George

From Thomas the Tank Engine Wikia

"Railways are no good. Turn 'em into roads. Pull 'em up. Turn 'em into roads."

— George, "Steamroller"

George the Steamroller

George is a grumpy steamroller whose interactions with engines generally lead to trouble.

When he first arrived, he immediately entered a conflict with the engines of the Skarloey Railway. At the time Sir Handel was boasting about his broad tyres, which the other engines referred to as "steamroller wheels." Skarloey tried to trick Sir Handel into confronting George to divert his attention. George and Sir Handel immediately disliked each other. One afternoon, Sir Handel took a train down the line parallel to the site where George was working. George wouldn't give the train enough room to pass, and rammed his front roller into Sir Handel's train. The train and construction crews argued until a policeman broke them up and a barrier was built between the road and the rail. George's work was finished, and he was taken away, although Sir Handel took the credit for this.

George was at work near the Ffarquhar branchline, still grumbling about railways. He told Daisy that friends of his have paved roads over old railway lines, and was eager to do the same on Sodor. Daisy tried not to cross him, fearing he would follow through with his threat. George and his crew left some road cones where they were working. One day, wind blew some cones inside the level crossing into Daisy's path and were pulled under, jamming her brakes. Daisy felt certain he did this on purpose.

Bio in the television series

Once, on Lady Hatt's birthday, the Fat Controller was running late. His car had broken down, and when he was offered a ride by Caroline, she overheated. George pulled up alongside them and called Caroline "a disgrace to the roads". George's driver, who was fairly even-tempered, offered the Fat Controller a ride, but George lost control and veered into a pool of mud.

George later worked at an excavation site with Skarloey and Rheneas, and made rude remarks despite their assertion that their stone would be used to pave George's roads. George was still rude while Percy carried him on a flatbed to his new work site.

George was later creating a road on an old railway line, but was intentionally careless when he paved the road over a level crossing, later causing Thomas to become derailed and crash. Finally, George refused to allow Duck to pass him at the yard. As, a result a truck from his train was still on the main line. When the express came through, Gordon collided with the truck, smashing it. The Fat Controller was furious with these recent disturbances, and punished George by taking him off of the roads for a week.

For a long time afterwards, George had little actual contact with the engines. On one occasion, Thomas retrieved him to repair the runway of the new airport at the last minute.

Persona

George is unfriendly to all engines, even those who try to be pleasant towards him. He generally utters variations of the phrase "Railways are no good. Pull them up. Turn them into roads". His unpleasant attitude frequently creates chaos.

Basis

George is based on an Aveling and Porter steamroller owned by the Reverend Teddy Boston, who also owns the traction engine on which Trevor is believed to be based.

Livery

George is painted in an all-over green livery with yellow boiler bands and his name painted on his boiler. In "Thomas Comes Home", his green livery has been painted teal.

Appearances

In the Railway Series, George appeared in "Gallant Old Engine" and "Thomas Comes Home". In the television series, he appeared in the fourth and fifth seasons, had a non-speaking role in "Calling All Engines" and made cameos in the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth seasons and "The Great Discovery". He was to appear in "Thomas and the Magic Railroad" as one of Diesel 10's helpers, but his role never passed the storyboard stage.

Merchandising

George is available as a Take-Along, Learning Curve Wooden and "My First Thomas" model. He also has a "My Thomas Story Library" book dedicated to him.

His ERTL model has been discontinued.

Gallery

George in season 9		George in Season 4	Sir Handel and George
		George and Duck	George with Skarloey and Rheneas
George derails a truck	George at the level crossing	George on a low-loader


Road vehicles
Terence • Bertie • Trevor • George • Caroline • Bulgy • Bulgy's friend • JTK 62 • Willie's tractor • The farmer's tractors • The mail van • The caterpillar crane
Butch • Thumper • Elizabeth • The Pack • Madge • Kevin • Sir Topham Hatt's car • The other bus • Taxi • Soft-sided lorries • The Horrid Lorries • Fire engines • The one-eyed truck • The icecream van • The Bakery Van
Algy • Angus • The ambulance • The white van