Thomas

Thomas is one of the main characters in the Tales of Sodor Series

Personality
Arguably one of, if not the most famous steam locomotive in the world, Thomas is described by many to be a cheeky, fussy little engine, who often gets himself into scrapes. He's certainly had his fair share of them over the years, from being pulled behind Gordon's express to crashing head-first into a station master's house! However, over the years, Thomas has matured greatly. He's still cheeky, and a bit grumpy, because he's that sort of engine, but at his core, Thomas is a kind, caring, and hardworking engine, who always does his best to please the Fat Controller

Basis
Thomas is based on the London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) E2 of 0-6-0 Tank Engines. They were the first locomotives designed by Lawson B. Billington, originally intended to replace the elderly E1 Class Tank Engines (Who were designed by his predecessor, William Stroudley) on light goods/freight work. 10 locomotives were built between 1913-1916 at the LBSCR's Brighton Works, Numbered 100-109. The E2's were built in 2 batches. The first batch, consisting of locomotives 100-104, had an inadequate water supply, so the second batch of E2's, consisting of locomotives 105-109, were built with extended side tanks to compensate. Unfortunately, the E2's suffered from several problems, which included (but not limited to), mediocre brakes, and offset counterbalancing, and a few other issues. One of the most notable issues was the small size of the coal bunker, which meant that the locomotive couldn't pull trains at anything faster than walking pace. Most of them were used for heavier shunting and light goods work.

When the LBSCR became part of the Southern Railway (UK), following the Big Four Grouping of 1923, the E2's numbers were increased by 2000, with the locomotives now bearing the numbers 2100-2109. This numbering scheme would remain until the the creation of British Railways in 1948, when the numbers of all former Southern Machines were increased by 30,000, with the final numbering for the E2's being 32100-32109, remaining that way until Withdrawal by BR. In the Mid-1950's, the class was used at Southampton Docks, alongside the USATC S-100 Class Tank Engines (Rosie's Basis), but the E2's longer, 16 foot wheelbase restricted them from making some of the tighter curves in the docks. The Class was withdrawn between 1961-1963, and sadly, none survived into preservation.

The specific E2 Thomas is based on, LB&SCR No. 108, was built in July of 1916. It was renumbered to 2108 following the Big Four Grouping of 1923, in which, the LB&SCR became part of the Southern Railway (UK), and later 32108 after the creation of British Railways in 1948. It was withdrawn and scrapped in June of 1962

Livery
Thomas is painted in NWR bright blue with red lining. His number is painted on the sides of his tanks in yellow with red lining and the lining around his cab windows is yellow.

When, he first came to Sodor, he was painted in LBSCR burnt umber with his number "108" on his side tanks in yellow with red lining

Season 1

 * "Number One"
 * "Experience"
 * "Two of Blue"
 * "The War To End All Wars"
 * "Green and Girders"