The UFO, There and Back, Think Pink and Thomas and the Baby.

Annual Stories

Books

Audio Stories

Video Games

Thomas also appeared in the video game, Magical Adventure.

Episodes

Thomas Creator Collective Presents

Thomas Creator Collective Presents

Music Videos

Songs

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 Read and Play!
First used Last used Sound Effect
Hero of the Rails Series 24
First used Last used Sound Effect
Thomas and the Magic Railroad Thomas and the Magic Railroad

In some scenes of the fourth series, the fifth series and Thomas the Tank Engine (Kids Station Game), Thomas is portrayed with a different whistle sound which sounds very similar to Edward's.

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Rusty to the Rescue (All international dubs, except the US dub) Thomas the Tank Engine (Kids Station Game)

In some episodes of the fourth series, and in LeapFrog books, Thomas is incorrectly portrayed with James' whistle sound.

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Four Little Engines Calling All Engines! (Leapster)

In one scene in the fifth series episode Horrid Lorry, Thomas has his fourth series whistle sound at a slightly higher pitch.

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Horrid Lorry Horrid Lorry

In one scene in Thomas And The Sounds Of Sodor, Thomas is incorrectly portrayed with James' whistle sound at a lower pitch.

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Thomas and the Sounds of Sodor Thomas and the Sounds of Sodor

In one scene of Calling All Engines!, Thomas has his sleep whistle.

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Calling All Engines! Calling All Engines!

In one scene of Thomas and the Birthday Picnic, Thomas reuses Douglas' fourth series whistle sound when he gives a sad low toot on his whistle.

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Thomas and the Birthday Picnic Thomas and the Birthday Picnic

In Thomas Tries His Best and one scene in Goodbye Fat Controller, Thomas is incorrectly portrayed with Percy's whistle.

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Thomas Tries His Best Goodbye Fat Controller

In one scene of The Biggest Present of All, Thomas is incorrectly portrayed with Henry's whistle.

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The Biggest Present of All The Biggest Present of All

In the books, Thomas and the Dinosaur and Thomas and the Tiger, Thomas is incorrectly portrayed with Spencer's whistle.

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Thomas and the Dinosaur Thomas and the Tiger

In the 2008 advert for Drayton Manor Theme Park, Thomas is incorrectly portrayed with Rosie's whistle.

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Drayton Manor Theme Park (2008 advert) Drayton Manor Theme Park (2008 advert)

In one scene in The Whistle Song, Thomas has Fergus' Whistle Song whistle, and in another scene, he had Emily's original whistle.

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The Whistle Song The Whistle Song

In The Whistle Song, Thomas is incorrectly portrayed with Emily's original whistle.

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The Whistle Song The Whistle Song

In one scene of The Whistle Song (The YouTube World Tour version), Thomas has Oliver's current whistle.

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The Whistle Song (Thomas' The YouTube World Tour) The Whistle Song (Thomas' The YouTube World Tour)

At Thomas Land Japan and in the eighteenth series episode, Old Reliable Edward, Thomas is incorrectly portrayed with Edward's whistle sound.

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Thomas Land Japan Old Reliable Edward

In the Learning Segment, Which Whistle Suits Thomas?, Thomas has his broken whistle.

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Which Whistle Suits Thomas? Which Whistle Suits Thomas?

In 10 Stories from Thomas & Friends, Thomas is incorrectly portrayed with a different whistle.

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10 Stories from Thomas & Friends 10 Stories from Thomas & Friends

In the game, Whistle and Peep, Thomas is incorrectly portrayed with Stanley's whistle at an even lower pitch.

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Whistle and Peep Whistle and Peep

In Thomas, You're the Leader, Thomas has a lower-pitched version of Edward's whistle from the Leapfrog books.

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Thomas, You're the Leader Thomas, You're the Leader
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The Journey Never Ends The Journey Never Ends

In the mobile app, Read and Play!, Thomas has a sad whistle.

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Read and Play! Read and Play!

In Thomas and the Magic Railroad teaser trailer, Thomas and the Sounds of Sodor, Standard Gauge and Narrow Gauge, and one episode of Learning with Thomas, Thomas has a lower pitched whistle.

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Thomas and the Magic Railroad Teaser Trailer Learning with Thomas

In one episode of Thomas' Magical Birthday Wishes, Thomas has a higher pitched whistle.

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Thomas' Magical Birthday Wishes Thomas' Magical Birthday Wishes

In one scene of a Thomas UK DVD Advert, Thomas has Gordon's broken whistle from the first series episode, Whistles and Sneezes, which is also George's whistle from Sir Topham Hatt's Helping Hands at five steps higher in pitch.

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Thomas UK DVD Advert Thomas UK DVD Advert

In the US DVD menu, Thomas has Henry's whistle at five steps higher in pitch.

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Best of Thomas Blue Mountain Hide and Peep Game

In Building the New Line, Thomas is incorrectly portrayed with Henry's whistle at a higher pitch.

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Building the New Line Building the New Line

In one scene of Special Delivery, Thomas is incorrectly portrayed with Rainbow Sun's whistle.

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Special Delivery Special Delivery

In The Wheels on the Train, Thomas is incorrectly portrayed with Kwaku's whistle.

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The Wheels on the Train The Wheels on the Train

In the Help Thomas up Muffle Mountain game on the original website, Thomas is incorrectly portrayed with a different whistle.

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Help Thomas up Muffle Mountain Help Thomas up Muffle Mountain

Trivia

  • Thomas was the first character in the Railway Series to have a number. According to Brian Sibley in Thomas the Tank Engine Man, Awdry used the number one because it was the easiest to draw.
  • Thomas was the first character to be introduced in the television series.
  • From the first to twelfth series during the model series era, Thomas had three different facial expressions: frustrated, livid and jovial; that were not used on-screen. His unused second series jovial face, however, was designed in The Great Festival Adventure game, where Thomas teased Gordon on the turntable.
    • According to Steve Asquith, the reason two of Thomas' angry expressions were left unused is because they were unsuitable for Thomas as he never has anger issues all the time on-screen.[9]
    • 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 and later challenging him to a race to Kellsthorpe Road.
    • Sometime before or during the production of the fourth series, Thomas had an elderly face, created by model maker Jeremy King, which was originally made as a joke to David Mitton. Robert Gauld-Galliers recalls Mitton coming onto the set at the start of the day, picking up Thomas's eye transmitter, glancing at the monitor, and promptly falling over in laughter. This face was notable for being known to fans as the face of a fanmade sibling to Thomas, named Timothy the ghost engine.[10][11]
  • 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 top speed of his basis and the 70th anniversary of the Railway Series. All the actual E2s, however, were only numbered from 100 to 109.
  • Thomas and James are the only engines to have two different colours in The Adventure Begins.
  • 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 three characters to have a speaking role in every series and special, the other two being Henry and James.
  • 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 one of its episodes 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 as it might be because his crew never shut off his steam properly.
  • As Thomas is shorter than an actual E2, this means his tanks are smaller as well. His coal bunker is also notably bigger.
  • A Bachmann G scale model of Thomas, wearing the face from the HO scale model, was featured in the Marvel film Ant-Man.
  • Thomas has the most nicknames of any character, with nineteen in total.
  • Thomas is the first Sudrian engine with a separate driver in international locations.
  • Thomas 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 one were to also count The Fat Controller's top hat in Topped Off Thomas), not counting Whiff's glasses 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.
  • Thomas has sometimes been seen going well over his top speed of seventy miles per hour.
  • Despite having lining present on his bunker, only a select few merchandise items have had it during their course. They were subsequently removed in renovations and to date, items of Thomas with the bunker lining are rare to find.
  • Thomas is the only original member of the current Steam Team not to have handrails across his boiler or side tanks.
  • As the titled protagonist, Thomas has had the most appearances in the TV Series.
  • Didi Conn has said that Thomas was her favorite engine.
  • To celebrate Easter in 2017, a giant 140 kg chocolate sculpture of Thomas was displayed at Kings Cross Station. Made out of real Belgian chocolate, the display piece was sculpted in two-hundred-fifty hours by three master chocolatiers and was surrounded by TrackMaster engines running around. An actor dressed as Sir Topham Hatt was on hand to hand out Easter eggs.
  • In episode 5 of Season 3 of Gavin and Stacey a ride of Thomas can be seen in the background of one of the scenes.
  • One of Thomas' television series brass models is currently on display at the Explore the Rails exhibit and is wearing one of his happy face masks.
    • The other brass model from Thomas and the Magic Railroad is currently on display at the Hara Model Railway Museum in Japan and is wearing one of his happy face masks (Previously on display at Nitrogen Studios in Canada)
    • One of the tenth series brass model is currently on display at Drayton Manor and is wearing one of his alternate happy face masks. One of his alternate happy face masks was on his television series model when he first arrived in 2009 and was put on display at the Discover Thomas & Friends Exhibition, but it was replaced with a replica face. One of his alternate happy face masks was put back on his restored television series model in early 2020.
    • Four of Thomas' face masks are now owned by Twitter user ThomasTankMerch.
  • A Trackmaster Thomas appeared in the 1st Series finale of the DC streaming Service exclusive show, Titans.
  • Thomas was the very first character onscreen to have a permanent lamp, though despite it being a key part of his design, some merchandise lines (the non-talking wooden and diecast ranges, early Hornby models, late 2011-early 2012 TrackMaster and numerous smaller toylines) omit the lamp completely.

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
“Well, who else were you expecting?”
― Thomas and the Magic Railroad trailers

Video

References


* RWS only | ** T&F only | --- Dropped