Games - Non-rail vehicles

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	Games - Non-rail vehicles

The television series Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends is well known for its anthropomorphic locomotives. However, there have also been many characters over the years who are not rail-based. These are often rivals to the engines, but several become friends to the railway.

Bertie the Bus Main article: Bertie the Bus

An excitable bus who loves nothing more than a chance to show his speed on the roads of Sodor. He famously raced Thomas and, though he lost, the two have been firm friends ever since. He often helps the engines, and sometimes they can even help him.

Terence the Tractor An orange tractor fitted with caterpillar tracks. These allow him to go anywhere, and make him very useful when it comes to pulling other vehicles out of a jam. When Thomas first encountered Terence, he insulted Terence’s caterpillars, but later discovered their usefulness when Terence pulled him out of a snowdrift.

Terence is a friendly sort of tractor, and when he is not needed for rescues, he works on a farm by Thomas’ branch line.

Harold the Helicopter Main article: Harold the Helicopter

Harold is a helicopter who patrols the skies of Sodor. Nicknamed “whirlybird” by the engines, he enjoys a good-natured rivalry with them.

Trevor the Traction Engine Discovered by Edward in a scrapyard, Trevor the Traction engine was due to be broken up before he was saved by the Vicar of Wellsworth. He now lives in the Vicarage Orchard.

Although he is old fashioned and slow, he has lots of uses from sawing logs to helping with construction work. His favourite activity of all is giving rides to children.

George the Steamroller George is a grumpy old steamroller who hates engines. He can often be heard chanting, “Railways are no good! Pull ‘em up! Turn ’em into roads!” However, he rarely comes out on top, as his enthusiasm for beating the railways can make him careless.

Bulgy Bulgy is a big double-decker bus. But unlike Bertie, he hates the railway and will go to any length to give them a bad name- even to the extent of lying to his passengers. Indeed, he lied so often that passengers wouldn’t even believe his destination boards, and he was turned into a hen house.

He was later repaired, but the chickens who had lived in him refused to abandon their old home. Eventually he was rebuilt completely as a mobile fruit and vegetable stand.

Caroline An elderly car who does not like high speeds, because they wear her out and cause her to break down. She also did not like trains, but when Stepney was able to help her out she was forced to admit that they have their uses.

Bulstrode A rude and bad-tempered barge who would constantly moan. The trucks found him particularly tiresome, but got their own back when some of them crashed off the end of the quay into his hold, causing him to sink.

He was towed to a nearby beach, where he remains to this day.

Horrid Lorries The lorries, simply known as “Lorry 1”, “Lorry 2” and “Lorry 3”, came to Sodor with the intention of taking over from the engines and, for a while, it looked as if they might succeed. But a series of accidents (driving off a cliff, breaking down and reversing into the sea) convinced everyone that these lorries would be taking over from no one, and they left the Island for good.

Although the Lorries have never returned, their models have been used in subsequent seasons as props.

Cranky the Crane Cranky, as his name suggests, is always cranky. He is a tower crane who works at the harbour loading and unloading ships. He finds the engines tiresome, particularly the smaller ones, and enjoys teasing them. However, the engines usually find ways of getting back at him if he goes too far.

Cranky cannot move on his own, but he can be dismantled and rebuilt in other locations if necessary.

Butch Breakdown Butch is the Sodor Heavy Recovery Unit. He is a powerful tow truck and comes in very useful around the Island, both for rescue operations and wherever his mighty pulling strength is needed. He is a friend to the engines.

Although he has never played a prominent part in a story, Butch can be seen around the Island in many episodes.

Thumper An unusual quarry machine. He has two arms, which are used to “thump” a rock face in order to loosen rocks. He once went out of control and caused a huge boulder to be shaken loose from its resting place. After this, he was used strictly for slate mining.

So far, Thumper has only appeared in the episode ‘Rusty and the Boulder’.

Tiger Moth A biplane who enjoys daring stunts in the skies over Sodor. Sometimes these stunts verge on the dangerous, and Tiger Moth was once grounded for this.

Elizabeth Elizabeth is a vintage Sentinel steam lorry. She does not like laziness or rudeness, and will respond to both in the strongest terms. Although she believes roads are superior to rails, she often helps the engines out.

She was also the only person able to insult the Fat Controller without getting into trouble, as she was the first lorry he ever drove.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Non-rail vehicles (Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends) ]

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