Thomas the Tank Engine Wikia
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This article is about 'the engine'. You may be looking for 'the Railway Series book or the magazine story'.
“People say I'm old fashioned. But I don't care. The Fat Controller says I'm useful engine.”
― Edward, Saved from Scrap, second season
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Edward
  • Number: 2
  • Class: Furness Railway K2
  • Designer: W. F. Pettigrew
  • Builder: Sharp, Stewart and Co.
  • Built: 1896
  • Configuration: 4-4-0
  • Arrived on Sodor: 1915

Edward is a mixed-traffic engine. He runs his own branch line with BoCo.

Bio in Railway Series

Edward was built by Sharp Stewart and Company in Manchester, England in 1896 and worked on the Furness Railway before coming to Sodor in 1915 to finish the building of the North Western Railway.

After his work was completed, Edward was kept in a shed, to the delight of the other engines, who claimed that he was too weak to work. Edward was eventually let out again and proved that what he lacked in strength he made up for in work ethic.

Edward currently runs the Wellsworth-Brendam branch line with BoCo and occasionally Donald and Douglas. He is sometimes used as a pilot engine for special trains.

Bio in Television Series

Edward has always been a kind and wise engine, though in some scenarios he has acted a bit out of character. For example, in Harvey to the Rescue, he claimed that Harvey "doesn't even look like an engine". In Thomas and the New Engine, he was one of the engines to spread rumours that Neville wanted to bump the steam engines. In Edward Strikes Out, he agreed with Gordon's element of doubt about Rocky and called him a "new-fangled nonsense". In Edward and the Mail, he did not want to embarrass himself in front of the other engines, so he tried to take the mail train without asking Percy, who was in need of repairs for advice, in result of him delivering the mail to all the wrong places. In the twelfth season episode, Steady Eddie, he was given a task of taking the new water wheel to Great Waterton, but ignored the Fat Controller's advice to take the express track, and took all the bumpy tracks, and almost had the water wheel scrapped. In the thirteenth season, he wanted to help Thomas chase after the Fat Controller's grandchildrens' kite. Since then, Edward has tried regain his usual self, which one day made Charlie think he was too old to have fun in Charlie and Eddie. Edward was upset about this so he tried to be as fun Charlie, but this only caused even more trouble, so since then he has just stuck to being the wise and kind engine that he was of old.

Persona

Edward is kindhearted and always keen to help a friend in need. The small engines trust him to lend a listening ear and sympathetic advice. He is a hard worker too, and always does his best to finish a job.

Sadly, the big engines often see Edward as old-fashioned and slow. While it is true he is the oldest engine on the North Western Railway - it must be noted he helped build it - he has proved time and time again that he is more than capable of working as hard as any engine, but he is a more clever and wiser engine, too.

Since The Great Festival Adventure, Edward's persona changed slightly. Despite his reputation of being kind and friendly, Edward has acted cheeky. Edward also acted with a lack of confidence in himself in that he keeps secrets from the other engines and the Fat Controller, when he was once leaking steam and likewise when he was told to pull the post train whilst Percy was being repaired. Sometimes, Edward even shared the same personality as James, such as when he decided to show off his special waterwheel and laughed at Thomas when he was wearing a funny funnel.

However, since the eighteenth season, Edward has been portrayed with his original personality.

Basis

The Reverend W. Awdry stated that Edward is based on a heavily modified Sharp, Stewart and Co. "Larger Seagull", supplied to the Furness Railway in 1896.

Sodor "historian" Martin Clutterbuck notes that Edward bears a close resemblance to a LNER D3/4 "Glen" (NBR Reid Class K) 4-4-0 from the London and North Eastern Railway. At any rate, the Reverend W. Awdry used an engine of this class to represent Edward on his model railway.

Visible Crovan's Gate modifications are: making the rear splasher flush with the cab, new cab windows as opposed to cutaways, and new cab lookouts as opposed to the original round ones.

Livery

Edward is painted NWR blue with the NWR red and yellow lining and the number "2" painted on his tender sides in bright yellow with a red border. In the Railway Series, he carries two builder's plates on the sides of his cab.

It can be assumed that, before arriving on Sodor, Edward was painted in the Furness Railway's red livery with the letters "FR" written in yellow on his tender sides and black wheels.

Inspiration

The inspiration for Edward himself came from the Reverend W. Awdry's watching trains on the Great Western Railway as a child. He said in an interview with Brian Sibley for The Thomas the Tank Engine Man that, to him, the noise of the locomotives' exhaust almost sounded like dialogue - for example, the larger engine having trouble climbing the hills would appear to be saying, "I can't do it, I can't do it" and the smaller engine helping them would sound like it was saying, "I will do it! I will do it! I will do it!" Later, Reverend Awdry told his son a bedtime story about an engine who was sad because he was never taken out of the shed for being old. Upon being asked what the engine's name was by his son, the Reverend Awdry picked the name Edward out of thin air.

Appearances

Railway Series

Television series

Specials:

Magazine stories

Edward also appeared in the magazine stories, 'Smile, Please!', A Perfect Garden, Ben at the Station, Bill and Ben's Trick, Bill and BoCo, Chiff Chaff, Diesel Causes Delay, Diesel Display, Edward's Scarecrow, Flying James, Gordon and Edward, Harvey to the Rescue!, Henry's Freight Cars, James and Edward, Lamp Light!, Lost and Found, Night Work, Percy's Spooky Tooth, Percy's Stories, Railway Open Day, Really Useful Edward, Road Train, Runaway Trucks, Slick Trick!, Slide and Ride, Stick with Steam, Taking Toby, The Big Ship, and The Blue Engine Club.

Voice Actors

Theme Instrumental

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Trivia

  • Edward was the very first character created for the Railway Series, in 1943.
  • Edward is the only engine whose crew has been named in the Railway Series. In the foreword of "Edward the Blue Engine" their names were given as Charlie Sand (driver) and Sidney Hever (fireman). Their surnames came from their duties (one of the driver's jobs is to sand the rails when they are slippery to let the engine's wheels grip, while the fireman "heaves" coal to the firebox); their Christian names came from an engine crew from the Wisbech and Upwell Tramway.
  • Three of Edward's models are currently on display; one at Drayton Manor and one in Canada at Nitrogen Studios. One is also on display in Japan. 
  • Edward was not in any known draft of Thomas and the Magic Railroad. According to Phil Fehrle , there was not enough screen time and opportunity to utilise him in a way that added any real value to the film.
  • The rivets on Edward's front buffers disappeared after the ninth season.
  • In the episodes Steady Eddie and Charlie and Eddie, Edward refers to himself as "Eddie". Charlie also refers to him by this name.
  • Edward's Wooden Railway model has only four wheels, even though the Wooden Railway models of similarly sized characters have six wheels.
  • In Season 12, Edward's pupils became smaller. They returned normal-sized from Season 13 onwards.
  • From Season 13 onwards Edward's buffers became larger.

Quotes

"I'm ready!" said Edward.
"No use at all!" grumbled Gordon.
They pulled and pushed as hard as they could.
"I can't do it! I can't do it! I can't do it!" puffed Gordon.
"I will do it! I will do it! I will do it!" puffed Edward.
Edward pushed and puffed, and puffed and pushed, as hard as ever he could. And almost before he could realize it, Gordon found himself at the top of the hill.
"I've done it! I've done it! I've done it!" he said proudly. He forgot all about Edward, and didn't wait to say thank you. Edward was left out of breathe and far behind.

- Edward pushed Gordon and his goods train up a hill, "Edward and Gordon".

"It's not fair!" grumbled Gordon.
"What isn't fair?" asked Edward.
"Letting branch line diesels pull main line trains!"
"Never mind, Gordon. I'm sure BoCo will let you pull his trucks sometimes. That would make it quite far!"
Gordon spluttered furiously. "I won't pull BoCo's dirty trucks! I won't run on branch lines!"
"Why not?! It would be a nice change."
"The Fat Controller would never approve!" said Gordon loftily. "Branch lines are vulgar!"
Gordon puffed away in a dignified manner. Edward chuckled and followed him to the station.

- Edward teases a boastful Gordon, "Wrong Road".

"Did you see him straining?" asked Henry.
"Positively painful!" remarked James.
"Just pathetic!" grunted Gordon. "He should give up and be preserved before it's too late!"
"Shut up!" burst out Duck. "You're all jealous! Edward's better than any of you!"
"You're right, Duck," said BoCo. "Edward's old but he'll surprise us all!"

- Duck and BoCo defending Edward from Gordon, Henry and James, "Edward's Exploit."

Merchandise

Gallery

Merchandise Gallery

See also


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