'Choo Choo!' from Thomas's Friends
Reverend W. Awdry had a passion for trains and as a boy, his fantastic imagination lead him to believe he could hear them talking to each other when they chugged by his house. Consequently the trains began to form characters and take on a life of their own. Rev. W Awdry entertained his son with stories of Edward and two other engines, Gordon and Henry, all of which were told over and over again. After a request from his son, Rev. W Awdry penned his stories and “The Three Railway Engines” was published in 1945. “Thomas the Tank Engine” was published the following year and every year a new book was added to his collection of enchanting stories until his twenty-sixth and final story, “Tramway Engines,” in 1972. In 1983 his son Christopher wrote the first of fourteen books and began entertaining a second generation of Thomas fans. In 1984 Thomas the Tank Engine chugged onto our television screens and Thomas & Friends grew into the phenomenon we know and love today.
Find out about Thomas's friends below and click here to meet Thomas the Tank Engine.
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Percy is bright green and one of the smallest, youngest engines on the island. Percy is extremely cheerful engine, who is quite content puffing around the yard. He is also one of the cheekiest engines so it’s no surprise that he and Thomas the Tank Engine are the best of friends, despite the occasional falling out.
Although Percy is an experienced engine, he can get flustered when there is a new challenge, and he does have a small problem with bravery and confidence. He can also be a little naive and overconfident sometimes. That’s why he’s the perfect foil for Thomas - who can be just as headstrong.
Being smaller and more inexperienced than the other engines can be a bit intimidating... especially when those engines take advantage of his good nature and eagerness to please.
It also doesn't help that Percy is expected to do a lot of general carting. This usually results in him having difficulties with those troublesome trucks and sharing space with bigger, faster engines. This has led to at least one near-crash with Gordon.
When not pulling those trucks, he can be seen pulling the post train or even taking Annie and Clarabel when Thomas is busy.
Percy's first appearance was in Troublesome Engines, originally published in 1950. He was also given his own title Percy the Small Engine. Sir Topham Hatt (then known as The Fat Controller) brought him to Sodor when the engines protested due to a shortage of shunting engines. After a few years of shunting at the Big Station, he was promoted to goods traffic on Thomas' branch line.
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Gordon the “Big Engine” is painted a bright blue and carries the number 4 on his side. Gordon views himself as the most important engine because he is the biggest, strongest and fastest engine on Sodor Island. Due to his size Gordon is usually the first choice to pull special trains and he was also honoured to pull the royal carriage when the Queen visited the Island. Because of his strength he is also called on for heavy goods trains and rescue operations. Although he far prefers passenger trains.
As a famous and well travelled train, Gordon has made headlines by visiting London and also Carlisle when an enthusiasts' special train broke down. He is proud of his work on the East Coast Main Line in his youth and never misses the chance to talk about it or about his Doncaster brothers and cousins from the London and North Eastern Railway.
However, despite his fame and importance, he can be very competitive. He particularly dislikes being told about engines that are faster than him, and once lost his dome through trying to compete with City of Truro.
Although he can be boastful, he is a good-hearted engine who is always ready to forgive, and use his superior strength to help smaller engines out of trouble. Sometimes Gordon is teased by other engines, particularly the smaller ones, and has a good-natured rivalry with the other main line engines Henry and James.
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James the Red Engine is a mixed-traffic engine, which means he can pull coaches and trucks. He is engine number 5 on the North Western Railway, the railway on the Island of Sodor.
With his red paint and shining brass dome, James likes to think of himself as a splendid and superior engine. Far too splendid to be pulling trucks.
James has a reputation for being naughty. His antics include breaking a coach brake pipe, crashing into tar wagons, and spinning on the turntable. He can be very shallow, boastful and arrogant – particularly to Edward, and those engines that appear old-fashioned, weak, slow or dirty.
But in the end he often finds he has to accept help from those he has insulted, because he’s been too busy admiring himself to keep his full attention his jobs! Underneath it all, James is a good engine with a good heart, and isn't afraid of hard work. Just as long as it's glamorous and visibly important hard work that is.
He first appeared in the Railway Series in 1946, in the book Thomas the Tank Engine and also has two book specially dedicated to him. They are James the Red Engine and James and the Diesel Engines. Also, he is also one of the few characters to have their own song James the Really Splendid Engine in the TV series, the chorus of which is based on his theme music used in the early seasons. |
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Henry the Green Engine is one of the biggest engines of the island alongside Gordon. Henry is a long fast engine who is little smaller than Gordon and much more sensitive. Like all thoroughbreds, Henry tends to be a bit highly strung and prone to illness.
Early in his career, Henry faced terrible engine troubles and was once bricked up in a tunnel when he refused to come out for fear of ruining his lovely green paint. Henry still suffers from the occasional cough and splutter which many engines put off as laziness.
But with his new shape he can give any engine a run for their money. Providing he is sympathetically driven. Henry now works on the main line. He can pull coaches and trucks equally well, and sometimes even hauls the Express when Gordon is not available. He is still the engine responsible for the Flying Kipper, and in the television series he also brings the post from the Mainland.
Henry's first adventure was in 'The Sad Story of Henry', the third story in the Railway Series book The Three Railway Engines. There have also been two Railway Series books devoted to him – Henry the Green Engine and Henry and the Express.
He has been in the television series from the start and in recent seasons has been identified as part of the Steam Team, the eight central characters.
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Sir Topham Hatt, the Fat controller, is the head of the railway and is in charge of all the engines on the Island of Sodor. He always has a great deal of say over other vehicles and has overseen the construction of many lines. He has also been involved with the opening of several tourist attractions on Sodor.
The iconic top hat and morning suit makes Sir Tropham look a bit old fashioned and formal. However, until the late 1950s it was customary for railway officials in Britain to be dressed in this way.
In the first two books in the series (The Three Railway Engines and Thomas the Tank Engine) Sir Tropham Hatt is known as The Fat Director. In the third book he becomes The Fat Controller, as the railway has been nationalised and it’s not until Duck and the Diesel Engine that his full name is revealed.
Also, according to the books there have actually been three Sir Tropham Hatts. This is not revealed directly in the Thomas and Friends stories as the character is described similarly throughout. It’s only through spin-off books such as The Island of Sodor written by Thomas Authors’ Rev. W. Awdry and George Awdry that this is made clear.
In the television series Sir Tropham Hatt is always the same man, with the same wife and grandchildren. There is no indication of his age and very little of his history is revealed except that he learnt to drive trains in Elizabeth the vintage Sentinel lorry.
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