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Thumper is a bright red pounding implement with two arms and caterpillar tracks. He is used for loosening rocks.

Biography

Thumper was built by the Sodor Mining Company to speed up mining operations. He was brought to Boulder Quarry by Edward to help clear rock from the cliffside faster.

The workmen were initially impressed with his hard work, however he proved much too powerful. Thumper's arms accidentally dislodged an enormous boulder from the mountain which chased Rusty, Skarloey and Rheneas down the line before nearly crushing Percy and running into the sheds at the mine. [1]

Because of his large size, he often gets out of control on mining sites and causes minor disruptions. After his initial problems at Boulder Quarry, Thumper is now used strictly for slate mining.

Personality

Although Thumper never spoke, it has been said he is laid back in approach with a "cool man" attitude, though he can come across as accident-prone. His manner is cool, and no job is too big for him.

According to the "Thomas and Friends Writers' Bible", Thumper is a good-natured and dedicated worker who does not like being idle.

Technical Details

Basis

Although Thumper was built by the Sodor Mining Company, he is not based on any known quarry machine - at any rate, a machine of his type would be extremely hazardous to those around due to the lack of a window at the front of the cab, making the operator unable to see. Thumper's design appears to be a Hodge-podge of various different machinery, and perhaps, a freelance. In real life, a machine of Thumper's design would be impractical due to the end of its arms not providing a sufficient area to loosen the rock on the sides and below and above the machine, let alone be capable of making a proper hole through the cliff face and properly loosening or clearing rocks. Furthermore, the arms appear to be on a non-flexible joint with the side rods attached to the inner arms appearing to be quite thin, thus potentially leading to the machine being more capable of damaging itself than loosening or clearing rocks.

Livery

Thumper is painted orange-red with his name (Thumper) painted on the sides of his bonnet in white. His roof is painted black.

In the video game Building the New Line, Thumper has white lining around the top of his bonnet.

Appearances

Books

Video Games

Other

Official Description

From Official Website:[1]

Thumper: Built by The Sodor Mining Company to speed up operations, Thumper's manner is "Cool Man" no job is too big for him. However, he often goes out of control, causing minor disruptions when he works with Rusty in a new mining area high up in the hills, so he's now only used for slate mining!


Historical Note: Thumper is not based upon any particular type of mining vehicle.

From Official Website:[2]

Thumper: Thumper was built by the Sodor Mining Company to help speed up operations at the quarry. Because of his large size, he sometimes gets out of control, and causes minor disruptions when he works with Rusty in the new mining area high in the hills.


Fun Fact: After his initial problems with the mining area in the hills and with Boulder, Thumper is now strictly used for slate mining.

From Official Website:[3]

Thumper: Thumper was built by the Sodor Mining Company to speed up operations. He often got out of control on the mining site and ended up causing disruptions. Because of this, Thumper can now only be used for slate mining.

Trivia

  • Three different facial expressions were sculpted and casted for Thumper; happy, worried and angry, but only his happy face was used on-screen in one episode.[2]
  • Thumper's model is currently on display in Drayton Manor.
  • In the Norwegian dub, Thumper is called "Dundrern", roughly meaning "barreller".
  • In the Polish dub Thumper is called "Kolos", roughly meaning "Colossus" or "Juggernaut".
  • Thumper was not referred to by gender in Rusty and the Boulder, rather he is referred to as "it" instead. Merchandise descriptions confirmed his gender as male.

References


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