Jump to content

Draft:Percy the Small Engine

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This page is about the character. For the 1956 book of the same name, see List of books in The Railway Series § Percy the Small Engine.
Percy the Small Engine
The Railway Series, Thomas & Friends, and Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go character
Replica of Percy at the Oigawa Railway
First appearanceTroublesome Engines (1950)
Created byWilbert Awdry
Designed byC. Reginald Dalby
Voiced by
Other
Number6
In-universe information
SpeciesSteam locomotive
GenderMale
OccupationStation pilot
Mail delivery
HomeIsland of Sodor
NationalitySudric

Percy the Small Engine is a fictional anthropomorphised green saddle tank engine who originated from the Railway Series, debuting in 1950. He has a 0-4-0 wheel arrangement and is the number 6 engine on the North Western Railway, the Fat Controller's railway on the Island of Sodor.[‡ 1] He is best known for appearing as a primary character in the television adaptation Thomas & Friends as the best friend of Thomas the Tank Engine, later serving the same role in the preschool reboot Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go.

Biography

[edit]

The Railway Series

[edit]

Percy would make his debut in the 1950 book Troublesome Engines, and would later be the titular main character of the 1956 book Percy the Small Engine.[‡ 2] In the book, Percy is initially a troublesome engine; playing pranks on Gordon and James, but is matured by the end of the installment.[‡ 3] He was built by the Avonside Engine Company, although it is unknown which specific model he is based on nor who designed him.

In the story "Trouble in the Shed", the Fat Controller purchases and names Percy after three of his other engines, Henry, Gordon and James, go on strike and refuse to leave their sheds.[1][‡ 4] He initially ran Thomas' branch line on the Ffarquhar Branch Line before transferring to being a station pilot at the big station.[‡ 5]

Thomas & Friends

[edit]

Percy is best known for his major appearance as a deuteragonist and Thomas' best friend in the Thomas & Friends television series, making his first appearance in the series 1 episode "Trouble in the Shed" in the same manner as in the Troublesome Engines book. Throughout the series, he is consistently known for pulling the nighttime mail train.

In 2014, Percy's voice actor in the American dub, Martin Sherman, left due to a pay dispute with HIT Entertainment.[2]

All Engines Go

[edit]

Percy is a recurring main character in the 2021 reboot series, Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go. Percy is portrayed as one of the younger characters, often acting shy and nervous.[citation needed]

Model replicas

[edit]

In 2007–2008, the Magic Flyer roller coaster ride at the Whistlestop Park area of the Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park was rethemed as "Percy's Railway", and featured Percy and some Troublesome Trucks.[3] The ride would keep this theme until it was closed in 2010 and rethemed again in 2011.[4][5]

Strasburg Rail Road, in the United States, announced the introduction of a Percy replica for the American Day Out with Thomas events on September 13, 2014.[6]

The Japanese Ōigawa Railway's locomotives include five characters from the Thomas & Friends series: Thomas the Tank Engine, Hiro, Percy, James, and Rusty. The locomotives are based at Shin-Kanaya Station.[7] A model of Percy and other Thomas & Friends characters is available at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre,[8] and at the East Anglian Railway Museum.[9]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Gooch, Niall (14 May 2020). "The pre-modern idyll of Thomas the Tank Engine". UnHerd. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  2. ^ Woolf, Nicky (2014-07-22). "Voice of Thomas the Tank Engine quits over contract dispute: 'I feel so bullied'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-01-19.
  3. ^ "Magic Mountain kiddie-coaster makeover". (Percy's Railway arrives at Six Flags, Valencia). Los Angeles Times. 18 January 2008. Retrieved 21 December 2010.
  4. ^ MacDonald, Brady (25 November 2010). "Six Flags amusement parks prepare for thematic makeovers". LA Times. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
  5. ^ "Percy's Railway Gets A New Name At Six Flags Magic Mountain". The Coaster Guy. 12 March 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
  6. ^ "Percy joins Thomas at Strasburg Rail Road | Trains Magazine". Trains. Retrieved 2025-01-19.
  7. ^ Imada, Kaila (1 May 2023). "You can now ride a real Thomas the Tank Engine train in Japan". Time Out Tokyo. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  8. ^ "Family fun as Thomas and Percy visit railway centre". Bucks Herald. 2018-04-05. Retrieved 2025-01-19.
  9. ^ "Thomas and friends set to steam back into railway museum as popular event returns". Halstead Gazette. 2023-12-03. Retrieved 2025-01-19.

Primary sources

[edit]

In the text, these references are preceded by a double dagger (‡):

  1. ^ Awdry, Rev. W.; Awdry, George (1987). The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways (PDF). London: Kaye & Ward. p. 132. ISBN 0-434-92762-7.
  2. ^ Rev. W. Awdry (September 1956). Percy the Small Engine. Edmund Ward. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  3. ^ Sibley, Brian (2015-07-17). The Thomas the Tank Engine Man: The life of Reverend W Awdry. Lion Books. pp. 211–212. ISBN 978-0-7459-7028-8.
  4. ^ Awdry, Wilbert (1989) [1950]. Troublesome Engines (1st ed.). London: William Heinemann Limited. pp. 40–46. ISBN 0-434-92782-1.
  5. ^ Awdry, Wilbert (1965). Percy the Small Engine (3rd impression ed.). London: Kaye & Ward Limited (published 1974). ISBN 0-7182-0010-1.
This page will be placed in the following categories if it is moved to the article namespace.
Categories:
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Draft:Percy_the_Small_Engine&oldid=1270851821"