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mean-scarlet-deceiver · 1 year

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Hi! What’s your favorite Railway Series book? I have another question too, what do you think of the engines faces being the smokebox doors?

I'm not sure what I think about the smokebox faces? It's peculiar when you try to think through it and make it "realistic" but the notion is so natural that there's not much to think about.

People really get on Awdry's case for not having thought through the implications of his sapient engines but I feel like we gotta cut the man a break. He clearly never had any interest in worldbuilding. It's not like he had some wild oddball idea that he just then neglected to nurture to maturity. Almost everybody has imagined smokeboxes to be the face of a steam engine (and the grill and headlights to be the face of a car, etc.)

No idea if that answered anything. Anyway!

What isn't my favorite RWS book?

Honestly it changes every week or two. At one point or another it’s been:

Thomas the Tank Engine - the structure is so simple yet so sound. this is some Joseph Campbell bullshit right here (positive)

Tank Engine Thomas Again - simply a classic from the moment it was penned. not my personal favorite (i think the ffarquhar line is just a bit too twee as a setting for my tastes?), but you can't beat these stories or this character. objectively, the best stand-alone book in the series. you don't have to know anything about anything to read this and to fall in love and to sense at once that it's an indispensable part of classic childhood literature.

Toby the Tram Engine - this kicked off the era of somewhat darker themes of obsolesce as well as new characters having really great introductory arcs/backstories❤️ points off for the last story tbh—but points on for seeing the Fat Controller and his fam on holiday as well as the parts dunking on busybody cops

Gordon the Big Engine - another one that just has really good structure—plus some underrated character moments in this—plus stories 1 and 3 are hilarious

Edward the Blue Engine - the vibes are impeccable

Eight Famous Engines - altogether, just a really good ensemble romp

Duck and the Diesel Engine - I N T R I G U E

The Little Old Engine - another just-really-good ensemble romp

The Twin Engines - I N T R I G U E, also irony; it's just very ambitious, grow-the-beard stuff

Very Old Engines - the sheer layers going on. also i'm a sucker for prequels.

Main Line Engines - just very classic Golden Age rws stuff, witty and warm, nothing to criticize, all clover. it feels like home.

Enterprising Engines - hooooooooooly crap, it's so good. some bits are shaky or pudgy, i kinda wish i had been the editor for this one, but you have to forgive the nitpicky stuff in the face of all the wealth. a triumph.

Oliver the Western Engine - the books just kept getting better in this era? wtf?????

Duke the Lost Engine and Tramway Engines - i could write ESSAYS on both these books. i SHOULD. like at this point you can start doing high-grade LITERARY ANALYSIS (enthusiastic)

Christopher Awdry's stuff is alllll on a lower tier than the above but while i'm on a roll i gotta give some props here too:

Jock the New Engine - i don't know how to defend it, it just makes the mini railway feel very real to me in a way that their first book (funny though it was) didn't

Gordon the High Speed Engine - it's overrated by certain Thomas bros, who to my eye seem to be deliberately obtuse when they insist that it's every bit as good as any Wilbert book (WHAT??), but it is enjoyable, thoughtful, and certainly the most consistently high-quality Christopher book

Henry and the Express - i'm here purely for the arc and the book's ending. as a final word on Henry's character development, the last couple of pages are unmatched and give him a new and hard-won layer that even Enterprising Engines didn't quite get him to

Thomas and the Twins - the interactions between Thomas, Edward, Bill and Ben are delicious. even if the Trevor story is pretty lame, i'm still soooo glad this book exists, i can't believe it, it feels like someone wrote a self-indulgent fanfic... and i am Here For It

#chatter #the railway series #what even are engine faces #thomas the tank engine (rws)#tank engine thomas again (rws)#toby the tram engine (rws)#gordon the big engine (rws)#edward the blue engine (rws)#the little old engine (rws)#the twin engines (rws)#very old engines (rws)#main line engines (rws)#enterprising engines (rws)#oliver the western engine (rws)#duke the lost engine (rws)#tramway engines (rws)#christopher awdry #the fact that thomas and toby originally bonded over heckling a policeman is amazing 🙏 we stan

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weirdowithaquill · 3 months

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Ships? But Sir, They're Trains!

It's Valentine's Day, and to celebrate, I thought I'd break my usual streak of not shipping the talking trains together and share the pairings that I like the best! But only of the original 11, and a few other RWS-related friends (and maybe a bonus or two from the TVS).

Also known as: local weirdo decides trains can kiss, but only on Valentine's Day.

Let's get into the ships... er... trains.

Thomas:

Almost chronically single. I'm sorry Thomas, but you're not very good at the dating thing. Maybe Hank if I swallowed my pride and went to watch Season 12 - just because Hank's calm and friendly personality would naturally balance out Thomas. But also because they are the epitome of 'gentle giant' and 'tank engine terror'. Also, Thomas blushes in this episode:

(Sorry for the Season 12 image, but it's the only Season Hank was in!)

Edward:

This engine has options! Or more to the point - this engine has suitors. Not all make sense to the poor engine - but that's the pain of being the one everyone looks up to. I would put him with BoCo, but I must admit I had a phase where I read EdwardxJames fanfics. So... nostalgia wins (that and Edward needs someone with a fiery personality to boost his confidence sometimes, and James needs a cooler head all the time).

(Look at the smile on James' face! He's ecstatic to see his engine.)

Henry:

Bear. The answer is Bear. I'm sorry, but that Hymek has it bad for Henry, and Henry fought for Bear to stay on Sodor. And after the early days when every engine fought, Henry has no interest in getting tangled up with them again, only this time romantically. Besides, the youthful energy and eagerness Bear has will only benefit Henry, who can be a bit of an old grump.

(Bear, I can't tell if you're looking into Henry's eyes or not...)

Gordon:

Hoo boy... Gordon, oh Gordon. What to do with you? Henry and James are taken, Edward and Thomas are more siblings than romantic interests - and engines 6 through 11 are just not close enough. But how about BoCo? (Yes, this is why I didn't pair him up with Edward). BoCo is calm and polite where Gordon is loud and brash - and Gordon does see BoCo as his saviour. It would probably be the plot of a b-list romantic movie, but I can see these two getting together, with Gordon being the jock and BoCo being the 'kid' of Edward.

(Look at that little smile Gordon has! This engine is smitten.)

James:

He's with Edward, thank you. More than that, he doesn't really fit well with the other RWS cast romance-wise. Thomas is something of a rival and friend, while he wants Gordon and Henry to acknowledge him and Percy is something of a little brother/annoyance to James. Edward and he have a lot to work out (mostly James groveling) but they got a lot of coding in the series from what I remember. Plus Edward saved him - so we've ticked the cliche box.

(Yes, this means Edward is the knight in shining armour. James is a diva anyway.)

Percy:

Has about as much luck as Thomas does, if we're honest. Young, childish Percy has no chance, while older, grumpier Percy is more interesting to consider. The Percy of Seasons 5 and 6 I could see bagging Harold. But then, we could also consider the absolute insanity of Percy and Diesel 10. Imagine the shock, imagine the story! (I'm a writer, let me dream about how I'd write this lot). Diesel 10 would be the delinquent who is soft for Percy and Percy only. It would also lead to an epic fight between the helicopter and the engine with a giant claw.

(Um, is Percy... blushing?! What are these faces?! I have questions.)

Toby:

Is married to Henrietta. They are old couple goals. Percy and Thomas are extremely jealous.

(Toby is grinning cause he knows his wife - that poor manager...)

Duck and Donald:

I considered Percy for Duck, but I feel like what Duck needs is an engine who can really bring out the playful side in Duck - the engine who helps him be more than just the railway he used to work for. That engine is Donald. When they ended up playing pranks on each other in Donald's Duck to the point where Duck stooped to putting a literal duck in Donald's tender knowing Donald would find it funny really says it all about these two.

(Look at him, so excited to play his little prank! His driver is wheezing!)

Douglas and Oliver:

These two practically have a kid in Toad already (or an advice-giving uncle. One of the two). Douglas saved Oliver, and that sort of thing has a lasting impact - especially because it's also the most likely relationship to actually happen. Both Douglas and Oliver are known for sticking it to authority, being a bit hot-headed and being led a bit more by spirit and the heart than by their heads. They have Toad for critical thinking. They live and work together too - and it would be hilarious to watch Duck blast his safety valve off when he finds out.

(Ah yes, let me just stare into your eyes for half an episode.)

Mavis and Daisy:

These two are disaster lesbians, and we love them for it. It's also the femme fatale (or as femme fatale as a diesel railcar can be) and the butch (she works in a quarry - this girl wears overalls) tropes - and they're disasters. Need I remind anyone that Daisy was the one who encouraged Mavis to ignore Toby? It would also be hilarious purely for how much Thomas and Percy would grumble about being single, while Daisy and Mavis rub their relationship in the pair's faces. Which would lead to that one memorable incident where Thomas tried to flirt with a very unamused and confused Bertie.

(Mavis, sweetie - don't listen to Daisy's advice. I know you're distracted but ple-- and she's gone.)

Annie and Clarabel:

Are wine aunts and siblings. And no, neither of them are interested in Thomas, so you can stop thinking that.

(These coaches are Thomas' wine aunts and best friends - and he loves them too.)

Bill and Ben:

Are children! Edward's children! That he has with BoCo (sort of) leading to the brilliant moments where Gordon has to 'babysit' them - which is mostly done with a lot of grimacing and begging BoCo to just hand this lot over to Edward and James - no seriously, please stop letting these two just randomly adopt you as their parent. They're evil, and they wanted to throw me in the sea, remember? No, I don't care that James doesn't like them, I don't like them! BoCo!

(He's petrified of them, but he wants to be nice for BoCo's sake...)

Emily:

Does not need a man, thank you. But she is entranced sometimes by Caitlin's streamlining (yes, I have seen some CGI - I am not a true purist, I am sorry Awdry). Then again, sometimes Emily likes Hiro - and then there was that one time where she was just so upset that Mavis wouldn't notice her. Emily doesn't need no man - but she's also not exactly got the best selection of potential candidates at her shed...

(She's got an amazing poker face. Caitlin however...)

So... that was a thing I did. Somewhere around Percy's entry, this gained a coherent plot in my mind - probably a High School AU? - and now I'm just thinking of Diesel 10 towering over Percy, blushing and trying to give him flowers (with his claw???) while Harold seethes. Clearly, being a single pringle has driven me insane.

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone, I hope you enjoyed this wild idea and if people want expansions on these ships (still trains) and why I like the idea of them, please go ahead and ask!

If people really like this, I will take on the Narrow Gauge engines.

#weirdowithaquill #railway series #thomas the tank engine #ttte relationships #edward x james #ttte henry x bear #ttte gordon x boco #ttte percy x diesel 10 #somehow that made sense in my mind #toby x henrietta #ttte duck x donald #ttte oliver x douglas #ttte mavis x daisy #valentines day #ttte characters #yes this is unusual for me #but i did it anyway #haters will get banished to the shadow realm

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sudrian-railways-enthusiast · 7 months

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Traintober Day 3: Twins!

(Don’t check the post date)

A Mashing of Ttte, RWS, and probably some of your guys’s head cannons I accepted through osmosis.

Or:

A Bill and Ben Recap

Bill and Ben are Tank Engine Twins who work the industrial line between the Sodor China Clay Pits and the big harbor on Edward’s Branchline. They are proud of their work, but have fun too. They don’t always get along well, but most of the time they are practically joined at the piston. Sometimes, when there is nothing to do at the clay works, (due to blasting, unusually few pranks, or other slow seasons) they are allowed to “help out” at the harbor.

Many of the engines (and cranes, and workmen) will say that, at the harbor, the twins only do as much work as they create for themselves in the first place, but Percy knows the Twins only want an excuse for company. The Twins rather fancy the fellow Saddle Tank as an elder brother. Percy says they help keep him young again, like his time in the workshop.

The Twins were very impressed with Percy’s story of the promise he made with Thomas. They often wish they were as brave as Percy, especially when the drain floods and they are left stranded on opposite end of the line or with no work to do.

When Thomas saved them from the drain they almost told him they thought him perhaps as splendid an engine as Percy, although they ultimately decided he didn’t yet deserve the compliment. I wonder if Thomas would have taken it that way, don’t you?

And so, when the twins heard tell of Percy’s Plunge off the Pier (on a special order of a large batch of stone specifically for Brendam (Whoa Retcon, don’t get your frames in a bend) ), they were quite horrified; seeing their mentor in such a state, pushed into the sea? Quite possibly the worst fate for an engine they can now think of, even worse than scrap.

Some time later, lurking around the harbor yard, the twins overheard their parental figures, for lack of any better relationship term between locomotives, discussing a most distressing incident.

The Twins decided they wouldn’t stand it; if ever they were to meet this “Gordon” then they’d prove how vulgar branch line engines can be. They did not have to brainstorm long, they were not so busy thinking about what they’d say to Gordon when they next met to loose focus of their work. They already knew the worst fate that could befall an engine. Do you?

#traintober 2023 #ttte bill and ben #ttte bill #ttte Ben #ttte percy #ttte edward #ttte boco

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jobey-wan-kenobi · 1 year

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The Engines as Mentors

Okay but I'm eternally salty that TVS in particular—though it was RIGHT to expand the NWR fleet—failed to use the dynamic of the OG characters from the books all functioning as Mentors and Elder Statesmen to the newer and more obscure and younger engines.

It would have been THE way to effectively integrate the newbies (looking especially hard at you, HIT era). Like, some of the best use of the new characters already are when they fall into a mentee dynamic with one of the established characters. But the TVS writers really only ever let this happen with, like, Thomas? To a degree? And Edward? A bit? And then the best and most beloved BWBA episodes (BWBA!) are when Gordon and, again, Edward get more of this sort of material. And then again, in fuckin' AEG, the most popular thing so far seems to be Gordon's whole Grumpy Dad shtick.

But I think canon and fan writers should have done this with all the classic characters. After decades as The Famous Eight—erm, Ten—(but not Eleven—to me Oliver is in that category of newbie that needs looking after. which is what the rest of the Little Western spends most of his one book doing!) they are all kinda old af and well-qualified and honestly just should be mentoring the diesels and younger steam engines and whatever wide-eyed newcomers are brought to the Island Where Fever Dreams Come True and Culture Shock Is Probably One Hell of a Bitch.

LIKE. Percy. Yes, absolutely Percy! He's inconsistent about standing up for himself or making good decisions in his own working life but honestly his instincts when it comes to others have always been completely on-point. And he never has any hesitation about acting on his instincts so there is a recipe here for big-brother success. He must be so wonderful with uncertain new engines. I think he would have been much better for taking Molly under his wing than Thomas, and he must be a god among many of the newer tank engines. Like the dynamic I tried to paint in my headcanon post about Harvey—Percy gives whiplash as your mentor because he will always support you 100% but sometimes he will suddenly make the most baffling decisions and if you are not, yourself, a natural chaos gremlin, you are just along for the ride and possibly dying of secondhand embarrassment. But again, you also get over it because no one will ever show up for you more consistently than Percy the Caterpillar Engine.

The BWBA era thing where Gordon winds up mentoring Rebecca is... like, fine, I guess. I don't have any complaints about it, but—as I tried to show in my ficlet with him and Derek—I think Gordon's most typical mentorships have two unmistakable characteristics:

it is insanely arbitrary as to whether or not he decides to take you on. if you wind up in his circle of trust you probably weren't trying or even remotely expecting. it is also hard for anyone else to understand why Gordon looked at a new engine and said to himself "Yes. That one." Because the way Gordon makes emotional decisions is utterly impenetrable—this is RWS canon. Why did Gordon one day go from being Pure Unadulterated Jackass Whose Only Thought So Far In His Life Has Been "Me! Me! Meeeee!" to the engine who (evidently? without?? snark???) suggested the Fat Controller let Henry out of the tunnel to take a turn on his train? Honestly we don't know but it remains Gordon's signature style. Why did Gordon do an about-face after James took the express and graciously decide James was his new buddy? Well, to save face of course, but Gordon is also not above a good grudge so it feels like a coin toss. Why did Gordon decide to be super gracious when he rescued Percy and Thomas from their RWS scrapes? No one knows but somehow these moments are so quintessentially him (even though showing up moaning and scolding would have also been quintessentially him). And—most relevantly of all—there is what I regard as his archetypal moment with BoCo. 'My dear engine! You SAVED MY LIFE.' 'I mean, you're welcome for getting rid of them but they were never actually going to kill you.' 'YES THEY WERE. THEY HAD MURDER IN THEIR HEARTS. YOU ARE A GOD AMONG DIESELS, STANDING STRONG AGAINST THE FORCES OF DARKNESS.' '... Sure.' Gordon logic is not the same as earth logic and his reasons for rejecting or accepting others seldom make much sense.

If he does take you on, you may not even notice. Gordon is very stuffy and kind of... emotionally remote. His mentorship style consists of long rambling bouts of relating/boasting about his own experiences and/or advising you, without you able to get much of a word in edgewise—but then, he does this with everyone who is ever stuck with him—and doing extraordinarily nice things for you such as pulling strings to get you the best assignments or upgrades but he'll do it all behind your back, so it might take a while before you realize. (But you'd better, because even though he deliberately decides to do these things in secret, he will also privately feel hurt and hard-done-by if you don't figure it out and thank him. Or at least exclaim happily in his presence and sing the praises of your unknown fairy godfather.)

So yes, mentor!Gordon is a lot like friend!Gordon and worker!Gordon. He is pretty damn high-maintenance but he is also genuinely quite worth it. What his relationships lack in... comprehensibility they make up for in loyalty and generosity. ALTHOUGH. It's worth laughing because I think most of the engines he takes on are decent, polite engines who perhaps have some self-confidence issues. Basically it's like any engine he meets afterwards who is in the Edward mould he is actually magnificent to, which is hysterical considering that one of the keynotes in early canon was Gordon bullying the shit out of Edward. (I still think that wasn't malicious though, and more Gordon did not yet have the remotest understanding of Himself, Theory of Mind, or How to Be a Friend.)

If you have self-confidence issues but you do not win Gordon's capricious favor, never fear! You have James. Who is even more capricious, but that's not to say he's never been the most faaaaaabulous mentor in the world, c'est ne pas? Look. I want to see James as the catalyst for shy newcomers having a glow up. In appearance and attitude. I don't think he does he often but it has definitely happened around twice. I somehow have never actually watched "Rosie is Red" or "The Fastest Red Engine on Sodor" while paying attention but I've been assuming that's exactly how Rosie's Confident Girl Arc went down. Maybe he could be a similar idol for Neville or Flora. Another thing that has happened twice is James just flat-out corrupting a couple of the Good, Buttoned-Down Boys and Girls. I still want to see James take, like, Porter or Arthur and teach 'em anger. Introduce them to the world of (tiny) rebellions. By the time James is done with them, they are starting to Display Behaviors, and Act In Certain Ways.

Henry, I firmly believe (sticking out my tongue at most of the TVS and magazine writing for him), is actually regarded very intimidating. Like Gordon and James are intimidating too, but they are also known jackasses and the universe is known to have slapped them around reliably when they get too far up their own tenders. Also Gordon usually puts on an air of affability—in RWS it's Henry who is the Grumpy One (and meanwhile James, though he has a foul temper, is just too ADHD to be properly intimidating). I suspect Henry's actually always had the reputation for being extremely snobbish. Which is silly because he's only mildly to moderately snobbish, but there you are. He also doesn't put himself out there socially, but of course if you put yourself out there to him he's perfectly friendly. Anyway newcomers and young engines wouldn't know this right away. I think Henry's specialty is mentees in the mold of Bear and my OC Laura and even Rebecca—extroverted, expressive engines who show him respect. In those cases you see his best side, all kindliness and unstinting support. And Henry's support is really valuable, for the usual reasons that all the OGs have a lot of pull on the railway but also because Henry is surprisingly sage and sensible. He doesn't have the reputation for it the way Edward does, due to some of his notoriously poor decision-making in his earlier years and the way he can still sometimes be a bit literal or naive. But even if he's had to learn most things the hard way, he hasn't lied to himself about it and therefore he's developed a very clear-eyed view on things. Refreshingly simple and sound. We see this already in the RWS Super Rescue—he's got Bear and Spamcan pretty well-pegged long before the story ends. He also values engine solidarity in a really consistent, utterly unpretentious way that shows you he doesn't even think about it, it's just become a part of who he is. I love it. And, of course, he's bold as brass. He once hissed steam at his boss and essentially told him to fuck off for no better reason than it was raining and he just wasn't feelin' it. He had the most horrid wreck in the series and after being rebuilt he just got right back on that horse, pulling Flying Kippers again for the next century without the slightest sign of trauma. So if you need him for something, he won't hesitate to move earth and heaven for a friend. He may be a bit of a hypochondriac and likes to predict doom and gloom but he is fundamentally pretty fearless when it comes time for action. (Cut him a break with the elephant thing—he's allowed to have tunnel-related trauma, okay?)

Of course there was one extroverted engine inclined to hero-worship that Henry rejected in canon as a mentee, and that was Philip. Which brings us to Edward, and I fully agree with the fandom consensus that he is the mentor ever, capable of and inclined to look out for, like, everyone. All I'm saying is that I think the others can also step up in this way... Anyway, Edward's specialty of course is engines who are in the mould of Thomas, engines who are excited and eager to work but who talk a lot and might have a streak of mischief and who are definitely considered Too Much by everyone else. Edward likes energetic gremlins. They've always kept him young at heart. And, more importantly, they trust him so completely. Probably because they can tell he's one of the few who genuinely doesn't mind them at what everyone else considers their Most Annoying. He never tells them to hold still or quiet down or make themselves smaller in any way, so they are incredibly receptive to whatever he does tell them.

But what if you're Too Much and you are not eager? If you are not susceptible to admiring Edward's stellar work ethic? I think this is where Thomas shines. Like I think HIT abbreviated and simplified the conflicts with Dennis and Billy too much but it was such a gold mine. Because Thomas, see. You get these little sneaky rotters who don't want to listen to anyone—and at first Thomas seems like the most out-of-touch engine on the rails. Coz Thomas is a tryhard. He also has that whole "corporate positivity" thing going on. Like, the way I resolve the way TVS massacring my boy is by supposing that, after all, Thomas might have really tried to adopt that persona, especially in the '80s when he was inducted into the National Collection and the, well, television series got underway and Thomas becomes damn near the most famous locomotive in the world, certainly he knows he is an icon for children, and he might have figured that, well, this means I have to be a Good Role Model and Teach Children Valuable Lessons. And so he really did try to do this whole pep-talk, moralizing, sugary sweet encouragement thing (and he has a Word of the Day calendar, lol).

And the Dennises and Billies of the world look at that and—understandably, I think—retch a little. But then they double down. And the thing is, when they push Thomas too far, Thomas forgets to be sweetness and light, and just becomes himself. First of all, a foul-mouthed little drill-sergeant wannabe ("Cinders and ashes!!!!" "Who's been late every afternoon this week?!" "You're too fat—you need exercise!" "IF YOU DIE? IF YOU DIE, MOTHERFUCKER? SO WHAT?! I WOULDN'T GIVE A SHIT COZ I'D BE TOO BUSY FINALLY RUNNING MY GODDAMN TRAIN TO TIME." - all direct quotes from Thomas the Tank Engine, ladies and gents) Secondly, an extremely experienced engine who really has done a bit of everything by this point (he even hitched a ride on the Wild Nor'wester that one time, lol) and who is pretty skeptical so he's hard to fool (Percy was the last engine to really ever get one over on him, during the Ghost Train incident, and that's ancient history by this point). If you try to get away with doing a shitty job he's bound to notice and he will be quite acid-tongued if you've pierced his PR Persona. Third, although he can be kinda self-involved and the last to "get" what's going on with newcomers, he is surrounded by his old friends, who are all pretty good about either clocking an engine's whole Deal, getting all the tea like the gossips they are, or both. So while he was still in his amiable-idiot stage of your acquaintance, you, poor rebellious fool, thought you had the run of things but all the while he was getting up to speed on your whole deal. Which means you won't be prepared, should you really commit to ongoing antisocial behavior, for Thomas the Beacon of Children Everywhere to abruptly cast up your entire life story to you and to read it for filth, telling you the merciless truth about yourself in a way that the other engines pieced together but with which they probably never hit you deadass between the eyes.

Of course, this doesn't mean the would-be punks and malcontents who get onto Sodor are instantly cured, lol (though it has gone down that way a few times—my alternate version of Billy's intro story would feature an end where he's just gobsmacked into submission). Sometimes it just means you are going to decide Thomas is your Hated Enemy for Life, but you know what? You will have to step up your game in order to compete with him or even to gain enough clout to try and sabotage him so you're still playing into his hand (if we accept TVS's idea that 'Devious Diesel' did become a part of the Sodor family, I think this is how he was successfully integrated. At some point Thomas unexpectedly read him the riot act and Diesel was like 'who the FUCK are you?? like i know i already had beef with all the main line engines but where the hell did YOU come from???' but then after decades of competition they are essentially frenemies). But mostly the thing is, you are shell-shocked for just long enough, and you'd probably shift to being a bigger asshole than before... but, during that period where you're still burned, you are also looking at all of Sodor and every engine on it with fresh eyes (because if Thomas the Merchandise Engine could ream you out like that, perhaps you underestimated everything about this place). And you are noticing something else. Once Thomas has scalded you with his bitchery, he's also your friend. It's almost his version of sharing his lunch with you on the playground. (Something something salt and vinegar.) For all he rode Henry so hard from some of the earliest days of canon, I bet you he also beat down any 'outsiders' who took shots at him. For all he and Percy squabble, they are the closest of friends (and they weren't! for decades! but the more they squabbled, the closer they got). Getting into a knock-down fistfight is alarmingly close to Thomas's love language, and by the time he's savaged you verbally he is also invested in you. Once he's told you what he really thinks of you, he's also going to start showing up for you genuinely.

And that's when the little shits see the final side of Thomas. The genuine good humor. Obviously it doesn't win over everyone but there is a real groundedness and humility that I am sure Thomas can show (I tried to show this in the fic I made with @shinygoku based off their artwork of Thomas and Daisy) that is hard to resist. He's also fucked up along the way in every way imaginable so even when he side-eyes you, he's not looking down at you. I can just see him showing screw-ups a lot of grace so long as they let down their guard even somewhat because he's been there. Hoo boy, has he been there. That's why kids actually love him (it's not your vocabulary lessons and beaming smile, Thom, though the effort is appreciated), and it's why young engines can wind up loving him too. He doesn't hold what you've done in the past against you; he genuinely believes in second chances (and third, and...). Plus he knows every engine needs some excitement and responsibility in their lives. He has never forgotten the insanity-inducing frustration of being tethered to Vicarstown station.

Basically, once you cut past Thomas's earnest (and bullshit) attempt to be Perfect Kids' Role Model, he's actually always been great at keeping it real. And that's where a genuine respect can often grow.

#long post #ttte #the railway series #ttte analysis #ttte headcanon #ttte plot inspiration #ttte multiple characters #i'm out of steam #so as usual i'm gonna screw over everyone but the first six <3 #i mean rws actually shows us how toby and all the little westerners do this sort of thing #(which i think is a big part of why they feel so well-developed and intriguing)#it's just that tvs didn't really show them any love at all so it didn't carry over #but we know toby's approach from when mavis arrives #(not sure we're ready to have a real conversation about toby and mavis actually)#and we know how the little westerners do mentorship #as in oliver doesn't and the other three just try to keep him alive lol #and ofc toad actually does most of the work but i can't tackle the rolling stock right now #pragmatic sharp-tongued donald is the most buffers-off of the whole lot #but when he does give a word of advice it's always sound #and taken all the more seriously because it's so rare #douglas doesn't feel he's qualified to preach haha he's action only but ofc that's a language as well #i think FutureRust's 'The Bargain' portrayed that dynamic amazingly #esp in how she has duck and donald respectively look after others #in other 'as usuals' from jobey haha we'll end this with a shameless plug for some fic or another and tonight it's that one #maybe i should have included links to my own stuff in this but i'm too tired off it goes as is

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cerenemuxse · 1 year

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Here's the full page of the sketches I did! IbisPaintX really hates me rn. What did I ever do to you? Please stop freezing on me.

Lots of concept art going on here! Before I talk about, here's the text version of the notes in the sketch:

Girl, what-

gonna wreck your shit

early model era snowplough

cgi era snowplough

(Both based on RWS + irl snowploughs)

^type of snowplough depends on engine's size AND length between smokebox and buffer beam

*redraw from "No Snow for Thomas" (off the top of my head)

Tidmouth Sheds (North)

Largest yard (next to Vicarstown)

Carriage

Sheds

So I was watching 3D animations of T&F/RWS and OOOOOO there's is this Japanese animator whose animations are MMM, chef's kiss! One of their videos is of the Scottish twins! In that video, they're wearing snowploughs that cover their noses. After some research on the snowploughs, turns out that the RWS does this! So here are my headcanons for the engines' snowploughs:

The type of snowplough an engine has is dependent on: the distance between the smokebox and buffer beam & the size of the engine.

Medium-sized tender engines who have the distance between their buffer beams and smokeboxes very close wear the snowploughs I have drawn. Almost every single tank engine and 0-6-0 tender engine wears this snowplough. The reason being is to prevent from snow getting into their mouths and snow buildup behind the snowplough. It is not a pleasant experience. Donald and Douglas would have these snowploughs. James and Emily wouldn't since the distance between their smokeboxes and buffer beam is much longer, it is much more difficult for snow to become a bother and build up behind the snowplough.

Here's the video in question!

youtube

Anyways, moving onto Tidmouth Yards. This is more of idea sketch. The Tidmouth Sheds seen here is the one from the later books of the RWS. The carriage sheds are based on the sheds seen in the TVS, which are supposed to be the works sheds, apparently? This is where the coaches go. Annie and Clarabel were housed here but were relocated to Ffarquhar.

I'm still trying to figure everything out but the idea is that Tidmouth Yards is MASSIVE. It was originally quite small, yet the largest shunting yard (along with Vicarstown). To get to Tidmouth Station, you have to pass through Tidmouth Yards. I know the sketch looks disproportionate but again, it was just to get the idea out. I will say that the final one should be drastically different. Yes, there is a turntable inside. This version houses 10 engines.

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thequeenofsodor · 1 year

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Headcanon: Rosie has been on Sodor way longer than you’d think...

World War II is a notoriously glossed over time in Sodor history. On an unrelated note, Rosie is a USATC S100, a class of locomotive that was built in the USA and exported to Europe for the Allies’ war effort. Rosie’s introductory episode is one which does not feature any kind of origin story, nor is she said to be new. She just kinda shows up and is treated as if she’s been a character who’s been around this entire time... I’m sure you can see where I’m going with this... 😈

During WWII, the North Western’s roster would only consists of the first six engines, a few of the remaining pre-NWR Grouping engines, and presumably a gaggle of LMS loaners who may or may not be called back home to assist with their home region’s war effort. The prospects of this fleet pulling through in one piece don’t look that good on paper IMO. I think it’s not out of the question for FC1 to put in a call for some reinforcements, and given how the North Western was made for the WWI war effort and likely borrowed many War Department engines back then too, it’d only really be following tradition! And so, Rosie enters the picture. Definitely not in the pink she debuts in on TV, probably in some kind of austere black or gray. She definitely wouldn’t have been alone, I’d like to think there could have been an S160 on Sodor too to help with heavy goods. I am a huge proponent of Hank being an S160 instead of a PRR K4 (I’ll probably make a post about that at some point in the future), but it does have the unfortunate affect of knocking Hank’s one and only episode out of canon on a surface level not only by changing his basis but by making his arrival party impossible due to the presence of Toby and Emily, who would not be there in WWII! But again, this is better suited for another post. Let’s just leave it at “Rosie arrives in Tidmouth straight from America, along with an S160 who may-or-may-not-be Hank.”

I figure the reason she comes to admire Thomas specifically so much is because she was likely assigned to work on his branch line, and thus had a lot of proximity to him during her formative years. TK&ELR Coffee Pots 2-4 would still be around until the early 50s, but they were used sparingly after Thomas’ arrival due to their poor condition among other things. So it would make sense to send a perfectly capable, brand-new tank engine to work alongside Thomas in their place. Rosie would be personality-wise where she is in her Model Series episodes: cheerful, childish, and way too idolizing of Thomas. Admittedly I have no idea if the ongoing war would even allow her to be this way, but I suppose she may be in a similar boat to Thomas? He was built and shipped off right at the start of WWI, and yet was still relatively innocent, albeit not to the degree of Rosie... I figure they were both either sheltered from the respective Horrors of War, or it simply did not affect them as deeply as one might think. Man-made horrors beyond locomotive comprehension? I dunno for sure. I also figure Thomas would loooove the attention of his new charge at first, only to slowly get sick of her over time and end up where he is in her debut episode. Upon the end of WWII, all of the S100s and S160s (save the 10 S100s that became the SR’s USA Class) that were based in the UK were repatriated back to the USA. Given Sodor’s history of, ahem, “retaining” their wartime assistance, I don’t think they would have given them back. But since Rosie’s presence would no longer be a priority on the Ffarquhar line, I think she’d be transferred to another depot on Sodor, possibly either Vicarstown (as per her later role in the CGI Series) or Cronk (which in the RWS would be a major hub for rail on the North Western, and could use a dedicated shunter). I figure this work would keep her sufficiently occupied, which is why FC2 wouldn’t just put her back on the branch during the Knapford Harbor renovation, which otherwise in this HC would be way easier than transferring Percy and bringing in Duck to take his place at Tidmouth.

Thomas probably breathed a sigh of relief once he knew he was safe from Rosie’s potential return! Though since Sodor engines love to stray from their allocations whenever the plot demands, that doesn’t mean he’s safe forever...

And of course, as soon as the war ends and she officially becomes one of the Fat Controller’s Engines, this is when she’d get her ever-so-loved Pink livery... To be honest whenever I think of Rosie’s livery timeline I never come up with a reason why she ever chooses pink. Like, obviously she starts in a wartime livery, and then at some point chooses red over pink as a symbolic way of reinventing herself and ceasing to model herself after anyone else. But at the stage in her life where she idolizes Thomas so much, why would she pick anything that’s not NW Blue? I suppose we’ll never know. Anyway since FC1 has pretty much given up all hope of a standardized livery by this point, I’m sure he’d just accept it and resignedly tell the paint shop lads to start mixing a shade that’s never gone on a steam engine before.

I think that’s all the bases covered. The only thing it doesn’t cover is any of the development that would lead to Red Rosie, but I feel like those events would be a decade or two removed from the war and not really on topic anyway. I just thought this would be a fun way to look at Rosie, or at least an alternative to “she’s one of the 10 SR USA Tanks and came to Sodor post-Oliver”. The only real downside to this HC is that its incompatible with my former pet idea that Rosie was a follower of the Railway Series in the post-war years and her idolization was more akin to a parasocial relationship, and that doesn’t really work if she’s arrived on Sodor and stayed there before the books were even published. Oh well, at least this new Rosie HC would be a much more mentally healthy Rosie, lol.

#original post #ttte #ttte headcanon #ttte rosie #ttte thomas #ttte hank #(but only really a passing mention #hank deserves his own HC post but i'm still workshopping how to even approach it so he has to wait)#rosie is really cool and i love the makeover she got in S21 #shame the development that led to it is only implied at best!#plus her post-makeover episodes make her way too much like mavis #i love mavis so much but i like rosie for being rosie and would prefer if mavis could be mavis thank you very much #then again if modern mavis is allowed to just be boco than ig modern rosie is within her rights to just be mavis #doesn't mean i have to like it though #but wait... if mavis is boco and rosie is mavis... does that mean if they brought back boco he would have become rosie #oh no

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juniaships · 11 months

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Rosie Earns A Star Chapter 1:

Rosie gets a new engineer however she is not who she seems. Meanwhile there's news of an actress who disappeared, Schemer violates railway protocol to film his own pilot series, and Arthur tries not to strangle sometime. Mix of TATMR, RWS & TVS because I am not a "purist"; I love Thomas the tank engine in all its form! Not a shipfic, this is purely platonic!!

Times have changed and so have interests. As people think about what they want to do in their lives, some have taken upon themselves to rebuild themselves from the ground up. Others are too busy to realize what they need is right in front of them. Arthur thinks a trip to the seaside could help clear their minds.

Or a well-aimed rock at their heads. - The Author.

"Famous Actress Disappears in Spain!"

Mrs. Stone read the headline aloud as she flipped through the newspaper. It was breakfast time and the Stone family were getting ready to take Lily for her annual trip to Muffle Mountain.

"Who is it?" Lily asked as she looked up from her bowl of cereal.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, dear." Lily swallowed then asked again. Smiling, Mrs. Stone read aloud:

"Brittany Wilson was scheduled to appear at a movie festival later this month. She was last seen at a hair salon in Madrid Thursday afternoon. Her whereabouts are currently unknown, and her family have not spoken to the press."

Lily grew intrigued.

"When they checked the hotel all of her belongings were gone," finished Mrs. Stone.

"Oh that Brittany Wilson! I heard of her before! I haven't watched a lot of her movies but my friends love her. I hope she's alright."

Mrs. Stone nodded in agreement.

"It could be a publicity stunt but who knows in this crazy world we live in."

After breakfast the Stones got in their car and drove to the public transit. Lily bid her mother goodbye and promised to text her when she got to Shining Time.

As the train shuffled along the tracks, Lily couldn't help but feel concern for the missing actress.

In another universe, Mr. Conductor was also getting ready for the day. The tv was playing in the background (he liked a little music to get his engine started, pun intended) when suddenly the news came. It was about the missing actress. They had her picture on the screen: a Black woman with light brown curls and a pink and grey dress sitting inside a salon.

"They still haven't found her yet," he said to himself. "That's troubling."

He wasn't into the celebrity gossip like his cousin. But even he was a little concerned for her wellbeing. She probably had a family waiting anxiously for her return. His thoughts were on his mind even as he sparkled up at the Shining Time office to get his itinerary.

"Let's see, first on the list find a new driver for Rosie."

As he went over the potential substitutes, one of the tulips in his flower vase rang. He went over to answer it.

"Mr. Conductor you have a visitor," Stacy said on the other end. "They're here for the training."

"Training?" He looked over at the whiteboard.

"Oh right! I forgot we have a new hire today! Well bring them on in!"

A moment later the door opened, and in came a person in a dark overcoat and pants. Their hair was tucked underneath a gray hat.

'Odd choice of outfit for this kind of weather,' Mr. Conductor said to himself.

"Are you Mr. Conductor? I'm here for my first day." The woman said shyly. She handed him a folder. He looked over the files, then to her, then over the files again. The lady stared expectantly at him.

"Terri Bud eh? Well, we do need a set of extra hands & these papers are legit," he said.

"They kinda rushed me through training," Terri Bud said quickly. "If you like I can get Miss Jones to corroborate."

"Oh no that's alright love! You are in good hands with us!"

"Cool," Terri said as she shook his hand. "And for future reference just call me Bud."

A cherry red tank engine was in her shed reminiscing about her retired driver when Mr. Conductor arrived with the new hire.

"Good morning Mr conductor! I see you have a visitor," Rosie chirped merrily.

"And good morning to you Rosie," said Mr. Conductor. "And I do! This is Bud. I'm training her today and if it goes well she'll become your new permanent driver!"

Rosie was excited. She had spent the past few months with substitute drivers. While most of them were nice, some of them couldn't handle her bubbly demeanor. Their loss! She preferred a set choice anyways. She hoped this one was nice.

"Nice to meet you Bud, I just know we'll have the best time together," she said politely. "Why don't you get yourself comfortable in my cab?"

"Ehm perhaps you could take off your coat, it gets pretty hot in here." Mr. Conductor suggested.

Bud paused for a moment. Then she tool her coat off, revealing her dark gray overalls and a white t shirt. She took off her glasses and put it inside the coat packet.

Now Mr. Conductor got a good look at her face. Her skin was a light shade of brown and she had hazel eyes. For a second he thought he recognized her face but waved it off as a symptom of the heat.

"Okay then, we'll start with the basics."

He started by showing her the controls and how to start Rosie up. Bud wrote and nodded as he went along.

"Now since she's one of our younger tank engines it doesn't take very long to start her fire," said Mr. Conductor.

"I see and it doesn't hurt her?"

"As long as you keep the fire steady," said Rosie. "I might be a Vulcan but I'm not that immune to overheating."

"Right," Bud nodded. "This isn't as hard as I thought it would be."

"Trust me, once you get through an accident or two you'll be able to navigate the rails like second instinct!"

"Or three," muttered Mr. Conductor.

Back in Shining Time, Lily was waiting in the lobby for her grandfather. He was having trouble with his truck. While she was texting her friends, Mr. Conductor's cousin Junior was talking to a customer.

"Have you heard about what happened in Spain?" Asked the Customer.

"I know it's been all over my Twitter feed," said Junior. "I heard it's part of a new movie they're filming!"

"I heard she got involved in the trade and is running from Interpol," said the customer. He shook his head in dismay.

"Actors these days, at least back in the day when they got in trouble it was entertaining. Now it's all just sad."

"Those are just rumors though, they're not always spoken with truth," replied Junior. "At the end of the day it's not our business." He looks around and leans closer so no one else could hear.

"Then again what business do we have!"

The two gossip hens clucked in humor, and the customer and left the station house. Lily took it as her chance to greet him.

"Junior!"

"Hi Lily! Long time no see!" They hugged. "How's life been?"

"I'm doing fine I was just waiting for Grandpa. Car troubles, again."

Junior sucked his teeth. "Burnett and that truck, I'm all for self repair but he's gotta admit some things are a lost cause."

Junior disliked the idea of his friend struggling, especially when he was getting on in years. He wished he could help him but Burnett insisted on keeping that truck.

"That's alright I'm sure some of Lady's magic could help," said Junior.

"How is she?" Lily asked.

"She's running as smooth as I surf the waves," boasts Junior. "She misses you so much. Everyone on Sodor wants to see you!"

Lily was touched by his statement. "Don't worry I'll come by the island before I go back home."

Just then they heard a truck honking from outside. Lily gasped, "That must be Grandpa! We can catch up later!" She waved goodbye then got her things and went to her grandfather.

As soon as she left Junior leaned back in his chair and laughed to himself.

"Oh Lily is going to be so surprised, she doesn't even suspect a thing!"

"Suspect what?" Horace Schemer's voice nearly made Junior fall out of his chair.

"The heck are you doing here?" Don't you have a psychiatrist appointment or something?" The Blond haired man sneered.

"My psyche is in perfectly good health thank you very much," the arcade entrepreneur retorted as he flapped the front of his vest. "As you know I feel it is time for a career change-"

"Cleaning the toilets?"

"No! I decided to expand my business into the world of cinema!"

"Any movie you'd make would end up at the bin at Savers," grumbled Junior. Schemer ignored his putdown and continued boasting.

"So I'm taking the nephew out to Sodor and see if we could film a pilot to sell to the execs."

Junior was about to respond again until another funny idea popped up in his head. A sly grin crossed his lips.

"Well good luck with the new career," he said. "When you get that series I'll make sure to tune in!"

"You better," said Schemer. "I've wasted too many years living under your family's shadow. Now all of you will see it is my time to shine!"

'Shine so brightly you'll explode into a black hole,' Junior snickered as he gave Schemer two tickets to Sodor. He could not wait to see how it will turn out...

Back on Sodor, Conductor was showing Bud how to run Rosie. Despite her initial shyness Bud was paying attention, eagerly scribbling in a notebook. She asked Rosie a few questions to gauge her comfort level. Later that morning Mr. Conductor decided to go on a test run.

Bud loved the sensation of the breeze caressing her face. If she could she would've let her curls down. The sights along Thomas's branchline whirled by in a haze of colors. So this is what it's like?

"How are you liking it so far?" Rosie asked her.

"It's wonderful! I've been on trains before but not like this!"

Rosie giggled. "I'm glad you're enjoying it Miss Bud!"

"Just call me Bud!"

Suddenly a foreign object whirled by Rosie's head. "Whoa!"

"Are you alright?" Asked Bud.

"I'm fine," huffed the cherry engine. She yelled back, "Whoever did that, just to let you know you're violating railway regulations!"

Bud saw the thing leave. Her heart was racing and not just from the speed Rosie was going. 'No! They can't find out I'm here!'

The object had been a drone sent by two cameramen. Well, if a 70 year old man and 9-year-old boy could be considered professionals.

"Did you get the shot?" Asked Schemer.

His nephew checked on his cell phone. "No, that engine was too fast!" The boy said with a pout.

"Too fast - There's no such thing as too fast!" Schemer said. He watched Rosie go.

"A little troublesome than I thought," he noted with a smirk. "I love a good challenge."

Later that afternoon, Rosie made a stop at the sea station for tea time. While Mr. Conductor busied himself with a giant choco sundae, Bud was sitting on a large rock looking at the sea.

"We call these French fries," she held out a piece of fried potatoes to Rosie.

"It smells so delicious but it'll probably agitate my boiler," said Rosie. Bud stifled a laugh. She liked the tank engine.. She didn't comment on her drabby appearance, and her enthusiasm was pleasantly welcome.

Just then Arthur came by having finished his run for the hour.

"Afternoon Rosie," said the dark crimson tank engine. "You don't mind if I rest here for a bit?"

"Sure," said Rosie. "I love some extra company."

Arthur spotted the woman on the boulder. "Who is she?"

"That's Bud, she's my future driver," said Rosie. "We're showing her the ropes today."

Bud waved at him. "Nice to meet you!"

"It's nice to meet you too Bud." "I'm not from the UK so excuse me if I mess up some things," the woman said.

"That's alright. It took me a while to get used to Sodor when I first arrived," said Rosie. She sighed. "Ah I remember it like it was yesterday."

Bud looked at the ocean. As she watched the blue waves crash along the sandy rocks, she felt a pang in her heart.

"I love the sea," she sighed. "This beach looks a lot cleaner than where I used to live."

"Where do you used to live?" Rosie asked her.

Before Bud could answer there was a buzzing sound. They all looked up to see a tiny helicopter with a camera lens attached at the bottom.

"Ugh it's that drone again," Arthur mumbled. "The owners came by this morning asking if they could film the seaside. I thought they were done but apparently not."

"That same contraption almost hit me earlier!" Rosie wheezed angrily.

"Someone's ought to do something about them," Arthur added.

That was when Bud got an idea. She walked over to a patch of rocks, picked one up and positioned herself as close to the drone. Then with a grunt she threw the rock at the drone! It hit the camera causing it to crack. It flew away before she could reload.

The two engines were shocked!

"Bud! Why did you do that?!" Rosie cried. She didn't her to get in trouble

"Hey it worked for me one time," Bud replied with a shrug.

"That is...quite unexpected!" Arthur remarked awkwardly.

Mr. Conductor heard the commotion and rushed outside.

"What's that noise?"

"Just me taking care of a problem," Bud said, pointing to where the drone was flying away in defeat. Mr. Conductor raised a brow. "And how exactly did you solve the problem?"

Bud walked over to pick up the answer. She held it up with a grin.

"What my folks call it the old fashioned way."

Mr. Conductor groaned and rubbed his temples. He didn't want to deal with a possible lawsuit especially on the first day of training.

"Okay just...don't do that again. I don't think the NWR can handle another scandal and I don't want you to risk losing your job just as it begins," he spoke to her sternly. Bud's face burned with shame.

"I'm sorry, I promise It won't happen again sir!"

Mr. Conductor checked his watch.

"Well, we better get a move on. There's still a lot more to teach you. And hopefully you can learn how to solve problems in a non traditional way." He directed that last part at Bud, who could only grin nervously before meekly going back into the cab.

The two engines whistled their goodbyes and Rosie went off to finish the rest of the day.

At a fishing spot near the boardwalk Schemer's nephew winced at the video.

"What happened!" Schemer barked.

"I don't know some jerk threw something at my drone now the lens aren't working!"

The drone sputtered pitifully back and landed with a dreadful thud. Schemer picked up the drone and groaned.

"Great! That'll cost me a fortune to replace!"

"You mean my fortune," hid nephew mumbled under his breath. Schemer rubbed his chin.

"Hmm. Whoever that person is they're an obstacle. This is even more challenging than I thought."

But the allure of money & rubbing it in Junior's face overrode all common sense. "Well then if it's a challenge they want they got it!" He slapped his hand on his nephew's shoulder and pulled him close.

"I promise after today we'll become rich and famous! But mostly rich!"

Schemer's nephew frowned. He didn't like the sound of that...

#ttte rosie #shining time station #thomas the tank engine #thomas and friends #fanfiction #ttte fanfic #tatmr #ttte oc #oc x canon #crossover #rosie the tank engine #this isnt a romantic rosie x oc story; its simply platonic and a tale of friendship (and the price of fame but whatever)#pretend the events of tatmr happened in the 2010s/2020s

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phancan · 6 months

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As you can see, This is my idea TTTE Reboot, Thomas The Tank Engine Again. It will contain characters from the OG Show as well as some OCs of mine.

It's basically it's: Classic Era + HiT Era + a teeny bit of the Miller Era + Brenner Era + BWBA = Thomas The Tank Engine Again.

And one more thing, NO, It's NOT set in the same universe as the TVS. It's a different continuity. It will have some of the lore from the RWS with a couple changes.

#thomas and friends #thomas the tank engine #thomas and friends au

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gundamcalibarney · 3 years

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Gold Whistle AU Steam Team info:

Featuring; Engines 1 to 8 and 12.

Inspired by @asktrio516 ‘s redo post.

(Quick Note: in the brief Pre-Sodor descriptions all of the Engines are non sentient and faceless, which is why they‘re personalities during those times won’t be mentioned and why they will be called the engine or variations thereof with the exception of Emily.)

Thomas:

- Thomas was a modified E2 tank engine meant for lighter loads and at the time worked for the LBSCR as the youngest of his fleet, the E2 was sent to Sodor as an attempt to save the last remaining E2 after all the other E2s were scrapped, the engine was given G.D coal a day before being sold to the NWR and on the ship there was told a Lot about the Mainland.

- The Current protector of the Island of Sodor (succeeding Lady). He possess some of Lady’s magic because of this.

- He’s very snarky and is basically the sassy lost child though this kind of leads him to be rather immature and stubborn at times. Thomas is also rather mischievous, playing pranks and teasing literally anyone and Everyone (Edward and Toby are sole exceptions).

- Thomas is rather stressed about his position as Protector and Hero of Sodor, having to deal with D10’s nemesis complex and having to be the main problem solver for certain magical problems and sometimes on Top of his usual work. It Really puts a strain him, he won’t make it obvious though as he just wants to get the job done.

- Despite his ‘problem fixer’ role, he’s not so great with dealing with emotional problems. He’s more headstrong and usually thinks of How to deal with the problem rather than attempt to support the person dealing with it, he’ll Try to provide emotional support but those attempts were rather stilted.

- The Culture of other countries interest him, thats partially why he wants to go around the world and because he finds staying in one tiny island in Britain boring, he wants to see the world outside of the tiny island he’s in. His feelings toward the Mainland are similar but he knows what to expect because to him, the Mainland is just Sodor but bigger.

- He’s really into music too! Mostly rock and classical but he digs all kind of music, he’s currently learning how to play a guitar.

- Became very popular after the RWS books got published and has taken railtours to the Mainland during the books anniversaries.

Edward:

- Was locomotive that worked for the Furness railway and briefly for the LMS, not much is known about him other than that he was a modified K2 with D21 features (though he is not a hybrid between the two locomotives). The K2 was sent to Sodor to run one of the first standard gauge North Western passenger lines. Whats worthy of note is that he was awakened weeks before Lady disappeared.

- Is often called the railway’s disappointed dad seeing as how he sighs and facepalms every time someone does something stupid. He is however, understanding many people’s problems and often considered the best at moral support. He has issues of his own but he rarely opens up about that.

- During his younger years, he was an Ass. Playing tricks on other engines and staff, being a bit of a smooth talking piece of shit,and teasing other Engines, being pretty much what Thomas currently is. He grew out of it after Lady went missing. He looks back on his younger days with contempt.

- He knows Lady personally, he worked with her during his early years on Sodor and had her as his mentor as well.

- Edward is infamous for destroying hats, he seems to have a hatred for them, He says it’s because he doesn’t want his hair to get “Worse than it already was.” though many suspect he has a legitimate reason for not liking to wear hats.

- It’s very hard to make Edward lose his cool or make him angry, most you’ll get is his disappointed face. However, he seems to snap every time a comparison between him and Lady is made, this is a result of Nick/98462 and River/87546’s relentless bullying towards him and their many remarks about being ‘Lady’s replacement’. So any remarks about it Will throw him off.

- He’s also Really into History, wether it be Sudrian or something else he’ll want to learn more and has worked with the Rev W. Awdry in writing the books.

- He smokes, usually casually or as a stress reliever.

Henry:

- Henry was/is the a flawed experimental prototype of the A1s, his blueprints were stolen from Sir Nigel Gresley by a unknown locomotive builder. Once the engine was built it proved to possess steaming problems but they can’t exactly scrap it because building it was Very pricey, it was then sold off as an ‘Atlantic’ to the Fat Controller, of course it wasn’t an Atlantic and the Fat Controller had no choice but to keep it due to the Locomotive shortage.

- His personality is a mix of the snarky cynic RWS+Early TV series and the soft anxious Late TV series, snarky cynic being the default and soft anxious whenever there’s heavy snow fall or when there’s something wrong with him.

- Henry has mild Chionophpbia (Phobia of snow) after the Flying Kipper accident, the accident itself costed him an arm. He also has a mild phobia of the rain however it’s not as severe as his snow phobia, he said that the Actual reason he doesn’t like the rain is due to his Already present mechanical problems and he does Not want to them make them worse than they already are.

- In this AU he’s (technically) brothers with Gordon, 87546,and Scotsman and a relative of the other Gresleys. He’s considered a half relative to the Stanier locomotives after his rebuild.

- Really likes playing board games and soon in the 21st century plays Video Games and soon becomes the best gamer among the Sudrian Engines. Has a rivalry with James.

- He’s into Botany, while some details can be rather ‘gross’ to him he will always listen to discussions about Plant life with intrigue.

- Also into gardening, he has made his driver’s backyard pretty looking to the point where it’s basically Henry’s garden (his driver’s cool with it though), his driver said that Henry somehow improved his backyard.

- Henry sometimes doodles on his prosthetic, usually when he’s bored but he will sometimes do it as a way to relieve stress. He’ll decorate it for special occasions.

Gordon:

- Gordon was the first A1 made in Doncaster, the engine worked as an express train. The green A1 and another would be bought and sent to Sodor where he would then be given Sodor’s coal and work as the mainline passenger locomotive.

- He is egocentric, telling that He’s the most important engine for pulling the mainline express train.

- Thinks he’s a logical and diplomatic engine, in actuality he’s a Leroy Jenkins.

- Though he denies it, he really likes animals, dogs especially, Percy teases him because of it.

- He’s afraid of being scrapped, it’s a common fear but for Gordon it feels like he needs to strain himself to Not get considered for scrap. Gordon fears of having a similar fate as his siblings leaves him Very on edge, he sometimes uses the “I’m a VERY important Engine!” as a bit of a self calming quote to reassure himself that he Isn’t going to be scrapped.

- After learning about the scrapping of nearly all his siblings, he usually tries to keep in contact with his cousins. Though he has a rather rocky relationship with the majority of them and they dislike him for constantly calling. Mallard,Bittern,Ryan, and Scotsman are the only ones who he Doesn’t have a rough relationship with.

- Is in fact, Scotsman’s older brother, Scotsman just calls him ‘little brother’ to annoy him.

- Gordon‘s a singer, He rivals Scotsman in the “how heavenly does your baritone singing voice sound?” department.

James:

- During his time as a faceless locomotive, the engine briefly worked as a passenger locomotive for the L&YR and LMS before being sent to Sodor. The locomotive was modified for unspecified reasons when it first arrived on Sodor and was also painted in the furness Indian red livery.

- James is vain, vain about his appearance. He’s rather proud about having a livery that’s different from the norm or regular. This is partially the reason why he loves wearing red and was momentarily pissed about Rosie or other colours sharing his colour and refuses to be any Other colour. Pink is an exception, but only if the shade chosen is not eye searing.

- The Golden Whistle originally belonged to a Tank Engine named Theodore, it was first given to Thomas then he gave it to James after the Journey Beyond Sodor incident as a thank you gift. James says it looks like wind instrument.

- Contrary to popular belief, he Isn’t that much of a beauty expert on both humans and engines. That role goes to Edward, James himself is more of an interior and outfit/costume designer.

- He‘s arrogant and has this somewhat “I’m the Only one of my class!” type of pride, on the inside though he’s rather sad that he doesn’t have anyone else of his class to talk or bond with.

- The Scarring he got came from the Breakdown Train crash (the one shown in the Adventure Begins specifically). At first he was self conscious about it until some kid told him it looked cool and now he takes pride in it, the scar is there when he’s an engine.

- Has a hatred for insects, Bees especially ever since getting stung on the nose and getting painted in a bee’s colour. He isn’t cool with arachnids either.

- Knows how to cook and bake, a lot of the food he makes tastes good. He’s best at making biscuits.

Percy:

- He was a shelved Locomotive made by Avonside and sent to Sodor as a back up locomotive in case something goes wrong, he wasn’t steamed/awakened until the Trouble in the Sheds strike.

- Sweet boy/engine. The downside to this is that he can be easily swayed, he got over this though.

- Sometimes acts like a spoiled child.

- Gold Whistle used to belong to the narrow gauge engine Proteus. It was given to him by Thomas after the events of Day of the Diesels as an apology gift.

- Despite his overall sweet nature he is Very mischievous, he’ll work alongside Thomas in pranking the others.

- Percy Hates D10 after the Day of the Diesels incident, it was the One time he felt important but [No] D10 just Had to rope him into some manipulative plan to take over the Steamworks and Then Sodor. He’d sock D10 in the face if he saw him.

- He has a bit of an inferiority complex, seeing as how Thomas is THE Protector of Sodor, and how the other engines have done or have been in some kind of big event while all he gets are the humiliating ones, it makes him think that he’s not special.

- He likes ghost stories! Both listening and telling spooky stories to scare everyone, halloween’s his favourite holiday strictly because he can finally scare the engines he doesn’t like.

Toby:

- Toby was a J70 tram that momentarily worked for the LNER and had it’s own line, the tram would then be ridden by soon be famous Sudrian historian and writer of the RWS books Wilbert Awdry. It was then shipped to Sodor where the loco was then awakened and given his own tramway line there until it closed.

- The Grandpa™️.

- Very understanding of the people and engine’s problems, he was usually the first engine that some engines and staff go to vent their personal troubles and feelings too.

- Toby doesn’t like water, drowning (or the Engine equivalent of such) scares him. Floods are worse for him.

- Being a museum piece is also another fear, not being on the rails being unable to move? That’s already a pretty scary thought, he tries his absolute best to not end up in a museum.

- He knows a lot of Sodor’s lore and mythology more than he lets on, while he sometimes ends his tales with “but that’s just a story.” he knows that there’s something More to them. The story of Lady is one of them. He usually tells them to the Ffarquhar kids or Ryan.

- Toby bird watches during off times or if his engine self is in repairs. He really likes Cardinals and finches.

- A really good at trap making despite their simplicity, it worked on D10 and if worked when they catch bears. In general he’s just really good at planning

Emily:

- She is one of the (at the time) two outside-sodor Gold Dust infused engine (the other being City of Truro), at the time she and Truro were the Only sentient engines in the Mainland before the 1930s. Emily used to pull passenger express trains and sometimes freight but after an accident involving points and snow she was left for scrap until she was bought and sent to Sodor.

- Emily is one of the last two remaining Stirling Singles, the other one being the one in the National Railway Museum. She has never met her brother though.

- Generally bossy and a bit of a “Listen to me because I know more than you!” attitude, but she’s an overall nice engine. And due to her lack of knowledge of the shenanigans that go on in Sodor it (somehow) gives her the ‘Only sane engine’ position. She’s sometimes prone to having petty rivalries though (Molly can attest to that).

- Since she’s the newest engine in Sodor, she was at one point Very left in the dark about the whole Magic Railroad situation, so she (at the time) didn’t know and get why everyone’s freaking out over this pink tank engine that makes gold glitter and why this diesel with a giant claw is after her.

- Has rather low self esteem despite her bossy nature, she thinks that anyone that Isn’t her is a Grand engine (except James), so when she’s told a compliment it Kinda goes up her funnel and treasures that compliment forever. She has somewhat gotten over this as she’s Less compliment hungry but from time to time she self deprecates.

- Being the safety engine puts a bit of weight on her, if she isn’t able to help during an accident then she’ll consider herself useless, especially if it’s a serious accident like a derailment or a crash. So she pressures herself to do Harder and Better at her job as the safety engine.

- She’s a fan of weapons, usually blades and firearms. Muskets and rapiers are her considered favourites. And yes she Does know how use them though she prefers using the firearms, “They’re easier to use!” she says.

- Knows City of Truro, mostly for the fact that he was the only Other engine like her at the time. Her and City of Truro are pretty close friends.

Ryan:

- Used to work at the LNER alongside the A1s and worked as a passenger locomotive, the locomotive at one point was damaged then shelved for years until the engine was shipped to Sodor to make room for the diesel locomotives.

- Ryan is an affable young engine, friendly but naive being the youngest engine in the gang and a bit of a people pleaser though this has also been his downfall seeing as how many engines can and will take advantage of his naïveté.

- He was in the same situation as Emily, not knowing about Sodor’s prior shenanigans and being Very left in the dark about the whole situation. Ryan however was filled in after an associate of Boomer stole the lost treasure. He was surprisingly quick to believe the explanation.

- Really into all things fantasy related, novels? Yes, those in-universe bestiaries? Absolutely! Dungeons and Dragons? Hell Yeah. He tends to collect shiny rocks and gemstones in a “Oooh this might look nice as a sort of Magical Amulet or something!”, Which is why he believed Thomas so quickly. He’s also been studying all the supernatural

- He’s Gordon and Henry’s cousin, more so the two weren’t Aware of him being his cousin until they were told. Mostly due to the fact that when they Were together on the Mainland they weren’t even Alive per say.

- Ryan is surprisingly popular among visiting Mainland engines and is friends and is either friends or relatives with said Mainland engines, this is possibly due to his few Mainland supply trips where he has conveniently met other famous engines,Gresley reunions,and Railfest appearances alongside his brother.

- Serves as Thomas’ foil, while the blue E2 is very headstrong and immature, the purple N2 is diplomatic and kind. Edward has noted how they each highlight each others’ flaws, Thomas lacking the emotional understanding and Ryan being too submissive.

- He sees Toby as his grandpa, and he went to him when Thomas was giving him the cold shoulder.

🚂✨——————————————✨

The Steam Team in General:

- Despite they’re constant bickering and the snarky remark here and there, they’re all good friends and if you try hurting one the whole gang Will [FIGHT YOU].

- They have weekly movie nights, it’s usually a better less stressful way to get to know each other, sometimes others are invited.

- Henry’s driver’s backyard is their hang out place, they usually go there during off times.

🚂✨——————————————✨

AAAAAA

I spent a Lot of time on this (on both the drawings and general headcanons).

I do hope it’s at least ‘Cohesive’ and such ehehe ^^’.

RBs are Greatly appreciated!

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teotalksaboutstuff · 2 years

Text

All Engines Go RWS AU: The Earlier Stories and How They Transpired

Due to the alterations to the main cast, some of the stories happen radically differently than they did in the RWS.

The Three Railway Engines does not happen at all, which is entirely because in 1923, Edward, Henry, and Gordon would not have been built yet in this AU. Thus, we begin with Thomas the Tank Engine.

Thomas and the City of Vicarstown

It is City of Vicarstown that replaces Gordon in this story, and Thomas is teasing him more so to get his own back for the bigger engine’s ruthlessness rather than purely out of cheekiness.

Thomas’ Train

It is Alfred’s train that Thomas takes instead of Henry.

Thomas and the Trucks

Winston offers Thomas his train instead of Edward.

Thomas and the Breakdown Train

Happens exactly the same as in canon.

James and the Top Hat

James is double heading with his brother Winston instead of Edward.

James and the Bootlace

Happens exactly the same as in canon.

Troublesome Trucks

It is Winston who offers to help him up the hill rather than Edward.

James and the Express

It is City of Vicarstown bragging and pulling the express instead of Gordon.

Thomas and the Guard

The main line engines are late due to repairs to the viaduct, rather than Henry’s illness.

The rest of Tank Engine Thomas Again happens exactly as it did in canon.

Alfred and the Elephant

Alfred takes Henry’s role in the story.

Tenders and Turntables

City of Vicarstown takes Gordon’s role, with Cecil having James’ role.

Trouble in the Shed

Winston takes Edward’s role in the story, and it is City of Vicarstown, Alfred, and Cecil who strike, causing Percy’s arrival.

Percy Runs Away

City of Vicarstown takes Gordon’s role here, and actively berates Percy while rescuing him instead of commending him.

Coal

This story takes place in 1949 instead of 1935, and Edward takes Henry’s role. Edward is rebuilt from a SR Leader into a conventional Meyer after the coal doesn’t work in this AU.

The Flying Kipper

Alfred is pulling the train when it happens. He is promptly scrapped along with City of Vicarstown, with Cecil and Winston (the latter more so as he was no longer needed versus for being horrible) being sent away to be replaced by Henry and Gordon. Pretty much everything after this happens the same as it would have in RWS canon.

#thomas the tank engine #rws #all engines go #ttte thomas #ttte edward #ttte henry #ttte gordon #ttte james #ttte percy #ttte 98462 #ttte alfred #ttte 87546 #ttte cecil #ttte oc: city of vicarstown #ttte winston

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mean-scarlet-deceiver · 3 months

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Hmm… have I asked for Thomas and Henry, or just thought about it hard a couple of times? XD;;

Ooh, a fun pair.

“You’re too fat, you need exercise! 😤”

“Oh, I can’t wait for dawdling tank engines like you; good-bye! 😇”

“Run my train on time for one thing 😡”

“You’re the only danger on the rails, Thomas 🙄”

‘Oh, I guess you can go to York… some of us are still too useful to become museum-pieces… 👿’ (paraphrasing Henry’s copium here)

All right, maybe it’s more “fun” like the one in “dysfunctional.” But still!

The thing about this is that it’s a “minor” relationship in that, for most of their lives, they’re in each other’s periphery. Then again, they’ve been in each other’s lives sooooo long. So it’s a very sibling-y sort of relationship. They’ve been on different life paths as long as they can remember… but ohh, the embarrassing shit they remember about each other…

Birds’-Eye View

This relationship has an eternal tug-of-war quality.

Of course, Thomas by instinct plays tug-of-war with all the “big engines”! This is who he is!

But the relationship with Henry is different because there’s a sort of long-term… equality? Like, with Thomas and Gordon, like, Thomas is cheeky, but the one time he ever got really out-of-line with Gordon (i.e. THOMAS’ FIRST APPEARANCE?) Gordon pretty much put him in his place, and overall the whole point of their relationship is that Thomas acknowledges Gordon’s superiority in at least certain key points, it’s precisely WHY he likes to measure himself against him! (I’m thinking a lot here of many, many TVS-only incidents… but even in RWS there’s “Hurry hurry hurry,” he puffed, pretending to be like Gordon.) Thomas can’t look upon Henry the same way, for “Henry I”-related reasons not least of all (see section below). But with Gordon, the whole fun of the relationship for Thomas is to tease him in a way that only works if Gordon is on a pedestal. Thomas doesn’t try to knock him off… he just likes to shake things up, freak Gordon out, then do a campy little victory dance and make his exit with a shit-eating grin.

Then there’s Thomas and James, and in RWS… post-strike, James is never again seen to give Thomas any shit for being a tank engine? (Actual gold star, I can’t believe we’ve found an avenue of insult that even RWS!James has left untrod.) So a key feature of his tension with Gordon and Henry is, apparently, removed. Of course they do clash, if you go by TVS they clash a LOT. But in this relationship Thomas kind of has the upper hand, when you take the long view. (Thomas is more famous and favored, and James just gets so consistently shut down by the whole universe the moment he tries any shit. Plus, their foundational moment was Thomas getting him cleaned up after his first Sodor accident, and I think that colours the relationship forever – even after James is no longer prepared to just take Thomas’s patronizing airs (“Hullo James! Feeling better? That’s right! Oh, I must go, I don’t know what the Fat Controller etc. etc…” Betcha James shut down that shit before too much longer, lol.)

If Gordon has the dominant role in that relationship, and if Thomas has the dominant role in the one with James… then the fun thing about Thomas and Henry is that the scale never permanently settles one way or another. Whenever they have a lil’ flare-up, they feel like they’re on equal footing, and perhaps that’s why the barbs they trade feel ‘specially vicious! The field is wide open, no one comes in with the advantage, and they are both in it to WIN it!

But why are they like this?

Early Years

The thing I envision about their early acquaintance is the mutual bafflement. It’s a similar vibe to the one hilariously (and accurately) depicted here with Thomas and Gordon, except it’s not about different autisms, and it’s less confusion and dislike and more confusion and annoyance.

My headcanon for Henry is that Thomas was the first time he set eyes on a tank engine. So his initial reaction is like “what is this deformed… creature? (and why is he so mouthy?) (and what does he do here?) (what is ‘shunting’? oh nvm it’s not like i’ll ever need to know, i’m a proper engine)” Even if my headcanon is discarded, however, Thomas sure is Himself and the sheer force of his fussy, self-important Main Character Energy would have had a similar effect on young Henry, fresh from the shop and still dazzled by the wide world.

Thomas, though he has a fair bit more worldly experience under his boiler bands, still isn’t nearly as worldly as he thinks he is! — and he finds Henry just as baffling as Henry does him. Henry’s not like any other engine he’s ever met. He’s the biggest for one thing. He’s also far and away the un-reliable-est. I accentuate this in QLIR because part of the “scam” is that Henry is presented to Hatt as, not perhaps the engine he envisioned, but still an engine with some on-the-job experience. Total lies, of course. Far from “hitting the ground running,” Henry is a babe in the woods, constantly stumbling and fumbling his way around the rails. He knows nothing of railway operations, yard etiquette, or shed culture. Someone like Edward can take this in stride and just be like, All right, new chap needs a little extra looking after. It’s just a thing. No biggie. (Topham Hatt of course is in his office spitting nails, but this ain’t about him.) Thomas, however, is at just that childish stage where a) he knows all this stuff and b) he can’t fathom anyone not knowing it. So he’s constantly having the reaction of “What is he doing???” And, since he has no filter, drawing everyone’s attention to New Guy’s odd behaviors, every time (which does nothing to help Henry build confidence!)

(Then again, of course, sometimes New Guy legitimately does some very strange stuff – Once an engine attached to a train/Was afraid of a few drops of rain… That, erm. That Doesn’t Help.)

Then you add on Henry’s… mis-build, and Thomas’s befuddlement is cemented. He’s a cast-off on the Island Railway of Cast-Offs, of course, so the idea of mechanical issues aren’t new, but Henry’s are at a whole new level and they regularly disable him. Thomas is definitely 100% on board with the idea that you can manage to at least finish any job if you just try hard enough… and certainly you can at least get out of the shed in the mornings, yeah? Henry is the first time he encounters an engine for whom this just isn’t true. Same childish point of view: Henry is weird.

Again, I cannot emphasize that “Henry is weird” is an attitude coming from Thomas… who in his own unique way is one of the weirdest little engines ever built (affectionate).

None of this amounts, on either side, to anything like hatred. Annoyance on both sides, to be sure, but even then I don’t think it’s their dominant attitude towards each other. We see in “Thomas’ Train” that Thomas is… intrigued by the potential of his getting to fulfill his long-term Train-Taking Goals. But he doesn’t gloat over Henry’s misfortune, and I think TVS was so correct in giving him a worried face mask even as he slowly goes off to get the train ready… He can’t even be properly excited until he’s out of Henry’s vicinity, and, mind you, Henry’s too ill to be intimidating just then – Thomas refrains only because he really does feel bad for Henry, and doesn’t want him to feel worse!

We also have, later in the same story, Thomas thinking “Henry says it’s hard to pull trains, but…” So, you know, they’ve talked before. (At minimum, Thomas has listened to Henry fretting to other big engines!) Henry is a real person for him, so to speak, by now a consistent presence in his life.

As they settle in to their early-canon dynamic, I reckon it’s now characterised by mutual envy. Thomas would LOVE to take trains regularly like Henry – and can’t fully comprehend why Henry treats it like a burden! Like, he knows Henry gets ill, but at a gut level I don’t think Thomas could truly “get it,” because there’s nothing more he wants in the world than to have what Henry has!

Conversely, Thomas himself is always complaining, too (They’re both so good at having a good grumble!) and I think it would kinda drive Henry nuts that Thomas acts like he has it soooooo hard for *checks notes* having a job that he can actually perform to everyone’s satisfaction?... Vicarstown pilot Thomas may feel ignored by their manager, but that’s a million times preferable to being an eighty-ton disappointment to a manager who now has buyer’s remorse and a consequently short temper with you… :/

Keeping Each Other Grounded

I have no doubt that in the early years Henry leaned as far into the “big engine” identity as he could, largely to ensure that he wasn’t dead last in the pecking order. But I don’t know that this worked… especially after Thomas is promoted to branch line, and now Henry and the others don’t have a station pilot to kick around for a while…!

I don’t know for sure how I come down on about the TVS notion that Henry really grows out the big-engine trio vs. RWS, where the big-engine trio more slowly dissolves with everyone’s mutual consent. But if Henry did sort of lose interest in this identity when the other two didn’t, it makes sense precisely because the big-engine thing never let him rise higher than oh let’s say Thomas, and keeping a few paces ahead of that mouthy little tank engine (who always fails upward!!) was a big part of his motive for adopting it to begin with.

Similarly, Henry is so practiced at seeing the down side of anything. This makes him great at poking a hole in Thomas's balloon, any time Thomas gets too proud and puffed-up.

The Good Times

Right, I started off focusing on the tensions just because whenever one of these fellas takes a potshot at the other it’s always a classic! And because I think mutual befuddlement is the keynote of their early relationship.

As we get even in a little into canon, however, I want to emphasize that they usually rub along comfortably. They’re kind of on each other’s periphery, always, but they’ve lived and worked together for so long. And they’re both good-hearted sort of lads really. So it’s impossible that they don’t care about each other, even if it’s almost always at a bit of a distance. We are more likely to see them when they’re shooting a poisoned arrow at each other, but we know that what they’re usually doing when they see each other at the junction is pleasantly exchanging news.

This means that I approve of (virtually all) the little TVS moments that point to this kind of bond. Usually it’s one of them looking concerned when the other is jumpy (Henry) or missing (Thomas… dude, you sure do go missing a lot in TVS). I likewise enjoy getting to see them happy for each other at the appropriate moments (usually this is Henry for Thomas, most memorable for me is “That’s my boy!” <- cheering on Thomas when he’s kicking ass in the Shunting Challenge).

This is basic, background sort of stuff. But it’s also, I think, the most accurate representation of them. The zingers are incredible but they are a small part of their relationship. A basic, background sort of quasi-siblinghood is what constitutes the lion’s share of that bond.

I don’t like the TAB notion that Thomas went out of his way to say a few encouraging words to Henry and thereby cured Henry’s rain-related anxiety wtfffff… but I do approve of the general idea that, even (especially?) in the early days, there was certainly a time or two when Thomas hung back in the sheds to encourage Henry, just the two of them. It’s only that I think his brand of encouragement would be more like… Gordon or one of the BBBs had said something shitty to Henry, and (after getting into it with them, because Thomas is not one to back down from a fight!) actually remembering (for a change?) that this was all about Henry to begin with, and hanging around for a bit until Henry was cheered up. Although unlike Percy’s very frank, open attempt to cheer Henry in “Gordon’s Whistle,” I think Thomas’s approach would be more like “what a wanker…” Like, he wouldn’t show any pity, he’d just open the door for him and Henry to both talk shit about the guy for a few minutes. This is, indeed, Henry’s preferred method of being supported, well above being shown any overt pity! And Thomas would get it! (You wouldn’t usually find me doing an emotional-intelligence point-for-point comparison between Thomas and Percy where Thomas comes out on top, lol. But in this case Thomas’s nature – which includes being a casual shit-talker – would really shine!)

Not So Different?

Indeed, I wonder sometimes if these two aren’t the two most similar personalities on the cast — they’ve just been shaped by very different external factors!

They’re both fussy, both self-important, and neither is one to suffer in silence. They’re both good steady everyday grumblers, not aggressively, but in a very normal, perhaps even very English way. They both have good hearts and are quite willing to work hard… though they have both been known to throw a tantrum that sooner (tunnel & rain) or a wee bit later (banged-up snowplough) brings operations to a halt. None of which is unique to these two, by any means! All these traits are pretty common among the RWS cast(s?) especially. But Thomas and Henry’s traits match up point-for-point. They’re just living different lives, but underneath the externals they’re awfully alike.

Now, of course, there is a key difference — Henry is a follower, and Thomas would make a terrible follower; he can’t handle cliques (he’s rather too rough-around-the-edges to ever fit in one, methinks!) Then, too, when Henry thinks he doesn’t get enough respect (often), he just grumbles but has to wait for someone to present to him an opportunity (Gordon and James re: the strike, Duck re: six lovely tenders). When Thomas thinks he doesn’t get enough respect (again — often), he’s soon off doing something — usually something that ranges from foolish to catastrophic, but the point is that he’s more active and Henry’s more passive.

Those are real differences and not just down to circumstance. However, apart from these two points, if Thomas were a large ill-built tender engine, I think a lot of his behavior would be Henryesque. Same but inverted if Henry were a hale and healthy tank engine. Their natures were cut from similar cloth, even if they underwent different treatments and design. They’re not as irritable as James, as even-tempered as Edward, as bubbly as Percy, nor (even if they had been built to his design) would they be quite as proud, nor nearly so dignified, as Gordon. They’re both Just Guys, in a way.

What are YOU looking at?

I guess there’s one other way they differ… in TVS, Thomas is so proactive about going out and introducing himself and making seven bajillion merchandise deals friends.

I favor RWS for Thomas’s essential nature, though – and he’s notably absent in the nationalisation era, when the others are constantly bumping against B.R. engines. “He’s on his branch line!” Yeah, but, man – Percy somehow has a circle of B.R. admirers. Thomas could be mixing it up more at Tidmouth if he were inclined to. I think he likes staying on his home base. I think Thomas is a quite a bit more of a homebody than Andrew Brenner seems to, in short.

This also means that I think Thomas and Henry are alike in this way, too. They’re happy in the lives they’ve carved out for themselves, new acquaintances can approach them if they like – but watch out! (“What ugly wheels you’ve got.”) Newcomers to the book version of the North-Western can expect Duck to give you guidance, Percy to peer upon you with frank curiosity, James to self-importantly shove himself into your personal space and try to put you in your place, Gordon to officiously introduce himself if he thinks you’re important enough to merit such an honor, the Caledonians to maybe break you in with a practical joke if you stick around long enough, Edward to extract your entire life story if you stay longer than about 48 hours. Thomas and Henry? They’re hangin’ back. Not on account of shyness! And they’re not excessively proud I don’t think – but they’re both just self-important enough that they’re automatically suspicious of anyone with the nerve to approach them.

(That said, annoying Thomas is just a first step in befriending him. Annoying Henry doesn’t work out the same way! He’ll just tell you to get off his siding, lol.)

It’s like Ariel Wanting to Walk on the Beach… with Legs…

A final and very important similarity: Thomas and Henry both distinguish themselves by indulging in some notably un-engine-like behavior.

Thomas is discontent in early canon in a way I certainly don’t think is true for all shunters (hence part of my characterization of my OC Poppet, who would never dream of pining to be anything but a station pilot. She has a grand job! What more could an engine want than an important job? Variety? Society? Scenery? Pah. Because Poppet's a normie, is why.) Even early in his branch line days, we see him taking up a yen to fish like the anglers he sees at the Els river – and is apparently called out for it by every engine to whom he announces this desire. (“Engines don’t go fishing??? *mutters aside* Loony…”)

Henry, too, is given the trait in TVS canon of liking to sit ‘round on mysterious sidings in the middle of a peaceful forest and take in the beauty of it all. Now engines often want to be a part of things – it seems they have a social drive – but to want to do all this slow, solitary, un-useful nature hobby stuff, that’s really something else. This is such un-engine-like behavior that it’s downright impractical! RULE 55 But it puts Henry into what is (for the Classic and New Series, at least) a pretty exclusive club, pretty much just him, Thomas, and – later in the same TV season – Duck. And, like, I accept this as canon because it feels right. Yeah, they’re our weirdos (affectionate).

In Our Lanes. Thriving.

So, yeah. Two nifty dudes, with a sibling relationship that’s so basic and understated that it’s almost dangerous to write them, because you could very easy press your thumb a little too hard and ruin their balance!

There’s a little crop of fics that give them the shared spotlight in a story, usually in the Vicarstown days, when Thomas does something nice for a struggling Henry. That idea tends to work quite well. I can’t think of many other times when trying to put the focus on their dynamic wouldn’t foil their dynamic. As I say for the last time – a keyword here is “peripheral.”

Their connection is strong mostly because of time and shared history, strengthened by a similar temperament, and spiced up by their chronic squabbling. You could too easily try to give them a nice Moment and overdo it, because they’re in the same tight family-like circle, but it’s like they’re each on one of the polar caps – just waving at (or snarling at) each other every so often as their shared world keeps chuggin’ on.

#long post #ttte #the railway series #chatter #ttte thomas #ttte henry #1+3

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shinygoku · 3 years

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Green Arrow Headcanons

Because the Sodor Gazette post was dedicated to facts only, so this is where I indulge in some cringe headcanons for this lad. Generally my headcanons are a blend of the RWS, TVS (s1 - s5) with maybe a few bits and pieces from later seasons, and whatever else feels Right to me. Anyway, Chris and Clive gave me crumbs so I’m gonna try to reverse engineer a Meal out of it!

Green Arrow - LNER V2 - 4771

The Gresley Engines have a reputation for being on the snobbish or elitist side, largely from Gordon, Spencer and Mallard at various points. Flying Scotsman mellowed significantly with his journeys and is one of the more chill and approachable, and Tornado being so new she never picked up those traits from The Old Days. Green Arrow himself is gregarious and friendly, finding it hilarious how much the stuffier family members go on about themselves. He’s not entirely immune to bragging, though, as he treasures how strong (and fast) he is pulling trains. If he likes a companion enough he’ll be fine with sharing work with them, just as long as it’s not a matter of them mistaking it for him needing the assistance (about the only way to get a rise out of him is to imply such).

Originally hearing about Sodor from Scotsman, Green Arrow has since held an interest is going there himself, something he didn’t manage until after Thomas came over to the mainland for the Railway Show. Green Arrow prior to this had a little bit of exposure to The Railway Series and Scotsman had 2nd hand accounts of Happenings there, so he was very excited when he heard the famous Thomas was going to visit.

They swiftly hit it off, Green Arrow gleefully drinking in the events as told by Thomas (amused at how much the Tank Engine gave honest, albeit much shorter versions of embarrassing stories involving himself) and felt glad to hear that Gordon took significant levels in kindness over the years (after all, Scotsman’s time with him was with the most biased source!). In turn, Green Arrow serenaded Thomas with his own adventures and happenings as part of a massive fleet, though he was light on details after 1962, not having particularly enjoyed standing in storage for so much time and dearly missing his brothers.

By the end of the Railway Show, Green Arrow and Thomas had enjoyed something akin to a Summer Romance. They were stoic enough when Thomas had to return, but they were very disappointed. Thomas went back to work in Ffarquhar, but was distracted enough that The Fat Controller asked what the matter was.

Green Arrow was surprized when he was invited over to Sodor, but had to be talked down from bolting over there on his own steam in his excitement. He was at least allowed on the rails when on the Island and enjoyed a good long run before meeting with the others. His arrival caused quite a stir, though by now most of the engines were mature enough to not instantly jump into gossip. He playfully poked at Gordon a few times, insistently referring to him as Cuz.

As he was too heavy to go on the Ffarquhar lines, Thomas had to rotate his jobs to spend more time on the main line with him, and the two of them were mostly on Goods work. It turned out that Green Arrow’s extensive time off the Fast Freight work had left him a bit rusty and he was unprepared for Sudrian Trucks in their wild unbraked sentient chaos, but he soon got the hang of it again.

During this time, Thomas asked about his name being more of a title, compared to Sodor conventions, so they eventually settled on Warren as his ‘Sodor Name’. It was between the two of them for approximately 10 minutes, but word spread fast, much to Thomas’ chagrin and Warren’s amusement.

Eventually he had to return to The Mainland for his obligations at the Railway Museum and Doncaster Museum, though he’s been back on Sodor a number of other times for quick visits and it has been implied he’d be welcome to stay permanently if the Museum circuit ever came to a close.

Extra Info

Green Arrow / Warren is something of a Jock, not a Himbo as he’s too intelligent. However, maybe from the Gresley influence, he still likes to present as somewhat sophisticated. He’d wear a tailored sports coat with his name embroidered over a designer tank top, were he humanoid.

Whenever Thomas himself is invited back on the mainland, Green Arrow introduces him to others as his boyfriend. He will cheerfully dismiss any nervous questioning that he’s using the wrong term for his Plus One. He also encouraged Thomas to call Gordon ‘Cuz’ at various times

He’s least fond of Spencer and has made non idle threats about throwing buffers if Spencer gets too big for his wheels at Events.

#TTTE Headcanon #This is TTTE #TTTE Green Arrow #TTTE Thomas #Thomas the Tank Engine #Green Arrow V2 #Green Arrow Locomotive #Green Arrow Engine #Green Arrow #Thomarrow #<-- New shipping name for what could be a new ship? :0c #TTTE #If you're here looking for DC content this ain't it #OG Green Arrow only... the Locomotive #Shout out to Jobey for Co-Captaining here!#Coming up with Warren and improving other notions~

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funky-boat-zone · 3 years

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since today is one of many possible dates that technically qualify as thomas’ birthday, i’m gonna liveblog magical birthday wishes. yes, i’m a year late, no i don’t really care.

thomas and the ants:

- ah yes, my favorite location on sodor, blank white void

- just gonna say this real quick: i love rob rackstraw’s voice for james. however, they have him doing literally every male character except thomas’ voice, and he can’t make percy sound young/endearing to save his life. percy sounds more like a woefully uneducated gremlin than childlike young lad, and that’s terrible. - those are some freakishly large ants, percy should be more concerned with that tbh - they’re bringing back the gold dust? weird, considering how the cgi era basically tried erasing tatmr out of canon (except diesel 10) - i do not like that thomas can jump now.

thomas and the balloons:

- thomas has absolute power over reality itself and can wish to alter it just by willing such, why is nobody talking about how terrifying this is? - they’re making engines transport fully inflated, helium-filled balloons again? have we learned nothing from the impracticality of “up, up, and away”? - how is he grabbing the balloons. how did he tie them to his buffers. - also imagine what his poor crew would be thinking if they were in this, imagine just trying to work and your engine just starts casually altering reality and decides to fly 20 feet off the ground. i’d quit on the spot

too many thomases:

- does every engine get magical wishes on their birthday or is it just thomas? - who the fuck is making nia do a job meant for ten engines by herself on a time limit? - how to instantly simultaneously fix this short and also make it a million times worse: make all the clones different incarnations of thomas (ie. rws, model era, hit era).

thomas the submarine:

- cranky’s voice makes him sound like a chain smoker. - actually, a tank engine can go underwater. they shouldn’t, but they can. - y’know what would’ve been kinda fun (and more marketable)? if thomas actually turned into a submarine/helicopter/whatever instead of just getting his funnel modified. - how is he propelling himself without a rudder. how can he talk to fish now. can submarines talk to fish in the ttte universe.

super bubble thomas:

- finally, a short with james. james is the only character in these shorts that rackstraw regularly voices, but even his james performance sounds kinda strained? i don’t blame him for sounding kind of off though, because they made him voice literally every male character except thomas i can’t get over how ridiculous that it when it’s clear that he doesn’t have the range for some of these characters - why is it james’ job to clean the station when he doesn’t even have any visible cleaning supplies? at least give the man a sponge or sth - i get that the message is “helping friends good :)” but thomas you’re allowed to wish for something for yourself. my dude you can find another engine to help your friends, you don’t have to solve literally all their problems with wishes you only get once a year.

thomas and the monkeys:

- “maybe they’ll follow a banana” thomas. are you gonna turn yourself into a banana. don’t do that - oh thank god, he just turned invisible - thomas, you didn’t actually get the monkeys back in their enclosure. they could climb back out and leave at any time.

thomas the giant:

- “he could be anywhere, we’ll never find him” maybe check the other side of the hill first? - thomas, you could just shoot up a flare or something. you didn’t have to potentially put henrietta in danger of being crushed. - i was right, toby was on the other side of the hill. this whole short could’ve been skipped if they just looked on the other side.

thomas the helicopter:

- what happened to my boy’s voice. - harold looks suspiciously pristine for a helicopter who presumably broke down mid-flight.. maybe he heard about the birthday wishes from everyone else and is exploiting this to make thomas do his jobs for him. - according to all laws of aviation there is no way that thomas- (dissolves instantly) - finally, humans! where have they been all this time?

thomas the rescue engine

- thomas ffs a bakery is on fire and all you can think about is if it’s your cake? you can’t even eat cake - where did all the gravel come from? - thomas you forgot to put out half the fire? this is “fiery flynn” all over again

thomas and the lighthouse:

- who left skiff undocked while he’s in the ocean? he’s gonna drift out to sea - speaking of skiff, he sounds like an adult doing a deliberately annoying impression of a child - “thomas fucking blinds skiff and other stories”

thomas full speed ahead:

- the more thomas talks about how many wishes he’s used and how he only wants to use them to help people, the more it sounds like he’s lying to himself. thomas. you’re being dumb as hell in these shorts but you deserve to have something for yourself just this once, it’s your birthday - i don’t know whether to be surprised that they actually remembered and referenced “thomas and gordon” or to be annoyed at the context in which it’s being referenced. - just because keith wickham was pretty good as james’ va doesn’t mean that rob rackstraw is good at being gordon’s va - are you telling me gordon broke down and decided to sleep instead of trying to call for help or have one of his passengers get help? - i can’t imagine how motion-sick those poor passengers must feel.

thomas the rubber band:

- where’s sir topham hatt been all this time? topham please save us from this alternate universe of chaos and despair - “a wall could hurt him” i mean, gordon also crashed face-first into a station wall once and he was relatively fine.. - the image of thomas being stretched out is one of the worst images from licensed material that i’ve ever seen.

thomas the elephant:

- this is it. this is the one. quite fitting that the most cursed short of them all is the thirteenth in the sequence. - emily’s scottish accent is cute, i hate that i’m hearing it in this context though. - that being said, twitter has already made all the jokes and invoked all the horror i possibly could, so i have nothing more to say on this short tbh

thomas & the birthday surprise:

- it’s the end. we laughed, we cried, we yelled at thomas for being dumb. i watched all 14 of these in one sitting and i will never be the same again. - fun fact: aside from nia and thomas’ voice actors staying the same, this whole set of shorts only had 2 people voicing all the characters. - you could just watch this short and ignore all the shorts before it. this one’s not great by any means, but it raises the fewest questions out of all of them. - except for how thomas and friends are gonna eat that cake. i imagine their crews just yeeting it into their fireboxes. - the moral of the story is that thomas needs to establish some boundaries, cranky needs to quit smoking, gordon is lazy, sir topham hatt is terrible at assigning jobs and has no idea what’s going on with his railway, captain joe shouldn’t leave skiff unattended, and percy is a fool.

#ttte #thomas and friends #shitpost #reaction tag #aka i yell at a fictional steam engine for making stupid decisions

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feigeroman · 3 years

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Thomas Headcanons: Stepney

In my headcanon, the NWR and the Bluebell Railway both have joint ownership of Stepney. In theory, this means that he’s able to visit the NWR more frequently than would normally be the case, but in practice, he’s only made a handful of notable visits:

Firstly, his initial visit in 1962, which was officially intended to provide a nice bit of publicity for the Bluebell Railway, but also gave the NWR engines a glimmer of hope that should the worst happen (i.e. if BR should finally sweep in and modernize everything), they at least might be preserved.

Stepney didn’t visit the NWR again until 1973, when he arrived on a promotional tour to celebrate the tenth anniversary of his own RWS book being published. It was during this visit that the events of Stepney Gets Lost took place. (Series 5)

This was followed in 1974 by another promotional tour, due to popular demand following the 1973 tour. The funds from this tour went towards the Bluebell’s proposed extension to East Grinstead, although the actual work wouldn’t begin for another twenty-odd years. (Series 6)

Stepney next visited in 1980, but this wasn’t an official visit. Rather, the NWR had kindly agreed to undertake some running repairs that were beyond the capabilities of the Bluebell’s own staff. In exchange for these repairs, Stepney was allowed to work normal service trains on the NWR before returning home. (Series 12)

His final visit, to date, was in October 1984, as part of a series of events publicising the launch of the Thomas the Tank Engine television series that same month.

When Stepney first visited the NWR in 1962, he arrived under his own steam, travelling up to Sodor on BR metals - with permission, of course - and hauling the Bluebell’s famous rake of four ex-Metropolitan coaches. These served as support coaches during the journey north, and were used on special railtours during the visit itself.

Apart from those jobs mentioned in his book, it is known that he undertook railtours along various routes during his visit. The first of these ran to Brendam, and it was on the way back to Tidmouth that Stepney had his conversation with Edward, as seen at the beginning of Stepney’s Special.

Although the full details aren’t known, it is recorded that Stepney had an altercation of some kind with ‘Arry & Bert - then still under BR ownership - while passing through Vicarstown on his arrival. Hence why, when they nearly scrapped him during his 1973 visit, ‘Arry remarked, “Got you this time, Stepney!“

Originally, it was intended that Stepney would only work railtours during the course of his visit, but he was so keen to work, and got on so well with the other engines, that he also worked normal service trains between his tours. This was just as well, as his visit caused a major influx of passengers, necessitating the running of extra trains, and in turn requiring his help at times.

Such was Stepney’s success that for subsequent visits, the NWR’s contract with the Bluebell Railway was amended to allow him to work service trains in a similar manner. This explains why in stories set during those visits, Stepney is frequently seen pulling trucks.

Stepney’s 1974 visit coincided with the reopening of the Elsbridge Loop, and thus a number of his railtours ran along this route. Such was the demand that Stepney couldn’t cope on his own, and so Edward was drafted in to handle additional trains.

The Elsbridge Loop, by the way, is the one Gordon was once switched onto by mistake. Although it was said to have just been completed in Edward The Very Useful Engine, the line had of course still been in existence before then - it’d simply been closed for a few years, and the tracks left in situ.

It was also in 1974 that the NWR officially gained joint-ownership of Stepney. Prior to this, he’d simply been an honorary NWR engine, occupying the #55 slot on the locomotive roster. This arrangment remains in place to this day, even though Stepney hasn’t visited Sodor since 1984.

Although the Great Waterton branch line is often referred to as Stepney’s Branch Line, or the Bluebell Valley Line, it has no connection with Stepney whatsoever, besides him having briefly worked on it during his 1980 visit. This apparent confusion stems from the TV producers’ decision, in the mid-1990s, to depict the Bluebell Railway as being a branch line located on a faraway part of Sodor. Presumably they chose the Great Waterton branch because it ran through an area known as the Bluebell Valley.

#thomas the tank engine #the railway series #sodor #island of sodor #north western railway #ttte headcanon #ttte analysis #ttte stepney #stepney the bluebell engine

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daikenkki · 5 years

Conversation

AusterityEngine: So uh... Has anyone else realised that the BWBA update for the main cast is, rather ironically, incredibly sexist? Like, they booted Edward and Henry off the Steam Team motivated solely by the fact that they are male characters and had to make way for new female members, which by definition is sexist. Anyone else seeing this or just me?

ThomasTheorist: It's called Positive discrimination, not all discrimination is bad.

AusterityEngine: No. Discrimination is bad full stop.

ThomasTheorist: Well thats a rather narrow view. Positive discrimination is the practice of favouring individuals belonging to a group known to have been discriminated against previously, in this case, women and people of colour.

AusterityEngine: There was nothing saying new female characters can't join the Steam Team. What kicking Edward and Henry out for Nia and Rebecca does is send out the message that it's okay to exclude them BECAUSE they're guys.

PSideplates: Yes you have realized something the rest of us knew from Day 1. Congrats.

justang_G: Wilbert Awdry believed that all locomotives should be male and carriages should be female. This is sexist. I think the TV show are handling the idea of female engines awfully. I don't think that they shouldn't have them, but don't kick out other characters for them.

WDonut04: Too bad no one noticed this. Imagine if Emily, the only female member before Nia and Rebecca, got kicked off the steam team, then there would be a huge media backlash because removing a woman is considered sexist. But the media doesn't care for Edward and Henry unless it has to do with a certain episode that shall not be named.

Streakofscarlet: Totally 100% in support of normalizing a gender-balanced main cast in kids shows, but you just KNOW that there'd be an outrage over it if it was Emily who got kicked out.

PSideplates: Yeah if the Steam Team was mostly female and they tried to replace some of them with guys there'd be outrage.

TheDukeyofSodor: Always thought this decision was Mattel being sexist. Like instead of replacing males with females, have them coexist and make a bigger team (still dumbfounded how they didn't use the ep to boot Edward to instead expand the sheds and cast).

flyingtardis: I mean, you don't even need to expand the sheds, there's a perfectly good 4 track shed just off to the left (facing the turntable from the sheds) of the sheds that can hold a few engines, 8 small tank engines or 4 small 1 mid and 1 tender, but it would free up at least 2 berths for new Steam Team members.

TheDukeyofSodor: It's been mostly a goods shed and if anything makes the character seem more secondary rather than main since they're literally pushed to the side.

flyingtardis: But it's not about "pushing to the side" its about freeing space up so you have essentially a mainline shed and a Miscellaneous shed for engines like Toby and Stanley and anyone we actually see at Knapford regularly, its not like its a completely separate shed like Knapford sheds.

Cinderthomtroop: Well more or less I suppose, They wanted more female lead characters and in order to make room they had to boot two of the men out to make way for the new women, instead of uh, I don't know... expanding the sheds. Edward and Henry were the least relevant to the series, that's why Nia and Rebecca took their places.

DavisZ021: I do. That's my issue with Nia and Rebecca replacing Edward and Henry. I think that they should have done a Calling All Engines! and make the shed bigger to let Nia and Rebecca in without taking away from the group.

mrtrackmaster99: Thanos is working at Mattel and it had to be perfectly balanced. 3 boys - Gordon, James and Percy. 3 girls - Nia, Rebecca and Emily, and Thomas.

crikey_fell: I still think they should've gradually added either existing or new female characters to be promoted to the main cast to bring it to an equal male to female ratio and remodel Tidmouth sheds to the RWS version.

RichardBlue1963: Tis what we call, "a double-standard", we see it everywhere, people will have no issue calling Anakin and Luke Mary-Sues but will defend Rey at all costs for instance. I hate it and it has to stop, its a damaging mindset.

TheFlatwagon: You know this Edward and Henry fiasco would have never happened if Sir Topham Hatt the cAPitaList wHOre just installed two extra berths at Tidmouth Sheds for the two new female members.

steakandcake1: OMG YOURE RIGHT. Imagine if mainstream finds out about this regarding Nia and Rebecca joining the main cast solely due to pleasing the feminists and Mattel is forced to bring back Edward and Henry.

steamtrainboy55: Couldn't they just remodel Tidmouth with more berths? Maybe then Rosie could be a part of the Steam Team?

TidmouthStudios: Literally everyone knew about this sexism shit since like last year. I mean, Edward and Henry leaving to make way for Nia and Rebecca in order to satisfy the SJWs is one of the reasons why people DON'T like BWBA. I don't see the reason of bringing this stuff about sexism and female representation back up again when we've actually had minimal peace in the fandom recently.

PlebPerson: You’re right, but I also think it’s sexist to have female main characters just for the sake of having female main characters. Especially since Nia and Rebecca are just generic nice girls.

kezzstar24: I don't understand why they couldn't have kept my beloved Edward and Henry and just added extra female main cast characters. Why boot any at all? 😢😢

Danielthewrap: It's because of what a "teach the children about complete male and female equality" company did just to butt in.

NWRGresley1942: They could’ve at least kicked James out of the Steam Team since he was a show off and brought back Edward and Henry since they could’ve rerendered Tidmouth Sheds to a 10 berth shed and brought Rosie into Tidmouth or they could get rid of the Steam Team altogether.

B33TSk33T: I would say yes. But... no one bats an eye twords male sexism. It isn’t seen as “sexist”. A more accurate term for sexism would be “anti-womanist” You get what I mean?

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