#wilbert the forest engine

[greendreamer]

Can't believe that this little guy turned 70 this month*. Happy Build-day Wilbert! 💙

*I don't know when exactly during Dec 1953 Wilbert was built

[synthetic-rust]

When he’s supposed to be an industrial tank, but you make him shiny asf nonetheless

[just-antithings]

I would like to add to the Thomas the tank engine discussion that characters go on strike multiple times in the series (books and early model TV show) and it's always framed as an inconvenient petulant selfish act that makes the fat controller/top hat man (?) angry and the passengers complain. The first time it happens it's cos the larger tender engines don't want to shunt trucks cos it's beneath them and they want another tank engine (Thomas is off on his branch line or whatever). This leads to Percy being introduced to the show.

But there's a scene where the narrator says "the trains (that went on strike) weren't steamed for at lest a week and were left in their garage to teach them a lesson"

Ex-fucking-cuse me??????

Granted wilbert abrawy was a total stick in the mud. He famously hated one of the best episodes "Henry's forest" where Henry starts to appreciate nature cos it wasn't realistic that a train would be interested in nature. (but having a face thats fine)

Idk if you can tell but I'm a bit of a Thomas the tank engine fan :O

.

[toast-com]

The Height differences for my ttte rarepairs (in order):

Splendid Jest (Jinty/James)

Smudged Cigarettes (Smudger/Stanley)

Charcoal Rose (Sixteen/Rose)

Hallowed Moss (Lady/Smudger)

Victorious Strength (Jock/Sigrid)

Lampclaw (Proteus/Diesel 10, aka Daemon)

Spectral Falcon (Rusty's Ghost Engine, aka Fletcher/Sir Handel)

Emerald Forest (Emily/Wilbert)

Brave Blossom (Bertram/Flora)

Light Banter (Gerry/John)

[theflyingkipper]

What do you think of Wilbert the Forest Engine?

I actually know next to nothing about Wilbert 😭 I know he’s an austerity tank engine named after Awdry, but I haven’t read his story

(I do know he’s in the Roblox game Blue Train With Friends though)

[hunty627]

https://m.soundcloud.com/safrmusic/wilbert-the-forest-engines-theme

Wilbert the forest engine is a blue saddle tank engine with 6 wheels. He lives on a railway on the mainland, and sometimes he comes to visit Sodor to help his friends. He also had this friend who’s a red saddle tank engine who’s known as 16.

[steam-powered-shenanigans]

Wilbert needs to be in the TV series.

[joezworld]

i am surprised you didn't signal wanting aboard the unpopular-opinions train. in fact i'm so surprised that i'm just gonna spring this on you anyway: 🔥 go ahead and absolutely roast the shit out of somethin

So, I didn’t want to get on the unpopular opinion train because work has picked up a little bit and I don’t have enough time to answer stuff with any degree of detail. Also, most of my opinions aren't popular or unpopular - they're just mine.

That being said... good god I am a curmudgeonly old man when it comes to "New Thomas". Aside from the "understandable" dislike of the Miller-era animated stuff and all that followed it, I really am not a fan of even the canon books from Chris Awdry - none of the books he's written go into what I consider to be an acceptable level of detail, and I really am not a fan of him introducing new characters for one-off books and then discarding them - Wilbert the Forest Engine is the prime example of this - I want a focus on the existing characters, not this shit.

Also, can we please move beyond the "4-story children's book" format? For the love of god, small children are capable of comprehending a multi-chapter story! I want longform! I want character growth! I want real stories! And story arcs! This isn't something that just happens to the Awdry's - Sodor Island Forums does this with their Extended Railway Series and it pisses me off because they write it like we're all 7 years old and I can't stand it.

----------

Also, if I am going to rant for a moment, I really do not like Humanization. Like, at all. I just don't understand the point of it. I'm not going to judge anyone for doing it, but it makes no sense - what's wrong with having the characters remain machines? That's the whole point of the stories - they aren't human. I just don't get it.

[lottalucamotion]

Wilbert Awdry be like "why would an engine care about scenery?" In response to Henry's forest, but like.... why WOULDN'T they??

Train rides are like premium sightseeing trips

[greendreamer]

One day...

[feigeroman]

Thomas OCs (sort of): Barry

Number: 12 (ex-BR #78065) Class: BR Standard 2MT 2-6-0 Built: 1956 Arrived on Sodor: 1986 (entered NWR service in 1995) Service (Shed): NWR Main Line (Tidmouth) Livery: NWR Goods Black

Although he doesn’t look it, Barry is a truly remarkable engine. For one thing, he was the very last of the NWR’s 80 steam engines to enter service - doing so as late as 1995. For another, the story of how he reached that point is probably a prime example of how the uniquely Sudrian brand of determination always manages to win through, whatever the odds of success are.

Barry’s story had fairly ordinary beginnings - he was the last of the Standard 2s to be built, in 1956, and he spent most of his short working life hauling suburban trains in the Preston area. Unfortunately, it was only seven years later that withdrawals began in earnest, and again, Barry was the last to be withdrawn, in 1967. He was moved to Woodham’s of Barry in South Wales - from which he got his name - but despite his young age and decent condition, he was never purchased by any preservation groups...

Fast forward to the mid-1980s, and Sir Topham Hatt paid a visit to Woodham’s - mainly out of sheer interest, but also to see if, after twenty-odd years, there were still any bargains to be found. Sadly, there wasn’t much left by this time, but he did discover Barry (the engine) at the far end of the yard. Barry was in a real bad state by then - nearly orange with rust, and with most of his parts either removed or rusted away to nothing. He seemed like a lost cause. However, something about him struck a chord with Sir Topham Hatt, who decided that Barry should have at least one last shot...

Barry arrived at Crovan’s Gate by lorry in 1986, and his arrival was spotted by a few engines. At that point, the general opinion was hardly positive - Barry was such a wreck that the other engines figured he’d be simply taken apart as a source of spare parts for some of the NWR’s existing Standards. And sure enough, no more was heard or said about Barry.

In actual fact, Barry was being restored to working order, albeit at a pace that was unusually glacial for the NWR’s workshop staff. Due to his condition, he had to be rebuilt virtually from scratch, and spare parts and plans had to be sourced - in fact, it wasn’t until 1988 that the physical restoration actually began. Complicating matters further was the fact that the work had to be carried out in the greatest of secrecy. At best, the project had a fifty-fifty chance of success, and it was feared that raising interest at this stage would result in disaster if anything went seriously wrong.

In spite of the difficulties, and the secrecy, Barry’s restoration progressed at a steady rate throughout the early-90s, finally reaching its conclusion in 1995. Initially, however, he failed to endear himself to the other engines, as he suffered from constant teething troubles, and his breakdowns frequently caused delays. Barry’s rapport with the others did improve once his faults were sorted out, and once they found out who he actually was, and where he’d come from, they had nothing but respect for him.

Barry himself is quite an interesting character. Plucky, tenacious, and more than a little temperamental, he’s aways ready to help out to the best of his abilities, and very eager to please. His strong work ethic is tempered, however, by occasional bouts of nervousness, brought about by his time in the scrapyard. As such, he can be extremely touchy on the subject of scrap, and is known to turn pale or dizzy whenever it comes up in conversation. That being said, his experience has also made him thankful for being given a second chance at life - and whereas most engines would complain about having too much work, Barry is much more apt to complain about not having enough work!

Trivia

In a similar vein to Vanguard, Barry is a character who was intended to appear in the RWS, but was unfortunately sidelined due to the publishers’ demands for more stories about Thomas and other established characters. Also like the Austerity Engine, there have been plenty of fan interpretations of Barry, all based on what little is known about how he would have been introduced into canon.

My take on Barry borrows various elements from all these sources - even some of the key dates are somehow inspired by this information:

1986, the year he physically arrived on Sodor, was also the year in which his RWS volume was most likely intended to be published. Christopher Awdry has said that he originally created Barry in the 1980s. He also says that the actual 1986 volume, More About Thomas the Tank Engine, was written in a rush to meet a deadline with the TV producers - so it could well have been a last-minute replacement.

1988, when his actual restoration began, is the second most likely year in which the book could have been intended for publication. To be honest, I’m not sure why this year in particular - I’m just going by what the Wiki says.

1995, the year in which Barry finally entered service, comes from an urban legend that he and the aforementioned Austerity were meant to be the same character. It’s commonly believed that the latter engine was meant to appear in a follow-up volume to Wilbert the Forest Engine, which was shelved in favour of Thomas & The Fat Controller’s Engines.

In the RWS, we only ever saw engines #1-11, so it’s possible that had Barry appeared, he would have been #12. That’s the only real reason I can give for him having that number here, even though it makes no sense. Again, my explanation is that the NWR is notoriously relaxed when it comes to numbering its engines.

Presumably the number would have been sitting blank in the roster back in 1986, and they just decided to give it to Barry. Hence why Vanguard, who entered service before him, was given the number 13.

[daikenkki]

by SudrianGamer

My Top 10 Thomas Episodes

10 - Rusty & the Boulder

9 - A Better View for Gordon

8 - Bulldog

7 - Henry & the Elephant

6 - Escape

5 - Gordon & the Famous Visitor

4 - The Diseasel

3 - Ghost Train

2 - Down the Mine

1 - The Flying Kipper

My Top 10 Railway Series Books

10 - Really Useful Engines

9 - More About Thomas the Tank Engine

8 - Main Line Engines

7 - Branch Line Engines

6 - Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine

5 - Henry the Green Engine

4 - The Eight Famous Engines

3 - Wilbert the Forest Engine

2 - Thomas & the Great Railway Show

1 - Thomas & his Friends

My Top 5 Thomas Movies

5 - Journey Beyond Sodor

4 - The Great Race

3 - Sodor's Legend of the

Read more

[sharpe-fan]

Wilbert the Forest Engine by 01Salty

[toast-com]

Has anyone made a Thomas and Friends alignment chart???

If not... I'll throw out some suggestions...

Edward is Chaotic Neutral.

Thomas is Lawful Evil.

Toby is True Neutral.

Duncan/Sixteen is Chaotic Evil.

Wilbert/Henry is Lawful Good.

[ttteconfessions]

Wilbert the Forest Engine deserves more love. He is name after Rev. W. Awdry himself! You could even call Wilbert his steam engine child.