Toby the Tram Engine
Encyclopedia
Toby the Tram Engine is a fictional anthropomorphic
tram engine
in The Railway Series
by the Rev. W. Awdry and his son, Christopher
; he also appears in the spin-off television series Thomas and Friends
. Toby, a tram engine with cowcatchers and sideplates, carries the North Western Railway
running number seven and works on the same Ffarquhar branch line
as Thomas the Tank Engine
.
Toby first appeared in the seventh book in The Railway Series, Toby the Tram Engine in 1952, and appeared in several subsequent books. The second book focused on Toby was the sixth of Christopher Awdry
's books, Toby, Trucks and Trouble.
tram engine from the Great Eastern Railway
(GER Class C53). His cowcatchers and sideplates allow him to run on roadside tramways, which other engines are not allowed to do for safety reasons. J70s were used for light duties, such as branch line work and dock shunting.
Many J70s could be found working on the Wisbech and Upwell Tramway
in East Anglia
. The Tramway was primarily used for the transportation of fruit and other farm produce to the main line. The line closed to passengers in 1927 but freight services continued until lorries and road transport boomed in the 1950s. In 1952, the steam tram engines were replaced by diesel Drewry Shunters
(the BR Class 04
). Inspiration for Toby came from the Awdrys watching a J70 – probably 68221, one of three J70s built in 1914 (as GER 127) – at Great Yarmouth
in 1951. Further inspiration was drawn soon after when the Rev. 'Teddy' Boston
, then curate at Wisbech, arranged for Awdry to ride on the footplate of one of the last surviving steam tram engines on the Tramway. Fascinated by the unusual engines, Awdry sought a way to incorporate them in the stories. Research by Awdry's brother, George, revealed that tramway regulations required the fitting of cowcatchers and sideplates for railway locomotives running on tracks alongside roads, and the story "Thomas in Trouble" (published in 1952, the year steam trams were replaced) evolved to provide a reason for Toby being summoned to Sodor. The story includes a description of Toby's final journeys on the line:
This was a common occurrence during the closing of real railway lines; demand decreased to an unprofitable amount, but services were often full for the last workings of steam.
On Awdry's model railway, Toby was represented by a Y6, an 0-4-0 locomotive similar to but smaller than the J70 and better suited to the 4-wheel motor bogie available to power the model. In 1961, Awdry wrote an article for Railway Modeller
magazine on the construction of this locomotive.
Christopher Awdry has said that Toby is his favourite character, partly because he was there when his father received the inspiration to create him, but also because as a child he had travelled in the cab of two J70s.
In "Thomas in Trouble", Thomas
encounters an officious policeman, who says that when running from the quarry, along public roads, engines must be fitted with cow-catchers
and sideplates for safety. The Fat Controller, urgently needing to rectify this, is discussing the fitting of these, when Thomas remarks that "everyone will laugh...they'll say I look like a tram". The Fat Controller (the "stout gentleman") remembered Toby immediately and arranged for him to come to Sodor. Toby arrives with his coach, Henrietta, and became friends with Thomas when Toby rings his loud bell, making the officious policeman jump.
In "Dirty Objects", James
makes fun of Toby's "shabby" appearance. James later has an accident and gets covered in tar; Toby and Percy
help to clear up the mess and Toby is rewarded with a new coat of paint. His chosen livery of chocolate brown with blue sideplates replicates that which he would have worn on the GER.
Toby suffers from having small water tanks, meaning he is unsuitable for long distance work. In "Double Header" (in The Eight Famous Engines), Toby uses the Main Line to travel to the Works for servicing. He has stopped at a water-crane to refill his tanks, when he is urged on to the next station by a new Signalman who didn't understand Toby's condition. Toby tries to hurry to the next station, but uses up the water and runs out of steam, ending up marooned on the mainline far from the station. Toby is pushed by James
to the station, where some boys mis-understand the situation and suggest that James was unable to pull the Express, and Toby was needed to double-head
the train.
Toby is also associated with the coach Victoria who forms the "vintage train" with Henrietta that takes workers to and from the quarry.
and is considered to be one of the central characters. Toby is one of the few characters to have his own song ('Toby'), based upon his theme by Mike O'Donnell
and Junior Campbell
.
In recent seasons, Toby has often been portrayed as severely lacking in confidence, and his stories often revolve around his overcoming of something he felt particularly daunting. As of the CGI series, he has been voiced by Ben Small
(who also voices Thomas).
Colm Feore
provided the voice of Toby in the film.
non-articulated GER four-wheeled coach. She worked with Toby on their old railway, and when that line closed Toby could not bear to leave her behind. The stationmaster had wanted to turn her into a henhouse, but the Fat Controller agreed that "that would never do." The two are inseparable, and whenever they are apart they worry about each other:
Henrietta carries passengers and is used to bring quarry workers to and from work. In "The Fat Controller's Engines" (The Eight Famous Engines), she is used as the Fat Controller's private coach when the locomotives take a trip to the Other Railway
.
Henrietta was the only named character not to be illustrated with a face in The Railway Series until book 41 of the series, Thomas and Victoria. In this book, Henrietta is depicted with a small rectangular face where a window on the end doors would be. It is the same colour as her cabin, like the other coaches. She does not have a face in the television series.
named Elsie, mentioned in The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways and the 1979 Thomas the Tank Engine Annual. However, she has not yet appeared in any stories. According to the Rev. W. Awdry, she is based upon a Wisbech and Upwell Tramway luggage van and shares a shed with Henrietta.
There are no surviving J70
trams; a replica, based at the East Anglian Railway Museum
, is a diesel-hydraulic 0-4-0
shunter with a metal casing over it. When this diesel was converted a replica Henrietta was built from scratch. The underframe was taken from an old box van, but the body was a complete new build. Toby and Henrietta can be seen running on the Museum's Day out with Thomas
events.
A project to build a steam-powered replica of a GER Class G15
Wisbech and Upwell tram based on a Belgian Cockerill
0-4-0 tram engine has been underway for some time at the Nene Valley Railway
. Named "Toby", work on the project stalled following the deaths of the tram's owners, but the project was sold in January 2011 with a view to recommencing work on the replica.
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
tram engine
Tram engine
A tram engine is a locomotive specially built, or modified, to work on a street, or roadside, tramway.-Steam tram engines:In the steam locomotive era, tram engines had to comply with certain legal requirements, although these varied from country to country:* The engine must be governed to a maximum...
in The Railway Series
The Railway Series
The Railway Series is a set of story books about a railway system located on the fictional Island of Sodor. There are 42 books in the series, the first being published in 1945. Twenty-six were written by the Rev. W. Awdry, up to 1972. A further 16 were written by his son, Christopher Awdry; 14...
by the Rev. W. Awdry and his son, Christopher
Christopher Awdry
Christopher Awdry is an English author best known for his contributions to The Railway Series of books featuring Thomas the Tank Engine, which was started by his father, the Rev. W. Awdry. He has also produced children's books based on a number of other railways, as well as non-fiction articles...
; he also appears in the spin-off television series Thomas and Friends
Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends
Thomas and Friends is a British children's television series, first broadcast on the ITV network in September 1984. Until 2003, it was named Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. This series was shot on 35mm film...
. Toby, a tram engine with cowcatchers and sideplates, carries the North Western Railway
North Western Railway
The North Western Railway is one of the sixteen railway zones in India. It is headquartered at Jaipur. It comprises four divisions: Jodhpur and reorganized Bikaner division of the erstwhile Northern Railway and reorganized Jaipur and Ajmer divisions of the erstwhile Western Railway. This zone...
running number seven and works on the same Ffarquhar branch line
Ffarquhar
Ffarquhar is a fictional town or village on the equally fictional Island of Sodor in the Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends children's TV series and in Reverend W. Awdry's The Railway Series books on which the TV series was based....
as Thomas the Tank Engine
Thomas the Tank Engine
Thomas the Tank Engine is a fictional steam locomotive in The Railway Series books by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher. He became the most popular character in the series, and the accompanying television spin-off series, Thomas and Friends.Thomas is a tank engine, painted blue...
.
Toby first appeared in the seventh book in The Railway Series, Toby the Tram Engine in 1952, and appeared in several subsequent books. The second book focused on Toby was the sixth of Christopher Awdry
Christopher Awdry
Christopher Awdry is an English author best known for his contributions to The Railway Series of books featuring Thomas the Tank Engine, which was started by his father, the Rev. W. Awdry. He has also produced children's books based on a number of other railways, as well as non-fiction articles...
's books, Toby, Trucks and Trouble.
Prototype and back-story
Toby is based on a J70GER Class C53
The GER Class C53 was a class of twelve 0-6-0T steam tram locomotives designed by James Holden for the Great Eastern Railway. They passed to the London and North Eastern Railway at the grouping, and received the LNER classification J70.-History:...
tram engine from the Great Eastern Railway
Great Eastern Railway
The Great Eastern Railway was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia...
(GER Class C53). His cowcatchers and sideplates allow him to run on roadside tramways, which other engines are not allowed to do for safety reasons. J70s were used for light duties, such as branch line work and dock shunting.
Many J70s could be found working on the Wisbech and Upwell Tramway
Wisbech and Upwell Tramway
The Wisbech and Upwell Tramway was a rural standard gauge tramway in East Anglia. It was built by the Great Eastern Railway between Wisbech, Cambridgeshire and Upwell, Norfolk to carry agricultural produce. Although called a tram, in many ways it more closely resembled a conventional railway...
in East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
. The Tramway was primarily used for the transportation of fruit and other farm produce to the main line. The line closed to passengers in 1927 but freight services continued until lorries and road transport boomed in the 1950s. In 1952, the steam tram engines were replaced by diesel Drewry Shunters
Drewry Car Co.
Drewry Car Co, strictly speaking, was a railway locomotive and railcar sales organisation for most of its life. Only at the start and the end of its life did it build its own products, relying on sub-contractors for the rest of its time...
(the BR Class 04
British Rail Class 04
The British Rail Class 04 0-6-0 diesel-mechanical shunting locomotive class was built between 1952 and 1962 and was the basis for the later Class 03 built in the British Railways workshops. The Class 04 locomotives were supplied by the Drewry Car Co., which at the time had no manufacturing...
). Inspiration for Toby came from the Awdrys watching a J70 – probably 68221, one of three J70s built in 1914 (as GER 127) – at Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth, often known to locals as Yarmouth, is a coastal town in Norfolk, England. It is at the mouth of the River Yare, east of Norwich.It has been a seaside resort since 1760, and is the gateway from the Norfolk Broads to the sea...
in 1951. Further inspiration was drawn soon after when the Rev. 'Teddy' Boston
Edwin Boston
The Reverend Edwin Richard Boston MA , known as Teddy Boston, was a Church of England clergyman and author. He built a narrow gauge railway in the grounds of his Rectory at Cadeby, Leicestershire, and was immortalized as the "Fat Clergyman" in The Railway Series children's books by the Rev. W...
, then curate at Wisbech, arranged for Awdry to ride on the footplate of one of the last surviving steam tram engines on the Tramway. Fascinated by the unusual engines, Awdry sought a way to incorporate them in the stories. Research by Awdry's brother, George, revealed that tramway regulations required the fitting of cowcatchers and sideplates for railway locomotives running on tracks alongside roads, and the story "Thomas in Trouble" (published in 1952, the year steam trams were replaced) evolved to provide a reason for Toby being summoned to Sodor. The story includes a description of Toby's final journeys on the line:
This was a common occurrence during the closing of real railway lines; demand decreased to an unprofitable amount, but services were often full for the last workings of steam.
On Awdry's model railway, Toby was represented by a Y6, an 0-4-0 locomotive similar to but smaller than the J70 and better suited to the 4-wheel motor bogie available to power the model. In 1961, Awdry wrote an article for Railway Modeller
Railway Modeller
Railway Modeller is a monthly British magazine about Model Railways published by Peco. It has been in publication since 1949 and is still Britain's most popular model railway title.-Features:The leading feature is the "Railway of the Month"...
magazine on the construction of this locomotive.
Christopher Awdry has said that Toby is his favourite character, partly because he was there when his father received the inspiration to create him, but also because as a child he had travelled in the cab of two J70s.
Toby in The Railway Series
Toby is introduced in the seventh book in The Railway Series. The first story, "Toby and the Stout Gentleman" describes the closure of Toby's branch line due to the lack of passengers and freight. Shortly before the line was to close, a "stout gentleman" arrived on a holiday with his family; the children rode on Toby everyday for a fortnight and the stout gentleman gave Toby's crew a present. The day after the Tramway closed, ironically after an overcrowded final journey by Toby and Henrietta, a letter arrived from the stout gentleman which was to give Toby a reprieve.In "Thomas in Trouble", Thomas
Thomas the Tank Engine
Thomas the Tank Engine is a fictional steam locomotive in The Railway Series books by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher. He became the most popular character in the series, and the accompanying television spin-off series, Thomas and Friends.Thomas is a tank engine, painted blue...
encounters an officious policeman, who says that when running from the quarry, along public roads, engines must be fitted with cow-catchers
Pilot (locomotive)
In railroading, the pilot is the device mounted at the front of a locomotive to deflect obstacles from the track that might otherwise derail the train. In some countries it is also called cowcatcher or cattle catcher....
and sideplates for safety. The Fat Controller, urgently needing to rectify this, is discussing the fitting of these, when Thomas remarks that "everyone will laugh...they'll say I look like a tram". The Fat Controller (the "stout gentleman") remembered Toby immediately and arranged for him to come to Sodor. Toby arrives with his coach, Henrietta, and became friends with Thomas when Toby rings his loud bell, making the officious policeman jump.
In "Dirty Objects", James
James the Red Engine
James the Red Engine is a fictional anthropomorphic tender locomotive from The Railway Series children's books by the Rev. W. Awdry, and the spin-off TV series Thomas and Friends. James is a mixed-traffic engine, which means he is just as capable of pulling coaches as trucks...
makes fun of Toby's "shabby" appearance. James later has an accident and gets covered in tar; Toby and Percy
Percy the Small Engine
Percy the Small Engine is a fictional anthropomorphic steam engine from The Railway Series of children's books written by the Reverend Wilbert Vere Awdry and his son, Christopher Awdry...
help to clear up the mess and Toby is rewarded with a new coat of paint. His chosen livery of chocolate brown with blue sideplates replicates that which he would have worn on the GER.
Toby suffers from having small water tanks, meaning he is unsuitable for long distance work. In "Double Header" (in The Eight Famous Engines), Toby uses the Main Line to travel to the Works for servicing. He has stopped at a water-crane to refill his tanks, when he is urged on to the next station by a new Signalman who didn't understand Toby's condition. Toby tries to hurry to the next station, but uses up the water and runs out of steam, ending up marooned on the mainline far from the station. Toby is pushed by James
James the Red Engine
James the Red Engine is a fictional anthropomorphic tender locomotive from The Railway Series children's books by the Rev. W. Awdry, and the spin-off TV series Thomas and Friends. James is a mixed-traffic engine, which means he is just as capable of pulling coaches as trucks...
to the station, where some boys mis-understand the situation and suggest that James was unable to pull the Express, and Toby was needed to double-head
Double-heading
In railroad terminology, double-heading or double heading indicates the use of two locomotives at the front of a train, each operated individually by its own crew. The practice of triple-heading involves the use of three locomotives....
the train.
Toby is also associated with the coach Victoria who forms the "vintage train" with Henrietta that takes workers to and from the quarry.
Toby in Thomas and Friends
He appeared in the first season of the television seriesThomas the Tank Engine and Friends
Thomas and Friends is a British children's television series, first broadcast on the ITV network in September 1984. Until 2003, it was named Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. This series was shot on 35mm film...
and is considered to be one of the central characters. Toby is one of the few characters to have his own song ('Toby'), based upon his theme by Mike O'Donnell
Mike O'Donnell
Mike O'Donnell is an English film and television composer and bass guitarist.He co-wrote the scores for the children's television series Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends and TUGS, and the score for the films That Summer of White Roses, Merlin: The True Story of Magic and October 32nd with...
and Junior Campbell
Junior Campbell
Junior Campbell is a Scottish composer, songwriter and musician. He was a founding member, lead guitarist, piano player, and singer with the Scottish band Marmalade and co-wrote and produced some of their biggest successes, including "Reflections of My Life", "I See The Rain" and "Rainbow".He...
.
In recent seasons, Toby has often been portrayed as severely lacking in confidence, and his stories often revolve around his overcoming of something he felt particularly daunting. As of the CGI series, he has been voiced by Ben Small
Ben Small
Benjamin Small , is a British character actor and voice actor.Small provided the voice of Thomas in the later episodes of the children's television series Thomas and Friends....
(who also voices Thomas).
Thomas and the Magic Railroad
Toby is first seen reminding the other engines that they must not let Diesel 10 push them around. Later, after Diesel 10 overhears Thomas and Percy's conversation about how Mr. Conductor travels to Sodor, Toby manages to stall Diesel 10 by ringing his bell. Diesel 10 attempts to attack Toby by means of his claw, but instead brings a shed down on himself and his cronies.Colm Feore
Colm Feore
Colm Feore is an American-born Canadian stage, film and television actor.-Early life:Feore was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Irish parents who lived in Ireland for several years during Feore's early life. The family subsequently moved to Windsor, Ontario, where Feore grew up.After graduating...
provided the voice of Toby in the film.
Henrietta
Henrietta is Toby's faithful coach, based on the Wisbech and Upwell TramwayWisbech and Upwell Tramway
The Wisbech and Upwell Tramway was a rural standard gauge tramway in East Anglia. It was built by the Great Eastern Railway between Wisbech, Cambridgeshire and Upwell, Norfolk to carry agricultural produce. Although called a tram, in many ways it more closely resembled a conventional railway...
non-articulated GER four-wheeled coach. She worked with Toby on their old railway, and when that line closed Toby could not bear to leave her behind. The stationmaster had wanted to turn her into a henhouse, but the Fat Controller agreed that "that would never do." The two are inseparable, and whenever they are apart they worry about each other:
Henrietta carries passengers and is used to bring quarry workers to and from work. In "The Fat Controller's Engines" (The Eight Famous Engines), she is used as the Fat Controller's private coach when the locomotives take a trip to the Other Railway
The Other Railway
In the children's books The Railway Series, by the Rev. W. Awdry, The Other Railway refers to British Railways , the UK nationalised rail organisation that existed from 1948 until 1997....
.
Henrietta was the only named character not to be illustrated with a face in The Railway Series until book 41 of the series, Thomas and Victoria. In this book, Henrietta is depicted with a small rectangular face where a window on the end doors would be. It is the same colour as her cabin, like the other coaches. She does not have a face in the television series.
Elsie
Toby also has a brake vanBrake van
Brake van and guard's van are terms used mainly in the UK, Australia and India for a railway vehicle equipped with a hand brake which can be applied by the guard...
named Elsie, mentioned in The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways and the 1979 Thomas the Tank Engine Annual. However, she has not yet appeared in any stories. According to the Rev. W. Awdry, she is based upon a Wisbech and Upwell Tramway luggage van and shares a shed with Henrietta.
Heritage railways
GER Class C53
The GER Class C53 was a class of twelve 0-6-0T steam tram locomotives designed by James Holden for the Great Eastern Railway. They passed to the London and North Eastern Railway at the grouping, and received the LNER classification J70.-History:...
trams; a replica, based at the East Anglian Railway Museum
East Anglian Railway Museum
The East Anglian Railway Museum is located at Chappel and Wakes Colne railway station in Essex, which is situated on the former Great Eastern Railway branch line from Marks Tey to Sudbury...
, is a diesel-hydraulic 0-4-0
0-4-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-4-0 represents one of the simplest possible types, that with two axles and four coupled wheels, all of which are driven...
shunter with a metal casing over it. When this diesel was converted a replica Henrietta was built from scratch. The underframe was taken from an old box van, but the body was a complete new build. Toby and Henrietta can be seen running on the Museum's Day out with Thomas
Day out with Thomas
Day Out With Thomas is a trade name, licensed by HiT Entertainment, for tourist events that take place on heritage railways and feature one or more trains decorated to look like characters from the children's TV series, Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends....
events.
A project to build a steam-powered replica of a GER Class G15
GER Class G15
The GER Class G15 was a class of ten 0-4-0T steam tram locomotives designed by Thomas William Worsdell for the Great Eastern Railway. They passed to the London and North Eastern Railway at the 1923 grouping, and received the LNER classification Y6.-Overview:These locomotives has inside cylinders...
Wisbech and Upwell tram based on a Belgian Cockerill
Cockerill Maintenance & Ingénierie
Cockerill Maintenance & Ingénierie is a mechanical engineering group headquartered in Seraing, Belgium, producing machinery for steel plants, industrial heat recovery equipment and boiler, and shunting locomotives and military equipment ....
0-4-0 tram engine has been underway for some time at the Nene Valley Railway
Nene Valley Railway
The Nene Valley Railway is a preserved railway in Cambridgeshire, England, running between Peterborough Nene Valley and Yarwell Junction. The line is currently seven and a half miles in length...
. Named "Toby", work on the project stalled following the deaths of the tram's owners, but the project was sold in January 2011 with a view to recommencing work on the replica.
External links
- A fansite page on Toby the Tram Engine.
- The Real Lives of Thomas the Tank Engine page on Toby.
- The Real Lives of Thomas the Tank Engine page on Henrietta and Elsie. This section also includes a link to the article on Toby from the Railway Modeller.