C.Syde's Fictional Locomotive Characters

Although I don't really like the Thomas and Friends series anymore as a whole, due to being grown up, I still have happy memories of when I was still into the series. And I still like the engine prototypes the characters are based on.

In addition to the many characters of Thomas and Friends that I was fascinated by, one of my childhood hobbies was creating lots of my own fictional engine characters. Although most of them were one time appearance characters.

I made a story about them or I drew them, but that was it. A lot of them were forgotten over the years as a result. However I still have some scrapbooks of some of them, or copies of stories about them, so some of them are still remembered, even if they only made one appearance.

But here's a list of my "inner circle" of fictional engine characters. Some of these engine characters I created as a child, and some of them I created when I had already officially grown out of Thomas and Friends but wanted to reawaken the happy memories and times that I had enjoyed as a child.

I discovered the Fletcher Jennings Class C, LB&SCR E2 Class, LMS Fowler Class 3F, LNER Class A4, Bagnall 0-4-0ST, British Rail Class 08, Hunslet Austerity, Midlander 4wDM, BR Class 42 "Warship", and British Rail Class 17 because certain engines of Thomas and Friends - Skarloey, Thomas, Jinty, Spencer, Bill and Ben, Diesel, 'Arry and Bert, and Splatter and Dodge, Wilbert, Rusty, Diesel 10, and Derek - are based on these classes.

Although I have officially grown out of Thomas and Friends, I still haven't completely abandoned it permanently. This is partly due to my interest in characters, and my interest in locomotives. The rest of the classes that are featured here I discovered in 2010 while reading through this book of locomotives, with the exception of the BR Class 20 which I discovered sometime in 2017. Enjoy! :D

Honny
Honny and his twin brother Ponny were the earliest fictional Thomas the Tank Engine characters that I can remember creating. They were created in 2002 when I was 6 or 7 if I remember correctly, and most of the fictional characters I created were one-time appearance characters back then, so it explains why Honny is one of the only characters I can remember from that long ago. It also explains why Honny has such a childish name. I never would have called him that if I had created him and his twin brother today.

Honny and Ponny are a duo of cheeky and troublesome tank engines who liked to play tricks on this well behaved crane. But they both meant well, really. And in spite of their troublesome ways, Honny and Ponny appeared to be friends, or became friends with the crane. I can't remember what the crane's name was. But his name definitely began with a "J". I think he might have been named Jayden, but I'm not sure.

I have yet to decide what basis Honny and his twin are, as I have yet to find a basis that looks remotely similar enough to Honny. But what I do know is they are both 0-6-0 side tank locomotives, not unlike Thomas or Jinty, and no bigger than either of them. Though unlike Thomas, Honny and Ponny don't have rounded wheel arches. They may or may not have wheel arches, but they aren't rounded ones. When I was very young, I paid no attention to how many wheels I drew on the engines. Although I probably don't still have the pictures, I do remember Honny and Ponny having ten wheels in one picture, and twelve wheels in another. Not very accurate, but I was probably too young to notice or give a damn about these inconsistencies.

Both twins are painted red, with black wheels, and have given numbers. Honny is 99 and Ponny is 100. I used two sources of inspiration for Honny and Ponny. Obviously I got some inspiration from Bill and Ben. I also got some inspiration from Iggy and Ziggy, two crows who battled Huckleberry Hound in order to eat his corn.

Although the twins are identical, Honny's cheeks aren't usually as expressive and defined as Ponny's cheeks are when they smile. This is a trait that I adapted from Bill and Ben. In the earlier episodes, Ben usually wore a face mask that made his cheeks prominent on his face, whereas Bill didn't wear that face mask nearly as often. On close examination, Honny's grin may appear larger than Ponny's, though it is most likely due to the facial expressions they have.

Ponny
Ponny and his twin brother Honny were the earliest fictional Thomas the Tank Engine characters that I can remember creating. They were created in 2002 when I was 6 or 7 if I remember correctly, and most of the fictional characters I created were one-time appearance characters back then, so it explains why Ponny is one of the only characters I can remember from that long ago. It also explains why Ponny has such a childish name. I never would have called him that if I had created him and his twin brother today.

Ponny and Honny are a duo of cheeky and troublesome tank engines who liked to play tricks on this well behaved crane. But they both meant well, really. And in spite of their troublesome ways, Ponny and Honny appeared to be friends, or became friends with the crane. I can't remember what the crane's name was. But his name definitely began with a "J". I think he might have been named Jayden, but I'm not sure.

I have yet to decide what basis Ponny and his twin are, as I have yet to find a basis that looks remotely similar enough to Ponny. But what I do know is they are both 0-6-0 side tank locomotives, not unlike Thomas or Jinty, and no bigger than either of them. Though unlike Thomas, Ponny and Honny don't have rounded wheel arches. They may or may not have wheel arches, but they aren't rounded ones. When I was very young, I paid no attention to how many wheels I drew on the engines. Although I probably don't still have the pictures, I do remember Ponny and Honny having ten wheels in one picture, and twelve wheels in another. Not very accurate, but I was probably too young to notice or give a damn about these inconsistencies.

Both twins are painted red, with black wheels, and have given numbers. Ponny is 100 and Honny is 99. I used two sources of inspiration for Ponny and Honny. Obviously I got some inspiration from Bill and Ben. I also got some inspiration from Iggy and Ziggy, two crows who battled Huckleberry Hound in order to eat his corn.

Although the twins are identical, Ponny's cheeks are usually more expressive and defined than Honny's cheeks are when they smile. This is a trait that I adapted from Bill and Ben. In the earlier episodes, Ben usually wore a face mask that made his cheeks prominent on his face, whereas Bill didn't wear that face mask nearly as often. On close examination, Ponny's grin may appear smaller than Honny's, though it is most likely due to the facial expressions they have.

Wilbur
Wilbur was a fictional Thomas the Tank Engine character that I created in April 2004. Though he only made two appearances in 2004. By the time I brought him back in 2010, I probably forgot exactly how I drew him the first time, though a lot had changed in 2004 and 2010, so it probably didn't matter. I'm pretty sure he was always a 0-6-0 tank engine, and he was definitely meant to be a side tank locomotive. I don't even think I gave him a number the first time, back in 2004. In 2010, I gave him the number 1.

In 2017 I decided on Wilbur being a LMS 3F "Jinty", although there are some differences between Wilbur and the other engines of his basis. A notable difference is that Wilbur is depicted as having an extra dome which is smaller than the first dome. He is also shorter than most of the engines of his basis, as he is no bigger than Thomas. Wilbur was inspired by Wilbert the Forest Engine, although he is a side tank engine, whereas Wilbert is a saddle tank engine. But the two of them are painted in blue livery with red lining and a black footplate, though Wilbur is painted a darker shade of blue than Wilbert.

Not that much is known about Wilbur's personality, as he has yet to be given a defined backstory. Although from what I can remember thinking of him, he was kind, sensible, and outgoing. In a story I wrote in 2004, Wilbur was capable of reaching the speed of 60 miles an hour. Though at the time, I didn't realise that certain other types of side tank locomotives were capable of reaching that speed. It is unknown if other engines of Wilbur's class can reach 60 miles an hour, but if they can reach a higher speed, then Wilbur would certainly be capable of doing so as well.

Tenny
Tenny was a fictional Thomas the Tank Engine character that I created during the 2004 Christmas Holidays, so he would have been created sometime in January 2005. He made one appearance in January 2005, and another appearance in January 2006. Though the scrapbook that I drew him in in January 2006 is missing, it should be hidden among some of my stuff, though there's so much stuff, it will take some time to find it.

Though I'm not quite sure whether I've drawn him exactly how he was meant to be drawn, from what I can remember, he was a large pink diesel engine with what looks like a red saddle on his head, a red cab, and white footplates and buffer beams. Unlike most engines, his face is the same colour as his body. I have yet to confirm what Tenny's original number was when I drew him, if he even had a number, but in 2011 I think it was, he was given the number 2.

Sometime in 2011 it was, I think I confirmed that Tenny was meant to be a BR Class 17 but there were several major differences between him and a real engine of that class. This can be reconciled if it's assumed that he was rebuilt at some point after his initial creation date. It was eventually confirmed that he was. The real difference between him and the other engines of his basis were that instead of having his cab placed in the centre of his body, his cab is placed at the back of his body. Tenny's body was also higher than on most diesels of his basis.

When I drew him last, he definitely had doors on both sides of his front, as well as on both sides of his cab, which all other engines of his basis lacked. So he needed to have his basis redetermined as something else when I got the chance, although it wasn't exactly easy since I had yet to find a real basis that looked enough like Tenny for him to be based on. As of 2017, I have confirmed that he was originally built as a BR Class 17, and the reason he ended up looking so different was because he got rebuilt into a BR Class 20. Tellingly, his cab is still close to it's original shape.

Tenny made his debut in January 2005 where he accompanied a black pannier tank engine who's name I can't remember back to where he was meant to go, after he was discovered to have travelled to the wrong part of the island. This incident parodied the part where Lily gets on the wrong train in Thomas and the Magic Railroad, and Stacy Jones takes her back to Muffle Mountain which was where she was meant to go.

Tenny later made an appearance in a drawing that I drew in January 2006, but I have yet to find where exactly the missing scrapbook is. He wasn't brought back until 2009 and 2010. But since the scrapbook has been missing since the end of 2009, it's location will need to be found to help me determine what Tenny was meant to look like, although it can't be very inconsistent from my latest picture of him, since my drawings along with their details have improved a great deal since. As shown by his debut, Tenny is a rather kind and helpful diesel engine.

Elliot
Sir Elliot (better known simply as Elliot) was a fictional Thomas the Tank Engine character that I created near the end of Term 3 2005, so he would have been created sometime in September 2005. Elliot has made the most appearances in my fictional Thomas and Friends stories, out of all my fictional Thomas and Friends locomotive character creations. Even after I officially grew out of the Thomas and Friends series, my interest in locomotives and characters has prevented Elliot from fading away. He is my personal favourite fictional Thomas and Friends locomotive character as well.

Elliot is a vain mixed traffic steam tank locomotive who was brought to the Island of Sodor about three fifths of the way through the year 2005, to help pull fish trucks at the docks, the port, and the the fishing village, and to pull passenger trains such as the express. He was rewarded with two coaches names Katrina and Ashley (who look like Annie and Clarabel) after he helped a derailed Arthur back on to the track. Elliot was given his own branch line at some point during his time on the Island of Sodor. Despite this, Elliot is regarded as a "main line" engine, because of his job pulling heavier main line trains such as express trains, and regular heavy goods trains. Elliot's branch line is apparently located at the port somewhere near Duck's branch line, Arthur's branch line, and Brendam Docks.

Elliot is at times, rather arrogant and self-centered. In a way, he is very similar to James the Red Engine, in terms of his attitudes and habits. One obvious difference between James and Elliot, is that the former much prefers pulling coaches and that he thinks he is too good to pull trucks. The latter while not lavishing praise for pulling trucks as a whole, does enjoy pulling fish trucks to and from the port, the fishing village, and the docks. Even though Elliot does not like getting dirty, he apparently enjoys working at the fishing village more than he hates getting dirty. Like Arthur and Salty, Elliot doesn't mind the smell of fish.

Despite being a tank engine, Elliot has no problems mixing with tender engines, nor do they have problems mixing with him. Like James, Elliot thinks himself superior to others, and can shallow, boastful, and vain, particularly to those who appear old-fashioned, weak, slow, or dirty. Because of this, he often looks down on tank engines such as Thomas and Percy, both of whom he believes are common cheeky little tank engines. Elliot appears to be good at keeping a level head, and is usually unaffected by any rude comments the other engines may give him, although he is often quick to retaliate. While James tends to suffer from "self-importance", Elliot usually tends to suffer from "being cool" as well.

Elliot is based on a LB&SCR E2 Class tank locomotive much like Thomas the Tank Engine, although various parts of him were rebuilt overtime. While he hasn't undergone any physical changes outside receiving a belpaire firebox prior to his arrival on Sodor, a new Giesl ejector as of 2005, larger wheels with more prominent counterweights, and golden buffer beams as of 2009, Elliot seems to have changed a lot from his former self. For one thing LB&SCR E2 tank locomotives usually can only travel between 30 and 40 miles per hour, but since Elliot's rebuild, he is capable of reaching 90 miles an hour. It is presumed that Elliot has been given a newer engine as well, since he is now a mixed traffic engine who can pull both passenger trains and freight trains quite easily. Elliot is also quite strong as he is capable of pulling long fast passenger trains, including the express.

Elliot is painted red, with yellow lining, similar to how Thomas is painted blue, with red lining. Unlike most Sodor steam engines, Elliot has yellow trim instead of red. He has red wheels with yellow coupling rods, a yellow bunker, yellow chassis, and a yellow cab roof. Unlike Thomas, Elliot has a red circle with a yellow outline surrounding a small yellow number 14, instead of a big yellow number 1. Elliot also has his name painted on his sides, whereas Thomas does not.

Another difference between Thomas and Elliot's appearances, is that Thomas always wore a lamp on one of his lamp irons, and a tail lamp on his back. Elliot did not wear these unless they were being used, until 2013, when he began to wear them permanently. Unlike Thomas who was based off the later series of LB&SCR E2 tank locomotives, Elliot's built date is June 1913, which means that he must be based off the earlier series of LB&SCR E2 tank locomotives. It is presumed that he was remodelled to resemble the later series during one of his rebuilds.

Metey Barnett
Metey Barnett (usually Barnett for short) was a fictional Thomas the Tank Engine character that I created during the 2005 Christmas Holidays, either in late December 2005 or early January 2006. He made his debut in a fictional Thomas story that I wrote "Metey Diesel" which he appeared as the main antagonist. The story was about one page long, I often wrote one page stories back in 2005 when I was ten years old. Sometime at the beginning of the story the steam engines were holding a discussion after hearing that Barnett would be coming to the North Western Railway. Although the engines had never met Barnett, they had obviously been forewarned about his intentions, because they were rather fearful about his upcoming visit.

Based on what the Big City Engine had been telling Henry, Barnett was intending to take over the railway, and displace all the steam engines. It was rumoured that he was planning to have the steam engines rebuilt into diesels, and to have Thomas and Fergus scrapped on the spot. Unfortunately for Barnett, his visit to The Fat Controller's Railway was short lived after he attempted to antagonise James - which would have been successful if no one else had come to his aid - only to be shunted under the coal bunker towards the end of the story. Barnett was sent back to where he came from, so that he wouldn't cause any more disruption.

Barnett wasn't brought back until 2009 and 2010, except he didn't return to the Island of Sodor. Instead he appeared alongside some of my other fictional engine characters, several of them were ones that I had previously created as fictional Thomas and Friends characters. Barnett is unquestionably pompous, snobbish, and rude. Like many other diesels, he held no exception in believing that steam engines were inferior to diesels. In a way, he is shown to be very similar to D261 and D199.

Barnett also seemed to be rather dismissive of The Fat Controller's wishes, given that he tried to take over the railway with the intention of having the steam engines scrapped or rebuilt into diesel engines, despite it being clear that The Fat Controller had no intention of prohibiting steam engines from his railway. When Barnett's plans were foiled, The Fat Controller was not in the least bit sympathetic, and made it clear that he would not be invited back.

In 2010 I confirmed that Barnett was officially based on a BR Class 37, although I had always imagined him to be the same basis as D199, meaning that for the longest time I imagined him to be a BR Class 46. I didn't know much about the different classes before reading this book of locomotives in 2010, and when I saw a picture of a BR Class 37 locomotive, I was like "That's what kind of diesel Metey Barnett is".

Because the BR Class 37, BR Class 40, and BR Class 46 were roughly the same shape, I would not have figured out that they were all different types of diesels without research. Barnett is a BR Class 37, despite being painted to resemble a BR Class 46. Instead of being painted blue with yellow like D199, Barnett is painted grey with light grey. He also has a light grey face that is square shaped, just like D261.

Andrew
Sir Anaru (better known as Andrew) was a fictional Thomas the Tank Engine character that I created in January 2007. He made several later appearances in the following years, including 2008-2011, and 2017. Andrew's basis was rather confusing, as he seemed to be based on different basis's on different occasions. In 2017 I decided I needed to settle on an individual basis in order to make him seem more realistic.

My earliest pictures of him depicted Andrew as a standard gauge Bagnall 0-4-0ST saddle tank locomotive, much like Bill and Ben, although he was smaller than they were. Instead of having two bunkers in-front of his cab, he had one bunker behind his cab. Andrew was rather small for a standard gauge locomotive, but he was bigger than a narrow-gauge locomotive. I tended to print out a head-on promo model of Skarloey and drew over his red livery with black to make a likeness of Andrew, which indicated that Andrew was also sometimes based on a narrow-gauge Fletcher Jennings Class C locomotive although he had a 0-4-0 wheel arrangement instead of a 0-4-2 wheel arrangement.

To cover up the confusion of Andrew's basis, I decided to make it so he was built as a narrow-gauge Fletcher Jennings Class locomotive in 1864 like Skarloey with a 0-4-0 wheel arrangement and no cab. Since Andrew's backstory depicted him to be an old engine, I had no problem with making Andrew as old as Skarloey, even though I never depicted Andrew to be that old, only that he was an old engine like Edward. I didn't originally know that there was such a gap between Skarloey's age, and Edward's age.

In 1867, Andrew received trailing wheels giving him a 0-4-2 wheel arrangement, and a cab. In 1948, Andrew was rebuilt into a standard gauge locomotive, regaining his old 0-4-0 wheel arrangement, but having most of his old parts replaced with ones of a Bagnall 0-4-0ST, making him a hybrid between his original basis and Bill and Ben's basis's. This caused issues with Andrew's ability to work, until he was eventually rebuilt into a Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0ST locomotive like Wilbert. He became much stronger in the process, and much faster, being able to reach 60 miles an hour, though it's unknown if the other engines of the Hunslet Austerity basis can reach that speed or not anyway.

It remains questionable when exactly Andrew got the 0-6-0 wheel arrangement, since when he was brought to The Fat Controller's railway in 2007, he was capable of reaching 60 miles an hour, and resembled a Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0ST but with a 0-4-0 wheel arrangement. Sometime in 2010 and 2011, Andrew received his 0-6-0 wheel arrangement, and although he resembled a Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0ST, albeit being smaller than the other engines of his basis, his bunker was shaped very much like Duck and Oliver's bunkers, though otherwise structured similar to Percy's. Andrew is shown to be a very kind, sensible, and helpful engine, and quickly became good friends with Edward and BoCo after he arrived on The Fat Controller's railway. He was also good friends with Duck and Oliver, and quite a good relationship with Thomas and Percy.

Andrew is painted in jet-black livery, golden lining, white fancy lettering of "SIR ANARU" on his nameplate, with a red stripe underneath his nameplate, and very dark yellow wheels with golden coupling rods. He is shown to have a small widow's peak, unlike most engines. Andrew has red buffer beams and a red footplate, and dark grey on the roof of his cab. He gained new golden buffers sometime in 2009. He also has a golden whistle. Andrew has two black wheel arches with gold lining. He has one cylinder on each side behind his front wheels, which are the same shape as the cylinders Peter Sam has. Andrew's cylinders are black with two gold stripes. Although Andrew is painted black, he has stated to have been painted GWR Green at some point in his life, though it was short lived, and he got his old black livery back. Andrew has the number 2486 painted on his sides.