Edward the Blue Engine is a fictional anthropomorphic steam locomotive from The Railway Series by Rev W. Awdry, and the TV Series Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. He is a blue 4-4-0 tender engine with red stripes, about the same size as James the Red Engine, and sports the number 2 on his tender. Also like James, he is a mixed traffic engine, meaning that he can easily pull freight or passengers, though he prefers freight. He is one of the major characters in both the books and the television series. For other uses, see Fiction (disambiguation). ... Anthropomorphism, also referred to as personification or prosopopeia, is the attribution of human characteristics to inanimate objects, animals, forces of nature, and others. ... 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. ... Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad #87, delivered 1873-10-27 from the Mason Machine Works of Taunton, Massachusetts. ... A British tender locomotive Fuel tender from one of Union Pacifics turbines. ... James the Red Engine in Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. ...

He is a kind engine, who is always keen to help a friend in need. The younger engines can always rely on him to lend a listening ear and sympathetic advice. He works hard and will always do his utmost to get a job done.

However, the big engines tend to see him as old-fashioned and slow. It is true that he is the oldest engine on the Fat Controller's railway (indeed, he helped to build it), but he has proved time and time again that despite his age he is entirely capable of working as hard as any engine. Several of the stories revolving around him, both in the books and television series, have involved Edward proving his worth to the others. Two of the most notable were 'Old Iron', in which he earned himself an overhaul by capturing a runaway James, and 'Edward's Exploit', in which he brought home a special train despite a breakdown. Sir Topham Hatt, the Fat Controller is the head of the railway in The Railway Series of books written by Rev. ... 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. ... Thomas & Friends (formerly Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends) is a British childrens television series, first broadcast on Anglia Television in 1984. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

He has a branch line which he runs with BoCo the diesel. He is equally happy with coaches or trucks, but he has also been known to help other engines with heavy loads, pull special trains and even act as a pilot engine for the Royal Train. A branch line is a relatively minor railway line which branches off a more important through route. ... // This article profiles the significant characters of The Railway Series by Rev. ...

Edward was first featured in The Three Railway Engines, Awdry's first book, in 1945. Edward featured in his own book, Edward the Blue Engine in 1954. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Charlie Sand and Sidney Hever

Edward is the only engine whose driver and fireman are named in The Railway Series (Henry's driver was named in the annuals, being 'Ted'). In the foreword to 'Edward the Blue Engine', their names are given as Charlie Sand and Sidney Hever, and in the story 'Saved from Scrap', Charlie's name is mentioned.

These names are puns on their jobs. One of an engine driver's jobs is to sand the rails when they are slippery in order to allow the engine to grip. A fireman's job is to "heave" the coal from the tender or coal bunker to the engine's fire. For other uses, see Pun (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Sand (disambiguation). ... Coal Example chemical structure of coal Coal (pronounced ) is a fossil fuel formed in swamp ecosystems where plant remains were saved by water and mud from oxidization and biodegradation. ...

Their first names come from a real engine crew named Charlie and Sidney on the Wisbech and Upwell Tramway (see Toby the Tram Engine). The Wisbech and Upwell Tramway was a rural standard gauge tramway in East Anglia. ... Toby the Tram Engine. ...

Behind the Scenes

Edward was the first character created for The Railway Series in 1943. The inspiration for the character came from the Rev. W. Awdry watching trains on the Great Western Railway as a child. He said in interviews with Brian Sibley that to him, the noise of the locomotives' exhaust almost sounded like dialogue. For instance, the larger engines having trouble climbing the hills would appear to be saying, "I can't do it, I can't do it," and the smaller engines helping them would sound like they were saying, "I will do it! I will do it! I will do it!" This was the direct inspiration for the second story in The Three Railway Engines, 'Edward and Gordon'. The first story was 'Edward's Day Out', which was an introduction to the character. 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 Reverend W. V. Awdry OBE (15 June 1911 – 21 March 1997) was a clergyman, railway enthusiast and childrens author, best known as the creator of Thomas the Tank Engine. ... The original Bristol Temple Meads station, first terminus of the GWR, is the building to the left of this picture The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company, linking South West England, the West Country and South Wales with London. ... Brian Sibley is a British writer. ...

Unlike later characters in the Railway Series, Edward is not directly based upon any particular class of locomotive, but is a generic 4-4-0. The Rev. W. Awdry has claimed that Edward is based on a heavily modified Sharp, Stewart & Co. "Larger Seagull" locomotive supplied to the Furness Railway in 1896, but this is a piece of retcon created for the book The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways. Martin Clutterbuck notes that Edward bears a closer resemblance to certain Scottish locomotives of the North British Railway, notably the D20. It is likely that Awdry chose the Furness Railway locomotive because the Furness Railway was the closest mainland railway to Sodor. Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad #87, delivered 1873-10-27 from the Mason Machine Works of Taunton, Massachusetts. ... Sharp, Roberts and Company was a Locomotive manufacterer in Manchester, England. ... The Furness Railway K2s, or Larger Seagulls, were built to supersede the Furness Railway K1 on the heavier and more important trains. ... Furness Railway was one of the constituent companies of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in the Railways Act 1921. ... Year 1896 (MDCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about the country. ... The North British Railway was a Scottish railway company that was absorbed into the London and North Eastern Railway at the grouping in 1923. ... The North Eastern Railway (LNER) Class R (aka LNER Class D20) is a class of 4-4-0 steam locomotive, designed by Wilson Worsdell. ... A map of the Island of Sodor showing the Railway system (click to enlarge). ...

The Furness origin for Edward is once again brought up in book 41 Thomas and Victoria, as Edward and Victoria are both from that area. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Edward (1984-)

Edward is one of the eight engines in The Steam Team.

In recent episodes of the TV series, Edward has been portrayed as a bank engine, to help engines up Gordon's Hill – a reminiscent nod to the Season 1 Story Edward and Gordon. The lickey banker 58100 Big Bertha assisting an express up the Lickey, July or August 1955. ... Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends is a childrens television series about the engines and other characters working on the railways of the Island of Sodor, and is based on The Railway Series of books written by Rev. ...

In Season 10, Edward appears almost as cheeky and inexperienced as Thomas was in the first season. This is especially evident in the episode Edward Strikes Out, where he went as far as to call a new arrival "newfangled nonsense". After this little mishap he became his old self again. Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, later renamed Thomas and Friends is a childrens television series, based on the Railway Series, and which was first broadcast in 1984. ... Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, later renamed Thomas and Friends is a childrens television series, based on the Railway Series, and which was first broadcast in 1984. ...

Edward was not featured in the film, Thomas and the Magic Railroad. However, he did appear in the straight-to-DVD feature, Calling All Engines. Thomas and the Magic Railroad is a 2000 film based on the well-known TV series and its American spinoff. ... Calling All Engines is a full-length feature movie based on the TV series Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. ...

In the Japanese version, Edward is voiced by Yasuhiro Takato. Yasuhiro Takato (高戸靖広 Takato Yasuhiro) is a seiyu who was born on January 23, 1968 in Okayama and works for Aoni Production. ...

External links

• The "Real" Edward the Blue Engine