James the Red Engine
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James the Red Engine is a fictional anthropomorphic tender locomotive from Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. James is engine number 5. His nickname is "The Red Engine". He has a 2-6-0 or mogul wheel arrangement and is a mixed-traffic engine, which means he can pull coaches and trucks. In The Railway Series books, book number three is dedicated to James.
In the stories, James crashed on his first day into a field. It was blamed on the wooden brake blocks he was given. James has a reputation for being naughty. Some of the incidents include breaking a coach coupling and needing a passenger's bootlace, crashing into tar wagons, pulling Gordon's coaches without his permission and showing off his new coat of paint while not doing work, only to end up getting covered in coal by the Troublesome Trucks. Despite his behaviour, James is an engine proud of his red paint and is considered to be a really useful engine. He is one of the few engines allowed to pull Gordon's Express when the big engine is away.
He is very proud of his red paint and shining brass dome, and so likes to stay clean. He hates pulling trucks, and believes that he should only be used to pull coaches. He thinks himself superior to the other engines, and can be shallow, boastful and arrogant- particularly to those engines who appear old-fashioned, weak, slow or dirty. However, on a number of occasions he has found himself forced to accept help from those he has insulted, and is ultimately apologetic.
James is one of the few characters to have their own song (James The Really Splendid Engine).
In the Railway Series, James was for a long time one of the last engines to retain a prejudice against diesels. However, he was forced to admit in the book 'James and the Diesel Engines' that there was nothing wrong with diesels as a whole, and this appears to be one of the few lessons that has stuck.
Behind the Scenes
James first appeared in the Railway Series in 1946, in the book 'Thomas the Tank Engine'. He was painted black at this point. At the request of the publishers, Awdry dedicated the next book to the character. It was in this book that James received his red paint and his personality.In the book 'The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways', it is claimed that James is based on a rebuild of a Class 27 locomotive of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, designed by George Hughes. However, as with most of the early Railway Series characters, this is a case of retroactive continuity.
[Martin Clutterbuck] has pointed out that the character also strongly resembles an Austrian Goods engine of the Glasgow and South Western Railway, and Awdry himself used an engine of this class to represent James on his model railway. As with Edward, it is possible that he rejected this prototype for the character's official "biography" on the grounds that an English locomotive would be geographically more likely to end up on Sodor.
Thomas and the Magic Railroad
Susan Roman voiced James in the film, Thomas and the Magic Railroad. He was briefly threatened by the evil Diesel 10 before being teleported out by Mr Conductor Junior (Michael E. Rodgers).
James in the Guinness Book of Records
A large scale working replica of James (along with Thomas, Percy, Harold and Jack) was created for a live stage show. This engine is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest model locomotive ever built.Real Life James
The Mid Hants Railway repainted one of its engines- a Southern Railway N class- into the livery of James. The engine retained this colour scheme for many years, and participated in the Railway Series golden jubilee celebrations at the National Railway Museum. This engine was the only replica Thomas character to be certified to run on the main line.It created a certain amount of controversy among railway enthusiasts, who felt that it was inappropriate to paint a historic main line locomotive in such a garish livery. Nonetheless, the locomotive was popular with the railway's younger visitors.
James in Ireland
A full-size replica of James can be seen in the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland. the replica is far from precise, as it was not the Class 27 or Austrian Goods Engine. In fact, it was the DSER Class K2. Firstly, it has a 2-6-0 or Mogul wheel arrangement and secondly, it even resembles an Austrian Goods locomotive, but only fitted with a belpaire firebox. All that was needed for the conversion was the addition of a face on the smokebox door, a red coat, a brass dome and replacing the number 461 with a number 5.
The DSER Class K2 is always in the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland.
Trivia
- In the Railway Series, James's whistle valve is in front of his cab on his boiler. In the TV show, the valve is turned on its side and attached to a brass pipe, which in turn is connected to the cab roof.
- In the TV Series, James makes a large number of cameos before his actual debut story.
- In the Railway Series, James was painted black before his accident and was given his red coat to cheer him up.
- James is one of the few engines who have felt facial pain, by being stung in 'Buzz Buzz'
- In the television series, James is the only engine to have a face (his beaming / happy / thrilled one) that is identical to the illustrations in The Railway Series.
References
- ['Full Cast and Crew for Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000)' imdb.com] Retrieved May 22 2005
- [The Real Lives of Thomas page on James]
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