Rolling stock (Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends)

Encyclopedia : R : RO : ROL : Rolling stock (Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends)

No railway would be complete without coaches and trucks, and those on the Island of Sodor are no exception. Coaches and trucks are used to carry passengers and goods respectively.

The engines prefer coaches, which are smooth-running and well-behaved. The trucks, on the other hand, are nothing but trouble. In the words of Rev. W. Awdry, “they talk a lot and do not attend to what they are doing and, I am sorry to say, they play tricks on an engine who isn’t used to them.” (‘Thomas the Tank Engine’)

Contents

Coach Characters

Annie and Clarabel

Main article: Annie and Clarabel These two coaches work with Thomas the Tank Engine on his branch line. Although they are old-fashioned, Thomas loves them very much and the three of them are quite inseparable.

Henrietta

Henrietta is Toby's faithful coach. She worked with Toby the Tram Engine on their old railway, and when that line closed Toby could not bear to leave her behind. The stationmaster had wanted to turn her into a henhouse, but Sir Topham Hatt agreed that "that would never do." The two are absolutely inseparable, and whenever they are apart they worry about each other. She carries passengers and is used to bring quarrymen to and from work. She has even been used as Sir Topham Hatt's private coach. Henrietta is the only named character not to have a face. She is based on a Wisbech and Upwell Tramway four-wheeled coach.

Old Slowcoach

An elderly express coach who has seen better days. She was found in a scrapyard by Thomas and Percy, and was later refurbished to be used as a workman’s hut. She wears the “chocolate-and-cream” paintwork of the Great Western Railway, upon which she was based before coming to Sodor.

Other Coaches

Emily’s Coaches

These six-wheeled coaches were given to Emily as a reward for saving Oliver from an accident. They greatly resemble the six-wheel coachs given to Stirling 8ft Single No.1 and which now reside with it in its preserved state.

The Refreshment Lady’s Tea Room

Sodor’s only mobile tea room, converted from an old coach by Jem Cole and taken up and down the narrow gauge railway. Peter Sam was to help The Refreshment Lady find a place for another tea room, and it was his idea to make the mobile teashop, after seeing an old coach swept upon the tracks, and being removed by Rusty and the breakdown train. Peter Sam now takes the 'Teashop Special' and the Refreshment Lady can serve tea and cakes to all her favourite places.

Special Coaches

For extra special visitors, there are two maroon coaches. These are very luxurious, and are pulled by express engines like Gordon, James and Spencer.

Express Coaches

These form all the fastest and most important passenger trains on Sodor, and are normally pulled by Gordon, James or Henry, although these are by no means the only engines that have taken them.

There are two liveries worn by these coaches. They either wear green and cream paintwork, or maroon and white.

Narrow Gauge Coaches

To carry the visitors to the narrow gauge railway, there are a number of four-wheeled coaches. They carry either a red livery, or blue and white. For more sunny days, there are some green and white coaches with open sides.

Sodor Mail Coaches

These coaches carry all the letters and parcels around Sodor. They usually run at night in the charge of Thomas or Percy, as seen in Season 3's "Thomas, Percy and the Post Train." However, in more recent seasons, they are sometimes seen in broad daylight, and Percy is almost always n charge by himself.

Old Coaches

These green and cream coaches are used on slower trains due to their age. They have not been seen since Season 1.

In addition to these, there are a number of orange four-wheeled coaches used on secondary and branch line services. They have the same bodies as Annie and Clarabel, and, like the green/cream ones, they have not been used since the first season.

Red Coaches

These red coaches are usually pulled by Duck & Oliver on their Branch Line. Others to be them were Percy, James, Thomas and Edward

Truck Characters

Toad

Oliver’s brake van, who was saved from scrap at the same time. He comes from the Great Western Railway, and has the greatest respect for engines. He is also one of the few well-behaved trucks on the railway.

Other Trucks

The trucks are commonly known as the “Troublesome Trucks”, because they are indeed extremely troublesome. However, without them, there would be none of the goods trains that are so essential to the railway’s well-being.

Trucks are designed for many purposes. Anything that can be transported in the open air is taken in open wagons. Anything that needs protecting is transported in closed vans. Liquids are transported in tankers. Some of the more prominent types of truck featured in the series include:

Brake Vans

The brake van, also known as the guard's van, is an important part of a goods train. It carries the guard and is equipped with a strong brake to assist with slowing and stopping the train. From here, the guard can keep an eye on the train in case of problems.

Slate Trucks

First introduced in Season 4, these narrow gauge trucks are used to carry slabs of slate from the quarries. On more than one occasion they have “broken away”, causing accidents.

Cattle Trucks

These are used to carry cows and other animals around Sodor. Some of them even carry more exotic animals for the circus. A train of these was at the centre of some trouble in the episode 'Cows' when a herd of cows ran across the line, breaking a coupling and causing some of the cattle trucks to be left behind. Sir Handel has been known to insult his coaches by referring to them as "Cattle Trucks".

Tidmouth Milk Tankers

These trucks transport milk around Sodor. One of them is usually taken with Thomas’ first branch line train. This caused a problem when Daisy the diesel railcar arrived, as she refused to pull it.

Tar Tankers

Tar is needed for building and mending roads, and to transport this messy stuff there are special trucks. James once had an accident with these when trying to stop a runaway goods train, and he ended up covered in tar. Another tar tanker was mistakenly left at Edward’s station once, when it was vitally needed to repair the roads, causing no end of bother for Bertie the Bus.

Sodor Fuel Tankers

Oil Tankers

There are many different types of oil, from petrol to power cars right down to thin oil for lubricating machinery. The Sodor Fuel tankers and the black oil tankers take it wherever it is necessary. There are also a number of older, dirtier oil tankers that can be seen around Sodor. The utmost care must be taken with these in case of fire, as James once found out when his tankers caught fire one day. These seem to have replaced the tar tankers in the more recent series.

D. Fusit Gunpowder Vans

These oddly-shaped trucks transport gunpowder around the narrow gauge railway. Because gunpowder is so dangerous, engines must be extra careful when shunting it. Gunpowder vans are usually shunted into the middle of trains just in case. Luckily, there have been no accidents — yet.

Flatbeds, well wagons and bolster wagons

These trucks are used for transporting special loads. Flatbeds and well wagons (also known as low loaders), carry large items such as cars and heavy machinery. One of these carried the rock crusher for Bill and Ben’s quarry, another took Caroline to the cricket field, and another carried the 'Queen of Sodor' Barge.

Bolster wagons carry long loads, like logs, steel girders and pipes.

Wagons such as these are generally used whenever there is a special load (see below).

Thomas' New Trucks

Thomas got his trucks after James got his new ones. Thomas' trucks are all green-colored.

James' New Trucks

James got his trucks before the Fat Controller gave Thomas his new ones. James' trucks are all blue-colored.

Unusual Loads

Sometimes the Fat Controller requires an engine to pick up special goods trains. Some of the stranger loads include:

The Chinese Dragon

Appearing in the Season 3 episode ‘Thomas, Percy and the Dragon’, this fearsome-looking beast was actually made of paper for a carnival. However, when Percy saw it he was quite convinced that it was the scariest thing he had ever seen.

The Jet Engine

In the Season 6 episode ‘Thomas the Jet Engine’, this piece of machinery was supposed to be delivered to the airfield. But Cranky the Crane carelessly knocked the ‘ON’ lever with his hook, causing the jet to fire up and Thomas to be shot down the track at high speed.

The Elephant Statue

For the opening of 'Elephant Park' on the narrow-gauge railway, the Fat Controller told Duncan to pick up an elephant statue, which was tied down on a flat truck (See Above under 'Bolster Wagons'). Duncan, being thoughtless as usual, left without the brakevan, and ended up being pulled out of control by the elephant statue right along the line! Duncan crashed near Elephant Park, and the elephant statue flew up and down into Elephant Pond, where it remains.

The Organ

Strawberry Grove School was to have an organ delivered to the school, and the narrow-gauge railway was to take it. Headmaster Hastings looked after it, and Duncan took the train. But he blew his whistle too hard, causing it to fly right off. Mr. Hastings had the idea of using the organ as a temporary whistle, and it worked very well. Duncan completed his work whistleless, and the school got its organ.

The Rock Crusher

The rock crusher arrived on the Island to help in the quarry. Bill and Ben picked it up from the docks, and took it to the Quarry to get to work. Although the rock crusher is usual for crushing stone and rocks, it makes a very loud noise, and caused a rock slide. Luckily Fergus rescued the twins, but got covered in rocks himself. He was soon rescued.

The truck only appeared in one series 7 story, in which it was a grey/brown colour. However, the learning curve wooden model is blue.

Special Trains

The Royal Train

This was made up of express coaches and was pulled by a specially decorated Gordon when the Queen visited Sodor. So far, it has only appeared in Season 4.

The Flying Kipper

This is the nickname for an early morning fish train, usually pulled by Henry the Green Engine. It is a fast train made up of various different vans. It has been at the centr of a number of events, perhaps the most famous of which is the occasion in which Henry crashed while pulling it and had to be rebuilt. Later, in 'Something In The Air,' Henry crashed in the sea; The Flying Kipper hasn't been heard of since. The Flying Kipper has been mentioned in the Railway Series book "Henry and the Express." But the Kipper is pulled by James, who gets stuck in fish ooze dropped by a forklift. James can't start the train and Thomas teases him about his mishap with the Flying Kipper. It should not be confused with the trains pulled to and from the fishing villages by Arthur. But the Flying Kipper might be shown again sometime in the future.

These are always popular with the engines. They are made up of colourful open wagons, vans and flatbeds and carry everything a circus needs to get from town to town. One of these contained an elephant that escaped in the episode ‘Henry and the Elephant’. There were also new circus trucks seen in the Season 8 story 'Thomas and the Circus', in which many vans, trucks, and flatbeds were brought to Sodor for a circus. The vans are a lot more colourful, and ther liveries differ slightly between vans.
The engines consider it an honour to be chosen to pull these.

The Breakdown Train

This consists of flatbeds, rail-mounted cranes and a special coach. It is used for rescue and clear-up operations after accidents, but is also kept busy on maintenance, construction, repair and demolition jobs around the railways. It first appeared in Season 1 under the charge of Thomas, but these days is more usually pulled by Harvey the crane engine.

The narrow-gauge railway also has a maroon-coloured breakdown train, usually used to help clear the track, and rescue Duncan from his predicaments. It is usually pulled by Rusty.

The Snow Machine

The Snow Machine is used on the railway when there are huge snowdrifts on the tracks. It mainly consists of a big machine on wheels, which clears and blows snow out of the way. However it can be a nuisance, and Thomas and Gordon found that out when it blew snow all over the place. So far it has only been pushed by Gordon, as it only has been in one story.

Other characters from the TV Series

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.