Donald and Douglas are fictional steam locomotives from The Railway Series by W.V. Awdry. They also appear in Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, the television series based on the books. They are twin Scottish engines. One of the last mainline steam locomotives built in the UK: British Railways Standard Class 9F 2-10-0 no. ... Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Railway Series The Railway Series is a set of story books about a fictional railway system located on the fictional Island of Sodor and the engines that lived on it. ... Wilbert Vere Awdry, OBE, (June 15, 1911 – March 21, 1997), better known as the Reverend W. Awdry, was a clergyman, railway enthusiast and childrens author. ... Thomas & Friends (formerly Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends) is a British childrens television series, first broadcast on Anglia Television in 1984. ... This article is about the country. ...

Introduction

The Fat Controller originally only ordered one engine from Scotland, but was surprised when two arrived, neither with numbers or any distinguishing features - both engines were painted completely black. He could not tell which engine was which, and so decided to keep whichever one was the more useful. Unfortunately, Donald managed to demolish a signal box and Douglas destroyed a spiteful brake van by mistake. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For Signal Tower (former light house) in Arbroath, Scotland, see Signal Tower Museum. ... Two cupola cabooses, a transfer caboose and a bay window caboose in Ohio. ...

However, the twins proved their worth to the railway in winter, when their experience and expertise with snow made them excellent snowplough engines. The other engines appealed to the Fat Controller in "The Deputation" and he decided to keep the both of them. In the Railway Series, they were painted blue shortly afterwards and given nameplates. A large snowplough mounted on a dump truck on a main street in Washington, DC A snowplough (also spelled snow plow, snowplow or snow plough, see miscellaneous spelling differences) is a vehicle, or a device intended for mounting on a vehicle, for removing snow and sometimes ice from outdoor surfaces... Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Railway Series The Railway Series is a set of story books about a fictional railway system located on the fictional Island of Sodor and the engines that lived on it. ...

The twins are almost identical, and some episodes of the television series have depicted them as being inseparable (notably the episode 'Twin Trouble'). The reason for their both arriving on Sodor was that Donald was bought and saved from scrap, but Douglas was not and was due to be cut up (this fact is revealed in the story The Missing Coach). They could not bear the thought of one being saved and the other not so they decided to go to Sodor together and hope for the best. As their crews were also related, it was not difficult for them both to stay on the island. To allow the engines to be told apart, the Fat Controller ordered that numbers be painted on their tenders. Following an incident in which the engines swapped tenders, he decided that it would also be wise to give them nameplates on their boilers as well.

Donald and Douglas are popular among the other engines, not only for their versatility but also their practical and friendly demeanour. They enjoy a good joke, as exemplified when Duck's driver slipped a duck into Donald's tank, resulting in Donald gaining a new friend in Dilly the duck. They put their all into any job, no matter how difficult. And, because of their own brush with scrapping, they have the utmost sympathy for engines escaping the scrapyard. It was this sympathy that made Douglas assist Oliver and Toad in escaping to Sodor. In the Railway Series, Toad became his brake van following this incident. Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Railway Series The Railway Series is a set of story books about a fictional railway system located on the fictional Island of Sodor and the engines that lived on it. ...

The Twins are mainly used for goods work, but can be used for all sorts of jobs all over the railway. They are very much the "odd job engines" of the line. They carry out track repair, collect engines from the Works, rescue engines that have broken down or crashed and, of course, clear snow in the winter. The railway would not be the same without them. They are, in the Fat Controller's words, "Really Useful Engines". Sir Topham Hatt, the Fat Controller is the head of the railway in The Railway Series of books written by Rev. ...

They first appeared in the book The Twin Engines, published in 1960. Their first appearance in the television series was in Season 2. They appeared at regular intervals until Season 7, then were not seen again until Season 11, although they did get a mention in the Season 8 episode "You Can Do It, Toby!" and also appeared in a deleted scene in Season 8's "Edward the Great". This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Year 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In the Japanese version of the TV Series Donald is voiced by Hiroyuki Satō, while Douglas is voiced by Takeshi Endo. Kamen Rider Kabuto, see YÅ«ki Satō. YÅ«ki Satō , born January 24 in Kanagawa Prefecture) is a seiyÅ« who is represented by Aoni Production. ...

Scottish Engines

Donald and Douglas are unusual among characters in the Railway Series, in that they speak in a strong Scots dialect. This can be difficult to understand at times (and indeed, Rev. W. Awdry received a number of letters complaining of this very problem). This is exemplified in their excuse for not carrying numbers: "They maun hae slyly slippit aff, sir!" (They must have slyly slipped off, sir). Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Railway Series The Railway Series is a set of story books about a fictional railway system located on the fictional Island of Sodor and the engines that lived on it. ... Scots refers to the Anglic varieties spoken in parts of Scotland. ... For dialects of programming languages, see Programming language dialect. ...

Their accent has been identified by a number of readers as originating in Glasgow, although the writer Martin Clutterbuck notes a strong Robert Burns influence. This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... For other uses, see Glasgow (disambiguation). ... For the chain gang fugitive and author from Georgia, see Robert Elliott Burns. ...

The engines' Scottish heritage has been referenced in a number of stories. In the book Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine, Douglas mentions the song 'The Bluebells of Scotland'. ^[1] While in Jock the New Engine, Douglas regards the unnamed engine's unusual colour (undercoat): "Some o' the engines up in the Highlands were yon colour. Jocks, we used to call them." He goes on to suggest that "Jock" might be a good choice, and so the title character gets his typically Scottish name, and is painted in the distinctive pale green livery of the Highland Railway. ^[2] This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Highland Railway was a Scottish railway company which was grouped into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway. ...

It should be noted that in "The Railway Series", Donald and Douglas were painted NWR blue when Sir Topham Hatt (the Fat Controller) decided to keep them; however, in the television series they remained black. A map of the Island of Sodor showing the Railway system (click to enlarge). ...

Prototype

Donald and Douglas are based on the Caledonian Railway 812 Class. In the Railway Series, it is stated that one of them is number 57646 (though it is only revealed to the reader that this is in fact Donald, when Douglas has the alarming thought "I hope the Fat Controller disnae realise I shouldna be here"). None of the original 812 class carried this number — the joke being that in real life, the highest numbered was 57645. Caledonian Railway no. ... Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Railway Series The Railway Series is a set of story books about a fictional railway system located on the fictional Island of Sodor and the engines that lived on it. ...

The blue they carry in the Railway Series is significant, as blue was the colour most associated with the Caledonian Railway. In the book 'James and the Diesel Engines', Donald explains that while on the Caledonian Railway they were never painted blue, they always carried the black goods livery. Interestingly, the black that they used to carry (and indeed still do in the television series) is British Railways black with red and white lining, making them the only engines to carry a BR livery The Caledonian Railway was a Scottish railway company which was grouped into the London Midland and Scottish Railway by the Railways Act 1921 in 1923. ...

The engines have deep-toned whistles, which Gordon and Henry observed made them sound like buses or ships. Although unusual on Sodor, such whistles were typical of the Caledonian Railway. Gordon the Big Engine. ... Henry the Green Engine is a fictional anthropomorphic 4-6-0 steam locomotive from The Railway Series books written by the Reverend Wilbert Vere Awdry and his son, Christopher Awdry, and the spin-off childrens television series, Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. ... Autobus redirects here. ... For online phenomenon of shipping, see Shipping (fandom). ...

One Caledonian '812' class survived into preservation: 828 is currently based on the Strathspey Railway, Aviemore, Scotland and is nearing the end of a long overhaul. The Strathspey Railway operates a 10 mile (16 km) preserved railway from Aviemore to Broomhill via Boat of Garten, part of the former Highland Railway line which linked Aviemore with Forres. ... , Aviemore[1] (Scottish Gaelic: An Aghaidh Mhòr) is a tourist resort in the Highlands of Scotland. ... This article is about the country. ...

Douglas on the Mid Hants Railway

In 2000, the Mid Hants Railway in Hampshire converted a Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0ST class engine into a tender engine. This rebuilt locomotive poses as Douglas for special events, and is still in service for mixed-traffic work. The Mid-Hants railway also known as the watercress line is based in Hampshire. ... For other uses, see Hampshire (disambiguation). ... Preserved Austerity 0-6-0 The Hunslet Engine Company Class 50550 is a design of steam locomotive designed for shunting. ...

References

Wilbert Vere Awdry, OBE, (June 15, 1911 – March 21, 1997), better known as the Reverend W. Awdry, was a clergyman, railway enthusiast and childrens author. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Christopher Awdry (born 1940) is a British author best known for his contributions to The Railway Series of books featuring Thomas the Tank Engine, which was started by his father Rev. ...

External links

• Martin Clutterbuck's Real Lives page on Donald and Douglas.