“ | There are two ways of doing things: the Great Western way, or the wrong way. | „ |
~ Duck talking about the Great Western way. |
Duck (real name Montague) is a Great Western engine on the Fat Controller's railway and is the number 8 engine. He is a cheerful and busy engine. He's only a small tank engine, but coming as he does from the Great Western Railway, he'll stand no nonsense whatsoever from the larger engines who try to order him about. One thing you may not know about Duck is that his real name is Montague. Montague goes by "Duck" because some engines say he "waddles" but he doesn't really waddle. In fact Duck likes his nickname better than than Montague in The Railway Series and its television adaptation Thomas & Friends.
He was voiced by Steve Kynman in the CGI series. In Japanese, he was voiced by Kōzō Shioya.
Personality[]
Duck is a cheerful, busy, clever, reliable, loyal and wise engine that "does his work without fuss", and stands up to any bigger engine who tries to order him about. He runs his own Branch Line, called The Little Western, and is good friends with another Great Western engine called Oliver.
As Duck was female in the Greek dub of the show from Series 2-5, anyone can say that Duck was a tomboy in that dub.
Basis[]
Duck is based off a Great Western 0-6-0 57xx pannier tank engine, one of the most numerous preserved class of steam locomotive in the UK.
Trivia[]
- In some international dubs, Duck's name was changed:
- In the Greek dub from the second to fifth series, Duck is female and is called "Jackie". As of the seventeenth series, Duck has reverted back to his original gender and name.
- In the French dub, prior to Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure, Duck was called 'Duck' instead of 'Canard', the French word for 'Duck'. Since Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure, he is called 'Montaigu', the original French form of 'Montague'.
- In the second Polish dub narrated by Stefan Knothe, he is called 'Kaczor', which is Polish for 'Duck'.
- In the Turkish dub, prior to the seventeenth series, Duck was called 'Ördek', which is Turkish for 'Duck'. Since the seventeenth, he is referred to by his real name with the exception of the episode School of Duck, in which he is called "Quack-Quack".
- According to SiF's interview with Sam Barlow, Duck was originally considered to be part of the Steam Team. However, he was dropped in favour of Emily so as to give a female character a more prominent role. As such, he was completely absent from the series for four years.
- Nonetheless, the leaked pitch bible for HiT's 2004 retool of the series indicates that the writers were not directly barred from utilising Duck as a supporting character in their scripts (at least initially), implying that an amalgam of budgetary limitations at Shepperton Studios (which, by reducing funding for engine model repairs amidst the series' accelerated production schedule in the 2000s, may have limited the number of characters to film per series) and relative disinterest in the character on the HiT writing staff's part may have contributed to his lengthy absence.
- Duck has been the most recurring returned character from the seventeenth series onwards, having made at least one appearance per series since his return.
- In the CGI series, Duck gained different brake pipe outlets compared to his model. They were still based on Märklin outlets, but they lacked the additional moulded-on brake pipes which were present on his model.
Quotes[]
“ | What's your name? Montague, sir, but I'm usually called Duck. They say I waddle. I don't really sir, but I like Duck better than Montague. Good. Duck it shall be. |
„ |
~ The Fat Controller and Duck, Duck Takes Charge, second season of Thomas & Friends. |