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Thomas the Tank Engine Wikia
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Bertie (RWS)

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Bertie is a little red bus who works alongside Thomas' Branch Line.

Biography[]

After Thomas became stuck in a snowdrift, Bertie came to rescue Thomas' passengers. He later raced Thomas in 1948 after claiming he was the faster of the two but lost after having to stop at a traffic light.[2]

When Thomas' fireman did not come into work, Bertie promised to help his passengers catch Edward's train. However, he was late at the junction and missed him at the station. Bertie chased after Edward and almost caught him at the next station, but arrived just as he left. Due to being able to climb hills better than him, Bertie finally caught up to Edward at the third station. Edward apologised to Bertie for the chase and the passengers cheered at him.

When the Viaduct was being repaired, the Main Line engines were delayed in bringing Thomas his passengers, thus making Thomas late in meeting Bertie at the stations along the branch. Bertie teased Thomas about being slow because of this and even challenged him to another race, but had to eat his words after breaking down. Thomas took his passengers home and called for help at the next station. When he was repaired, Bertie apologised to Thomas for teasing him and thanked him for helping his passengers.

Bertie was once mentioned as being sick and unable to help Toby and Henrietta with carrying the quarry workers.

After the partial collapse of Henry's Tunnel, Bertie helped pick up visitors who wanted to see the bust of the Thin Clergyman unveiled at Tidmouth.

Personality[]

Bertie is friendly and ready to help anyone in need. However, he can be quite cheeky and can even be boastful about himself, especially to Thomas, always joking around and teasing him about their races. He can sometimes be quite grumpy, as whenever he breaks down or gets stuck, he grumbles about it. He is always, however, easy-going and cheerful to everyone he sees. Unlike Bulgy, Bertie respects the railway and its engines, and serves as one of the many minds keeping the double-decker bus in line.

Technical Details[]

Basis[]

Bertie is based on the post-war Leyland Motors "Tiger", type PS-1/PS-2. Specifically, the single-decker half-cab front entrance buses built between 1946 and 1953, with several examples surviving in preservation. The single-decker buses share the same basis.

It was also previously suggested by the 2004 fansite, "The Real Lives of Thomas the Tank Engine" that Bertie resembles a AEC Regal "T Class" single-decker bus of the 1930s and 1940s.[1]

Livery[]

Bertie is painted in the common red livery of buses in the United Kingdom, mostly famously used by London Transport. In the first illustration of Thomas and Bertie he has a black stripe along his side, however this never appears in any other illustrations. In the pop-up book Bertie the Bus and Thomas the Tank Engine and Thomas and the Tractor, he has a large yellow stripe along his sides.

Appearances[]

The Railway Series

Companion Volumes

Trivia[]

  • Bertie's registration number CRD 54 is a reference to C. Reginald Dalby's name and the publication year of the book Edward the Blue Engine, 1954.
  • By coincidence, there is a separate children's book written by Ingrid Pitt with a character known as Bertie the Bus published in 1981.[3]
  • On the 1999 cover of Thomas and Friends Collection, an image of Bertie from Tank Engine Thomas Again was updated to include his registration number CRD 54.
  • In Railway Map of the Island of Sodor, Bertie is illustrated with a yellow face.
  • In both the Edgar Hodges and Clive Spong illustrations, Bertie has a bumper bar. In Edgar Hodges illustrations only, Bertie has a headcode/destination board.
  • Awdry's original sketch of Bertie depicts him as a left-hand drive bus with a rear passenger door entrance.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ↑ RWS "Bertie the Bus and Thomas the Tank Engine"
  2. ↑ RWS "The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways" p. 31
  3. ↑ @TheRedJinty on Twitter


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