Edward

Edward is a blue mixed-traffic tender engine. He runs his own branch line with BoCo. Edward is one of the oldest engines on Sodor and is occasionally made fun of for his age. Despite this setback, he is also very wise and optimistic and spreads his knowledge and encouraging attitude towards the other engines.

Thomas & Friends
When Trevor was to be the main star attraction for the Vicar's garden party, Edward wanted to help but did not know-how. His chance came when the Vicar forgot to promote the party by putting up the posters, so he suggested having them put up on his cab and coaches as part of the party's advertisement. His plan worked and so many people came to the party that they raised a lot of money for the children. The Vicar later thanked Edward and his crew for their idea.

Edward has a penchant for telling spooky stories on Halloween that the other engines enjoy. In the fifth series episode Haunted Henry, Edward told Henry that whenever an owl hoots, a mist rolls in and when the mist is about, there is a ghost about too. In the sixth series episode Scaredy Engines, he told them a story of a ghost engine that returns to the smelters in search of his lost whistle every Halloween.

In addition to running his branch line, Edward often acts as a banker for other engines up Gordon's Hill to help them when their trains are too heavy. In spite of Edward's great history with the railway and his good relationship with the other engines, his old age makes some engines think that he is unreliable. Gordon would sometimes still tease and talk down about him, even going as far as suggesting that he should "retire". When Percy told his driver about this, who told Sir Topham Hatt, he arranged for Edward to show Stepney how to run the loop line, while Duck did his work. Unfortunately, Duck got stuck on Gordon's Hill when the Troublesome Trucks held him back. When Gordon came behind him, he could not push Duck up the hill. Edward was sent to help the double train up and when they arrived at Knapford station, Sir Topham Hatt rebuked Gordon for his horrible comments about Edward. Gordon apologized to Edward the following day and from then on, he never suggested him "retiring".

Since then, Edward's skill as a banker is always valued among Gordon and the others, as seen in Edward the Great and You Can Do it, Toby!. In Chickens to School, Edward exclaimed, "I'm always helping Gordon up the hill!" However, his speed left a lot to be desired. In As Good as Gordon, Emily had to wait for Edward at the crossing. Impatient, Emily snidely told him to hurry up, calling him "Slowcoach". When Spencer visited the Island of Sodor and beat Gordon's record, he insulted the Sudrian engines, who became fed up with Spencer's boastfulness. They wanted to race Spencer to the Duke and Duchess of Boxford's Summer House, but Sir Topham Hatt chose Edward to go there instead. Gordon thought that Edward should not be doing an express engine's job and James thought that Edward would let the whole railway down. Regardless, Edward tried his best and had several moments of triumph during the race. Gordon saw how hard Edward was trying and took back his earlier words, encouraging Edward instead, calling him "a credit to the railway!" Edward eventually won due to Spencer falling asleep and felt like the pride of the Sodor railway, and he was right.

Edward has always been a kind and wise engine, though, in some scenarios, he has acted a bit judgemental to newcomers. For example, when Harvey first arrived, he claimed he "doesn't even look like an engine". He was also one of the engines to spread rumors that Neville wanted to bump the steam engines and agreed with Gordon's element of doubt about Rocky and called him "new-fangled nonsense". This was apparently because Edward has worked on Sodor the longest and because he had known all of its inhabitants for that long, he was wary of meeting anyone new. However, he later learned of Harvey and Rocky's usefulness by their episode's ends.

When Percy was in need of repair, the engines nominated Edward to take the mail in his place, but in truth, Edward did not know what to do. In order not to embarrass himself, he did not ask Percy for advice, resulting in him delivering the mail to all the wrong places.

Edward has also acted excitable and even vain on some occasions. Once, he was given the task of taking the new water wheel to Great Waterton. He ignored Sir Topham Hatt's advice to take the express track, instead of taking all the bumpy tracks to show off to other engines, which almost resulted in the water wheel being scrapped. In Thomas and the Runaway Kite, he wanted to help Thomas to chase after Sir Topham Hatt's grandchildren's kite. Since then, Edward has tried to regain his usual self, which one day made Charlie think he was too old to have fun in Charlie and Eddie. Edward was upset about this so he tried to be as fun as Charlie, but this only caused even more trouble. Since then, he has just stuck to being the wise and kind engine that he was of old.

In the fifteenth series, Edward was sent to work with Harold for the day, being given the chance to be a hero. After observing Gordon and Rocky in action, Edward resolved to fulfill his hero role by being "strong and fast and stern". On his way to the Sodor Search and Rescue Centre, Edward found a miserable Charlie and cheered him up by telling him a joke, collected Dowager Hatt's suitcase when it was sent to the wrong station and rescued a lost Katie the sheepdog. Edward was still determined to be what he thought a hero but found that his time spent helping others had made him late for Harold, who was not at the Rescue Centre when Edward chuffed in. Sir Topham Hatt reassured Edward that being kind, funny and gentle was Edward being himself, enough to be a hero and everyone cheered for him. Harold arrived looking for Edward, who just smiled.

Gordon still proved to be ungrateful for Edward's help, not even saying so much as a "thank you" for his efforts. When Edward complained about this to Thomas, he came up with a plan. He challenged Gordon to a race across the island, to which Gordon gave him a ten-minute headstart to give him more of a chance. However, Thomas pulled onto the same track as Gordon, forcing the bigger engine to go slowly. At Gordon's Hill, they were going so slowly that Gordon became stuck, forcing Gordon to swallow his pride and beg Edward to help him. Edward forgave Gordon and gave him a push and this time, Gordon gave his thanks as he descended down the other side.

In Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure, he told Thomas (who was being mended at the Steamworks) that Rocky had discovered a pirate ship in the cavern in which Thomas had fallen into earlier (despite Thomas discovering it first). Later, while working at the Docks, Salty told him, Henry, James, Porter, and Cranky about a "lost pirate".

When Thomas felt that Max and Monty's recklessness was going too far, Edward told Thomas to ignore them. He laughed at Thomas, Percy, and Toby for being scared of a cow which they thought was a troll and he was also scared of going out in the night when the engines thought a glowing Henry was a ghost. Edward was among the engines who were afraid Hugo was the start of steam engines being replaced.

Edward was one of the many engines who wanted to go to the Great Railway Show but was not chosen.

When Sir Topham Hatt replaced his public address system at Knapford, Edward picked it up and took it to Crocks Scrap Yard. However, the new P.A. system proved more trouble than it was worth. Luckily, Reg had not scrapped the old system and Edward brought it back to Knapford, much to Sir Topham Hatt's relief. Sometime later, after James crashed through Tidmouth Sheds, Edward was sent to Philip's shed until his berth was repaired. However, Philip proved too chatty for Edward to get a good night's sleep, so he tried looking for somewhere else to rest. However, nowhere proved suitable and Edward became so tired he fell asleep, which made him nearly collide with Percy. Luckily, Philip managed to wake Edward up in time and Edward told the truth about why he left Philip's shed. Philip promised to be quieter and proved to be such a good company that Edward decided to stay with him even after Tidmouth was repaired.

Edward is well-known for being able to keep Bill and Ben in order, but sometimes the twins can still prove to be troublesome, such as when they invented a game called "Hunt the Truck" and played it on Nia. Bill and Ben were annoyed when Edward made them give the truck back and decided to have some more fun, hiding Edward's truck from him. However, Edward knew all their hiding places and was quick to find where it had gone. He then pretended to be worried that the truck going missing would ruin Sir Robert Norramby's Christmas party, prompting the twins to feel guilty and search for it across the island, not realizing of course that Edward had the truck all along.

Thomas and the Magic Railroad
Edward was never really featured in any script of Thomas and the Magic Railroad. According to Phil Fehrle, there was not enough screen time and opportunity to utilize him in a way that added any real value to the film. Most Thomas fans who know about the Director's Cut believe he was cut from the movie.

Edward does appear in Whizzo Lightred's version of the Director's Cut of Thomas and the Magic Railroad. His role is mostly being the voice of reason. He was added to original scenes from the film, as well as new scenes created by Whizzo Lightred. In the film, he tells Thomas that bumping railway trucks is not being really useful. He reveals that he has known about the legend of Lady longer than the other steam engines. Edward is also the one that says that Lady has magic that will make her more powerful than Diesel 10 will ever be, not Henry like in the final version.

When Diesel 10 attacks Tidmouth Sheds that night, Edward was out taking a evening freight train. He happened to pass the sheds and tells Diesel 10 that he will report him to the authorities, unless he leaves. He is relieved that the rest of the steam engines are ok and goes to tell the workmen about the damage. Edward is also present at the meeting. He scolds Gordon for blaming Thomas for Mr. Conductor's disappearance and says that George helping Diesel 10 will lead to big trouble.

Later, Edward encounters George destroying several sets of buffers. He tells George that he can't rely on every engine he meets and that Diesel 10 may just be using him. He later tells Thomas and Percy that the entrance to the Magic Railroad is through a magic set of buffers. He then joins Toby as they follow Diesel 10 to the Scrap Yards. He and Toby distract Diesel 10, Splatter, Dodge, and George, with Edward blowing his whistle and Toby ringing his bell. This causes Diesel 10 to crash the shed ontop of himself and his sidekicks. Edward is last scene laughing at Diesel 10 and pulling the troublesome trucks, who also laugh at him.

Personality
Edward is very kindhearted, mature, wise and keen to help a friend in need. The small engines trust him to lend a listening ear and sympathetic advice. He is a hard worker too and always does his best to finish a job. If ever an engine misbehaves or acts out, it is Edward that the Fat Controller turns to in order to soothe things out.

Unfortunately, the big engines, especially Gordon, often see Edward as old-fashioned and slow. While it is true he is the oldest engine on the North Western Railway (which he helped build), he has proved time and time again that he is more than capable of working as hard as any engine. He and BoCo were the only engines who looked after Bill and Ben and knew how to put them in their place if they misbehave. Like any wise old engine, he wants no nonsense from anyone, especially from the bigger engines.

From the ninth series to the fourteenth series, however, Edward expressed insecurity in himself, such as keeping secrets from the other engines and Sir Topham Hatt, when he was once leaking steam and likewise when he was told to pull the post train whilst Percy was being repaired. He has also occasionally been rude to new arrivals, such as disbelieving Rocky when he thought he did not need help with his goods train and being unwelcoming to Harvey when he was new to the railway.

Since the seventeenth series, Edward has been portrayed with his original personality, such as when he gave Thomas advice to ignore Max and Monty and accepted James' request to bring the Mayor of Sodor to Callan Castle. His methods of keeping Bill and Ben in order also returned in the twenty-second series, when he took a truck they had hidden from him as a trick, making the pair think they had lost the truck, only for Edward to reveal that he had it all along.

Basis
The Reverend W. Awdry stated that Edward is based on a heavily modified Sharp, Stewart and Co. "Larger Seagull" K2 Class, supplied to the Furness Railway in 1896.

Sodor "historian" Martin Clutterbuck notes that Edward bears a close resemblance to an LNER D34 "Glen" (NBR Reid Class K) 4-4-0 and an LNER D20 from the London and North Eastern Railway. The Reverend W. Awdry also used an LMS Class 2P to represent Edward on his model railway.

Visible Crovan's Gate Works modifications are: making the rear splashers flush with the cab, removal of the coupling rod splashers, new cab windows as opposed to cutaways in his cab side sheets and square cab lookouts as opposed to the original round ones. In both the Railway Series and television series, Edward is depicted with a Fowler tender. The orange and brown tender engines are also based on this design.

Livery
Edward is painted in NWR bright blue with red and yellow lining. His number is painted on the sides of his tender in yellow with red lining and the lining around his cab windows is yellow.

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

It can be assumed that, before arriving on Sodor, Edward was painted in FR Indian red with black lining, the initials "FR" painted on the sides of his tender and black wheels.

Voice Actors

 * EnterprisingEngine93: TATMR

TV Appearances

 * Edward has appeared in every season and special except Thomas and the Magic Railroad. He is the only one of the original 7 Steam Team members not to do so. He is in the Wooden Model Director's Cut. He is voiced by Keith Wickham in the UK and by William Hope in the US.

Trivia

 * Edward was the first character introduced in the Railway Series.
 * Edward is one of few characters to appear in every series of the television series and one of even fewer characters to have a speaking role in each one.
 * Edward is the only engine whose crew has been named in the Railway Series. In the foreword of "Edward the Blue Engine" their names were given as Charlie Sand (driver) and Sidney Heaver (fireman). Their surnames came from their duties (one of the driver's jobs is to sand the rails when they are slippery to let the engine's wheels grip, while the fireman "heaves" coal to the firebox); their first names came from an engine crew from the Wisbech and Upwell Tramway. Coincidently, Charlie and Sidney would soon be the names of 2 future CGI characters.
 * Three of Edward's models are currently on display; two at Drayton Manor and the other is in Japan at the Hara Model Railway Museum (previously on display at Nitrogen Studios). One of Edward's production made face masks is also owned by Twitter user Thomas Merchandise.
 * In Steady Eddie, Charlie and Eddie and Edward the Hero, Edward refers to himself as "Eddie". Charlie also refers to him by this name. "Eddie" also happens to be Edward's real name in the Greek narration and in Italy from the fifteenth series onwards; however, in the Engine Roll Call he is referred as Edward.
 * In the French dub, Edward is called Edouard in the first seven series.
 * He is Michael White's favorite character.