- “'Allo James. Come to learn a thing or two from those who know?”
- ― 'Arry, "Middle Engine", sixth season
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James is a vain mixed-traffic engine.
Bio
James was built by George Hughes at Horwich Works in 1915 as an 0-6-0 with a wooden brakes, James was once unable to stop due to his wooden brake blocks. After his first accident he had his front sandboxes removed, was rebuilt into a 2-6-0 with a proper brake and a Fowler tender and repainted red with gold stripes and blue lining. He was troublesome when he returned, ruining Sir Topham Hatt's new top-hat with his steam and jarring his coaches so much a brake pipe leaks. He was threatened to be painted blue (which James detests), but later made the line's worst trucks behave after being given a second chance.
Persona
James is very proud of his paintwork. He hates pulling trucks, and believes that he should only pull coaches. He thinks himself superior to the others, and can be shallow, boastful and vain, particularly to those who appear old-fashioned, weak, slow or dirty. However, on a number of occasions he has found himself in need of help from those he has insulted, and is, in the end, apologetic.
James was the last engine to retain a prejudice against diesels. However, after stalling on a cold day he was rescued by the Works Diesel, and James had to admit that nothing was wrong with diesels. This appears to be one of the few lessons that has stuck.
Appearances
James' Railway Series appearances are listed below, in chronological order:
- "Thomas the Tank Engine"
- "James the Red Engine"
- "Tank Engine Thomas Again" (mentioned)
- "Troublesome Engines"
- "Henry the Green Engine"
- "Toby the Tram Engine"
- "Gordon the Big Engine"
- "Edward the Blue Engine"
- "Four Little Engines" (not seen)
- "Percy the Small Engine"
- "The Eight Famous Engines"
- "Duck and the Diesel Engine"
- "The Little Old Engine"
- "The Twin Engines"
- "Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine"
- "Main Line Engines"
- "Small Railway Engines" (mentioned)
- "Enterprising Engines"
- "Oliver the Western Engine"
- "Duke the Lost Engine" (cameo)
- "James and the Diesel Engines"
- "Great Little Engines" (mentioned)
- "More About Thomas the Tank Engine"
- "Gordon the High-Speed Engine"
- "Thomas and the Twins" (cameo)
- "Thomas and the Great Railway Show"
- "Henry and the Express"
- "Wilbert the Forest Engine"
- "Thomas and the Fat Controller's Engines"
James has appeared in every season of the television series.
Basis
In "The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways" it was claimed that James is based on a rebuild of a L&YR Class 27 locomotive from the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway and designed by George Hughes, who added a Belpaire firebox and a Schmidt superheater and extended the footplate and sandbox. However, as with most of the early Railway Series characters, this information was purely retcon.
Sodor "historian" Martin Clutterbuck has pointed out that James strongly resembles an G&SWR "Austrian Goods" 2-6-0 from the Glasgow and South Western Railway, but with the addition of a belpaire firebox. At any rate, the Reverend W. Awdry used an engine of this class to represent James on his model railway. It is possible that he rejected this prototype for James' official "biography" on the grounds that an English locomotive would be more likely to end up on Sodor.
Livery
James was originally painted navy-black with red lining before his accident and was given his red coat with yellow stripes and black lining to cheer him up. Sometime during the 1960s, James' black lining was repainted blue and gold. James has the number "5" painted in bright yellow with a blue border on his tender sides.
In the television series, James has always been red with gold stripes and black lining, except in the tenth season episode "The Green Controller", when he was painted yellow and black, like a bumblebee, on Percy's orders.
Quotes
- At last, Toby lost patience.
- "James," he asked, "why are you red?"
- "I am a splendid engine," answered James loftily, "ready for anything. You never see my paint dirty."
- "Oh!" said Toby innocently, "that's why you once needed bootlaces; to be ready, I suppose."
- A conversation between Toby and James, "Toby the Tram Engine"
- "Ony wan wad think," said Douglas, "that Donal' had his accident on purrpose. I heard tell," he went on, "aboot an engine an' some tar wagons."
- Gordon and Henry chuckled.
- "Shut up!" said James. "It's not funny."
- Douglas ribbing James, "The Twin Engines"
James' twins
The Mid Hants Railway repainted a Southern Railway N Class into the livery of James. The engine retained this colour scheme for many years, and participated in the Railway Series Golden Jubilee celebrations at the National Railway Museum.
The repainting of the engine, however, created a stir among railway enthusiasts who felt that it was wrong to paint a historic main line locomotive in such a garish livery. Nevertheless, the locomotive was popular with the railway's younger visitors.
On the East Lancashire Railway, unrestored LMS 2MT 2-6-0 No. 46428 has been painted as James, although his face only appears during Thomas events.
Merchandising
- ERTL (discontinued)
- LC Wooden (normal, motorized and talking)
- Take-Along (normal, metallic and lights and sounds)
- My First Thomas (normal and talking)
- TOMY/Trackmaster (normal and "Busy Bee" livery)
- Hornby
- Bachmann
- Lionel
- Tomix
- My Thomas Story Library
Trivia
- The Bachman range originally depicted James with grey wheels and tender axle-boxes and red smokebox sides.
- A large-scale working replica of James, along with replicas of Thomas, Percy, Harold and Jack, was created by BBC Visual Effects for a tour in 2003. The battery powered locomotive is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest model railway engine ever built, at 2.64 x 1.5 x 6.52 metres.
- Susan Roman voiced James in "Thomas and the Magic Railroad".
- In the Japanese narration James was voiced by Katsuji Mori until the beginning of the ninth season, at which time Masashi Ebara became his new voice actor.
- Keith Wickham will begin voicing James in Hero of the Rails, in the UK.
