History Characters / ThomasAndFriendsLittleWesternAndArlesdale

* MysteriousPast: In the books, Rex explained where they came from, but this is never mentioned in the show. Unlike Victor who was given a backstory later on, this was never touched upon.

[[Characters/ThomasAndFriendsTheSteamTeam The Steam Team]] | [[Characters/ThomasAndFriendsTheDiesels The Diesels]] | '''Little Western and Arlesdale''' | [[Characters/ThomasAndFriendsSkarloeyRailway Skarloey Railway]] | [[Characters/ThomasAndFriendsForeignEngines Foreign Engines]] | [[Characters/ThomasAndFriendsSecondaryCharacters Secondary Characters]] | [[Characters/ThomasAndFriendsNonRailCharacters Non-Rail Characters]] | [[Characters/ThomasAndFriendsRollingStock Rolling Stock]] | [[Characters/ThomasAndFriendsHumans Humans]] ]]]] -]

* AdaptationDyeJob: In the books, they were painted blue after arriving at Sodor. With three blue engines already, the TV producers decided to keep their black paint, mostly to not confuse the kids watching.

* AdaptationDyeJob: In the books, they were painted blue after arriving at Sodor. With three blue engines already, the TV producers wisely decided to keep their more distinctive black paint.

* MysteriousPast: In the books, Rex explained where they came from, but this is never in the show. Unlike Victor who was given a backstory later on, this was never touched upon.

* AdaptationalLateAppearance: They're the only ''Railway Series'' characters to debut in the show after season 4. As a result, the trio were never involved with Duke's search as they appear much later once Duke was found back in the fourth season.

* TheBusCameBack: Disappeared after season 7, with only a few brief appearances in season 12, but now is back and co-starred a season 17 episode. He now makes frequent appearances again.
* CatchPhrase:

* AdaptationalLateAppearance: They're the only ''Railway Series'' characters to debut in the show after season 4.
* AdaptedOut:
** The trio were never involved with Duke's search as they appear much later once Duke was found back in the fourth season.
** There were more engines on the line like Frank and Jock, but they haven't appeared in the show.

* FreudianTrio: Bert is Id, Mike is Superego, and Rex is Ego.

* MysteriousPast: Unlike the books where it was explained by Rex where they came from, it was never explained in the show, and unlike Victor who was given a backstory later on, this was never touched upon.

* SmallNameBigEgo: Mike, as well as Rex in "Useful Railway".
* ThreeAmigos: There are three of them, and they are all friends.

* LongBusTrip: They were absent from seasons 8-10 and 13-19, though they finally returned to the series as regulars in ''WesternAnimation/SodorsLegendOfTheLostTreasure''.

* LongBusTrip: They were absent for several years after the show was animated in full CGI, though they finally returned to the series in ''WesternAnimation/SodorsLegendOfTheLostTreasure''.

** Before he disappeared altogether, from when the show started deviating from the books. His last starring role prior to "The Thomas Way" was Season 4's "Fish".
** Really suffered from this starting from the 8th season onward. This was almost reversed, as he reappeared in the 12th season, only to disappear again until the 17th season.

* OffModel: [[https://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/ttte/images/1/1e/OliverCGIpromo2.png/revision/latest?cb=20150207143138 His CGI render]] is smaller than his model and real-life counterpart.

* OffModel:
** His initial CGI render was larger than his basis, to the point where his footplate clips through Knapford Station's platforms.
** The render was resized in Season 20 to rectify this, but it had several problems of its own: his handrails clip through the front of his tank, the shading detail on his bufferbeam is in the wrong places, and several details, such as rivets and ''one of his buffers' bases'', are missing. Most of these errors would get rectified by Season 22, though the handrail issue still remains.

* UsefulNotes/TheWestCountry: His voice in the CGI series. Also happens in his debut episode when Ringo Starr says "Beg pardon, sir?"

* UsefulNotes/{{Scotland}}: Their leitmotif even has bagpipes in the background.

* UsefulNotes/TheWestCountry: Like Duck, Oliver also gains a Cornish accent in the CGI series.

** This is [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] in the episode ''Twin Trouble'', however, when Douglas' (the younger twin's) instinct takes over. Duck barely has time to say "Donald's in trouble" before Douglas races to the rescue.