#philip the boxcab engine

[shadeandthedugeonofcringefanart]

There's a lot of things that make me mad in the ttte fandom but portraying Edward so OOC, like him pushing off (implied killing) An implied child-coded character, Philip, because the fandom doesn't like him; it leaves me disgusted and frustrated.

[thefluffyrailway-official]

ℕ𝕠𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕓𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝟙𝕤𝕥 𝕚𝕞𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕠𝕟

𝙹𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚠𝚘 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚎𝚍𝚢 𝚐𝚞𝚢𝚜 𝚖𝚎𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎.

𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚒𝚖𝚊𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚌𝚛𝚊𝚣𝚢 𝚛𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔 𝚝𝚘𝚐𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛. 𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚗𝚞 𝚞𝚑! 𝙷𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚊𝚑 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚃𝚘𝚋𝚢 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚎𝚝 𝙿𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚙 𝚊𝚝 𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚜𝚝. 𝙷𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚊 𝚊𝚕𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚢 𝚝𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚜𝚒𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚊𝚛 𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚎𝚛. (𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚜𝚞𝚙𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚎𝚡𝚌𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝙷𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚊𝚑 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚎𝚎𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚖) 𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚑 𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚛. 𝚆𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝙿𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚙 𝚜𝚊𝚠 𝚑𝚎𝚛...

𝚂𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗'𝚝 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚊 "𝙷𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚘" 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚎 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚛𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚜𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐.

𝚆𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚖𝚎𝚍 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚒𝚖, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚔 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐. 𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚞𝚗𝚞𝚜𝚞𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚝.

𝙻𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚍𝚊𝚢, 𝙿𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚙 𝚊𝚜𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝙴𝚍𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚃𝚘𝚋𝚢 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚙. (𝚂𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚠𝚘 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚞𝚍𝚍𝚎𝚗 𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚟𝚊𝚕 𝚕𝚘𝚕)

𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝙷𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚊𝚑 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚋𝚒𝚝 𝚜𝚊𝚍 𝚋𝚌 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚋𝚎 𝚏𝚞𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑. (𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚕𝚘𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚢𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚎 𝚗𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝. 𝙿𝚛𝚘𝚋𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚢 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚘𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚙 𝚕𝚘𝚕)

𝙽𝚊𝚑 𝚒 𝚛𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙, 𝚛𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚙𝚊𝚒𝚛 𝚘𝚛 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚝'𝚜 𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚒𝚜 😭💚💛💚💛

🦎🍋𝙻𝙴𝙼𝙾𝙽 𝙿𝙸𝙴 𝙼𝚈 𝙱𝙰𝙱𝙸𝙴𝚂!!!!!🍋🦎

(𝙰𝚄 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚙𝚘 𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚍𝚜: @steam-beasts <𝟹)

[weirdowithaquill]

Traintober 2024: Day 28 - Plot Twist

That’s not Philip:

Of all the engines who worked at the Big Station, Philip the boxcab was possibly the one who had the biggest personality. He was young, eager and entirely on the wrong side of too overconfident, much to the consternation of the big engines. The little engine had been brought in to help shunt coaches and trucks around the station, but unfortunately, he was distracted very easily.

“Gordon! Gordon! Race me!” “No Philip, I have to prepare for the express,” reminded Gordon, trying to stay calm. “But whyyyyyyyyy,” whined Philip loudly. Gordon’s eye twitched. The big engine moved to head to be refuelled, hoping Philip would get the hint. Philip did not. The little boxcab trailed after Gordon, whinging and whining about how unfair it was that Gordon wouldn’t indulge him in a race, especially cause they were the two fastest on the railway, surely! Philip could beat Gordon in a race, why wouldn’t Gordon race him?  

“I’m not busy, after all,” Philip added, trying his best to annoy the big engine into cooperating. Gordon wondered absently if he’d been too harsh on Thomas for being cheeky, all the way back in the early days. After all, even Thomas wasn’t this bad. “Don’t you have to arrange the express?” retorted Gordon. Philip snorted, his eyes lighting up with mischief.

“Nah! It’s not that important anyway – let’s go, let’s go let’sgolet’sgolet’sgo!” Gordon reached his boiling point, his safety valves popping as he erupted furiously.

“GO AND ARRANGE MY EXPRESS, NOW!” roared Gordon. Philip shook, stunned, before glaring defiantly back. “You’re a big meanie,” he snapped, sticking his tongue out petulantly before zipping away. Gordon sighed, and set about either finding another engine to fetch his coaches or getting them himself.

As Gordon left, he muttered under his breath. “I do wish Philip would learn some competency for his work.” And then he was gone, speeding down the line with headlamps swaying in the cool evening breeze.

Back at the Big Station, something was very wrong. Paxton, the other station pilot, couldn’t find Philip. The Class 08 checked everywhere, from the sidings to the harbour to the station and the sheds – but there was no sign of the little diesel boxcab. Duck joined in the search when he finished his last passenger run of the day, followed by Oliver, Stafford and finally Charlie, who told so many awful jokes that Duck very nearly shoved him off the end of the quay.

But still nothing. All five had to concede defeat and head back to the sheds, where they told the others about the missing engine. “Let him stay missing!” huffed James. “The yards ran smoother when he wasn’t here.” “That’s an awful thing to say,” snapped Duck. “Philip is just young – I’m sure he’s doing his best.” “Duck, please,” sighed Henry. “We keep trying to get along with him, but he just doesn’t care about doing his work. The smallest thing distracts him! You know where I found him last week?” “Where?” “On the mainline! He’d chased a butterfly half the way to the Junction and I very nearly turned him into a sardine can!”

Duck winced – he had to admit, Philip had done similar on his branchline, though that had been because he was following a sailboat as it made its way along the coast. He’d bumped right into Douglas, who’d torn the poor little boxcab a new one about railway safety.

It was not comforting to know he was not learning.

Duck was about to retort when the engines all heard Philip’s horn. The little engine rumbled into the sheds, looking very different. His paint was scratched all over, his number having been altered so it looked much closer to sixty-six as opposed to sixty-eight. His headlamp had been shattered by something, though what none of the engines could tell. And then there was Philip himself – his eyes were entirely the wrong colour, their former dark brown now a weird, almost red tinge. His almost always present smile had fallen flat, and they had a slow, calculating look about them.

None of the engines spoke for a long moment. “Philip, there you are,” James finally said. “You’ve ruined your paint. You need to go get it cleaned up at once.” “It should be fine,” ‘Philip’ replied, his words slow and halting, as if trying to predict what the other engines would do or say. Again, the engines all just stared, not sure what to say.

“Are you… sure?” checked Duck. Stafford and Charlie both cowered a little more behind the Pannier, a little spooked and afraid. ‘Philip’ considered. “Yes,” he replied, a little quicker this time. Duck hummed in consideration. “Well, you shouldn’t have run off like that. You made everyone worry for you. Now go get off the main road, Paxton needs to collect Gordon’s coaches when he returns.”

‘Philip’ smiled; it wasn’t quite the huge beaming grin that the engines were used to seeing on the little boxcab. It was smaller, less natural and more calculated. “I can do that,” he said. “They go in the… coach sheds, right?” “Carriage sheds,” sniffed James. “What did they even try to teach you young engines?!” The little boxcab hummed lowly, and slunk away to wait for Gordon. The moment he was out of earshot, the shed erupted in chatter.

“That’s not Philip, it’s an imposter!” exclaimed Duck. “We need to do something!” “Like what?” “An exorcism maybe? I don’t know!” Duck wracked his brain for an idea, but none were forthcoming. “If only Edward wasn’t being overhauled, he’d know what to do!” There was a long pause, before finally Henry spoke up.

“What if we… did nothing?” “Did nothing?!” “Think about it,” Henry went on, ignoring Paxton’s outburst, “Philip is completely clueless and causes us so much trouble – but this new engine, whoever it is, seems like they’ll do their work. All we need to do is keep an eye on him and try our best to steer him into being a really useful engine so that we don’t have to deal with Philip being an idiot and nearly causing us yet another accident.” “Edward wouldn’t agree to that,” Duck reminded Henry sternly. “Well then it’s a good thing Edward isn’t here,” Henry retorted. “If anyone asks, he had a long think about his future on this railway – we might just make a good station pilot out of him yet!”

“This seems immoral,” Paxton said quietly. “That’s because it is,” came the blunt addition from Duck. “You’re suggesting we do nothing while the real Philip is… is… what is even going on anyway?” “He might be… uh… possessed,” said Stafford quietly, the other engines straining to even hear him. “Trevor told me about it – it’s when evil spirits sneak into a person or engine and take them over. They’re supposed to want something… but I don’t know why they’d want Philip.”

The engines all shared a long look, none of them really wanting to admit it…

… but they all wanted to wait and see what happened.

‘Philip’ seemed to change overnight. After a few days’ worth of slightly painful adjustment, he seemed to click into what was needed. Trains ran smoother than they had in months. ‘Philip’ was a natural at shunting, zipping through the sidings and doing the work asked of him with ease. Even Sir Topham Hatt was impressed!

“I don’t know what happened,” he said. “But you’ve really smartened up, Philip. I’m rewarding you with a new coat of paint.” ‘Philip’ just smiled his weird, slightly stilted smile. “Thank you, sir,” he replied. He was repainted the next day, getting a very smart new livery that he barely cared for at all, instead focusing on his work. James could have wept for joy when he realised his train was arranged and prepared before he’d even gotten to the platform for an entire week.

But none of the engines at the Big Station told anyone about what had happened on that odd night, keeping it a closely guarded secret. The weeks passed, and the engines kept up the charade. It was clear to them that this engine was not Philip – he had the wrong accent and his horn sounded vaguely like the screams of the damned – but they had grown fond of him, of having their trains on time and of having an orderly yard.

‘Philip’ was good at his job, kind, quiet, and when he did speak he had an absolutely brutal dry wit that had even Gordon howling with laughter.

“I still don’t like it,” muttered Duck one evening, nearly three months after ‘Philip’ had shown up at the sheds. “We don’t know why he’s here at all.” “Oh shush,” huffed James, his eyes focused on the TV the crews had left in the corner of the sheds for the engines. “The big plot twist is coming – I bet he’s been sleeping with her sister.”

Duck rolled his eyes – James was way too invested in a recent Mexican telenovela which a local channel had been playing. “Aye, it is a devil in my husband’s skin!” Duck and James both stared at the television as the major plot twist turned out to be that the husband was secretly possessed, and had been engaged with the maids, the sister and a weirdly attractive uncle of the wife.

“No,” Duck snapped. “You are not going to suggest Philip should act like that.” James just chuckled. The two looked over to the shed doors as they heard a familiar rumble.

The little boxcab rounded the last bend and raced into the sheds, much too fast.

“Hi guys! It’s been weird – I was lost! But I’m back now – the vicar told me that he ‘helped’ me but I didn’t understand. Who wants to race?”

James and Duck shared a look; Philip was back.

For a few days, all was quiet. The engines once again were forced to carefully navigate this unfamiliar engine in Philip’s body, only this time it was the original once more. And Philip hadn’t learnt a thing despite having spent six months possessed. He still raced about far more than he ought to, not really focusing on his work but rather the first thing that intrigued him. He ended up in all sorts of crazy positions, including somehow getting shunted onto the middle of the Midnight Goods and going halfway across the island behind a slightly peeved BoCo.

But… Philip wasn’t stupid. Naïve, perhaps. But not stupid. And in those few days, he began to notice something; he began to see it in the corners of his eyes when the other engines thought he wasn’t around.

They sighed more, when they saw him. They pursed their lips at the sound of his horn, as if hoping or expecting a different noise to come out. They scowled at his perfectly polished paint that he loved, having made his driver repaint over the smart livery with his own preferred, zanier one.

Engines like Gordon and James had infinitely less patience for his antics than before, as if their slight fondness for him had been replaced by disdain, barely masked behind a veneer of indifference. Engines like BoCo, Bear, Charlie or Oliver who had been supportive of his attempts at learning the yard before now just watched on silently, as if what they saw in front of them didn’t quite line up with what they had in their minds.

Something was wrong.

The worst thing for Philip was seeing the shift in Duck and Paxton. The two had gone from being perhaps the only two in the entire yard who genuinely liked him to being little more than distant colleagues. Whatever had happened during the time he’d been lost, wandering through an infinite woodland with a million different places to explore, it had given the others a reason to just… watch him.

Always watching, always judging. None of them seemed to like the outcome of these judgements, always pretending to be looking elsewhere whenever Philip caught them. All of the others would attempt a smile, but it felt weak. Lacking.

Philip felt rather alone, and it hurt.

It didn’t take him too long to find out why. Philip had been heading back to the sheds after another disheartening day, rumbling quietly alongside the sheds, when he overheard the engines inside.

“It’s not the same,” hissed Gordon. “He’s not the same!” “Why did the vicar have to fix it,” agreed James. “The yard was finally running so smoothly!” “Well, it’s done,” snapped Duck. ���And we have to live with it. The other Philip is gone, and we need to get used to this Philip again.” “I wish we didn’t have to,” admitted Charlie, almost silently. “He doesn’t even try and learn, he just flutters about. I miss the other Philip.”

Philip fled from the sheds before he could hear any more. He couldn’t take it – all his friends had said they preferred another Philip, that they weren’t happy with him. They didn’t want Philip, they wanted a different engine. They wanted a different engine wearing his face, working with his engine. They wanted a version of Philip that he wasn’t. They didn’t want him.

His friends didn’t want him.

His friends didn’t even like him, they just dealt with him while missing a ‘Philip’ only they had met.

Philip ran to see the Fat Controller. Surely he would be able to do something! But when Philip entered the Big Station, all he saw with Sir Topham Hatt shaking his head as he poured over a spreadsheet.

“And he was doing so well the last six months,” the Fat Controller sighed. “I’d hoped Philip was finally being really useful – perhaps I was too hasty.”

Philip hid in the carriage siding, his mind whirling. None of his friends wanted him. His owner preferred a different version of him. They spoke of a him that had existed when he was lost as if he was better, more reliable. More useful.

The Fat Controller wasn’t sure if he was really useful or not.

Philip went to the yard foreman the next morning, before any of the other engines awoke. He was in tears, barely able to speak around the painful lump in his throat. He was transferred that same day, grabbing some empty trucks and vanishing out of the yards.

Philip would end up working in the diesel yards at the far end of the line, where Douglas had found Oliver so many years ago. The diesels here just snarled and growled at him every time he tried to introduce himself, snapping orders and glaring at Philip until he completed them. In time, a different engine passed by, heading for Sodor. He looked like a truly ancient steam engine, his paint rough but showing signs of recently being touched up. He had a stern look on his face, though it lightened some as he vanished out the other end of the yard.

Philip had been entirely replaced now; his friends and his controller had even bought a new engine to take over from him, to finally give the Big Station the care and attention Philip hadn’t had the capability to give before.

He gave his new yard far too much attention, scuttling between rusting hulks, constantly forced to keep his cab down and moving. If he even considered trying any of the many fun activities he’d enjoyed back at the Big Station, he was verbally ripped to shreds, the other diesels sneering and rolling their eyes whenever they caught sight of him.

Philip should have stayed in that infinite woodland, chasing butterflies and enjoying his life. Why had he ever left? 

Philip cried himself to sleep, and never stopped sobbing.

Back to the Master List

[master-of-the-railway]

Thinking abt LoS more and I like to believe Diesel 10 is like Gordon in a way. He's a protector, he's the designated leader for the diesels. Yes, he hates steam engines, but he doesn't hate his own. He may not enjoy listening to Philip ramble constantly but if anyone else tries to interrupt the little boxcab or say rude things to him, Diesel 10 snaps his claw at them and makes sure Philip has the floor again. He will endlessly remind Sidney of whatever it is he's forgotten; he'll encourage Diesel's schemes against the steam engines but make sure he doesn't go too far with his own kind. When you look a little closer at his behaviors, you start to realize that he does care about them. More than he lets on. And even though they're buddies with the steam engines, D10 still cares a great deal for Mavis and Salty. They're still diesel engines, and at the end of the day even if he isn't their leader they're still important to him. He'd fight for them if he had to. I like to believe that Sir Topham Hatt took him in because he ended up back on the island low on fuel with no driver and screwed up brakes, so they fixed him up and when they learned he was ownerless, Topham gave him a chance despite the protest of the steamers and their drivers. They kept a close eye on him, protecting Lady's secret space and making sure he never went on runs that went through there...but the truth is he's long gave up on her. He knows now that she has a tight circle of protecting that isn't just one young man...now it's a strong young lady and her very resourceful family PLUS the Sodor crew. It's not worth it anymore, and now that he's under a proper railway contract he could be scrapped for harming another engine intentionally. He's tired and he just wants to work, but that won't stop him from pulling tricks on others and going after other steam engines. He's just decided to let bygones be bygones when it comes to Lady.

[cerenemuxse]

TGR but There's a Roleswap - Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - An Engine Like That

The Great Race (2016)

Word Count: 419

It was the only image of Emily, James, and Philip that I could find 🫠

The story can be found at @tgr-2x5-roleswap-au for easier access.

~

Soon, James was in Tidmouth Yard, shunting around in frustration, having realized that he left behind his goods train at Brendam Docks.

As he worked around, hoping that the red tender engine had left Brendam by now, Emily rolled into the yard. "What's up with you?" she asked.

"Nothing!" James snapped. "Absolutely nothing."

"Well, it doesn't sound like nothing," huffed Emily. "Come on, fess up."

James grumbled before coherently replying, "Some Scottish engine nearly bumped me into the ocean."

"A Scottish engine? Do you mean one of the Scottish twins? Or Duck?"

"No, no, no! A ship of foreign engines arrived, thinking that the railway show was on here instead of the Mainland! One of them bumped into me and I nearly got knocked into the ocean."

"Oh my! But why?"

"I don't know! He was probably jealous, that red copycat!"

"Red co- Oh!" Emily began to laugh. "Ohoho, you're jealous!"

"No, I'm not!"

"Yes, you are!" She allowed her laughter to subside for a bit. "Who saved you anyways? Salty and Porter aren't strong enough to pull you back on the rails."

James let out a huff, heavy enough to wheesh steam. "He did."

"Oh?" Emily pondered for a moment. "Huh. Maybe it was an accident."

"I doubt it!"

"Well, did he apologize?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Then it was probably an accident, Jimmy. You're fretting over nothing."

"You wouldn't understand!"

As the two began to bicker, Philip quickly strolled by, having eavesdropped on the conversation. "If you want my advice, James,” he piped up, “I wouldn't pay so much attention to an engine like that!"

Emily and James went quiet. For once, James was interested in what the little diesel boxcab had to say, despite the number of times the diesel boxcab annoyed him to the ends of the Earth.

"Engines like that aren't worth your time! He could've very much lied to you when he apologized."

The two tender engines pondered for a moment as Philip left.

After a few moments of silence, James huffed. "I need to get ready for my passenger trains."

"Don't you have a goods train to pull?" asked Emily.

"I… forgot about it."

"Hm, well. I can pull it for you so you don't run late with the Honeypot."

"Really?"

"Of course! Where does it need to be taken to?"

"Vicarstown."

"Got it. I'll see you later, James!" With two whistles and a wheesh from her brakes, Emily set off.

"See you later!" he exclaimed before rushing off to find the Honeypot coaches.

~

[theredengineapologist]

Introducing the world of TTTE: Sudrian Boys [TTTE: Sudrian Boys AU Worldbuilding, Pt. 1]

Now that I've worked out exactly what I want from my AU, I believe it is finally time to share the lore with all of you (one month after I initially promised it OOPS).

The lore of this world is a bit HEFTY to explain, so I'm breaking it into multiple parts. This part mainly goes over the history and background for my Humanized!TTTE AU, TTTE: Sudrian Boys. In later parts, I plan to cover things like Sudrian vs Non-Sudrian Engine culture, how the engines differ from humans, and more info about how the shapeshifting works in my AU, so stay tuned!

Also! Information regarding specific characters will be included in separate character sheets I will be posting at a later date. I'm also currently working on some fanfics that I hope will expand my AU further. But feel free to ask me any questions you may have!

This is going to be a VERY long post so read on under the cut!

Before we begin, some key things to keep in mind:

I am still actively catching up with the canon source material at this point in time! Thus, aspects of my AU are subject to change as I read/watch more of the source material and incorporate it into my AU.

This AU is primarily based on TV series canon (both model and CGI), as that is what I am primarily familiar with. Some aspects are also taken from the Railway Series to help estimate an approximate timeline of events.

At this current point in time, BWBA is NOT canon in my AU. This is mainly because I have not watched it yet and have no plans to watch it later (with the exception of the Michael White episodes that everyone says are good). The episode "A Shed for Edward" from Season 21 is also NOT canon in my AU. This is to say that in my AU, Edward and Henry still live in Tidmouth. It's my AU. I do what I want.

On that note, Thomas and the Magic Railroad is partially canon in my AU. I haven't gone back to re-watch the movie yet (I do plan to at a later date), so I'm going purely off of memory and what I hear other people say about it. Because of this, I've decided to basically just take parts that I like and leave behind parts that I don't. In regards to the canonicity of the film itself, I consider it as a dream Thomas had (that may or may not have actually happend. It'll all make sense later).

With the exception of Philip the Diesel Boxcab, ALL of the engines are adults in my AU. Yes, that includes Thomas and Percy.

With that out of the way, let's start at The Beginning:

A long time ago, when humans were designing the first steam engines, a young faerie fell in love with them. Her true name is beyond mortal comprehension, but engines of today refer to her as Lady (or alternatively, the Lady of Legend).

Though fae are usually associated with nature, this faerie in particular was fascinated by machines and the ingenuity of mankind. And so she used her magic gold dust to breathe life into the machines that she loved so much.

And thus she became Lady, Goddess of Steam Engines.

For many years, engines and humans lived together in harmony. The engines found purpose in being useful, and humans were able to travel longer distances and distribute supplies amongst each other. It was a mutually beneficial relationship.

But then, everything changed when the fire nation attacked dieselization happened.

Lady watched in horror as humanity turned their backs on the steam engines that worked so hard for them. In increasingly larger numbers, engines were getting scrapped for as petty reasons as "not being useful enough". In an effort to protect her beloved machines, Lady imbued them with more powerful magic.

As much as Lady wanted to, the Fae Court wouldn't allow creations of man to be taken in mass to the fae realm. So if she couldn't offer her engines salvation, Lady would at least give them a means of escape.

By around 1960, as steam was getting phased out, Lady blessed her beloved machines with the ability to shapeshift. If an engine ever had a desire to leave the rails, all they had to do was imagine themselves doing so and they could walk the Earth in a human-like form. This would allow them live lives completely independent from mankind. Being "really useful" was no longer a requirement to have a right to live, now they could simply exist and pursue goals of their own choosing just as any human could.

For steam engines all around the world, shapeshifting became a secret and closely guarded practice that they would only discuss amongst each other. Humans were not to be made aware of this under any circumstances.

Unfortunately, even after Lady bestowed the gift of shapeshifting upon her engines, hundreds of them were still killed under the cutter's torch. Steam engines are proud entities after all, and many of them preferred to die upon their rails than to live in hiding as something foreign. And since shapeshifting was such a closely guarded practice, not every engine who may have wanted a way out was able to be taught.

Even so, there were still reports circulating of engines vanishing from scrapyards without a trace, almost as if by magic. These were the engines that managed to escape and are now living secretly amongst humans to this day.

Fast Forward many, many decades later. We return to the Island of Sodor:

It is now the late 2010s to mid 2020s. The entire Island of Sodor basically runs as a giant heritage railway.

The NWR is currently run by Sir Topham Hat III, who is at the strapping young age of 83. (I saw this tweet from someone who asked Christopher Awdry if STH III is still running the railway and he said yes so we're going with that.) STH III loves his engines very much, which is why he has no plans on retiring any time soon. Still, he has STH IV shadow him closely in order to prepare him to take over the railway some day.

Because of the success of both The Railway Series books and the Thomas and Friends TV show, tourists flock from all over the world to get a look at the famous engines. Plus, being one of the few places to still have steam engines in operation (and so many of them in fact), you can count on many of the tourists being train enthusiasts too.

Basically, the engines of Sodor are all treated like celebrities. They are FAMOUS and are generally adored by the public. Whenever they go anywhere, you can count on someone knowing their names.

And because of just how many tourists come to Sodor every year, the economy is thriving and the engines are all very, very busy. Everything is pretty idyllic.

But sometimes, prosperity can get pretty boring.

And now, our story begins:

As with many Sudrian Shenanigans, everything starts with Thomas the Tank Engine.

One night, after Thomas delivers passengers to a carnival, he makes a wish to leave life on the rails, even if only for just one night.

As much as Thomas loves working on his branch line, delivering goods and passengers from place to place, and meeting tourists, doing the same routine for literal DECADES can get a little dull.

While waiting for his driver and fireman to return from a short break, Thomas let his mind wander. He imagined himself as a human person taking part in the festivities with the passengers he just delivered. In doing so, Thomas accidentally activated the dormant shapeshifting magic Lady had blessed him with many years ago.

When Thomas opened his eyes, he was literally much closer to his rails than he had ever been. The station platform was much higher up. And Annie and Clarabel were much bigger than he remembered. Thomas had accidentally turned himself into a small human man, just like he had seen in his imagination.

He freaked out a little at first. When they returned, his driver and fireman didn't recognize him. It was only after Thomas started going off about things that only he would know, details about events that happened decades ago, before they were born and had only heard about in stories, that they realized that this small human figure really was Thomas the Tank Engine.

They called Sir Topham Hatt III at once, explaining the situation. And while baffling and unbelievable, the truth was right before their eyes. They were at a loss for what to do, especially since Thomas didn't know how to turn back yet. They concluded to allow Thomas to enjoy the festival for now, let Edward take the passengers home that night, and have Thomas stay with STH's family until he could figure out how to return to normal.

While scary at first, Thomas did enjoy the festival that night. And he went home with STH in Annie and Clarabel. He got to see the island from a new perspective, and he very much enjoyed that.

STH III made Thomas's driver and fireman promise to keep this a secret for now until they could figure out what happened. But that ultimately didn't matter because Thomas went to say "hello" to Edward that night. By the next sunrise, every engine on the island heard exactly what happened to Thomas. Some told their crew, but most weren't believed. Even some of the engines didn't believe each other. But at the very least, every engine on the island knew something strange was afoot.

The news eventually reached Donald and Douglas, who swiftly made their way to Tidmouth Sheds. Coincidentally, STH was bringing Human!Thomas to Tidmouth to inform the rest of the Steam Team about what had happened.

It is at this moment that Donald and Douglas reveal that they knew about shifting for decades. It was how they managed to get to the island under the guise that there would only be one of them. They would take turns, one traveling as an engine while the other hid in their cab. The reason they both appeared on the island as engines is because they hoped the controller would be kind enough to keep them both (and he was!). If it hadn't worked out, they would have run away together as humans. Since things worked out in their favor, they didn't see a point in shapeshifting again. But now that their secret was out, they needed to keep it safe.

Donald and Douglas taught the Steam Team how to shapeshift, and the engines continued to teach each other until basically every engine on the island knew how to switch between the two forms comfortably. In exchange, however, only a limited number of humans could know about engine shifting. These include STH III, STH IV, and the engines' drivers and firemen. Basically, only those who really needed to know.

Nowadays, STH gives the engines a little extra time off during the day to explore their new forms. The Steam Team also has an apartment where they can live together as humans if they choose. Within a few months, most of the engines have gotten in the habit of shifting back and forth, exploring their world and learning new things about themselves.

Now in a new perspective, the adventures continue. 😉

[shelli-gator]

I’Ll shOW tHAt LiTtLE B O X C A B!

[ohjeeztrains]

Toby doodles

[feigeroman]

Thomas Headcanons: Philip

Philip’s pre-Sodor history is a true enigma if ever there was one. The most we know is that he was built in 1930 for the Pennsylvania Railroad, and spent much of his career working as a switcher at their vast workshop complex in Altoona. After being superseded by larger switchers in the early 1970s, Philip was purchased by a historic railroad group, having somehow found his way to one of the nearby coastal states.

This historic railroad was actually the same one that Porter ended up on, although they apparently hardly spoke to each other at that time.

Philip saw little active use while based on the historic railroad, as he was too small to pull service trains, and there were few jobs that were suitable for an engne of his size. However, he was occasionally used to move empty passenger cars, and sometimes one of the engines kept on static display at the old roundhouse where the railroad had its headquarters.

It was perhaps as a result of doing one of these jobs that Philip gained an overinflated sense of his own capabilities. The story goes that he was called upon to rescue a stranded train, which under any other circumstances he wouldn’t have been able to move on his own. In this case, however, he managed to get the train home, and he thought it was through strength he didn’t know he had. In actual fact, the train engine still had just enough steam to keep going, his train was almost empty, and they were on a falling gradient.

Despite being told this afterwards - repeatedly, at that - to this day Philip still thinks he saved the whole train on his own.

Philip eventually left the historic railroad for Sodor in late-1985, and officially entered NWR service early the following year. The exact details of this are quite murky, but they seem to have followed a similar chain of events to that which saw Porter’s arrival two years earlier. At any rate, it was definitely the same wealthy land owner with some kind of connection to Sir Topham Hatt (again, we’re not sure if he was a relative or business partner).

Upon his arrival on Sodor, Philip was given modifications to enable him to work on the NWR, the most notable of these being his British-style buffers and couplings. Due to his small size, Philip already fit perfectly into the NWR’s restricted loading gauge, and thus did not need to be modified as drastically as other American engines already working on the railway at the time.

Philip was originally allocated to Tidmouth, and this was for two main reasons: Firstly, so that he could provide assistance to regular station pilot Gideon (NWR #D4); and secondly, so that his general shunting capabilities could be assessed. A number of his early adventures, as seen in canon, took place during these trials.

Philip was also tried out on trip workings, and the results made for surprising reading. For one thing, his fuel capacity was such that he could go quite far for such a small engine. For another, his top speed was also surprisingly high, though his pulling power left a bit to be desired, so such workings became less common once he properly started work.

His alleged race with Gordon took place on such a working to Brendam, which I assume is the only reason he didn’t get massively called on the carpet for skiving off his work that day.

As well as mainly working at Tidmouth, Philip also originally slept at the main sheds there. Well, I say slept, but the truth was that Philip was too energetic and enthusiastic for his own good. Needless to say, this quickly got on the other engines’ nerves, and in a rare moment of solidarity, they demanded that Philip be shedded elsewhere, if only for their sanity. As a result, Philip was reallocated to the diesel depot at Knapford - apparently the engines there had a relatively higher tolerance for an engine radiating such chaotic energy.

As Philip was still working at Tidmouth at the time, he began regularly commuting there every day. Later on, however, he also started working at Knapford itself - indeed, this was how he came to make friends with Toby in 1987 (as seen in Toby’s New Friend).

In 1988, Norman went to Crovan’s Gate for a major overhaul, and so Philip was temporarily reallocated to the Brendam branch to cover for him. While there, he stayed at the sheds at Wellsworth, but once again, his sheer energy gave Edward many sleepless nights. Fortunately, Edward did eventually manage to calm him down - before he himself had a chance to lose his cool.

This can be considered my take on A Shed For Edward, the canon events of which are redundant in my headcanon, where Edward has always been based at Wellsworth anyway. The above is my way of putting him and Philip together, but the story is otherwise roughly the same.

[thequeenofsodor]

My friend Mari (aka That TV Series Bitch on Book Club) sent me three requests for the character bingo things on Discord, so I’m including them as honorary part of this ask game!

BoCo has always been awesome to me. He’s this huge Diesel that’s capable of running on the main line, and has such an awesome screen presence. I feel like we were robbed of him not returning in the CGI Series, especially since there are only four big diesels in that show (one of whom is Daisy and doesn’t really count due to being a railcar and not filling the same ecological niche, another of whom is Diesel 10 who barely appears, and the other two are international engines, who aren’t part of the North Western to begin with!) among the endless sea of diesel shunters.

I also very much resent that old “BoCo is Diesel Edward” sentiment I used to see spun around in Thomas Fandom, mostly because it’s so reductive. Like, if you boil any character in any story down to their most base archetypes and ignore all the distinctions they have, however minor they may be... of course they’ll all look the same! But I think what sets Edward apart from BoCo is that BoCo is much more stoic and tends to be more stern, but they are similar in that they are both genuinely helpful and warm characters at their core. I think their similarities and differences make them an excellent duo, since they can both confide in the other and support each other with what the other has respective difficulty with.

BoCo design-wise, aside from being cool due to being a Big Diesel, is also really cool because of his prototype. Metrovick Type 2s/Class 28s have such a cool look to them, with their swooping front windows and odd number of wheels. Honestly it’s no wonder that Awdry picked him for the first big diesel on the North Western, because even if you’re a diehard Steam Guy like Awdry, you can’t help but think “that design has a lot of personality” when you see it. I have to wonder if he knew about the class’s troubled history when he picked it though, because it’s just straight up never mentioned in the storybooks. If he didn’t, then its very serendipitous because the real life history and infamy of the class makes him a perfect fit for the Island of Misfit Engines!

Also you are all legally obligated to read @mean-scarlet-deceiver​‘s BoCo headcanon posts, as well as Ex-Condor Through the Time Machine. Extremely Good BoCo food, and covers a lot of ground far more elegantly than I can in this post lol

I remember everyone’s immediate reaction to Philip was disgust at him being an annoying kid character, and I immediately sided with the minority that “he’s fine, actually” and nowadays... I still think he’s okay, but I just don’t feel that strongly about him anymore.

I think he works great as proof of the passage of time, since it’s made pretty obvious in his debut episode that he is very much like Thomas was when he arrived on Sodor in The Adventure Begins. Honestly I think the only times where he’s ever come across as actually annoying are when he immediately tells Thomas to not trust Ashima (very forced subplot in TGR, imo) and when they start being weird about his number in S21/22. I’m pretty sure the last time he appears is in Apology Impossible, which I don’t remember him being particularly annoying in? But that episode has... other problems...

My only real gripe with him is the creative team’s choice of prototype. Philip belongs in a club alongside Connor, Caitlin, Porter, Timothy, and one or two other pre-BWBA Brenner newbies that I like to call “The Why Am I American Club.” Because, for some weird reason, the Brenner Era team really liked to introduce American locomotives into the show while pretending they’re from the mainland, for some reason! I have no idea what kind of British diesel would work for Philip while keeping the same kind of boxcab design, though, so... I suppose the issue here is more “why is he not Canonically American” or “why does he have a British accent”...

But yeah, he’s fine. I think people get far too riled up by his existence, but I don’t find him all that compelling either. I hope Bachmann makes him in Large Scale just to mess with people.

honest to god, I have things to say about Gustavo, a character I’m not convinced anyone in the fandom has ever discussed deeply at all

I’m grateful for Gustavo’s existence to an extent, because he’s the only American electric engine in the entire series, which is something I’d always been dying to see. And much like BoCo, he has a great screen presence on account of being ABSOLUTELY HUGE! I really hope he gets some sort of toy that’s more detailed than that god-awful Trackmaster pack, because he deserved a representation that captures his sheer size.

Anyway, for those who don’t know why I’m referring to this Brazilian character as American, it’s because he’s a General Electric "Little Joe”. 20 of them were initially built to work on Soviet Railways, before the Cold War began and the order got cancelled. Most of the engines went to American railroads, but five were sold to the Paulista Railway in Brazil. The “Little Joe” nickname was short for “Little Joe Stalin’s Locomotives”, and got they a reputation for being hugely awesome and powerful machines from the locos on the Milwaukee Road, which makes sense because their power output was basically equal to that of a Big Boy. I’d never heard of them before Gustavo was introduced, and frankly I’m appalled by that, because these things should absolutely be on the same level of iconicity as the GG1s! Having that kind of weird off-screen history behind him automatically makes Gustavo a bit more interesting than some of the other international engines.

But there’s more to him than just that, and to me that’s the fact that he’s designed to directly parallel/contrast with Gordon. One of the things that I really wish was explored more in BWBA is the international railway’s social ecosystem when Thomas isn’t in the mix, and for most of them it’s pretty bland. But with Gustavo, having a parallel drawn directly between him and Gordon already gives us an idea of what normal life must be like with him around. Granted, the episode makes a point of showing that he’s not exactly like Gordon (and it was not fair of Thomas to judge him like he was to begin with), but he seems to share a lot of Gordon’s more noble traits? He honestly kind of feels like what Gordon would be like if he hadn’t had his prestige and superiority complexes drilled into his mind as a young engine at Doncaster, which is interesting. As implausible as it might be, I’d love to see how Gordon and Gustavo interact with this in mind.

Granted; all of this interesting stuff is only on paper. He’s frankly kind of bland in the episode, because every character in the BWBA International stories is bland. ‘Tis the fate of essentially being an obligation to writers who are far more interested in writing Sodor’s side characters...

[pxmun]

Darius and Scotsman were making their way to Vicarstown to pick up the express for the Mainland. However, once they reached the station the express was nowhere in sight. “Where’s the express? It’s very unlike Gordon to be this late.” Scotsman said. Darius was worrying about Romeo. The three siblings could still somehow text between each other, despite Sodor’s lack of recent technology. Normally the younger brother would text Darius if an accident had happened or if Gordon and him were running late, but there had been nothing. Darius quickly sent a text to Cleo to check in on her and Thomas, plus see if she knew about Romeo and Gordon. 

After that Darius left Scotsman’s cab to talk to the Vicarstown station master about the delay. The station master was being swarmed by a crowd of upset passengers who wanted to know where their train was. The station master had been just as confused as Darius on the whereabouts of the big blue engine. There came a ding from Darius’s phone, it was Cleo. She had texted her older brother about Lady, Thomas and her having to rescue James from Diesel 10′s hench engine Dodge. She warned her older brother that Diesel 10 was going after the other engines in an attempt to draw out Lady. Cleo assured Darius that her and Thomas were okay and that they were on their way to check on the others. She informed Darius that Romeo and Gordon should’ve been at Vicarstown by now, since they’re not Cleo suggest checking the main line while Thomas and her go and get Harold the helicopter to try and see if he can spot them from the sky. Darius tells his little sister and Thomas to be safe before boarding Scotsman and following Gordon’s route. The two kept their eyes peeled for any sign of their brothers. Up ahead Scotsman could see two derailed engines. Philip the diesel boxcab and Spencer the duke and duchess’s private engine. Scotsman came to a halt alongside the two. When asked what had happened, Philip told the two that he had challenged Spencer to a race and Spencer had agreed just to get Phillip to stop annoying him. The race had started, and Spencer had a big lead when Splatter barged in from behind. The diesel managed to run Spencer onto an old siding and into a pair of old buffers. The buffers were easily smashed by Spencer’s speed, causing the silver engine to become derailed. When Philip finally arrived, Spencer tried to warn the little diesel about Splatter when the engine in question rushed towards Philip and easily shunted him off the track. The two engines where glad Scotsman had found them, they were afraid that no one would’ve been able to find them on the old abandon siding and would’ve been left to rust. Darius and Scotsman managed to pull Philip back onto the track when they spotted Splatter spying on them a few feet away. The larger diesel noticed that he had been spotted and ran off. Darius and Scotsman felt conflicted with staying to help rescue Spencer, but Philip assured the two that he would find another engine to help get Spencer back on the line and that the two should focus on going after Splatter as he might know the whereabouts of Gordon and Romeo. Trusting Philip, the two sped down the line to catch up to Splatter. Scotsman was a fast engine, and it didn’t take him long to reach Splatter. The mainland engine shouted at the diesel, demanding to know where his brother and his friend were. Splatter egged on Scotsman, daring the A3 Pacific and his friend to catch him if they wanted any info on their family. Scotsman was furious, he didn’t have time to play Splatter’s little games. He chugged forward at full speed. Splatter could hear Scotsman closing in on him and panicked, he crossed over to a siding just in the nick of time as Scotsman stormed through, missing his target. Up ahead the bridge was down for repairs. It was very unstable and wouldn’t be able to hold a big engine like the Flying Scotsman. Darius applied the engine’s breaks. Scotsman came to a grinding halt on the bridge, his weight causing parts to crumble into to valley below. Scotsman was partially hanging off of the edge. Darius threw Scotsman into reverse, trying to get the engine away from the bridge. Splatter saw Scotsman’s predicament and took advantage of it; he biffed Scotsman from behind, the force was enough to send the engine over the edge. Darius and Scotsman screamed in terror as they plummeted towards the ground. Their lives flashing before their eyes. Both were thinking about their siblings, hoping they were okay. From Scotsman’s furnace something was rattling around. It fell out and flew upwards towards Darius due to the gravity of the fall. It was a whistle! It floated before Darius. He had seen and heard his younger siblings using the whistles to do the most remarkable things. He quickly snatched the whistle out of the air. He held it close to his chest and said a little prayer. “Oh, please oh please, save Scotty”! Darius begged as he blew into the whistle. Scotsman saw the bottom quickly approaching and clenched his eyes shut preparing for the worst. He gave a large huff and puff as steam whooshed out of his funnel. A cloud formed beneath the Flying Scotsman, saving the engine from being smashed to bits. Scotsman and Darius were about to celebrate when the cloud suddenly lifted them into the air. Scotsman flew over to the other side of the bridge and left Splatter completely speechless. Scotsman continued flying away, below Philip and Spencer could see the whole spectacle. “Wow! I didn’t know the Flying Scotsman could actually fly”! Philip said in amazement. “Philip, get us off this crazy train”! Darius yelled in horror. The two flew away to someplace unknown.

[hunty627]

https://m.soundcloud.com/aceoftrains_music/philip-the-boxcab-diesels-theme-classic-series-cover

Philip is an energetic little diesel engine who is always in the mood to work and play.

[thefluffyrailway-official]

Fluffy's headcannon storm. Pt 1

As i was making some pinterest character collages of the diesels, i've found this picture:

Def is something Philip would make for Hannah. He thinks she's cold in winter too, so he made her a lemon themed sweater.

:D

[weirdowithaquill]

How about Five American Engines? Is that part of your ERS? Is it the 5 I would expect (*counts on fingers* Caitlin, Connor, Porter, Hank... erm... I'm blanking... Philip?)

Five American Engines sort of fills a weird space in my mind and in general. It's technically not part of my ERS series, but it's done in that style and would technically fit in that world.

The base premise was a heritage line in the USA looking to preserve some of the steam engines being withdrawn at the end of the 1950's.

And I'll keep at least some of the characters a secret for now - but what I can give is part of the first story in the bunch that I wrote:

Hank sat on his siding, watching as the engine in the siding a couple tracks across from him was dragged away to be scrapped. To his left sat a little experimental Boxcab engine – one who didn’t really seem to grasp what was going on.  

“Is he also going to the sheds? Can we go?! It’s cold out here.”   “No Philip, you don’t want to go to the sheds,” Hank said gently. “It’s not nice in the sheds.”   “Well at least in the sheds we wouldn’t be covered in damp! And there’s a weed growing under me – it’s tickling my axle.”   “Philip, listen to me. And listen to me well,” Hank said. “You NEVER want to go into the sheds here. Stay in this siding. Please. And keep it down. Do not attract attention.”   “But they might let us in the shed!”   “You don’t want that, remember?”   “Oh. Okay.”  

Hank sighed, and looked up. The sky was a dull grey, dreary and threatening. If they were lucky, the rain would only last for a few minutes. Or maybe it would go on all night. Then he really might rust through. The engine on his other side looked over.  

“You’ll have to tell him eventually,” she murmured. “You can’t protect the experimental forever.”   “I can try,” Hank replied sombrely.  

The year is 1959, and all across the USA, steam engines are being withdrawn and placed in cold, damp sidings. They watch as their friends are taken into the sheds – and never return.  

Hank is one of these engines. He had worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad faithfully since the First World War, pulling passengers and then freight. He’d raced the Hudsons across the Eastern Seaboard, then enjoyed quieter workings along the lakefront. Now he awaited his fate.  

Or, he did, until he saw a well-dressed gentleman in grey breeches and a top hat stride into the scrapyard, staring up at the engines in wonderment.   “Hello?” he called. The man looked over.  “Are you a K4?” asked the man, wandering over. “Quite the specimen! And look, some sort of experimental boxcab design. Both of the Pennsylvania Railroad of course – such good condition too! Why yes, you will be perfect.”   “I… beg your pardon sir?” said Hank slowly. The man looked up at Hank and beamed.  

“I’m Sir Robert Norramby of Sodor, and I want to preserve you!”  

[hunty627]

Philip the diesel boxcab is a young and cheerful engine. He’s painted yellow and green and has the number 68.

Thomas & Friends Character Icons - Philip 340x340

[cerenemuxse]

A Shed For Edward

Originally, I disliked the episode. But as time went on, I've actually come to like it.

There's something about this episode that really hit home (for some reason. Even more so when i watched an AMV that ended on the ending scene of this episode 😥). It leaves a solemn feeling on a personal level.

One of the aspects of the episode that I like is a potential flaw in Edward: his resilience to be honest with a chatty and go-lucky character (a character trope I dislike but I can excuse Philip on this one.)

Edward is a wise engine who is usually quite blunt and honest from the looks of things. However, he isn't with Philip in this particular episode. He pretty much refused telling Philip anything and was pretty impatient with him very quick, not something you see often.

I actually like this flaw. It just fits him, to me at least. Makes me think about how he would act around Paxton. .3.

Back to solemn part of the episode. Think about it. He moved in with a little excited boxcab who reminds him of Thomas, which is quite adorable but solemn. He's realizing that the other engines have grown a lot (Forever and Ever does not exist to me. I did not expect that from Gordon. Made me extremely uncomfortable). Could he be hitting a mid-life existential crisis?

EoSR AU notes on this episode:

While this story isn't canon, the other two episodes that accompany this, "The Fastest Red Engine on Sodor" and "An Engine of Many Colors," are canon but there is a massive change to the latter. The scene where Edward and Philip warn James is still present.

I'm accepting this flaw of Edward not always being honest and blunt, especially to other characters like Philip.

The AMV in question is this one: