Toby

Toby is a steam tram who works on Thomas' Branch Line with his coach Henrietta. Toby is wise and always willing to share his experience and knowledge with the other engines. He is careful with every job he undertakes, causing him to rarely have any accidents.Toby is a steam tram who works on Thomas' Branch Line with his coach Henrietta. Toby is wise and always willing to share his experience and knowledge with the other engines. He is careful with every job he undertakes, causing him to rarely have any accidents.

Bio
Toby is old, but wise, hardworking and knowledgeable enough about running branch lines to justify running Thomas' line with Daisy after Percy's accident with the trucks until Thomas came back. He is also savvy enough to control the trucks. However, his advanced age and design means that he is weaker than the other engines. While Toby is always ready to work hard without any fuss, he can be a bit temperamental sometimes, especially when young and inexperienced engines who are full of themselves make things difficult for him, particularly Mavis and Daisy. However, work at the quarry line often soothes off his moods without any cause of grief to anyone, except of course his old faithful coach, Henrietta.

Basis
Toby is based on a GER Class C53 0-6-0T Wisbech steam tram (reclassified as J70 by the LNER) built at Stratford Works. They were seen by the Rev. W. Awdry and Christopher Awdry on a holiday at Yarmouth, hence Toby's origins. The J70 started their career on the Great Eastern Railway and were known as C53. They spent most of their career on the Wisbech and Upwell tramway pulling slow goods trains and, until 1927, passenger trains, though several were also assigned to the docks at Ipswich and Yarmouth. The first withdrawal came in 1942. Eventually, the sole survivor of this class was withdrawn from service and scrapped at Stratford Locomotive Works by 1955. They were replaced by BR Class 04s, Mavis' class.

According to The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways and Sodor: Reading Between the Lines, Toby's original number plates had been removed prior to his arrival in 1951. However, it is noted that BR no. 68221 was withdrawn around this time, possibly implying this was his original number. This tram was built as GER no. 127 on 30 June 1914 as part of a batch of three at Stratford. Shortly after grouping on 1 January 1923, it became LNER no. 7127, this changing to no. 8221 under Edward Thompson's 1944 re-numbering scheme. Upon nationalisation on 1 January 1948, it became no. 68221. It was withdrawn on 31 May 1951 from Ipswich Shed and scrapped at Stratford shortly after.

Appearances

 * The Beginning