- “ . . . a green caterpillar with red stripes. You crawl like one too.”
- ― Thomas, "Tramway Engines"
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Percy is a cheeky saddletank who was brought to Sodor to run Thomas' branchline during the big engines' strike.
Bio
Percy ran Thomas' branch line while Thomas ran the main line with Edward, and was allowed to stay after the big engines surrendered. At first, Percy liked to annoy the big engines. Percy was later waiting at Tidmouth but forgot to whistle to the signalman, and thus was startled when Gordon came running towards him with the Express. Gordon managed to stop in time, but Percy was frightened, ran away, and ended up in a sandbank. He was rescued by Gordon, and took up the duty of station pilot at Tidmouth.
Percy was still a cheeky engine and often liked to play jokes on Gordon and James, but one day the other engines got their revenge when Percy failed to recognise a "backing signal". After this, Percy was subject to bullying from the big engines until Duck arrived and helped Percy to put the big engines in their place.
With Duck's arrival, Percy was sent to Knapford to help build the harbour, and has stayed there ever since as a goods engine.
Persona
As the television series has progressed, Percy has been dumbed down in order to teach viewers difficult words: he would say "dingy-fried" where anyone else would say "dignified". He also is shown to make obvious mistakes.
Percy is incredibly accident-prone, and holds the dubious record of the most accidents in one season - five, in the second season - crashing into some buffers, falling into the sea, being pushed onto a brakevan, colliding with a cart and being hit by a falling crate of treacle. So far, his silliest accident yet was in the sixth season, when he slipped on oily rails, crashed through the chocolate factory and emerged covered in chocolate.
Basis
Percy is primarily based on an Avonside 0-4-0ST with the body of a GWR 1340 Trojan, the bunker of a GWR 1361, Hunslet underframes and valve gear, a smokebox protruding from his saddletank, external cylinders and motion and sandboxes underneath the tanks on the footplate.
Modifications made to Percy's shape are needed the angled smokebox supports and the cab being cut down slightly from the back for the bunker.
Livery
Percy is painted NWR green with NWR red-and-yellow lining and a "6" painted on his bunker sides in yellow.
Appearances
Percy's Railway Series appearances are listed below, in chronological order:
- "Troublesome Engines"
- "Henry the Green Engine"
- "Toby the Tram Engine"
- "Gordon the Big Engine"
- "Edward the Blue Engine"
- "Percy the Small Engine"
- "The Eight Famous Engines"
- "The Twin Engines"
- "Branch Line Engines"
- "Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine"
- "Tramway Engines"
- "Really Useful Engines"
- "More About Thomas the Tank Engine"
- "Toby, Trucks and Trouble"
- "Thomas and the Twins" (does not speak)
- "Thomas and the Great Railway Show"
- "Thomas Comes Home"
- "Wilbert the Forest Engine"
- "Thomas and the Fat Controller's Engines"
- "Thomas and Victoria"
Percy has also appeared in every season of the television series, and in "Thomas and the Magic Railroad", "Calling All Engines" and "The Great Discovery".
Quotes
- "Do you know what?" asked Percy.
- "What?" grunted Gordon.
- "Do you know what?"
- "Silly," said Gordon crossly, "Of course I don't know what, if you don't tell me what what is."
- A conversation between Percy and Gordon, "Percy the Small Engine"
- "Wheeeeeeeeeeesh!" Percy gave his ghostly whistle. "Don't be frightened, Thomas," he laughed, "it's only me!"
- "Your ugly fizz is enough to frighten anyone," said Thomas crossly. "You're like - "
- "Ugly indeed! I'm - "
- "A green caterpillar with red stripes," continued Thomas firmly. "You crawl like one too."
- "I don't."
- "Who's been late every afternoon this week?"
- "It's the hay."
- "I can't help that," said Thomas. "Time's time, and the Fat Controller relies on me to keep it. I can't if you crawl in the hay till all hours."
- An argument between Percy and Thomas, "Tramway Engines"
- "I can't see any," said Percy. "Where are they?"
- "Any what?" said Gordon.
- "Ideas above the station - the sky's empty."
- "Like your smokebox, Percy!" laughed James.
- A brief example of Percy's growing stupidity, "A Better View for Gordon", fifth season
Merchandising
- ERTL (normal and metallic - discontinued)
- LC Wooden (normal, silver, metallic, talking and in three-pack)
- Take-Along (normal, metallic and lights and sounds)
- "My First Thomas" (normal and talking)
- TOMY/Trackmaster (normal, flip-face and chocolate-covered)
- Hornby
- Bachmann
- Lionel
- Tomix
- My Thomas Story Library
Green caterpillar
The Reverend W. Awdry and C. Reginald Dalby did not get along very well. Awdry considered Dalby's drawings "toylike"; this relationship was worsened by the creation of Percy, who was depicted as an Avonside 0-4-0ST/GWR 1340 Trojan with a bunker.
When "Percy the Small Engine" was published, Awdry wrote to Dalby critisicing his illustrations and claiming Percy resembled "a green caterpillar with red stripes". This was too much for Dalby, and he promptly resigned. However, the insult was not forgotten: Thomas called Percy "a green caterpillar with red stripes" in "Tramway Engines".
Trivia
- In the Japanese narration of "Thomas and Friends", Percy was voiced by Chisato Nakajima until the end of the eighth season, at which time Chie Koujiro began voicing Percy.
- Keith Wickham will begin voicing Percy in Hero of the Rails, in the UK.
Gallery
