| “ | Hello there! My name's Philip! I'm a diesel boxcab! | „ |
| ~ Philip, The Little Engine Who Raced Ahead |
Philip is a cheery little diesel boxcab. He is the tritagonist of The Great Race.
Bio[]
Philip came to the Island of Sodor as the new shunting engine at Knapford. During his first day of work, he was eager to impress Gordon by showing him how fast he was, but nothing he did was enough to impress him. He challenged Gordon to a race and took off out of the yard, racing all the way to Brendam Docks. However, he seemed oblivious to the fact that Gordon had not actually competed.
Philip continued to be proud of his speed, and boasted about how many trucks he could pull. After taking a train of empty trucks to the quarry, he found James hanging over the top of a tunnel, having had an accident after trying to prove to Philip how many trucks he could pull. Just before he could go get help, Philip ended up under James when the latter fell down and landed on top of his cab roof. When James was rescued and sent to the Steamworks, Philip proudly told the engines of his rescue.
When Philip first saw Toby, he was eager to make friends with him, thinking he was a diesel boxcab like himself. The tram engine, however, was overwhelmed by Philip's enthusiasm. The two of them briefly raced each other until Philip nearly collided with Thomas. Philip then learned how to be quiet from Toby, though he has not lost his enthusiasm.
When Hugo visited Sodor, Philip was one of the engines who went to see him at Ulfstead Castle, but missed seeing him when he passed by.
Philip was among the many engines who were eager for the Fat Controller to take them to the Great Railway Show. After Thomas' first encounter with Ashima following the show competitors' accidental arrival on Sodor, Philip insisted that she was nothing but trouble and advised Thomas to avoid her.
Ultimately, Philip was not chosen to compete in the Great Railway Show, instead representing Sodor in the show as its mascot and flag carrier. At the show, a series of incidents occurred after he kept accidentally getting in the way of Vinnie, who soon lost patience with Philip and chased him briefly before getting covered in coal from a hopper where Carlos was taking on coal. Vinnie, infuriated, chased Philip around the railway show yard, eventually winding up in the middle of the shunting competition and cornering Philip in front of a turntable well. Seeing this, Thomas and Ashima - who were both in the shunting competition - managed to couple up to Vinnie and pull him clear of the points, allowing Philip to escape. Philip then joined the other engines in watching the competition and later accompanied Sodor's team and Ashima back to Sodor.
During Dowager Hatt's tenure as temporary controller, Philip was sent to work in Ulfstead Mine. The job proved too much for him, however, and he ended up stuck in the mines when the lights went out.
Once while at Wellsworth, Philip got teased about the number 68 painted on his side by Gordon and tried to discover why he had the number. After sixty-eight sheep ran onto the tracks and Philip saved them from a speeding Gordon, he decided that it is his lucky number.
When Edward's berth at Tidmouth Sheds was destroyed by James, Edward stayed over in Philip's shed at Wellsworth. While it was originally hard for Edward to deal with Philip's loud chattering, he soon enjoyed his company and eventually decided to move in with Philip as the shed was close to his branch line.
After a series of incidents, Philip got fed up with James pushing him around and not apologising, so he refused to give way when he and James ended up facing each other on the Fenland Track. James also refused to move and they ended up in a stalemate. This unfortunately caused Thomas, Paxton, Rebecca, Annie and Clarabel to be held up behind them and the bridge became in danger of collapsing, leading to Philip decide to back down for the safety of the others. Eventually, James apologised to Philip and the others for causing delay between them, and Philip happily accepted his apology.
Philip later heard from Percy that there was due to be a railway show for little engines at Ulfstead Castle and passed on the news to Oliver to attend. This ended up with him abandoning his duties at Knapford to attend, not shunting the Express Coaches to Gordon and causing him to be late.
Personality[]
Philip is little diesel boxcab engine with a big personality. Philip is a comic character and a bit of a clown. He is very eager and full of enthusiasm, and he has an innocent, but very overblown sense of his own capabilities. Philip can be very funny, but some of the bigger engines have very little patience for the little boxcab. Philip is strong and can pull lots of trucks, but not that many trucks compared to the really big engines. He is fast and likes to hurry about, but he is clearly not as fast as most of the other engines. But Philip’s confidence is as big if not bigger than anyone’s and he is always willing to try and definitely believes in himself. His actions and attitude soon win him many new friends on Sodor, especially Thomas and Percy, but Gordon and James find his bragging a little hard to accept.
Basis[]
Philip is based on the Pennsylvania Railroad's diesel-electric Class A6 "boxcab" switcher.
Livery[]
Philip is painted green and yellow with the number 68 on his side.
Appearances[]
Television Series
Series 19 - The Little Engine Who Raced Ahead and Philip to the Rescue
Series 20 - Toby's New Friend, Henry Gets the Express (cameo), Pouty James and Engine of the Future
Series 21 - Dowager Hatt's Busy Day, P.A. Problems (cameo), Unscheduled Stops (cameo), Philip's Number, The Fastest Red Engine on Sodor (cameo), A Shed for Edward, The Big Freeze (cameo) and Confused Coaches
Series 22 - Forever and Ever, Confusion Without Delay, An Engine of Many Colours (fantasy), Apology Impossible, Samson and the Fireworks and Counting on Nia
Series 23 - Chucklesome Trucks (cameo), Diesel Do Right, Steam Team to the Rescue (cameo; fantasy) and Diesel Glows Away (cameo)
Series 24 - Emily's Best Friend, The Great Little Railway Show, Emily to the Rescue (cameo) and Gordon and Rebecca, Coming Through! (does not speak)
Specials[]
- 2016 - The Great Race
- 2017 - Journey Beyond Sodor
- 2018 - Big World! Big Adventures!
Trivia[]
- Philip has been modified for use on British railways with loose couplings, added buffers, and a brake pipe.
- Philip is the first American diesel engine introduced into the series.
