Mr. Perkins

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Mr. Gilbert Perkins, also referred to as Driver Perkins, (played by Ben Forster) is a driver on Sodor. Driver Perkins helps out Sir Topham Hatt, all of Sodor's engines and the drivers. He has featured on several DVDs since 2010. He now presents the Down at the Station segments of the seventeenth season under the title Mr. Perkins' Railway.

Common Room Segments (DVD) 2010 - 2013

Mr. Perkins' Talent

Mr. Perkins is assigned to make a birthday cake for Sir Topham Hatt and makes one that looks just like Thomas.

It appears on the Splish, Splash, Splosh! DVD.

Mr. Perkins and the Parrot

He takes care of Dowager Hatt's parrot Beaky and finds him to be more trouble than expected.

It appears on the Thomas and the Runaway Kite and Animals Aboard! DVDs.

Mr. Perkins' Party

He is busy preparing Mr. Arkwright's surprise birthday party.

It appears on the Creaky Cranky DVD.

Mr. Perkins' Winter Holiday

He busily prepares for a Christmas party, but is interrupted by carolers and wraps up the wrong "gifts". In the end, Mr. Perkins stands in for Mr. Arkwright, as Edward is broken down, by dressing up as Father Christmas.

It appears on the Merry Winter Wish DVD.

Mr. Perkins' Railway Lesson

He sets up a model railway and explains how railways work.

It appears on the Lion of Sodor DVD.

Mr. Perkins' Seaside

He attempts to get to the beach on his day off, but is delayed as Henry is late with his delivery. In the end, Mr. Perkins decides that if he cannot get to the beach, the beach will come to him. So he opens Henry's delivery, sacks of sand, and sets up the picnic he had prepared earlier.

It appears on the Wobbly Wheels and Whistles DVD.

Mr. Perkins' Fancy Costume

Mr Perkins has to get dressed for a costume party. But every time he gets a costume put together, the phone rings and one of his friends would say they are going as what he is dressed as. In the end, he uses parts of all of the costumes to dress as the Fat Controller.

It appears on the Pop Goes Thomas DVD.

Mr. Perkins' Sodors Got Talent

Mr. Perkins gets ready for a talent show, but after practicing different acts, there is always some sort of dilemma keeping him from performing that act. When the time comes, he tells Sir Topham Hatt that he is not very talented, but Sir Topham Hatt tells him that he is a very useful engine driver.

It appears on The Birthday Express DVD.

Mr. Perkins' One Man Band

Mr. Perkins, Mr. Arkwright, and Mr. Roberts are going to play a band song at Knapford. But due to some confusion and delay around the line, Mr. Arkwright and Mr. Roberts are going to be late. This upsets Perkins, then he thought that he can play all the instruments at the same time. Soon he tied the cymbals on his legs, strapped the drum on the back, and played the accordion.

It appears on the Thomas in Charge DVD.

Mr. Perkins is Snowed In

Mr. Perkins has just arrived out of the snow and tries to get warm, but no coal is left in his stove. He attempts to ring the coaling plant, but the thick snow has blocked engines from going anywhere, he attempts to get warm by running in place, but it does not work until Thomas, who is also stranded at Knapford, kindly gives Perkins some coal. That soon has him warmed up again.

It appears on the Merry Christmas, Thomas! DVD.

The Great Perkino

Mr. Perkins is arranging a show for the magician, the Great Perfino, by straightening out the common room for everyone to fit in. After he arranges the seats and sets up the curtains, he receives a call from the Fat Controller, explaining that the Great Perfino is unable to make it that Perkins is to take his place. Soon all of the drivers and the Fat Controller are seated and Perkins, nervious but determined, presents the show and gets a round of applause.

It appears on the Rescue On the Rails DVD.

Mr. Perkins Tidies Up

Perkins has just returned from working at Whiff's Waste Dump with Percy and finds the common room a mess. Sir Topham Hatt rings up and tells him he is coming to inspect the common room. Perkins hurrys with the washing, but ends up breaking dishes until he decides to slow down. He then decides to recycle some old papers and hurries next door to borrow a sack, but the wind blows everything all over the place. When he is finished, the common room is nearly clean until he finds a dirty floor. Again he attempts to hurry, but mops himself into a corner. Perkins then gets himself out of it as the Fat Controller rings up, telling him his inspection is cancelled.

It appears on the Curious Cargo DVD.

Mr. Perkins' Vegetable Show

It is the day of the Sodor Fruit and Vegetable Show and Perkins plans on entering his prize carrots. But before he can go, he has to wait for the other entries. Whist waiting, he attempts playing music to his carrots to help them grow and shows how to grow fruits and vegetables. The entries soon arrive, including Mr. Arkwright's prize cabbage and Dowager Hatt's peppers. Perkins soon becomes concerned that his carrots will not be big enough and decides to check on it. Disappointed, he pulls up three that are very tiny, but he is amazed to find a rather large carrot in his pot. The carrot is so large, it wins the trophy at the Sodor Fruit and Vegetable Show.

It appears on the Up, Up and Away! DVD.

Mr. Perkins' Painting

Perkins decides that the common room needs brightening up. He first decides on balloons, but there are none. He then thinks to paint the walls, but there is not enough paint. He then decides to paint a picture of a bowl of tomatoes. On his first attempt, he accidentally knocks over the picture when Sir Topham Hatt phones to tell him that a crate will be delivered to the common room. Fortunately, he has another canvas and starts again. But when the crate arrives, he does not look where he is going and knocks over his second picture. He has one final go, but just as he is about to finish it, he trips over the crate and splatters his final picture. But he then has the idea to turn all three pictures into a large canvas painting of James. Perkins thinks it has made the common room very bright.

It features on Schoolhouse Delivery.

Mr. Perkins' Sleepover

Mr. Perkins is about to go home when he receives a phone call from The Fat Controller. The Fat Controller tells him that the engine inspector will be coming with Gordon tomorrow for a tour of the Island and that Perkins will have to wake up early in the morning. Perkins decides to stay in the common room for the evening, but has trouble getting to sleep. First an owl keeps him awake, so he reads a book called "The Little Engine's Big Day", but gets excited rather than sleepy. He then tries listening to music, counting sheep, then engines, then pictures, but still nothing works. It is not until Edward's chuffs through with a late night special that Perkins drifts off to sleep.

It features on A Very Thomas Christmas.

Mr. Perkins' Treasure Hunt

It is the day of the children's treasure hunt and Perkins is preparing for the event. He discovers that the specially made gold coins of Thomas, James, and Gordon have gone missing, not knowing that the Fat Controller had hidden them as a practice challenge. Perkins searches for the first clue, ending with a word rhyming with "spot". He thinks of "pot" and soon finds Gordon's coin under the teapot. The second clue is to find something that rhymes with "hoot". Perkins at first thinks of "boot", but they are not there. He then thinks up "fruit" and finds James' coin hiding in the bowl of fruit. The final clue is to rhyme with the word "that", but it is the trickiest one so far. Perkins is about to give up when he receives a call from Sir Topham Hatt, who helps Perkins with the final clue. The final coin is behind Sir Topham Hatt's portrait.

It features on Sticky Situations.

Mr. Perkins' Jumble Sale

Mr. Perkins organizes a jumble sale in the engine driver's common room.

It features on the Muddy Matters DVD.

Mr. Perkins' Trainee

Perkins introduces trainee engine driver Archie to the common room. Archie is spending the day with him to learn how to become a driver, however, his curiosity distracts him, much to Perkins' annoyance. Perkins sets out some uniforms and outfits for Archie to try on whilst he speaks to the Fat Controller over the phone. Instead Archie practices blowing a whistle whilst Perkins is on the phone. Perkins then tries to test Archie's concentration using signal flags, but Archie stops at a green signal runs through a red one. After a while, Archie looks to be ready, but cannot find his way out of the common room, so Perkins tests him with a map. But Archie at first does not unroll it, then has it back to front, and finally upside down. In the end, Perkins feels sorry for being a poor teacher, but is surprised when Archie speaks to the Fat Controller over the phone and hears his knowledge of Edward's parts and wheel arrangement. After hearing this, Perkins thinks Archie will make a fine engine driver after all.

It features on the Go Go Thomas! DVD.

Mr. Perkins' Soccer Match

Perkins is excited about the engine drivers football match between the steam engine and Diesel engine drivers, but Mr. Arkwright is unwell and cannot be the referee. The Fat Controller phones Perkins and asks him to take Mr. Arkwright's place. Perkins agrees, but he does not have what he needs to be a referee. He finds Mr. Arkwright's referee kit, but it needs washing. He then finds a stopwatch and shows how it works by standing with one leg in the air and balancing books on his head. He then finds a football, but it is not bouncy enough, so he pumps more air into it. Lastly he needs a whistle. Not having a spare he rings up the stationmaster, but he has gone out to the game. Fortunately, Thomas, who is waiting to take Perkins to the game, has a whistle loud enough to referee. When Perkins returns from the match, he reports that the steam engine drivers won and shows a special medal given to him by the Fat Controller for being a really useful referee.

It features on Railway Mischief.

Mr. Perkins' Clowns Around

The Fat Controller asks Mr. Perkins to put on a show for his grandchildren.

It features on the Big Bang Surprise DVD.

Mr. Perkins' Railway Segments

Similar to the Down at the Station segments, Mr. Perkins explains the workings of real life railways.

Mr. Perkins' Sounds of The Railway - Mr. Perkins learns all about different sounds on a railway. (The Thomas Way US DVD)
Mr. Perkins learns how steam locomotives make their steam.
Mr. Perkins' Who Works on The Railway? - Mr. Perkins learns about important people on a railway.
Mr. Perkins' Railway Maintance - Mr. Perkins learns how engines are fixed in the workshop.
Mr. Perkins' Different Sizes - Mr. Perkins learns about standard and narrow gauge tracks.
Mr. Perkins learns what the engines do at the end of the day.
Mr. Perkins learns about narrow gauge engines.
Mr. Perkins learns how engines get cleaned.
Mr. Perkins learns about different types of engines and trains.
Mr. Perkins learns what happens to an engine when it reaches the end of the line.
Mr. Perkins learns how steam locomotives use coal.
Mr. Perkins learns how signals and points are used on the railway.

Mr. Perkins' Storytime Segments

In this series of segments, Mr. Perkins reads Railway Series stories in Mr. Edwards signal box.

The Flying Kipper - (Santa's Little Engine DVD; US/UK/AUS)
Trucks! - (The Thomas Way DVD; UK, Spills and Thrills DVD; US)
Thomas and Gordon - (Spills and Thrills DVD; UK)
Pop Goes the Diesel - (Trouble on the Tracks DVD; UK/US/AUS)
Thomas and the Breakdown Train - (Tale of the Brave DVD; UK/AUS, Engines to the Rescue DVD; US)
A Scarf for Percy (The Christmas Engines DVD; US)
Thomas Goes Fishing (Signals Crossed DVD; US)
Edward and Gordon (Dinos and Discoveries DVD; UK/AUS)
Toby's Tightrope (Trouble on the Tracks DVD; UK/AUS)

Mr. Perkins' Postcard Segments

Mr. Perkins talk about different Sudrian locations.

Ulfstead Castle - (Santa's Little Engine DVD; US/UK/AUS)
Blue Mountain Quarry - (The Thomas Way DVD; UK, Spills and Thrills; US)
Knapford Station - (Spills and Thrills DVD; UK)
The Dieselworks - (Trouble on the Tracks DVD; UK/US/AUS)
The Steamworks - (Tale of the Brave DVD; UK/AUS, Engines to the Rescue DVD; US)
Tidmouth Sheds - (The Christmas Engines DVD; US)
Bridges - (Signals Crossed DVD; US)
Shunting Yards - (Dinos and Discoveries DVD; UK/AUS)
Ffarquhar Quarry (Trouble on the Tracks DVD; UK/AUS)

Voice Actors

Pedro D'Aguillón Jr. (Mexico; voiceover)

Trivia

The segments are produced by Scruffy Dog Media and directed by John Gilluley.
The common room segments were filmed in a studio in Altrincham, whilst the latest are currently filmed at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, the South Tynedale Railway and the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway.
The storytime segments are filmed inside the South Tynedale's signal box at Alston station, though the Alston sign is removed in order to have the stories "set" on Sodor.
On the segment Mr. Perkins' Parrot, a deleted scene of the Parrot is used on the Animals Aboard! DVD.
The Mr. Perkins Railway segments are part of the half hour blocks on TV, but although they are credited on the Nick Jr. UK broadcasts, they are cut out.
A Scarf for Percy is the first Storytime Segment to be based off of its TV Series adaption rather than its original Railway Series counterpart, possibly due to the latter being shorter than most Railway Series stories.
The hand-knitted scarf, worn by Perkins in Mr. Perkins' Soccer Match, is preserved by fans Owen Hayward and Christopher Blower, after it was sold by The Prop Gallery.

Goofs

Mr Perkins Railway Lesson

The engine is said to be pulling carriages, yet only one coach is attached.
The train starts at the small station, yet returns to the same destination, between segments the engine is turned around, at one point the engine crosses over to the station line where it started from, but in the next shot it is back on its main line.
Although the train set is nearly made up of old Tri-ang Hornby items, the Hornby Power track is shown that powers the layout, which was not introduced by Hornby until 2004.
Blowing the guard's whistle cannot make the engine move.
If the train was running on the main line, Mr. Perkins would not have enough time to open the crossing gates, move the car across, then close the gates before the next time the train passes. As he is doing this, the engine can be heard running, but it never approaches the crossing.

Mr Perkins Jumble Sale

Perkins picked up a cattle wagon for the toy train on display, but refers to it as a coach.

Mr. Perkins' Storytime Segments

Trucks

Skarloey appears in one of the new illustrations, but he was away being repaired during this story.

The Flying Kipper

When Mr. Perkins gets to the bit about the goods train waiting in the siding in the UK version, it is clear to see that it has been dubbed over the US version as when he says "goods train", his lip movements still read "freight train".

Mr. Perkins' Postcards Segments

Ulfstead Castle

Mr. Perkins refers to Stephen as "a Stephenson's Rocket", but there was only one original Rocket in the real world. Stephen previously identified himself as the original Rocket in King of the Railway.