| For other uses, see Oliver. |
Oliver is a green Great Western tank engine who lives and works on the Island of Sodor, and is the North Western Railway's number 11 engine. After being saved from scrap by Douglas, he runs the Little Western with Duck and his own brake van, Toad.
Biography
Oliver and Toad were escaping from scrap when Douglas found, saved and brought them to the North Western Railway. The other engines were impressed by his adventures and the attention soon went to Oliver's smokebox, which led to him being so conceited that he ignored Duck and Donald's advice about trucks and several pushed him into a turntable well. Upon his return from the Works, Oliver regained his respect after pulling the ringleader of the trucks, S.C. Ruffey, apart.
After that, Oliver worked at Knapford Yards, also known as Oliver's Yard, where he had his own shed to rest in. He only had to pull trucks when the other engines were busy. The trucks have since feared him, considering him to be dangerous and preferring Percy. Although he liked working in the big yard, Oliver missed the long runs and wanted to do more than simply push trucks onto the turntable but he remained tight-lipped about his problem and grew unhappy as a result. He ended up roughly biffing the trucks into the turntable well, damaging it. The Fat Controller transferred him to the mail train in an attempt to have the night air clear his smokebox but Oliver ended up getting lost, discovering an abandoned house (which was later turned into a teahouse) in the process. When Harold found him, Oliver concluded that being found is much nicer than being lost.
His brake van Toad started feeling a similar problem when he was glum about always going backwards. Oliver tried to cheer him up by reminding him of his usefulness. When the trucks broke away from Oliver on the hill, taking Toad with them, Oliver determinedly chased after the runaway through Wellsworth and Crosby and all the way to the old stone bridge. Oliver could not help teasing Toad when all was said and done and assured him no harm was done in case of Toad causing Oliver an embarrassment.
When Emily took Annie and Clarabel, Oliver informed her that they belonged to Thomas, making her realize her mistake. He later broke down on the Intersection and was saved by Emily when he was about to be hit by Thomas. He also complained about the snow but later crashed into a children's snowman in the village. He then had to spend the night in the snowman's body, though the children later decorated him to look like the snowman which made Oliver like the snow.
Oliver started repeatedly telling everyone about his "daring escape" from the scrapyard, even to the point of annoying Toad. After his brake van had an adventure without him, James told Oliver to listen to Toad's story for once. During a flood, he collided with Rocky and James who were rescuing Duck, who had stalled underwater. He also nearly collided with Duck who ran a red signal by mistake. Later, he broke down whilst on his way to the docks to deliver some trucks. When Gator arrived to take the train, Oliver was surprised by his unusual shape and wondered where Gator's lamp was, unaware it was not working properly.
Oliver began to get fed up of Toad singing during their journeys and explained to Duck that Toad is always like this when he is in a good mood. Later, Toad told Oliver that he saw a whale and he did not believe him at first until he saw it for himself. He then helped with rescuing the whale.
When the Harwick Branch Line was being built, Oliver helped with the line's construction. Marion believed that he had made a wish to turn himself into a digger which had been granted by the Arlesdale engines. It was not until the branch line's opening ceremony that Marion discovered there was, in fact, two Olivers.
When a storm struck the Island, Oliver and Duck were responsible for taking people safely home. At Arlesburgh, the two met Skiff and warned him to get to safety, upsetting the rail boat. When he had finished his jobs, Oliver picked up Toad and headed for home. Unfortunately, neither they nor Duck (who was travelling to Tidmouth on the opposite track) were aware that a lightning strike had caused a tree to fall on the line. Thankfully, Skiff (who had been blown away by the storm) was able to warn them just in time. Oliver proclaimed him the bravest rail boat he had ever known. Another time, he found Judy and Jerome - the Breakdown Train - in Arlesburgh Harbour. He agreed to take the two to the countryside. He later informed Ryan that Duck had moved them again.
Oliver, along with all of the Fat Controller's engines, wanted to go to the Great Railway Show but he was among the many engines that were not chosen.
Personality
Despite his heroism and daring feats of escape, Oliver is an engine who is willing to admit every day is a learning curve. When he was still new to Sodor, he let the other engines' responses to his courage, resource and sagacity from his amazing recounts of daring escapes and adventures get to his smokebox and he became conceited. However, when the Troublesome Trucks pushed him into the turntable well, he grew into a much humbler, settled engine and was far warier of trucks. But later, with some help from his brake van Toad, he did gain much respect and authority among the trucks when he showed his strength with the ringleader of the trucks, S.C. Ruffey, a little more than he had perhaps been intending. Oliver still has gumption but is now a more obedient, sensible engine. He feels his responsibility on the railway deeply, is ever thankful for being aided in his escape from scrap by Douglas and is a trustworthy, tenacious, plucky engine. However, he can still be occasionally boastful or temperamental; despite this setback, Oliver is still one of the more really useful and well-behaved engines on Sodor.
Technical Details
Basis
Oliver is based on a Great Western Railway (GWR) 14xx Class 0-4-2T. These engines were fitted with a mechanical system allowing the driver to control the locomotive remotely from the cab of an 'Autocoach'. They were originally assigned numbers in the 48xx series but were renumbered into the 14xx series in 1946. Four engines of this class survive in preservation.
The The Maroon Tank Engine and The Purple Tank Engine is also based on the GWR 1400.
Livery
In the television series, Oliver's paint had faded by the time he was rescued, leaving him in a rusty red colour. After his rescue, he was painted in NWR unlined apple green with the 1934 GWR crest painted on the sides of his tanks and his number (11) painted on the sides of his cab in yellow.
Appearances
Songs
- Will You Won't You (performed)
- We're Friends (performed)
Audio Files
Themes
| Composers | First used | Last used | Theme | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell | Escape | Toad Stands By | ||
| Oliver Owns Up | Toad Stands By | |||
| Toby's Discovery | Mixed with Toby's theme. | |||
| Oliver's Find | Busy Going Backwards | |||
| Snow Engine | Not present in the US and Spanish dubs. | |||
Whistles
| First used | Last used | Sound Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Series 3 | ||
| Series 4 | Series 24 | |
Trivia
- Oliver's theme first heard in the third series is a musical variation on the theme from the 1963 film, The Great Escape, similar to Bradford. It is also reminiscent to a portion of the TUGS Danger theme. Some fans have also considered it similar to John Williams' theme for Indiana Jones as well.
- Some of Oliver's earlier merchandise had black wheels, indicating he was based off of how he looked in The Railway Series.
- In some international dubs, Oliver's name was changed:
- In the French dub from the third to seventh series, Oliver was called Olivier.
- In the second Polish dub, narrated by Stefan Knothe, he is called 'Olek', which is a Polish diminutive for Alexander.
- Oliver has been portrayed with different accents through the years:
- George Carlin gave him a Brooklyn accent in the US dub of the third series.
- Alec Baldwin gave him a Received Pronunciation accent in the US dub of the fifth series.
- Michael Brandon gave him a Southern accent in the US dub of the seventh series.
- Joe Mills gave him a Cornish accent in both the UK and US dubs from the eighteenth series to the twentieth series.
- Several of the whistle sounds used for Oliver are modified from other characters:
- Oliver's original whistle sound is Gordon's at four steps higher-pitched. It was later reused for Neville but at a step higher-pitched and also reused for the Flying Scotsman at a half step higher-pitched.
- Oliver's fourth series-onwards whistle sound is Duck's at two steps lower-pitched.
- Oliver was the first engine character not to have a model made out of perspex. His model was made of brass, which would be used more extensively in the following series.
- Oliver is the first of four engines to be saved from scrap, the others being Stepney, Hiro and Glynn.
- Oliver's nameboard was filmed as part of Thomas and the U.K. Trip and was released exclusively in Japan. It is featured at the ends of ten episodes in the Japanese dub, those episodes being Escape, Oliver Owns Up, Bulgy, Toad Stands By, Thomas and the Special Letter, Oliver's Find, Make Someone Happy, Busy Going Backwards, Emily's New Coaches and Snow Engine.
- On a PBS Kids Sprout promo for the series, Oliver was mistaken for Percy.
- The official Thomas & Friends Twitter page made a post on 11 November 2011 where they mistakenly pointed out that there was no #11 engine on the Island of Sodor[6]. This was likely due to Oliver not being present in the show when the post was made as he did not appear in the fifteenth series.
Quotes
- āOliver's no use at all. Thinks he's very clever.
Says that he can manage us; that's the best joke ever!
When he orders us about with the greatest folly,
We just push him down the well...Pop goes Old Ollie!ā - ― The Troublesome Trucks and S.C. Ruffey teasing Oliver with a song, Toad Stands By
- āI'm a Great Western engine, I shouldn't have to shiver!ā
- ― Oliver, Snow Engine, seventh series
See Also
References
- ā T&F S3 #22: "Oliver Owns Up"
- ā T&F S3 #21: "Escape"
- ā T&F S4 #20 "Toad Stands By"
- ā T&F S5 #18 "Oliver's Find"
- ā Mr. Perkins' Storytime and Postcards - Tidmouth Sheds
- ā [1]
| Locomotives | Duck | Donald and Douglas | Oliver | |
|---|---|---|
| Rolling Stock | Passenger | Old Slow Coach | Slip Coaches |
| Goods | Toad | S.C. Ruffey | |
| Non-Rail Vehicles | Bulgy | Bulgy's Friend | Skiff | |
| People | Captain Joe | The Museum Manager | |
| Stations | Tidmouth | Tidmouth Hault | Tidmouth Town Hall** | Haultraugh** | Bluff's Cove** | Arlesburgh West** | |