James (The Railway Series)

James is a vain, red, mixed-traffic engine. He has his own set of blue trucks.

Bio
James was designed by George Hughes and built at Horwich Works in 1912/13 as an 0-6-0 with wooden brakes. Sometime after his build, but before going to Sodor, James was experimentally rebuilt with a pony truck, making him a 2-6-0. In 1923, James was sold to Sir Topham Hatt for mixed traffic duties. After his first accident, he had his front sandboxes removed, was rebuilt with proper brakes and a Fowler tender (due to his old tender being wrecked from the crash), and repainted red with gold stripes and black lining. He was troublesome when he returned, ruining Sir Topham Hatt's new top-hat with his steam and jarring his coaches so much that a brake pipe leaked. He was threatened to be painted blue (which James detests), but later promised to be useful again and made the line's worst trucks behave after being given a second chance. He also pulled the express for Gordon when the latter was switched off the main line, and went on strike along with Gordon and Henry. He later made rude remarks about Henry when he was using special coal, called Toby and Henrietta 'dirty objects', and subsequently got into an accident with some tar wagons.

James was of the opinion that he would pull the Royal Train, much to the skepticism of the others due to the time he became stuck on Gordon's Hill. Later, James became a runaway when two naughty boys fiddled with his controls, and was rescued by Edward. He and Gordon played a joke on Percy by convincing him of the existence of backing signals. Upon Duck's arrival, Percy and the newcomer blocked James and the other big engines out of the shed as revenge for teasing them. When Diesel arrived on trial, James earned the nickname "Rusty Red Scrap-Iron". James, like the other two, were turned against Duck, but were sorry after receiving proof of his innocence.

In the seventeenth season, he teased Scruff, scared Percy and Stephen, and was challenged by Henry to pull "The Flying Kipper" after he accused Percy of being scared of the dark. He also slept at the Sodor Search and Rescue Centre when the turntable at Tidmouth Sheds froze.

In the eighteenth season, James used Toad as his brakevan when taking some coal trucks. He began to go fast and hit a branch on Gordon's Hill, which jolted loose the coupling between him and his cars, causing a runaway.

Persona
James is very proud of his splendid red paintwork. He hates pulling trucks, and believes that he should only pull coaches. He thinks himself superior to the others, and can be shallow, boastful, and vain, particularly to those who appear old-fashioned, weak, slow, or dirty. This has caused him to have somewhat of a rivalry with Toby. However, on a number of occasions, he has found himself in need of help from those whom he has insulted and is, in the end, apologetic.

James was the last engine to retain a prejudice against Diesels. However, after stalling on a cold day, he was rescued by the Works Diesel, and James had to admit that nothing was wrong with Diesels. This appears to be one of the few lessons that has stuck.

The television series has remained fairly loyal to James' original personality.

Basis
In The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways, it is stated that James is based on a Class 28 locomotive from the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Works, itself a development of the Class 27. The Class 28 engines were designed by George Hughes, and had Belpaire fireboxes, a Schmidt superheater, and an extended footplate and sandbox.

Sodor "historian" Martin Clutterbuck has pointed out that James strongly resembles an G&SWR "Austrian Goods" 2-6-0 from the Glasgow and South Western Railway, but with the addition of a Belpaire firebox. At any rate, the Reverend W. Awdry used an engine of this class to represent James on his model railway. It is possible that he rejected this prototype for James' official "biography" on the grounds that an English locomotive would be more likely to end up on Sodor.

Livery
James was originally painted black with red lining before his accident and was given his red coat with yellow stripes and black lining to cheer him up. Sometime during the 1960s, James' black lining was repainted blue and gold. James has the number "5" painted in bright yellow with a blue border on his tender sides.

In the television series, James has always been red with gold stripes and black lining, except in the tenth season episode The Green Controller, when he was painted yellow and black, like a bumblebee, on Percy's orders. Then, in the thirteenth season episode, Tickled Pink, James was painted in a pink undercoat.

In the Railway Series, he carries two builder's plates on the sides of his cab.

James' twins
The Mid-Hants Railway repainted a Southern Railway N Class 2-6-0, No.31874, into the livery of James. The engine retained this colour scheme for many years, and participated in the Railway Series Golden Jubilee celebrations at the National Railway Museum. However, following the withdraw of the N Class in 1998, the Mid-Hants Railway quickly repainted its cousin-engine, a Southern Railway U Class 2-6-0, No.31625, into James for the 1999 season. After the withdraw of the U Class, the N Class reprised its role as James, only wearing a face during Thomas events. However, due to the fact that both of these engines are privately owned, they will be leaving the Mid-Hants Railway in 2014. For the Mid-Hants Railway's "Steam Railway" supported gala in September 2012, it was decided to repaint N Class No. 31874 in wartime black to carry its Southern identity No. 1874; this means that James will no longer appear at the Thomas events at the Watercress Line.

However, the repainting of the engine created a stir among railway enthusiasts, who felt that it was wrong to paint a historic main line locomotive in such a garish livery. Nevertheless, the locomotive was popular with the railway's younger visitors.

On the East Lancashire Railway, the unrestored LMS 2MT 2-6-0 No. 46428 has been painted as James, although his face only appears during Day Out with Thomas events.

First Accident
It's unclear when James had his accident. According to the RWS books the accident took place shortly after the arrival of James in 1923. But Thomas, who rescued him, was given his own branch line in 1947, immediately after rescuing him. That means that he may have not in fact been new at the time of his accident.

Trivia

 * A large-scale working replica of James, along with replicas of Thomas, Percy, Harold, and Jack, was created by BBC Visual Effects for a tour in 2003. The battery powered locomotive is listed in the 2004 Guinness Book of Records as the largest model railway engine ever built, at 2.64 x 1.5 x 6.52 metres.
 * In Toby's New Whistle, James revealed that he once had a three-chimed whistle.
 * Michael Angelis originally voiced James in Thomas and the Magic Railroad, but he was cut from the movie and was replaced by Susan Roman.
 * In the Railway Series, James' whistle is located behind his safety valve; in the television series it is on his roof.
 * After Thomas and the Magic Railroad, James' safety valve and bufferbeam rivets disappeared.
 * In the Railway Series and television series combined, James has been painted more colours than any other engine.
 * In the twelfth season, James was missing his signature crow's feet.
 * From the third season onwards but excluding the fifth, James' brake pipe faces downwards.
 * From the twelfth season onward, James has thicker eyebrows.
 * Two of James' models are currently on display; one at Nitrogen Studios, another at Japan.
 * In an interview with SiF, Andrew Brenner stated James was one of his favourite characters, along with Toby, Bill, and Ben.
 * In the fourth season and some of the fifth, James' whistle sound was Duck's higher pitched.