Thomas was first introduced to the world in 1946 in the Reverend Awdry’s book, Thomas The Tank Engine.  However, Thomas was one of the first engines to arrive on Sodor and helped to build the North Western Railway.  When the job was done, he was sent to Vicarstown, the Railway’s Headquarters to shunt coaches for the big engines in the yard.  He was a cheeky and fussy little engine, who enjoyed playing tricks on the big engines, particularly Gordon – who got his own back by taking Thomas for a high speed journey behind his Express, leaving poor Thomas quite exhausted and embarrassed! But Thomas was bored of shunting coaches at the Big Station – he wanted to pull trains like the big engines and go for journeys along the line.  He got his chance when Henry took ill and Thomas had to pull his train – but silly Thomas ended up leaving the coaches behind!   Then, he swapped places with Edward and took his trucks back to Wellsworth – but couldn’t handle them and ended up losing control.  The Fat Controller knew Thomas was trying to be ‘Really Useful’ and let him stay in Edward’s Yard to learn about trucks – it was here that he first used the Breakdown Train and saved James after his nasty accident with trucks.  The Fat Controller was proud of Thomas and as a reward, give him the Ffarquhar Branch Line, and two coaches called Annie and Clarabel to run it. It was here that he met Terence the Tractor, who pulled him out of the snow, and Bertie the Bus, who he raced with.  He was later joined by Toby, who ran the Quarry Tramway, and Percy who ran the goods service after building the new Harbour at the end of the Branch Line.  But Thomas always has ideas above his station.  His Driver once remarked that Thomas knew the Branch Line so well that he could almost mange without him.  Thomas took this literally, and ended up running into the Station Master’s house after a careless cleaner meddled with his controls – confident all the while that he could “stop and wheesh!” to scare Percy and Toby.  (In the Railway Series, saw his front-end straightened out – the TV Series model was left unaltered.)  When Thomas came back from the Works, he began sharing the passenger duties with Daisy. Thomas has had numerous adventures over the years – finding the lost town of Great Waterton, saving his friend Hiro from scrap, and re-establishing links with ‘Misty Island’ and it’s supply of Jobi Logs.  He has also been a guest of honour at the National Railway Museum in York, where he was given a special plaque, making him an honourary member of the National Collection, after helping his friend Green Arrow on a Railtour when there was damaged track that required careful navigation.   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!

	Edward was the first character introduced into the Railway Series books in 1945’s The Three Railway Engines.  He had not been out for a long time, overlooked by the Driver and Fireman in favour of bigger, stronger engines.  But the Driver felt sorry for Edward and gave him a run again to make him feel useful again.  Edward first arrived on the railway back in the early days from the Furness Railway, around the same time as Thomas, during a locomotive crisis, and was later bought for a ‘nominal sum’. Shortly after returning to work, Edward was moved to Wellsworth, where he has lived and worked ever since.  It was here that he helped push Gordon up the hill, and was subsequently forgotten by the boastful big engine, but rewarded by his Driver for his kindness and hard work with a new coat of paint.  He returned to the Big Station to shunt coaches for Gordon, James and Henry, who were ‘on strike’ and not willing to shunt like ‘common tank engines’.  The engines were not happy that Edward was setting a precedent for the others.  They called him a ‘black wheel’ and hissed rudely at him as they passed by. But despite the other engines teasing or thinking ill of him, Edward has often shown himself to be a hero in more ways than one.  He saved Trevor the Traction Engine from scrap by persuading the Vicar to buy him, and gave a tremendous effort when he chased a runaway James up the Main Line after silly boys had meddled with his controls and ran away.  But his proudest moment was when against all odds, he brought a train of visitors home after one of his crank pins broke, causing his side-rod to fly up and damage his frame and splasher.  Without siderods, it was very difficult to start the train again on the Main Line, but with a valiant effort, brave Edward brought the train home once more. In spite of everything, boastful engines like Gordon and Spencer still don’t see Edward’s true worth as a ‘really useful engine’.  After Duck got stuck on Gordon’s Hill with a train of troublesome trucks, Gordon stuck too when he tried to push him over the hill.  But it didn’t take long for Edward to get the train back into motion and back over the hill again – leaving Gordon feeling quite ashamed and apologetic.  Spencer was also confident that he could outrun the old engine in a race, but became so complacent that he fell asleep when he thought he was far enough ahead to win – only to be trumped by slow and steady Edward at the last minute! Determined and wise, Edward is a mainstay of the Fat Controller’s Railway.  Always ready to go the extra mile and prove his doubters wrong, Edward is well respected where it matters – particularly because he can keep cheeky little engines like Bill and Ben in order, which engines like Gordon can truly appreciate!

	Henry gave the Fat Controller no end of problems when he first arrived on the Island.  One of the most famous was when he stopped in a tunnel to keep out of the rain, refusing to move for anyone or anything.  Frustrated with his bad behaviour, the Fat Controller soon took action by bricking him up inside the tunnel as a punishment.  But Henry got another chance to be ‘really useful’ when Gordon burst his safety valve whilst pulling the Express, and with Edward’s help, he and Henry brought the train home again, and helped Gordon home to the shed that night.  As a reward, Henry was given a new coat of blue to match his new friends. But it soon became apparent that Henry was sorely underpowered and very unreliable.  He was often ill, and often required attention from Fitters.  Many described him as a ‘cross between Gordon and a nightmare’.  Henry suffered for a number of years, until an inspection was carried out by the Fat Controller.  Henry’s Fireman pointed out that Henry’s firebox was too small, and that the coal didn’t burn as well as it did for the other engines.  The solution was to use special Welsh Coal which helped Henry perform far more efficiently.  But not long after, Henry had his accident whilst pulling the Flying Kipper, which gave the Fat Controller the opportunity to have Henry completely rebuilt at Crewe with a new shape and a larger firebox. Since then, Henry has become an all-round better engine.  He is stronger and far more reliable than before, and even pulls the Express when Gordon isn’t available.  His new strength was put to the test when he had to help Spamcan and Bear when the two Diesels broke down.  Henry was placed in the middle and managed to shift the two trains under his own steam.  He also helped Old Bailey the Fogman get his station reopened, after the Fogman tried to save him from a nasty accident – but instead, only served to spook him. However, Henry isn’t always a ‘model’ engine – particularly when he’s with Gordon and James.  He once tricked Peter Sam into rushing back by threatening to leave his passengers behind – the poor little engine had forgotten that Henry was a guaranteed connection!  But like most engines, he gets his comeuppance!  After teasing James about looking like a ‘Fire Engine’, Henry lost his tender whilst pulling his morning train.  James got the last laugh when Henry’s fire had to be thrown out and onto the track behind.  Henry still has lapses of illness occasionally and he is still prone to folly like any other engine – such as accepting Duck’s ‘tenders’ (which turned out to be old and dirty), thinking he had wished Gordon into the Repair Yard and continuing to suffer accidents whilst pulling the Flying Kipper!  But, despite being a bit of a grump at times, he still strives to be a really useful engine and make the Fat Controller proud.

	Gordon was the original, experimental prototype for Gresley's A1 Pacifics in the 1920s.  He was bought by the NWR along with a spare boiler when his trials had been completed and remained the mainstay of the Main Line Expresses from then onward.  For many years, he was regarded as the senior member of the Fat Controller’s locomotive fleet – by far the most powerful, the fastest and capable locomotive at the North Western Railway’s disposal.  His pride of place on the railway made him conceited, boastful and self-important – viewing himself ‘above’ the other engines.  However, he has been taken down a notch on several occasions, and knows humility well. Over the years, Gordon has stuck on a hill, burst a safety valve, suffered a jammed whistle, lost his dome to the wind, crashed through a station wall when his brakes failed, worn a set of rails out completely when trying to start a train, suffered a spectacular derailment when switched to an old branch line, been stopped by a bird flying knocking the seal of his brake pipe loose, been covered in a huge mound of snow after an accident with a snow machine and crashed into a mound of snow, to name but a few of his biggest follies. However, his first accident turned out to be his biggest eye-opener.  When he tried to jam the turntable, (as he had done accidentally before due to high winds), to avoid pulling a goods train, silly Gordon slid forward, off the rails and into a muddy ditch instead!  As punishment, the Fat Controller took Gordon off Express duties and made him pull trucks instead – but in this time, he proved more useful than ever.  He helped James when he couldn’t climb Gordon’s Hill due to leaves on the line, and pulled Thomas free of a mine, despite the cheeky tank engine teasing him before.  When the Fat Controller seen how well he had behaved, Gordon’s reward was to pull the Royal Train when the Queen came to Sodor. He also had the great honour of hauling a passenger train to London after arguing with Duck and a visitor over the name of the station in the city.  Gordon argued for King’s Cross, Duck for Paddington and the visitor for Euston – Gordon was most disappointed to end up in St Pancras!  He was rather more grateful when he next left the island, being asked to run a Rail Tour several years later in place of a failed engine.  But he can be very gracious when he needs to be - when trying to outdo Stanley on a 'race' to Great Waterton, he nearly caused an accident and had to warn the silver tank engine.  Gordon realised how silly he had been to be competitive and offered Stanley the chance to take the very important passengers in his place. Gordon knows how to deal with haughty and mischievous engines.  When brash Spencer ignored his warning about taking on water, Gordon was the engine who hauled him on to Maron Station.  And after Percy tricked both him and James, they convinced the little green engine that the signal at the junction as a ‘backing signal’ because it’s arm moved up instead of down.  But there is a caring side to Gordon – even if it has proven flawed at times.  He has convinced Sir Handel and James to feign illness to get out of dirty jobs – both times with disastrous results for the engines who took their places... But in spite of his faults and self-importance, the Fat Controller clearly cares a great deal for his long-standing Express engine – reuniting him with his class-mate Flying Scotsman in the year when steam was abolished on the Other Railway, and more recently allowing him to share duties with Pip and Emma who have since taken over from him on the Express services on Sodor.

	When James first arrived on the Island many years ago, he was actually painted black – and had wooden brake blocks which were no good at all.  After he lost control of some silly trucks and crashed into a field, he was rescued by Thomas and the Breakdown Train.  Then, he was repaired and given a new coat of red paint to make him forget his troubles.  But he was so proud of his new appearance that he became too cocky – and caused all sorts of bother for the Fat Controller, soaking his brand new top hat with steam, frightening an old lady by whistling in the station and being so rough with the coaches that he made a leak in the train’s brake-pipe, causing the whole train to stop.  It was fixed by a roll of newspaper and a reluctant passenger’s bootlaces – much to James’s humiliation. James was punished severely by the Fat Controller and forced to stay in the shed until he could behave.  But when he was given the chance to redeem himself, he made the Fat Controller proud and made the most troublesome trucks on the railway behave themselves on a long journey along the Main Line.  But boastful Gordon and Henry wouldn’t let him hear the end of his folly with the bootlaces.  The tables soon turned when Gordon lost his way with the Express and was turned back to the Big Station with a trainload of angry passengers.  The Fat Controller needed an engine to save the day and James rose to the challenge.  Until then, Gordon had been the only engine who could pull the Express, and from that day forward, he learned new respect for James. But some might say it did more harm than good – from then on, James aspired to be like the bigger engines and actively tries to avoid dirty jobs.  He once tricked Thomas into giving him Gordon’s Express under false pretences, when he should have been pulling trucks instead.  Gordon got his own back on James when the Fat Controller needed a volunteer for the ‘very important job’ of moving The Queen of Sodor – which turned out to be a leaky old barge – to the Smelter’s yard.  James successfully managed to shift it without getting dirty – until cheeky Percy decided to blow out the quarry dust in his whistle at Tidmouth Sheds! James also seems to have his prejudices.  He has been known to look down on some of the other engines, particularly older engines such as Edward and Toby – both of whom have had the last laugh when James has teased or complained about them.  He was also one of the last engines to fully accept Diesel engines – he was wary of BoCo when he first arrived, and for quite some time took a dim view of them having two-cabs... he later regretted his comments after an accident with some flat trucks and signal-posts.  However, he soon warmed to them when he was rescued by a friendly Diesel from the Works after he broke down with a frozen water-pipe and now concedes that not all Diesels are bad. Despite his vanity and arrogance, James remains popular among the engines and remains as determined to please the Fat Controller and be a Really Useful Engine as any other.

	After Thomas left to run the Ffarquhar Branch Line, the Fat Controller moved operations from Vicarstown to Tidmouth.  However, the move meant that the big engines were left without a shunting engine, and had to do the work for themselves – they didn’t like it, and after a few embarrassing incidents, Gordon, Henry and James went on strike to spite the Fat Controller.  Edward did his best to help, but the message was defiant and steadfast – “Tender Engines Don’t Shunt”.  The big engines wanted a new tank engine.  So the Fat Controller brought Percy to the yard to shunt coaches for them. Percy has always been cheeky, naive and full of tricks – and it has been these qualities that have made him both an endearing character.  Throughout his time at the Big Station, he was always cheeky to Gordon, James and Henry - on one occasion, tricking both Gordon and James on the same day.  They soon paid him out when Percy made his first trip along the line to the Junction, fooling him into believing that there were such things as 'backing signals'...!  From there on, the big engines thought it more fun to order Percy around and keep him in his place.  All that changed when Duck came to take over the shunting operations at the yard and urged Percy to stand up for himself against the three unruly big engines. As time went on, the work at the Big Station became too heavy for Percy to handle, and he was moved to Thomas’s Branch Line to become the principal goods engine, and help move trucks to the new Harbour.  It was here that he met Harold the Helicopter for the first time, and began a long and happy friendship, which has seen races and rescues as well as a lot of argumentative but friendly banter.  The two have often argued over who will deliver the mail around Sodor.  On one occasion, a broken signal meant Percy had to give up the train to Harold, who became so heavily overloaded, he ended up crash-landing in a haystack!  Thankfully, Percy was on hand to help out and managed to get Harold free with some help. But despite being a Really Useful Engine, Percy has also been habitually accident-prone.  Over the years, he’s found himself covered in jam, passenger’s clothes, fruit, coal dust, quarry dust, treacle, hay, chocolate, lime, flour, bunting and porridge oats to name but a few, and found himself wheel-deep in water when he asked some silly trucks to push him past a warning board at the Harbour!  This has often been down to clumsiness, lack of forethought, accidental occurances or purely the bad behaviour of naughty trucks! Over the years, Percy has built up strong friendships with all the Branch Line engines, but Percy’s friendship with Thomas has always been the best known.  However, even these two have been known to have their disputes... and played tricks on one another.  After hitting a cartload of lime, Percy got his own back on Thomas for calling him a “silly little engine” by pretending he was a ghost – but Thomas later got his own back when he passed Percy on a dark night with a brightly lit Chinese Dragon!  For a time, he also worked closely with Duck at the Harbour, prior to Oliver arriving on the Island. But despite his numerous accidents and faults, Percy has also been a hero on many occasions.  He valiantly braved a storm to bring children home for Thomas after a flood, helped Thomas to save Old Slow Coach from scrap, prepared a good luck package for Mrs Kyndley’s daughter’s wedding and saved a yard from a set of runaway coal trucks.  But nowadays, Percy is most content when he is pulling his Mail trucks and being a really useful engine!

	Toby the Tram Engine has had a varied life.  When he was first built, he was sent to work at a Harbour with several of his brothers, before being moved to work on his own line which served several farms, factories and villages before connecting with the Main Line.  However, as time went on, Toby’s workload was eaten away by the roads.  Buses took his passengers and lorries took his goods traffic, and his trains ran near-empty. But one day, a Stout Gentleman and his family who were holidaying in the area happened upon the tramway, and took a shine to Toby... after the Stout Gentleman’s granddaughter, Bridget, offended Toby by asking if he was ‘electric!’  For two weeks, they became regular passengers until their holiday came to an end.  As the months progressed, Tobys tramway carried less passengers and fewer goods trains.  Eventually, it was decided that the tramway would have to close down, and after a final farewell celebration for people who lived along the line, he was tucked away in his shed thinking no-one wanted him. But what Toby didn’t realise was that the ‘Stout Gentleman’ was actually our very own Fat Controller – and he would soon need Toby’s help.  When an overzealous policeman was appointed to work near the Branch Line, he was quick to remind Thomas that running on the Quarry Tramway without cowcatchers was against the law.  All seemed lost, and then the Fat Controller remembered Toby and his difficulties.  He quickly organised for Toby to come to Sodor to help Thomas run the Branch Line.  At first Thomas was jealous of how well Toby made the trucks behave, but he was so pleased when Toby rang his bell and frightened the Policeman, they have been firm friends ever since.  However, not everyone was accepting of the newcomer, and he has always had a particularly difficult relationship with James.  When he first arrived on the Island, James called him and Henrietta ‘Dirty Objects’ – but Toby had the last laugh when James ran into some tar wagons.  And when Toby ran out of water on the Main Line, whilst puffing to the Works for overhaul, James had to push Toby to the Works as well as pull the Express.  When the two arrived together, the waiting passengers assumed that James couldn’t manage and that Toby had had to help him.  That didn’t please James one bit! Despite this, Toby has always proven his worth on the Branch Line and been a mentor to many of the new recruits brought in to help run the line, such as Daisy and Mavis.  The Fat Controller has praised him on many an occasion, saying that “What Toby doesn’t know about Branch Line running isn’t worth knowing – our Toby is an ‘experienced engine’.”  Toby’s resourcefulness has been well-known over the years – when he derailed on the Quarry Tramway and ended up on the road, his Driver reversed him back along the ruts his wheels had made, after which he was able to make his way up to the Quarry once again. Over the years, Toby has also shown he can be very kind hearted and brave as well.  He helped Trevor and Terence to replant the trees in Henry’s Forest, was brave enough to go up the old Branch Line to help a vet reach Farmer McColl’s lambs, helped bring Bertram the ‘Old Warrior’ back into service again, as well as help a Miller put his Windmill back to work with help the wood from an old fallen tree.

	Duck the Great Western Engine (Also known as Montague) was brought to take over from Percy as the Station Pilot at Tidmouth, as the workload there became too heavy for the little green engine to handle.  Whilst Percy was showing him around the yard, Gordon, Henry and James thought they could take advantage of Duck and order him about.  Duck wasn’t prepared to be bullied by them, and so he and Percy stood on the points outside the shed, refusing to let the Big Engines in.  The trouble was only diffused when the Fat Controller came to stop the noise and put all five engines firmly in their place.  But from there on, Gordon, Henry and James knew Duck would stand no nonsense. Fiercely proud of his Great Western heritage, he worked for many years at Paddington as a Station Pilot, and was exceptionally proud when City of Truro came to visit the yard with an enthusiast’s special.  He always tries his best to instil the qualities of Great Western efficiency to the other engines in the yard – often to their great annoyance.  But Duck’s no nonsense approach didn’t bode well with one engine in particular.  Diesel thought he knew it all, and Duck was determined to show him otherwise.  When Diesel shunted the wrong trucks in the yard, he was so angry with Duck that he told lies about him to have him removed from his position and sent away.  Gordon, Henry and James were furious at the stories that ‘Duck’ had told the trucks, and the Fat Controller sent him to Edward’s Station for a while.  It was here that Duck had a great triumph and saved the day when some of Edward’s trucks broke away.  After a frantic chase down the line, he prevented a very nasty accident with James’s passenger train when he finally brought the trucks under control.  But it was not enough – he hurtled through the yard and into a Barbershop, frightening the customers.  The Barber lathered Duck’s face with shaving foam as punishment for the accident.  But when the Fat Controller arrived and explained that Duck had been very brave, he was far more forgiving.  And so were the other engines – Diesel had been found out, and Duck was given a hero’s welcome when he returned to the yard a few days later.  But he never let the experience taint him completely – and became one of the first engines to accept BoCo to the fleet when he first arrived. After that, Duck went on to become a great member of the railway’s team.  On occasion, he would work at the Harbour with Percy, where he helped take an injured man to hospital following an accident at the Regatta – and where he was confronted with Diesel again... only to see him undone this time by his own stupidity.  But Duck’s resource and hard work shone through, and having run ballast trains from there for several years,  the Fat Controller gave him the Arlesburgh Branch Line to run with help from Donald, Douglas and Oliver.  From then on, it was known as the ‘Little Western’. Duck took Oliver under his wing when he first arrived on the Branch Line, and helped him overcome trouble after his initial embarrassing follies.  He also helped Donald and Douglas heal their friendship when they fell out with one another, and supported Percy when Thomas was teasing him for being scared in the Smelter’s Shed.  He even tried to help Bill and Ben to accept Derek the Diesel when he first arrived on the Island, when the twins were expecting the worst out of the newcomer, who turned out to be quite nice. But Duck isn’t above the odd practical joke though – when he and Donald were arguing about Duck chattering all night, “Quacking like a Duck!”, Duck’s crew slipped a baby duckling into his tender’s water tank.  On another notable occasion, he had Peter Sam fretting that the ‘Duke’ of Sodor had been scrapped... when in fact he meant Dukes as in Great Western Engines!   In all, Duck is a hard working, responsible and really useful engine who is a credit to the Fat Controller’s Railway and always keen to help his fellow engines when he is needed.

	At a time when the Fat Controller’s railway was becoming ever more busy, he decided to order a goods engine from Scotland to help ease the strain.  However, much to his surprise, two engines arrived instead!  He had ordered 57646, however, it’s twin, 57647, also accompanied him on the trip to Sodor.  The twins had conveniently lost their numbers on the way, and ‘couldn’t recall them’.  This made things very difficult for the Fat Controller – he would need to send one of the engines home, but he didn’t know which one! This decision became all the more difficult when the two of them started work in the yard.  They were able performers, but as always on Sodor, trouble would be lurking around the corner.  Douglas became worried that the Fat Controller would find out it was him that was playing truant, and send him back to Scotland, where he might be withdrawn from service and scrapped.  He became so preoccupied that whilst shunting coaches for Duck, he misplaced one of them in a siding which had been meant for a special service on Thomas’s Branch Line.  In order to avoid trouble, he swapped tenders with Donald and took his train instead to avoid the Fat Controller’s wrath.  But the Fat Controller saw right through the charade and scolded both twins severely. After this, a spiteful brake van decided to target Douglas.  He made things very difficult when he had to take it on his trains – and Douglas got the blame.  Donald put him firmly in his place, which saw better behaviour for a while... until Donald had an accident himself and crashed into a signal box!  James had to take over the goods work whilst Donald’s tender was mended, and ended up on the receiving end of the spiteful brake van’s trickery.  He was so exhausted that he needed Douglas’s help to see him up Gordon’s Hill, where the weight of the trucks and the powerful effort from Douglas caused the rotten old brake van to fold up like an accordion and smash to pieces. The Fat Controller was in a real quandary.  Both twins had performed as well as each other, and both had accidents which had tarnished their good names.  But when winter came, they showed their true worth and kept the lines running, clearing snow drifts all along the Main Line.  After all their hard work, the other engines wanted them to stay too.  When Percy sought his advice on the situation, Edward suggested a ‘deputation’ to tell the Fat Controller something was wrong.  Gordon duly appointed Percy with the ‘honour’ of the position – much to poor Percy’s frustration!  Thankfully, Percy managed to persuade the Fat Controller to change his mind over the twins and they were granted a reprieve and allowed to stay. From there on, Donald and Douglas became the mainstays of goods traffic on the Main Line and a lot of the Branch Lines on Sodor.  However, their views on Diesels were particularly tainted by the experiences they had suffered through.  Before BoCo arrived on the island, neither was prepared to trust or accept the friendship of the newcomers.  But the experience had a more positive effect on Douglas, who never forgot the risk that Donald took for him, and repaid the favour by performing an act of heroism himself when he helped Oliver to Sodor as he tried to escape from scrap.  As a reward for his bravery, he was granted Toad the brake van to run on all his goods trains. But despite their strong bond and good intentions, the twins can be very headstrong.  They had a particularly big falling out when Donald hit a cart of hay and derailed whilst they were double-heading a train.  Neither was willing to accept the blame, and Donald goes to work with Duck instead.  But an unfortunate accident in the yard forces the two engines back together, when Douglas is the only engine strong enough to pull Donald back onto the rails again. And although they are well known for being hard workers, the two are as equally well known for playing jokes on other engines.  They particularly enjoy teasing Percy with scary stories about ‘naughty gnomes’ and ‘monsters’ in Castle Loch – a joke which came back to haunt them when they became trapped by a landslide, and mistook Harvey and the breakdown train’s mysterious shape crossing the causeway for something more sinister!

	Unlike the other engines, Oliver had never been expected on the Island of Sodor.  His Driver and Fireman had taken the chance to save him from scrap, along with Isabel the Auto Coach and Toad the Brake Van.  They worked out an escape route and with the help of sympathetic signalman, and some measure of luck, they made their way along various ‘goods only’ routes under cover of darkness in the hopes of reaching the Fat Controller’s Railway.  However, they had some near-misses and on one occasion, had to hole up in a Quarry branch line for several days, out of the way of preying Diesels, when ‘Control’ got word of a ‘mystery train’. Oliver’s luck nearly ran out completely when he and his crew ran out of coal and had no more steam to go on.  Douglas has just delivered the Midnight Goods when he heard Oliver hissing to attract his attention.  Douglas, having been in a similar position several years before, knew he had to help, and he and his crew helped prepare Oliver for the journey to Sodor – making it look as if he was delivering Oliver for scrap.  But a Diesel was wise to their plan and alerted the Foreman, who stopped Douglas in his tracks.  Thanks to good preparation and quick thinking, Douglas and Oliver were able to carry on all the way to the Works, where Oliver was hidden out of the way by the Night Foreman. The Fat Controller was very proud of Douglas for his heroism and bought Oliver to help out on Duck’s Branch Line – which was aptly renamed ‘The Little Western’ – much to the pride of the two engines.  Oliver’s courage and determination was praised by the big engines.  James and Gordon said he had ‘resource’ and ‘sagacity’, which made Oliver very puffed up in the smokebox.  But when it came his turn to take the ballast trucks on his own for the very first time, he wouldn’t listen to the advice of Duck, Donald or Douglas.  The silly trucks took advantage of the situation and pushed him into the turntable well – damaging the turntable in the process! From there on, Oliver learned he wasn’t so special after all.  The trucks, led by S.C. Ruffey, a private owner’s wagon, began singing rude songs about him, and no-one could stop the spirit of nasty disrespect that was brewing in the yard.  But Toad the Brake Van knew exactly what to do and encouraged Oliver to take charge of the situation.  They arranged a long line of trucks, with S.C. Ruffey at the front, who was encouraging the other trucks to “hold back!” – little did he realise this would have disastrous consequences for himself as Oliver pulled very hard and ripped poor S.C.Ruffey apart!  The trucks learned a lesson from there on in, and showed Oliver a fair bit more respect in future. However, trucks will be trucks, and they didn’t stop being rude to Oliver either.  On one occasion, he became so riled with them that he forced them into the turntable well – which saw Oliver put on the Night Mail run to “cool his smokebox”.  It was here that Oliver was switched down the wrong line and ended up finding an old house at the end of an old Branch Line, after going missing and crashing into an old shed!  He also came a cropper on some icy rails when pulling trucks as well – sliding along a siding and straight into the children’s snowman.  After a cold night buried in the snowman’s stomach, the children made the most of it and made Oliver their ‘Snow Engine’.  But even he thought his cold and uncomfortable night out had been worth it to put a smile on their faces!

	When Diesel first arrived in the yard, he was convinced that he knew everything.  He thought that his presence would improve the yard, because he and his kind were “revolutionary!”  Despite the attempts at flattery, which had won over the three big engines, Duck found Diesel to be somewhat ‘false’, and so put him to the test.  He asked Diesel to arrange some trucks for him, whilst he did other work.  Diesel was delighted to show off and relished the opportunity.  But in the process of arranging the trucks, he mistakenly tried to shift some very old and very decrepit trucks which hadn’t been used in some time... this made for a terrible mess, which the trucks found very amusing.  Soon, the whole yard was singing ‘Pop Goes The Diesel’, and making the newcomer feel very cross. Diesel pinned the blame firmly on Duck.  At first, Gordon, Henry and James defended him, but Diesel was determined to get his own back, and decided to tell lies about Duck so that he would be sent away in disgrace.  Diesel told the trucks that Duck had told him ‘jokes’ about the three big engines, and the word soon spread throughout the yard, right back to Gordon, Henry and James who were furious with Duck.  The Fat Controller tried to settle the situation, but knew the best thing to do would be to send Duck to work with Edward for a while.  Diesel thought he had won the day – and then went on to tell lies about Henry instead.  This time, he was caught out and the Fat Controller sent him packing instead. But Diesel has returned many times since.  When there was a need for an additional engine at the Harbour yard, he was called upon to help out, much to Duck and Percy’s horror.  Diesel made a complete nuisance of himself throughout his stay, and the two engines needed firm coaxing from the Fat Controller to even bring themselves to think of working with him.  Thankfully though, his own stupidity got the better of him when he shunted some china clay trucks off the end of the pier and straight in to the sea!  The Fat Controller sent Diesel back home again in disgrace, much to the delight of Duck and Percy.  When he returned again, Diesel’s stupidity was alive and well.  And the trucks were ready to take advantage of it!  They urged him to shunt twenty trucks together so that he could move them all at the same time.  Unknown to Diesel, their brakes were all locked on!  So when he tried to pull them, he strained the coupling so much that he shot forward off the quayside and into a barge!  Diesel’s devious streak was still strong as well... when Diesel was sent to work at the Cement works with Fergus, and deceived him too.  Diesel told the little railway traction engine that he was to take over work at the Cement Works, whilst Fergus was sent to work at the Smelters.  This upset Fergus and caused a lot of trouble – until the Fat Controller found out and punished Diesel for his trickery.  Diesel also tried to trick Thomas into believing the legend of the ‘Curse of the Cliffs’ when he had to deliver items to the new seaside station.  Thomas feared he might disappear into the fog!  He also made a concerted effort to make Percy feel even more isolated when Thomas began spending more and more Belle and Flynn than he did with him... simply to lure him into Diesel 10’s influence. However, there was one time that Diesel showed everyone he did have a good side.  When Percy was ill, Diesel came to work on Thomas’s Branch Line whilst he was gone.  But he caused an awful accident with some trucks and was sent away again.  Before he left, Daisy suffered an oil leak, which sprayed onto the track and caused Thomas, Annie and Clarabel to slip down the hill into a runaway siding.  Thomas couldn’t grip, and it was up to Diesel to haul the train back to safety.  For once, Diesel was hailed a hero! Deep down, like all engines, Diesel just wants to be liked and accepted.  He wanted to make the children clap and cheer for him when he saw James with pretty pink piglets, and so tried to deliver them to the school instead of slate trucks.  But the children’s school roof was leaking and it needed repaired – so Diesel went back to fetch the slate and got the praise he wanted.  He also set a record for shunting more trucks in one day than any other Diesel – at first, no-one cared, but Emily encouraged the Fat Controller to give Diesel a reward for his effort, a brand new engine, after he burnt out his old one trying to get attention by taking Gordon’s new coaches!

	When Thomas had an accident, Daisy was brought in to help Percy and Toby run the Branch Line. But she proved to be troublesome; stuck-up, lazy and stubborn, and only did whatever work she chose. The Fat Controller threatened to send her packing until Percy had his predicament, leaving Toby and Daisy to run the branch by themselves. And after Toby put in a good work for her, she was allowed to stay. Daisy helps Thomas with the passengers and sometimes takes the milk or looks after Henrietta for Toby. But to be fair, although still flouncy, she’s really a sweet engine and takes a liking for Mavis especially.

	Bill and Ben are two saddle tank twin engines. Completely identical, they work at the China Clay pits near Brendam Bay on Edward’s Branch Line, pulling their loads for the Main Line engines and ships in the harbours. They are a mischievous pair, who love playing jokes and teasing the other engines - especially Gordon.  The twins are also frequently used in other Quarries across the Island, often found working with Mavis at the new Centre Island Quarry, and have been used to shunt in the Harbour yards when needed.

	BoCo first arrived on Sodor as a visitor and had the misfortune to encounter Bill and Ben, who mistook him for a thieving “Diseasel”, causing him great confusion. But after having proved to being Really Useful during his stay, the Fat Controller welcomed him as “one of the family”. BoCo lives at Edward’s Station ad helps Edward run his Branch Line, but he is always welcomed anywhere. He’s a kind natured diesel with a sense of humour, which makes handling Bill and Ben much easier over the years!  Sadly, BoCo is one of the only members of his class left, the other undergoing a long-term restoration at the East Lancashire Railway.

	Mavis was first brought to shunt trucks at Ffarquhar Quarry. Her wheels are hidden by cowcatchers and sideplates like Toby’s. But being young she was full of her own ideas, and caused Toby many a headache by constantly rearranging his trucks and ignoring his advice.  But an unfortunate accident soon provided a chance to help Mavis see sense.  Her plans to go further down the line by asking the trucks to bump her also went awry, leaving Toby stranded on a collapsing bridge when they bumped him instead!  After a daring rescue, Mavis was given permission by the Fat Controller and Quarry Manager to go down the line to the yards with trucks, and with help from Toby she settled down and became a more mature engine.  Mavis is now a shining example to all of the other engines, and often helps provide guidance where needed.  You can often find Mavis shunting trucks with Bill and Ben at Centre Island Quarry.

	The Fat Controller had decided to bring in another diesel to help Bill, Ben and BoCo at the China Clay quarry. However he didn’t bargain for Derek!  Derek is a kind, jolly sort of chap, but his locomotive type has a design flaw, causing him to suffer dearly from teething troubles and constant breakdowns, and spends many a day at the Works. Despite their dislike for most diesels, Bill and Ben eventually felt sorry for him for trying to help out.

	‘Arry and Bert are as devious and spiteful as Diesel himself. They work in the Sodor Iron Works, bringing in scrap metal from the scrapyards to melt down and use again. They believe that all steam engines are smelly and useless and should be scrapped.  But as they can’t get away with that under the Fat Controller's watchful eye, they just have to put up with teasing them instead!

	Salty is an old diesel who has travelled the world and seen many amazing sights.  He works hard and seldom complains, and he always entertains the engines with his endless amounts of stories and tales from the places he has visited.  He is also well known for keeping the trucks in order by singing sea shanties as they work!  Salty has a big heart and always comes to the aid of any engine.

	Harvey came to Sodor on a rough patch. Before giving a demonstration to earn his place on the railway, he was hurt by the other engines' unkind comments about his strange boiler crane arm. But when Percy had a derailment, Harvey made quick work in clearing up the wreckage and making a good enough impression to stay on Sodor. He is a kind, tough engine used for smaller jobs that his arm is best suited for and makes short work of any task he is given.

	Arthur is the largest tank engine on Sodor, bought from the LMS to shunt trucks and haul freight. He was famous for his “Spotless Record” for not having been in trouble or made a mess. This made Thomas jealous and forced him to play a disasterous trick resulting in Arthur having an accident and spoiling his record. But he soon left his past behind and continues to work hard in a no-nonsense manner. He is now in charge of the Fishing Route by a coastal village, where the glorious smell of fish hangs in the air for him to enjoy!

	Fergus has been working on the Island of Sodor for some time but has never really been noticed from having spent many of his years at the Cement Works. He is known to be a strict engine, knowing every rule and regulation by heart, and is constantly nagging the other engines to “Do It Right!” if they ever did wrong. But he is a kind engine as well, and prefers working with sensible engines who complete their jobs without fuss.

	Emily is a beautiful Stirling Single engine, brought to Sodor to help with passenger duties. She is one of several female steam engines residing on Sodor and works well. But sometimes, Emily tends to become a “bossy buffers”, as she tries to help her friends by correcting their mistakes and encouraging them to improve. Even so, she is a real “sweetie” and has her own two carriages, which she delights in carrying passengers in them.

	Murdoch is one of the largest engines on Sodor, and was brought to the Island to pull heavy goods trains for long distances.  Despite his size, he’s actually a gentle giant and much prefers some Peace and Quiet outwith the hustle and bustle of the yards - and there is no better place for him than a run through the countryside..  However, he has learned from previous experience that being in the company of chatterbox engines can often be far better than the baa-ing of sheep, which he once found to be too much for him to bear!

	Molly is a yellow steam engine who has been brought by the Fat Controller to pull empty trucks to the coaling plant.  Some of the other engines teased her about that, she didn't feel her job was important enough, and this made her sad.  Thomas tried to cheer her up by making everyone think that she had an important train to pull, but at the last minute everything went wrong. In the end, Molly realised how important her job really was, and she knows now that pulling empty trucks can be just as important as pulling full ones.

	Poor old Neville fell victim to a series of "Chinese Whispers" which were spread among the engines, resulting in Emily thinking he was going to bump all the steam engines.  He looks a lot like a Diesel, when he is in fact a steam engine, and a lot of the other engines didn't like him at first.  But once Neville's true personality was allowed to shine through in spite of the rumours, the others knew he was a really useful and kind engine after all!

	Dennis is a very lazy diesel who tries to take advantage of others and depend on them to do his work.  When we first meet Dennis, he tries to trick Thomas into giving up his afternoon off to help the lazy Diesel.  Dennis will always create excuses to get out of work, but usually gets caught in his lies, and is always very sorry...until he finds another oppurtunity to get out of work again!

	Rosie is a friendly little tank engine who idolises Thomas, and wants to be just like him.  And although once, he was keen to get away from her, Rosie proved her worth by coming to the rescue and helping him when he ran into a landslide!  Rosie is plucky and determined to do work that the bigger engines think she cannot.  While trying to help Emily with the Fun Fair Special, she ended up taking half of the train and losing the trucks when she strained the couplings.  But, she knows the importance of being really useful and despite being young and inexperienced, she always tries to learn from her mistakes.

	Whiff is a kind hearted, but nevertheless niave little engine who often takes on some of the dirtier jobs on the Island, which commonly involves taking the Island's refuse to the dump.  When Whiff first arrived on Sodor, some of the other engines thought his untidy and grubby appearance to be a great joke, but Whiff more than proved to them that looking splendid is no substitute for being a really useful and hard working engine!  Nowadays, Whiff can be found shunting trucks at the new Sodor Recycling Plant with his friend Scruff.

	Billy is an impetuous little tank engine, who thinks that he knows better than the other more experienced engines on the Island. When Billy first arrived on the Island, he wouldn't listen to a thing that Thomas advised him to do; he thought that he knew it all and Thomas was being a very bossy engine.  However, Billy soon learnt his lesson when he ran out of coal and water, and realised that he didn't know as much as he first thought.  He knows now to listen to the advice of his elders, and not to do things his own way!

	Stanley was brought to the Island to help during the construction of Great Waterton, and soon became very popular among the engines of Tidmouth Sheds in Thomas's absence.  At first, Thomas was jealous, but he soon found that Stanley is a hard working, friendly, determined and resourceful engine who will do his utmost to help his friends out of jams and tricky situations, and that's what makes him so likable.

	Victor is a small Hispanic engine from Cuba, who was brought to Sodor by the Fat Controller to help run his Steamworks.  Victor is kind, friendly and always willing to provide advice, guidance and help to the other engines whenever he feels they require it.  He keeps a particularly watchful eye over Kevin the Crane, as the young crane tries to find his way around, while muddling through his mistakes and mishaps.  But although Victor is friendly, he takes work very seriously and stands no nonsense whatsoever from troublemakers, particularly the naughty Diesels!  Victor is the only narrow gauge engine in the Fat Controller's engine fleet.

	Hank is a big, bold blue engine from the United States of America, and is easily one of the biggest engines ever to tread wheel on the Island of Sodor.  Hank means well in his manner and is always willing to help the smaller engines with their duties, as shown when he first arrived and had to help Thomas out when the plucky little tank engine took on more than he could handle.

	Flora is a cheerful and attentive little steam tram who has been brought to help work on the new Great Waterton Tramway, working alongside Toby as Sodor's other steam tram.  When Flora first arrived on Sodor, she helped Toby lead the first annual Great Waterton parade with the other Steam Team Engines, and received her very own special green Tram Car to perform her passenger duties.

	Charlie is well known on the Mainland for being the most fun engine ever, and is the favourite engine of the Mainland Controller.  He came to Sodor to help the Fat Controller, and had heard that Thomas was even more fun than he was.  But after his first day on Sodor, Thomas and the other engines taught Charlie that work has to come before play if you want to be a Really Useful Engine.  So while Charlie is still a fun loving scamp eager for play, he knows also that working hard is more important than ‘playing’ hard.

	Scruff the Scruncher is a dirty little boxy shunting engine who works at Whiff’s Waste Dump.  When Thomas first met Scruff, he thought he could do with a good clean, and in good faith, tried to arrange one for him.  Poor Scruff had never seen soap and brushes before, and ran in fear.  Thomas soon realised that Scruff may not have wanted to be clean, but he did want to be really useful in the best way that he knew how – ‘scrunching’ trucks at Whiff’s Waste Dump.  Now Scruff is as happy as can be, he works alongside Whiff and loves nothing more than working with trucks full of rubbish at the Waste Dump.

	Flynn is a very special Fire Engine who can run on both the roads and the rails.  He was brought to the Fat Controller’s Railway on Belle’s advice to help her fight fires.  Flynn is fast, fearless and a really red fire engine, who is always ready to help a friend in need.  However, he has been known to give into peer pressure, such as the time he tried to prove Diesel and the other Diesels wrong about him ‘never being busy’ – and not listening to instructions about an emergency from Rocky.  However, Flynn has proven himself to be really useful time and again when working with Belle to save the day whenever fires break out on the Fat Controller’s Railway.

	Belle is a big, bold and brassy tank engine brought to the Fat Controller’s Railway to work at the Sodor Search and Rescue Centre.  Belle has been specially fitted with water cannons to help fight fires.  During her time on Sodor, Belle has been involved in many a daring rescue, but she knows that she cannot do it alone, and asked the Fat Controller to bring her good friend, Flynn the Fire Engine, to Sodor to help her.  However, despite being a hero, she has been known to cause trouble herself unknowingly whilst acting with the best intentions.  Like the time she tried to encourage Toby to be friends with her, without asking what he wanted to do to make their day together special.  Thankfully, Belle soon saw sense and she and Toby became good friends as a result.

	Den is the ‘boss’ at the Vicarstown Dieselworks, and is responsible for repairing the Diesel engines on the Fat Controller’s railway.  Den has a tendency to speak very slowly, and will often be heard saying, “What I mean to say is...” before Dart interrupts and does his talking for him.  However, Den is a deep thinker and a very knowledgeable Diesel, who is a true asset to the Fat Controller’s Dieselworks... when he’s not being given orders by Diesel 10 instead  Before the renovation of the Dieselworks, he had to rely on old shoddy tools and outdated machinery, but he was still well respected among the Diesels for doing a good job nonetheless.

	Dart is Den’s assistant at the Vicarstown Dieselworks.  Unlike Den, he is far ‘quicker’, and knows what his ‘boss’ is thinking so well that he quite often does the talking before Den get the words out of his own mouth.  However, Dart is a valuable member of the Dieselworks team, and is an able helper to Den, but like a lot of the other Diesels, he can be cheeky and rude to some of the other engines...

	Bash and Dash are the mischievous Logging Loco Twins, who know each other so well that they often finish one another’s sentences.  They were sent to Misty Island along with Ferdinand for not behaving and being really useful whilst working on the Mainland, and because the engines have no rules to abide by on Misty Island, they live for fun and play.  Very little work was done until Thomas landed there, and taught the twins that being really useful can be fun too.  Now, they all work very hard with Ferdinand to please the Fat Controller.

	Ferdinand is the biggest and most senior member of the Misty Island Logging Locos.  He’s a gentle giant with a big heart, who can make special tweeting noises with his whistle.  But despite being the oldest and the biggest of the Logging Locos, he will quite often let the younger and more boisterous Bash and Dash take the lead in most situations.  A quiet old engine, he doesn’t say much, and quite often will be heard saying “That’s right!”