Toby the Tram Engine
| Toby the Tram Engine | |
|---|---|
| Thomas & Friends character | |
 |
|
| First appearance |
Toby the Tram Engine (The Railway Series) |
| Created by |
Wilbert Awdry Christopher Awdry |
| Voiced by |
Colm Feore (Thomas and the Magic Railroad) William Hope (US) Ben Small (UK; 2009–2015; Hero of the Rails - S18) Rob Rackstraw (UK; 2015–present; S19 onwards) Yasuhiko Kawazu (Japan; 1990-2004; S1-8) Tomohiro Tsuboi (Japan; 2005-present; S9 onwards) Kōichi Sakaguchi (Japan; Misty Island Rescue only) |
| Number | 7 |
| Information | |
| Gender | "Male" |
Toby the Tram Engine (The Railway Series)
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 & 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.
Toby is based on a J70 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 only 28 miles (46 km) from Rev. W. Awdry's parish at Elsworth in Cambridgeshire in the same diocese. Rev. W. Awdry wrote about Toby the Tram Engine in 1952, shortly before he was transferred to Emneth parish. The Tramway ran from Wisbech, through Emneth – the next station on the line – then through Outwell and Upwell. This area and its line was well known to Rev. W. Awdry who often visited Ely nearby. The Tramway was primarily used for the transportation of fruit and other farm produce to the main line at Wisbech. 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:
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