Thomas the Tank Engine Wikia
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“You'll be laughing on the other side of your boilers soon, silly steamies.”
― Diesel 10, Misty Island Rescue
Diesel10atthestation
Diesel 10
  • Class: BR Class 42 "Warship"
  • Designer: British Railways
  • Builder: BR Swindon Works
  • Built: 1958
  • Configuration: Bo-Bo
  • Top speed: 90 mph

Diesel 10 is an evil Diesel with a roof-top, hydraulic claw (named "Pinchy" in "Thomas and the Magic Railroad").

Quick Answers

Who is Diesel 10? toggle section
Diesel 10 is an evil, conniving, manipulative and raving diesel locomotive from the Thomas & Friends franchise. He's notorious for his roof-top, hydraulic claw named "Pinchy" and his hatred of steam engines - tauntingly calling them names like "puffball" and "teapot". Diesel 10 is considered the main antagonist of the Thomas & Friends universe, and was originally played by Canadian actor and writer Neil Crone in Thomas and the Magic Railroad. He first appeared as the main antagonist of the 2000 film.
Provided by: Fandom
Is Diesel 10 a real engine? toggle section
No, Diesel 10 is not a real engine. He is a major antagonist from the Thomas & Friends universe. He is an evil diesel engine with an illegal hydraulic claw modification called "Pinchy". However, he is based on a real engine, namely the British Rail (BR) Class 42 diesel-hydraulic engine.
Provided by: Fandom
Is Diesel 10 good or bad? toggle section
Diesel 10 is an evil, conniving, manipulative, villainous and mischievous, diesel locomotive, feared throughout the Island of Sodor. He is competitive, ill-behaved and rude, and has been causing trouble for steam engines. He is also obsessed with wanting to get them off the rails and has an excavator claw arm named "Pinchy". He is considered one of the main antagonists of Thomas & Friends universe.
Provided by: Fandom
Is Diesel 10's claw illegal? toggle section
Not in the series, but Diesel 10 is based on a British Rail (BR) Class 42 diesel-hydraulic engine with an added non-regulation hydraulic claw. In real life, adding in such a claw onto a locomotive would most likely be considered illegal, if it was not approved by government authorities.
Provided by: Fandom
Why is he called Diesel 10? toggle section
It's believed that Diesel 10's name is a reference to him being the tenth diesel engine to be introduced into Thomas & Friends.
Provided by: Fandom

Bio

Diesel 10 had been to Sodor a long time ago, creating problems for the steam engines. He chased down Lady - the engine who kept Sodor alive - and made her crash. In the years that followed, Lady's caretaker, Burnett Stone, took her into hiding, trying desperately, but failing to bring her back up to steam.

Diesel 10 returned many years later, intending to destroy Lady for good. He brought with him two lapdogs, Splatter and Dodge, who were present when the boss was scheming. He was first seen in the movie charging past Thomas and Gordon at Killaban. He also dumped sneezing powder all around Tidmouth Sheds so that the wind from Harold's blades would blow it all over the place. Diesel 10 had very little success with his plans - Mr. Conductor caused Pinchy to throw him safely onto bags of flour, and during a speech on "how to stop being stupid", he caused a coal chute to empty its contents on top of him at The Coaling Plant.

He later tries to force James and Junior backwards into the melting pit behind them at the Sodor Ironworks. But Junior uses the last remaining of his Gold Dust to take him and James to Mr. Conductor.

By using special coal from Sodor, Burnett Stone was able to bring Lady back to life. Diesel 10 was determined to attack her, but lost the aid of Splatter and Dodge. Burnett, Lady, and Thomas found themselves being chased by Diesel 10 over an unsafe viaduct. The center of the viaduct collapsed, and while Thomas and Lady were able to cross safely, Diesel 10 was too large and fell into a passing barge below.

How Diesel 10 got back to Sodor is a mystery. It is likely that Sir Topham Hatt decided to give him another chance.

In Calling All Engines!, he was working at the scrapyards, using Pinchy to load rusted metal into trucks. The sight of him returning caused Thomas and Percy to shudder in fright.

Thomas and Mavis went to tell steam engines and Diesels all over the island to meet at the coaling plant, a chance and hope for them to work together and get the new Sodor Airport built on time. When Thomas went over to tell Diesel 10 about the meeting, he got scared to his wheels. Not sure if Diesel 10 would want to help the steam engines anyway, due to their difficulties in the past, Thomas sped away as fast as he could.

Construction of the airport was almost complete when a tower collapsed, cracking the runway and blocking the tracks. With Harvey too far away to clear the line, Thomas took a chance and decided to ask Diesel 10. Convincing his former archenemy that helping the other engines would prove how useful he was, Thomas returned with help to clear the line.

In The Great Discovery, Diesel 10 and a number of other Diesels later waited in the quarry yard to hear if Thomas had been found in the days leading up to the reopening of Great Waterton.

At the end of Misty Island Rescue, unbeknownst to the steam engines, Diesel 10 was seen on a bridge overlooking the Sodor Search and Rescue Centre threatening them.

In Day of the Diesels, he later tricked a lonely Percy into helping him take over the Sodor Steamworks. When Percy had a falling-out with Thomas, Diesel 10 used him to attempt to have the Sodor Dieselworks repaired. After convincing Thomas to go to the Dieselworks, Diesel 10 had Percy lead him and the other Diesels to the Steamworks. When they arrived, Diesel 10 betrayed Percy and took over the Steamworks. He retained the comedic humour that could be seen in Thomas and the Magic Railroad; for example, when he rolls back into his shed, the doors close on him too early, leaving him stuck for a few seconds before goes all the way back into the shed and the doors close completely.

When Percy went to the Dieselworks to rescue Thomas, Percy saw that sparks from "Pinchy" had set the main shed ablaze. After saving Thomas and putting out the fire, Percy led the steam engines to the Steamworks. After a brief argument between the engines, the Fat Controller arrived. Percy told him that the Diesels needed a new Dieselworks, so the Fat Controller had the steam engines and Diesels work together to rebuild it. 

Diesel 10 is now in charge of the Dieselworks, but Den and Dart run it when he is not around.

In the seventeenth season, Diesel 10 was stealing Christmas decorations from the Steam Team at Tidmouth Sheds with Paxton's help because he thought no one liked diesels. That afternoon, Percy caught him stealing the last of the decorations and bravely raced after the evil diesel in an attempt to get the decorations back, enlisting Edward, Thomas, James, Henry, Gordon, Toby, and Emily to help him. After taking back the decorations, Paxton told Diesel 10 that Sir Topham Hatt gave them a truckload of decorations for the Dieselworks. At the end, he decided to give the Steamies back the decorations, though most of them were crushed by Pinchy, so to compensate, he gave them the diesels' decorations because they considered Sidney to be a good enough decoration.

Persona

Diesel 10 is an evil, conniving, bullying, and psychotic monster. He absolutely despises steam engines, and would call them taunting names like "puffball" and "teapot". He is Sodor's strongest but not quite largest Diesel, his power being enforced by his slightly malfunctioning claw, Pinchy. He can use this deftly, and is even able to use it to make a sculpture. All engines, steam and diesel alike, fear and respect him.

Despite his aggressiveness, he will help on occasion since Sir Topham Hatt brought him back, but only when it suits his personal interest. He can have a caring side, but he very rarely shows it.

Basis

Diesel 10 is a BR Class 42 "Warship" with an added non-regulation hydraulic claw.

Livery

Diesel 10 is painted olive green with tan stripes.

Behind the Scenes

In Thomas and the Magic Railroad, Diesel 10 was originally played by Australian actor Keith Scott, and the character was intended only as villain supplementary to Doug Lennox's character, P. T. Boomer. Boomer was cut due to early audience reactions, and Diesel 10's role was rewritten as the primary villain. In the process, Keith Scott was replaced by Canadian improv comedian Neil Crone. Crone, with fellow improvisation comedian Kevin Frank, had been auditioning for the film to play the trucks. Crone was given the part of Diesel 10 when he was heard performing a gruff voice during auditions. In the final movie, Crone and Frank improvised much of their dialogue, including the name "Pinchy" for Diesel 10's claw.

His plan in the original script was also much different. He plotted to get rid of the steam engines by making their lives miserable, one of the sections of the plan included the "Sneezing Powder" sequence (originally quarry dust in the original script and Little Engines Can Do BIG Things). He also planned to destroy all the buffers on the railway so the steam engines would crash and derail, with the diesels taking over and rebuilding the buffers after. The plan to destroy the buffers were further bolstered by his discovery of the buffers that led to the entrance of Mr. Conductor's Magic Railroad, thus stopping him from continuing his plans of Diesel domination. This plan was the reason why George was going to be one of his assistants. Also, instead of returning to Sodor to finally destroy Lady once and for all, he was a new engine who Sir Topham Hatt brought to help while he was away, but instead caused more havoc on the island.

Appearances

Voice Actors

Trivia

  • According to The Real Lives of Thomas the Tank Engine, Diesel 10's hydraulic claw, Pinchy, is an illegal modification. Among other reasons, it makes him too tall for the British loading gauge.
  • In an original version of the Thomas and the Magic Railroad script, Diesel 10 was to have been a new engine to the island, and Pinchy was going to be concealed beneath Diesel 10's roof. These were kept in the book, Diesel 10 Means Trouble.
  • Diesel 10 only appeared in specials and movies until the seventeenth season, where he appeared in an episode for the first time.
  • Diesel 10 has never been seen pulling any sort of rolling stock.
  • In Thomas and the Magic Railroad, Diesel 10 is only addressed as "Diesel" aside from his introductory scene and the scene where Mr. Conductor explains to Billy Twofeathers why he is going to Sodor.
  • It was widely speculated that Diesel 10's name may have derived from the fact that he was the tenth diesel introduced in the television series, but Britt Allcroft says the name just "popped into her mind".
  • From Calling All Engines! onwards, Diesel 10 has a gap between his face and buffers. He also appears to be slightly taller, and his brake pipe was removed.
  • In early concept art, Diesel 10 had his name painted on his side. In addition, his claw bucket was smaller, his arm was designed differently, and he had three brakepipes, whereas his final model only had one.

Quotes

  • Diesel 10: Get out of my way! I have unfinished business to do here, and I want to finish it fast!
  • Gordon: Diesel 10's back! Oh!
  • Thomas: Yes, ten out of ten, for devious deeds and brutal strength. The blast from the past, who hates steam engines.

Diesel 10's introduction, Thomas and the Magic Railroad

Merchandise

Gallery

Merchandise Gallery


* RWS only | ** T&F only | --- Dropped
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