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Hero Overview

All aboard for a big adventure!
~ Thomas' opening line in Seasons 22-24.
Cinders and ashes!
~ Thomas' catchphrase.
Little engines can do big things!
~ Thomas in "Thomas and the Magic Railroad" and "Thomas and the Royal Engine".

Thomas the Tank Engine is the main protagonist in The Railway Series book series by the late Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher, published from 1945 to 2011, and is the titular protagonist in the television series Thomas & Friends. He also has a counterpart in the Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go reboot.

He is a British anthropomorphised steam locomotive that works on the Island of Sodor. He is cheeky and 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' world and soon he's bustling about again, playing his part in the yard and on his very own branch line. Thomas works hard and he always strives to be a really useful engine.

In the first 7 seasons, he was, like every character, voiced by the late George Carlin, Alec Baldwin and Michael Brandon. In Thomas and the Magic Railroad, he was voiced by Eddie Glen. In the CGI series, he was voiced by Martin Sherman (who voiced Pac-Man in Pac-Man World 3) in the US dub of Seasons 13-18 and Joseph May (who voiced Chase McCain in Lego City: Undercover) in Seasons 19-24. In the UK dub, he was voiced by Ben Small in Seasons 13-18 and John Hasler in Seasons 19-24.

History

Thomas first appeared in the second novel of the popular children's book series, The Railway Series, created by the Rev. W. Awdry. Though he was preceded by the likes of Edward, Henry and Gordon, his popularity quickly rose and he became a breakout character. Thomas' character can change from time to time, from cheeky like Percy to wise like Edward. He is always, however, extremely proud to run his own branch line, and is very fond of his two coaches, Annie and Clarabel. He has the number 1 painted on both of his side tanks.

Personality

Thomas is a rather cheeky, but kind engine, and generally behaves well, except when he is getting into mishaps from getting over-eager. 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 who gives him the moral to learn, 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 slightly impatient. However, he is also optimistic and idealistic.

One of Thomas' favorite things to do is to race. He enjoys racing many of his friends, especially Bertie and James. His passengers and coaches, however, don't find it as fun as he does, but his short attention span makes it hard for him to notice.

Although their friendship has been turbulent at times, Percy is generally portrayed as Thomas' best friend, especially in the television series.

Thomas is youthful, playful, and also loves making children smile. He would do anything to make somebody's day a better one. Thomas' faithful coaches, Annie and Clarabel are his closest friends of all who he loves deeply.

Thomas also loves to be with his best friends, The kind and old Edward, the kind and soft Henry, the proud and strong Gordon, the vain and splendid James, the also cheeky Percy, the old and wise Toby, and the kind and tomboyish Emily.

Appearance

Thomas is an LB&SCR E2 0-6-0 blue tank engine. He has blue paint with red lining, six blue wheels, a black funnel, a golden whistle, and a whitish gray running board. He also has yellow paint lines around his windows and the number 1 painted on both of his side tanks. He usually has a bright white lamp near his buffers.

When he first arrived on Sodor, he was painted dark green with white lining and had the letters LBSC (short for London, Brighton and South Coast Railway) and the number 70 painted on his side.

Trivia

  • Thomas is the first character to be introduced in Thomas & Friends as well as the first character to appear on screen, despite not being the first character introduced in The Railway Series.
  • 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.
  • In the workprints for Thomas and the Magic Railroad, he was to be voiced by John Bellis. He was recast with Edward Glen when test audiences thought Bellis made Thomas too old sounding.
  • In 2009, Thomas appeared alongside various other children's TV characters in the music video to "The Official BBC Children in Need Medley" by Peter Kay's Animated All Star Band. He was voiced by Ringo Starr, the narrator of the original two seasons of Thomas & Friends in the UK.
  • Thomas was originally sketched as an "LNER J50" but Reginald Payne accidentally drew him more like an LB&SCR E2 Class Tank Engine.
  • The number 70 on Thomas' original livery is a reference to the 70th anniversary of The Railway Series in 2015, when The Adventure Begins was released.
    • It could also be a reference to how the LB&SCR E2 class, Thomas' basis, had a maximum speed of about 70mph (or 113km/h).
  • He has a female voice in Japanese dub, Spanish dub and French dub (the French dub for Thomas and the Magic Railroad only).
  • He hates wearing his snowplow. However, his All Engines Go incarnation likes wearing it.

External Links

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Thomas the Tank Engine | Edward the Blue Engine | Henry the Green Engine | Gordon the Big Engine | James the Red Engine | Percy the Small Engine | Toby the Tram Engine | Duck the Great Western Engine | Donald and Douglas the Scottish Twin Engines | Oliver the Great Western Engine | Emily the Stirling Engine | Diesel | Arry and Bert | Bill and Ben the Tank Engine Twins | Daisy the Diesel Railcar | BoCo the Diesel Engine | Bear | Mavis | Stepney the Bluebell Engine | Lady | Salty the Dockside Diesel | Harvey the Crane Engine | Arthur | Murdoch | Spencer | Fergus the Railway Traction Engine | Molly the Yellow Engine | Dennis the Lazy Diesel | Whiff | Billy | Stanley the Silver Engine | Hiro | Bash and Dash the Logging Loco Twins | Ferdinand the Logging Loco | Belle | Flynn the Fire Engine | Den | Dart | Paxton | Norman | Sidney the Forgetful Diesel | Stephen the "Rocket" | Caitlin | Connor | Gator | Marion | Timothy | Glynn the Coffee Pot Engine | Ryan | Skiff | Ashima | Frieda | Gina | Raul the Brazilian Engine | Yong Bao | Carlos | Axel | Shane the Australian Engine | Etienne | Rajiv the Indian Engine | Merlin | Lexi | Theo | Nia the Kenyan Engine | Rebecca | Skarloey | Rheneas | Sir Handel | Peter Sam | Rusty the Little Diesel | Duncan the Narrow Gauge Engine | Duke the Lost Engine | Freddie | Victor | Luke | Millie the French Engine | Annie and Clarabel | Henrietta | Toad the Brake Van | Terence the Tractor | Bertie the Bus | Trevor the Traction Engine | Harold the Helicopter | Bulgy | George the Steamroller | Butch the Breakdown Vehicle | Byron the Bulldozer | Thumper | Jack | Alfie | Bulstrode | Cranky the Crane | Kevin | Captain | Carly | Big Mickey | Sir Topham Hatt | Lady Hatt | Dowager Hatt | Sir Robert Norramby |

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