Rusty the diesel
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Rusty the diesel is a Ruston & Hornsby diesel engine who features in Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends as the diesel on the Skarloey Railway who hauls maintenance gangs to and fro to repair the track. He also occasionally pulls cars and, when the railway is very busy, passenger trains.
Rusty originally was black in The Railway Series, but his TV guise has given him an orange coat of paint. He is No. 5 on the Skarloey Railway, and often has arguments with another engine called Duncan the Rock 'n' Rolling Engine (No. 6).
Many believe him to be the only diesel on this narrow gauge railway, but in fact he wasn't according to a book published by Christopher Awdry. Engine No. 9 "Fred the Maintenance Diesel" was another diesel, who was taken ill when it was his turn to haul the weedkilling train.
True fans of Thomas will have noticed that Rusty's face has increased in size since Season 5, and he seems to work in quarries more than with maintenance gangs as the series progresses.
Rusty's gender is currently a major topic still in discuss. Although he was generally believed to be male, in the American version of the 9th season, Rusty's gender was referred as female. This angered a lot of old Thomas fans. It is believed that this act was done to add more female engines to the show. However, in the British version, Rusty's gender was referred as male again. However, in the new American VHS/DVDs, the narration is redone and Rusty is referred to as a male.
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