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The Fat Controller / Sir Topham Hatt
- "You are a really useful engine."Voiced by: Keith Wickham (UK; Hero of the Rails - present; US; The Adventure Begins - present), Kerry Shale (US; Hero of the Rails - eighteenth season)
The Controller of the railway, makes sure all of his engines are doing their best. Stern and no-nonsense, but very caring towards all his engines.
- Actually Pretty Funny: Although usually stern towards engines who misbehave or get into misdemeanours, he occasionally reacts this way instead.
- At the end of 'Thomas Comes To Breakfast', he starts off reprimanding Thomas about his accident, and about how his repairs will waste a lot of time; but ends with a wry smile and a remark about how Thomas' temporary replacement, a Diesel, would "never gallivant off to breakfast in stationmasters' houses!"
- In 'Dirty Work/Diesel's Devious Deed', he tries to not to laugh at the insults that Ducks supposedly said at Gordon, James and Henry.
- Adaptational Comic Relief: The Fat Controller was largely portrayed as a strict and serious person in the books and is almost never depicted in a comical light. In the show however, while he’s still largely a stern and serious person, he has a lot more comical moments compared to the books and can be a Butt-Monkey at points. Especially after the series shifted away from being faithful to the novels and became Denser and Wackier.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: In some of the US episodes, due to them being Bowdlerized. For example, in the UK, he intended to leave Henry bricked up in the tunnel forever, while in the US he planned to let him out when he learned his lesson. Overall, compared to his literary counterpart, the television version of the Fat Controller tends to be depicted in a less harsh and strict manner, owing to the television series' Lighter and Softer (and later on, Denser and Wackier) nature compared to the books.
- Badass in a Nice Suit: Almost always seen wearing a very stylish morning suit.
- Benevolent Boss: While a firm stickler for rules and smooth operations, he will usually listen to his engines' points of view and help them through any problems. He also rewards them for hard work by letting them join in with island activities such as carol singing and watching fireworks, and will make sure that they recuperate properly after accidents or illnesses.
- Berserk Button: As learned from "Jumping Jobi Wood", he took offence when Ferdinand called him "boss".
- Big Eater: Where else would he get his rotund figure? He even admits in the "Question Time with Sir Topham Hatt" cassette that whenever Lady Hatt thinks he's on a diet, he secretly visits Mrs. Kyndley for food.
- Big Fun: While he is serious in his duties, he can have his moments of being fun-loving.
- Big Good: Being the one who manages the railway, he’s the closest thing there is to one. Sure, he occasionally reprimands an engine, but usually there’s a good reason for it, such as if the engine got into an accident.
- Bully Hunter: Often harshly disciplines any engine that is mocking or belittling another.
- Butt-Monkey: If it's not his engines, then it'll be him. Any episode focusing on him will have him suffer some kind of indignity.
- Character Catchphrase:
- "Reeeeally Useful Engine." and "You have caused Confusion and Delay." (This one however, has had several variations in Season 17)
- "Early Days yet" towards his new Railway Inspection Vehicle, Winston. Which comes up when you find out he's a terrible driver.
- Characterization Marches On:
- Awdry originally created the Fat Controller as a nod to "pompous railway officials who gave out plenty of orders but never actually did anything", with some engines actually acting rather impudent towards at times. He also had a tendency for Cool And Unusual Punishments for disobedient engines. The books, and by extension the show, altered him into a stern but fair Father To His Men with insurmountable knowledge of the railway (and many other goings on in Sodor), which almost no engine would even think of upsetting. Of course, it helps that the books, the original Fat Controller retired and was replaced by his son, who was subsequently replaced by his son, explaining the change in character.
- Some of his book character does manage to show through, though, such as him using the "doctor's orders" excuse to get out of pushing and pulling in the "Sad Story of Henry" episode.
- Clothes-Eating Wager: He has a habit of making bets where he offers to eat his hat if he loses:
- The first instance was in "Edward, Gordon and Henry" when he leaned out of the window to wave at Edward and Henry but the train was going quite fast, his hat blew off and landed in a field where a goat ate it.
- In the episode "Baa!", he said he'd eat his hat if the sheep didn't like it, but the sheep ate it anyway because it blew off.
- Composite Character:
- Took the role of the Thin Controller in early adapted episodes. It wouldn't be until Season 9 that the Thin Controller would be introduced.
- In the original books, Sir Topham Hatt is a Legacy Character that consisted of 3 people who each took on the role as the Fatt Controller at some point in the books. In the TV series however, Sir Topham Hatt is one singular character with traits from the first two conductors.
- Cool Old Guy: He's old enough to be a grandfather, and can be a Big Fun at times.
- A Day in the Limelight: The show gives him a handful of these. Much in the style of the engines, he usually ends up playing the Butt-Monkey in them.
- Deadpan Snarker: Some of his lectures towards the engine lean as this. Especially evident with Michael Angelis' literally deadpan take on the character:The Fat Controller: Tunnels aren't dance floors, and you are not a pop star.
- Death Glare: Has given these to the engines in some episodes. Best shown in "Duck and the Slip Coaches" where he gave one to James after finding out that he stole Duck's idea on the Slip Coaches. Cue James' "Oh, Crap!" Smile.)
- Don't Call Me "Sir": Inverted. He wants the engines to only call him "Sir". In Jumping Jobi Wood, he gasped upon Ferdinand calling him "Boss", to which Thomas the Tank Engine reminded him to call him "Fat Controller".
- Drives Like Crazy: His old lorry Elizabeth asks if he's "learned to drive properly yet" back in Series 6. With Winston's introduction in Series 16, it seems the answer is "No".
- Dub Name Change: In the American dub, he's always called "Sir Topham Hatt", because calling someone "fat" is seen as offensive in the US.
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": In the UK dub, it's always "The Fat Controller". Averted in the US dub, where it's "Sir Topham Hatt".
- Face Palm: Does this in response to Bill and Ben's bickering in "Percy's Lucky Day".
- Fat and Skinny: The Fat to Mr. Percival's Skinny.
- Fat Comic Relief: In some episodes.
- A Father to His Men: To every engine, diesel, and vehicle on Sodor. He's loved for it.
- Flanderization: While still a capable authority figure, The Fat Controller has become a noticeably more buffoonish and fallible character since Andrew Brenner's takeover as writer, with far more jokes at his expense. This became more prominent in Season 19, and this sort of behavior took over in full force from Season 22 onwards.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Plays the Responsible Sibling to Lowham Hatt's Foolish Sibling.
- Friend to All Living Things: Generally anything that is remotely sentient on Sodor is respectful and obedient to him. Whenever an engine (often the conniving Diesels) believes they have been rejected by him, it is pointed out he cares about all of his engines.
- Giving Someone the Pointer Finger: In the model episodes, he always points his finger to the engines whenever he's reprimanding them.
- Happily Married: To Lady Hatt.
- Hat of Authority: His dashing top hat, to signify his supreme authority over the railways.
- Jerkass Ball:
- On occasion he can be surprisingly unreasonable towards his engines. His reprimanding Thomas after the crash in "Thomas Comes To Breakfast", for example, seems very unfair considering that Thomas only started moving as a result of a cleaner's meddling. Similarly, Donald in "Brake Van/Donald and Douglas" and Percy in "Percy's Predicament" could be said to get more blame from him than they deserved. See other examples under Misplaced Retribution.
- Even more so in Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure. In fact, some fans thought he was actually going to tell Thomas he had had enough of him and intended to replace and sell him. Though to be fair, his attitude throughout the special stems from the fact that Thomas is causing tremendous amounts of damage both physically and financially (meaning Sir Topham Hatt has to pay for repairs to the damaged coaches, listen to complaints from angry passengers, and deal with the repeated delays to the construction of the new branch line) and is refusing to take responsibility for his actions. Given that, it's understandable that Sir Topham Hatt seems sterner than usual.
- Jerkass Has a Point:
- He can be harsh at times, but most of the time he does have a good point behind his scolding of the engines. Generally, when he's telling them off, it tends to be due to legitimately bad behavior on their part or him simply not having either the time or the resources to investigate a matter in more depth.
- While telling off Percy for his accident in "Percy Takes The Plunge" was a tad harsh, keep in mind that Percy had asked the trucks to push him past the board in the first place... and said board was warning engines to keep away due to the quay being unsafe.
- In "Percy's Predicament", while he was too harsh on Percy for destroying the brake van after some trucks pushed him, he isn't wrong about how Percy needs to be more careful with trucks after he was being very bossy with them at the quarry.
- While it wasn't completely his fault due to the careless cleaner, Thomas' attitude about not needing a driver was reckless and unsafe, and had he not boasted about not needing a driver, chances are high that Sir Topham Hatt would've been more lenient in the aftermath.
- Likewise, it's hard to really argue against him with the dynamite incident in Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure when he had no context for it. In his view, Thomas was playing around with explosives, and in fact, it was Thomas himself getting Ryan stuck with bad coal that caused said dynamite to ignite in the first place. Thomas gaining a recent troublesome record would have worn out his patience anyways, and it's really hard to fault Sir Topham Hatt for having to deal with it.
- For Donald and Douglas, he didn't know that the two were under threat from scrapping, and believed that the other engine was trying to play hooky. Them trying to pull a dishonest trick (Which they did to prevent them from getting into trouble in the first place) instead of coming clean with the Missing Coach incident wouldn't have painted them in a good light either and kept him on his toes.
- For James, there's the aftermath of his crash into Tidmouth Sheds at the end of "The Fastest Red Engine on Sodor". While James wasn't entirely to blame for the incident, considering his brakes had run out of fluid and he couldn't stop, the Fat Controller had made a legitimate point to him about the importance of not braking too hard, since doing so can cause the brakes to lose their fluid. In addition, James admitted that while he had gone to get his brakes checked, he hadn't bothered to wait for them to be fixed due to thinking the problem had gone away, to which the Fat Controller also points out that ignoring the problem will only cause it to worsen. Given all of that, it's not surprising he reacted to the crash the way he did.
- Legacy Character: In the original books, where his position had been passed down from father to son.
- Leitmotif: In seasons 1-7, an ominous sounding tune is played when he's on screen. Especially when he's reprimanding an engine.
- Misplaced Retribution:
- No matter if an accident is caused by Troublesome Trucks, human error, or an act of God, he'll almost always scapegoat his engines. One of the most egregious examples of this is "Something in the Air", in which Henry goes off the tracks into the sea, an accident caused by human error. The Fat Controller instead chews out Henry, like it's somehow his fault the whole thing happened. Granted, this tends to follow if said engine has displayed a poor attitude beforehand. If they were doing their job properly with no fuss, like with Duck backing Henry in "Fish", he is significantly kinder to them.
- There was one aversion in "Thomas and the Rumors" where after Gordon causes a tunnel to collapse, he was having a stern word with Gordon's driver.
- Another aversion can be found in "Bye George", where he blames neither Gordon nor Duck for an accident with a truck and instead punishes George the Steamroller, who was really to blame for the crash.
- Subverted in "Wayward Winston". When he scolds Winston for rolling away, Winston politely but firmly points out that the Fat Controller didn't put the brake on, and the Controller admits that he's partially to blame.
- Missing Child: In Misty Island Rescue, his learning that Thomas has been lost at sea is akin to a parent learning that their child has been lost and possibly put in serious danger.
- Momma's Boy: He's very close to his mother, Dowager Hatt.
- Nice Guy: While he can be strict when the engines get out of line, and have occasional Jerkass Ball moments, he is fundamentally a kind man and truly cares for the engines.
- Older Than They Look: He doesn't look a day over 30, and yet he's apparently old enough to be a grandfather.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: In "Misty Island Rescue" he is so overjoyed at finding Thomas, he throws his hat into the air, not caring the least when it disappears into the mist.The Fat Controller: I can find another hat, but I can never find another Thomas.
- Oop North: In the show's UK dub, Michael Angelis voiced him with a very strong Yorkshire accent from the fifth to the twelfth series, a tradition which has remained in several subsequent portrayals of the character.The Fat Controller: Chomas, you 'ave corsed cunfyooshun an' deleh.
- Pet the Dog:
- Engines who work hard against adversity and without complaint, always make him proud, and he's always quick to tell them how proud he is of them.
- After Duck and his crew prevented a serious accident in 'A Close Shave', he informed the Great Western engine he would personally go and tell City of Truro all about his bravery and heroism. Duck could only blush...
- Punny Name: Sir Topham Hatt, guess what it's named after.
- Railroad Baron: Duh. While stern and businesslike, is also sympathetic to his engines and certainly not evil.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: In the UK Series, he can stray from this a bit, but in the US Series he is, for the most part. This is shown especially in "Hero of the Rails" when Thomas lets him in on Hiro's existence; instead of scrapping him or sending him away, he declares they must help him at once.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: Was an engineer in his own right, before becoming director of the entire North Western region. He knew Sir William Stanier and Sir Nigel Gresley, both amoung the most famous locomotive engineers the world had ever seen. His good standing with them ensured Gordon was purchased, and Henry was rebuilt, to give the railway the powerhouses it needed.
- Sick Episode: He got a cold in "Dowager Hatt's Busy Day".
- Silence, You Fool!: Whenever he is tired of the engines blurbing or whistling randomly (i.e., "Duck Takes Charge").
- So Proud of You: Calls his engines "really useful" whenever they prove themselves.
- Stern Controller: He is strict and will reprimand his engines when they make mistakes or behave badly.
- Surrounded by Idiots: He keeps giving engines like Thomas, James, Gordon, and Percy important jobs, regardless of how much he yells at them for screwing up. As of now, it's not like he has another choice.
- Tranquil Fury: The master of this trope. No matter what level of destruction the engines cause, his reaction rarely excels past a stern, snarky lecture. Nevertheless, none of the engines want to be on his bad side. If he gets mad enough to raise his voice, all of the engines know that the offender is screwed.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom:
- He was indirectly the reason why Thomas was hesitant to tell about Hiro in "Hero of the Rails" as he tells the tank engine that he doesn't want broken engines, which Thomas mistakes this that he can't accept engines like Hiro.
- In "The Great Little Railway Show", he asks Percy to collect some cargo for the Railway Show at the Earl's Castle that features little engines. Percy mistakes that the show was about all of the little engines on Sodor, so he tells most of the tank engines, diesel shunters, Skarloey, and Aresdale engines to come to the Earl's castle. This, unfortunately, caused a lot of confusion and delay as none of the trains can go through without them.
Lady Hatt
- Voiced by: Jules de Jongh (US), Teresa Gallagher (UK)
The Fat Controller's wife.
- Birthday Episode: She has her birthday in "Lady Hatt's Birthday Party".
- Deadpan Snarker:Lady Hatt: "Well, thank you, my dear. I knew this was my special birthday party, but I didn't know it was fancy dress!"
- Early Installment Character-Design Difference:
- In Season 1, her hair was short and curly, and she wore a light blue blouse.
- In Season 3, she wore a blue button-down shirt.
- In Season 5, it was changed to pink, and a pearl necklace was added.
- As of Season 7, Lady Hatt's current outfit consists of a blue dress combined with a white trim sweater with a pink heart picture, with matching shoes, and matching hat with a pink hatband and matching flower.
- Graceful Ladies Like Purple: In "Rosie is Red", she wore a purple coat and hat.
- Happily Married: To Sir Topham Hatt.
- Nice Girl: She is very kind and gentle.
- Older Than They Look: She's apparently a grandmother, but you wouldn't suspect it from her appearance.
- Poor Communication Kills: In "The Green Controller", she tasks Percy to give out the day's assignments after the Fat Controller falls ill and loses his voice. She likes to "flourish" her speech, which confuses Percy into handing out the wrong assignments.
- True Blue Femininity: She wears a blue dress, and she is feminine.
The Ffarquhar Policeman
- "The law is the law, and we can't change it!"
The policeman of Ffarquhar. He is strict with railway regulations, and takes issue with Thomas not having a cowcatcher and sideplates when his predecessor wasn't bothered. As Thomas quickly finds out, he also has a bad temper.
- Inspector Javert: He believes that Thomas is a criminal all because he doesn't have cowcatchers or side plates.
- Jerkass: Where do we begin? First he complains about Thomas whistling him a good morning, then calls him "dangerous to the public" and "regular law breaker" because he doesn't have cowcatchers or sideplates, even though Thomas had been on the quarry route many times without a single fatality.
- Knight Templar: He's convinced he is doing good by labeling Thomas as a danger to the public.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Gets rang at and frightened by Toby for being mean to Thomas.
- Lawful Stupid: Fits this trope to a T. He didn't seemed concerned about the fact Thomas went on the line many times without a cowcatcher and never had an accident and just wrote "regular law breaker" on his notebook.
- Tyrant Takes the Helm: The previous policeman was nicer and didn't enforce outdated laws to the detriment of Thomas and his duties.
- Warts and All: Thomas expected him to be as kind as the previous one, but finds out that he was anything but.
The Barber
- "You frightened my customers! I'll teach you!"
A barber who runs a shop that Duck crashed into while he was trying to stop a runaway train.
- Cool and Unusual Punishment: His idea of a suitable punishment for Duck frightening his customers, is to lather shaving cream all over his face.
- Didn't Think This Through: Nobody in their right mind would think it's a good idea to set up shop at the end of a train track without any buffers. Predictable results ensue.
- Failed a Spot Check: How this man managed to not realise how stupid and dangerous it is to set up shop at the end of a train track without any buffers is anybody's guess. Then again, nobody else In-Universe understands this either, even after the accident.
- Jerkass Realization: He apologizes to and washes Duck's face with water after being informed by the Fat Controller that Duck held back a runaway train, which would have otherwise resulted in crashing into another engine's passenger trainnote .
- No Name Given: He's only known as "the barber". His actual name has never been disclosed.
- One-Shot Character: He had a cameo in "Bertie's Chase", but "A Close Shave" remains his only active appearance.
- Skewed Priorities: He is more angry at Duck for frightening his customers than for wrecking the entire shop. Well, at least he cares about the well-being of his customers, though you'd think he would have chosen a more sensible location to establish his business.
- Too Dumb to Live: Setting up shop at the end of a train track without any buffers, is just asking to get yourself and your customers seriously injured and/or killed, which is exactly what would happen if the stories followed Real Life physics.
The Stationmaster and Family
- "You miserable engine! Just look what you've done to our breakfast! Now I shall have to cook some more!"
A stationmaster, his wife and their children, whose house Thomas crashed into while attempting to start and stop without his driver after taking a joke his driver made seriously. In reality, Thomas was only able to start because a careless cleaner had obliviously changed his controls.
- Didn't Think This Through: Nobody in their right mind would think it's a good idea to live in a house that was built at the end of a train track without any buffers. Predictable results ensue.
- Failed a Spot Check: How an entire family managed to not realise how stupid and dangerous it is to live in a house built at the end of a train track without any buffers is anybody's guess. Then again, nobody else In-Universe understands this either, even after the accident.
- Skewed Priorities: When Thomas crashes into the stationmaster's house, the stationmaster's wife infamously condemns Thomas for ruining their breakfast, even though the damage Thomas has caused to their house and the safety of her and her family should be more important.
- Too Dumb to Live: Living in a house at the end of a train track without any buffers, is just asking to get yourself seriously injured and/or killed, which is exactly what would happen if the stories followed Real Life physics.
Dowager Hatt
- "Hold on to your hats!"Voiced by: Keith Wickham
The Fat Controller's mother.
- Accidental Misnaming: In "Dowager Hatt's Busy Day", she takes over Sir Topham Hatt's job of running the railway when Sir Topham Hatt catches a cold. When she addresses the engines, she calls Emily "Emiline", "Emerald", "Ermentrude", "Elma", and "Esmeralda", and Gordon "Geoffrey", "Gregory", "Gerald", and "Gavin".
- A Day in the Limelight: She gets her own spotlight episode in "Dowager Hatt's Busy Day".
- Big Fun: Her son must take after her.
- Characterization Marches On: Her appearances in the model era didn't show much in terms of personality. It wasn't until the show went CGI that her Big Fun and Cool Old Lady traits would become prominent.
- Cool Old Lady: She's an old woman and she enjoys having fun.
- Doting Parent: Can behave like this to her son at times. An example would be in "Buckled Tracks and Bumpy Trucks".
- Dreadful Musician: Not a very good musician.
- Genki Girl: She is fun-loving and energetic.
- Pointy-Haired Boss: In "Dowager Hatt's Busy Day", she temporarily takes over as controller of the North Western Railway while Topham is sick. She didn't have a single clue how to run the railway. She mixes up the engines' jobs and has them pull all sorts of bizarre trains. Luckily, Emily helped her out.
Allicia Botti
- "I can't possibly travel in coaches riddled with mice!"Voiced by: Jules de Jongh
A famous singer who frequently performs concerts on Sodor.
- Characterization Marches On: In her first appearance, she admires Percy for being "So sweet and dirty like a proper steam train", yet later in "Toby's Triumph", she doesn't like how Toby is dirty.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Allicia Botti hasn't been seen since the end of the Nitrogen era. Although, she was indirectly mentioned in Season 18's "Emily Saves the World".
- Eek, a Mouse!!: She can't stand mice, and in "Thomas, Percy, and the Squeak", she notices a mouse in one of Thomas's coaches, causing her to shriek so loudly that she shatters windows all over the town.
- Opera: She's an opera singer.
The Thin Controller / Mr. Percival
- "You have caused delay and confusion!"Voiced by: Kerry Shale (US), Keith Wickham (UK)
The Controller of the Skarloey Railway. Prior to his introduction in season 9, the railway was run by Sir Topham Hatt. His mode of transport is a red bicycle.
- Adaptational Late Appearance: The Skarloey Railway had a seperate controller in the books since the introduction to the viewers, but prior to the ninth season, it was handled by Sir Topham Hatt.
- Adaptational Name Change: The Thin Controllers of the Railway Series all shared the last name of 'Sam', not unlike the last name of 'Hatt' for the Fat Controllers. The TV series Thin Controller is named Percival instead.
- Alliterative Name: His first name is Peregrine, which also starts with a P.
- All There in the Manual: Supplementary material says he's also in charge of the Culdee Fell Mountain Railway, which hasn't appeared in the television series.
- Character Catchphrase: Carried over from the Fat Controller, "Really Useful Engine." and "You have caused Delay and Confusion."
- Decomposite Character: Because he wasn't introudced into the series until the Hit era, Percival's roles from the adapted stories from Series 4 were taken over from Sit Topham.
- Dub Name Change: Like with Sir Topham, he is referred as the Thin Controller in the UK, but is referred by his last name in he US. However, he is often known as the Narrow Gauge Controller in that region as well.
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": In the UK dub, that is.
- Fat and Skinny: The Skinny to Sir Topham Hatt's Fat.
- A Father to His Men: Much like the Fat Controller.
- Legacy Character: In the original books, much like the Fat Controller, the title of Thin Controller was occupied by members of the Sam family. The TV series uses an original character and name for the title.
- Massive Numbered Siblings: He and his wife have five children.
- Nerd Glasses: Wears these type of glasses.
- Railroad Baron: He's the controller of the Skarloey Railway, and, like Sir Topham Hatt, isn't greedy or evil like most examples of the trope.
- Russian Reversal: His catchphrase, "You have caused delay and confusion," as opposed to Sir Hatt's "confusion and delay."
- Stern Controller: He can behave like this towards the narrow-gauge engines whenever they act up.
Sir Lowham Hatt
- "Don't hurry the children, Edward. Let them play!"Voiced by: Kerry Shale (US), Keith Wickham (UK)
The Fat Controller's twin brother.
- Big Fun: A lot more than his brother.
- Canon Foreigner: While the concept of each Fat Controller having a sibling isn't new, the character of Lowham himself has no book basis.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Hasn't been seen since Double Trouble.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The Foolish Sibling to Topham's Responsible Sibling.
- Identical Twin ID Tag: He has a mustache, his brother doesn't.
- Strong Family Resemblance: He's the Fat Controller, but with a mustache. Justified, due to being twin brothers.
Jenny Packard
- "You'd make a mother proud!"Voiced by: Harriet Kershaw
The owner of the Sodor Construction Company.
- Abandoned Catchphrase: In the CGI series, she doesn't say "You'd make a mother proud!" anymore.
- Benevolent Boss: She serves as this towards the vehicles of the Sodor Construction Company.
- Big Beautiful Woman: Has a large hips and chest.
- The Bus Came Back: She returned to the series in season 23 after disappearing following season 12.
- Character Catchphrase: "You'd make a mother proud!" in the model series.
- Expy: She can be seen as this to Wendy, as they're both female construction workers. Sadly, the perceived similarities to Bob the Builder are what got the Jack and the Sodor Construction Company miniseries cancelled forever by HIT Entertainment.
- Nice Girl: A very kind and friendly lady.
- Oireland: Jenny is Irish, even though neither Alec Baldwin nor Michael Brandon give her the accent. However, Harriet Kershaw (her VA in the CGI series) does give her the accent.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Jenny can be stern at times, especially when she's dealing with Max and Monty. Max and Monty always apologize to her.
- Redhead In Green: She has red hair and she wears a green shirt.
- Significant Green-Eyed Redhead: She has red hair and green eyes, and she's the owner of the Sodor Construction Company, who ended up getting their own mini-series dedicated to them.
- Sudden Eye Colour: Her eyes were blue in the model series, but they're now green in the CGI series.
- Team Mom: Acts like a mother towards the Pack vehicles.
- Tomboyish Ponytail: She wears her hair in a ponytail, and isn't all that feminine.
Sir Robert Norramby
- Voiced by: Mike Grady
The Earl of Sodor and the owner of Millie and Stephen. Ulfstead Castle and the Dinosaur Park are on his estate. He is also Duke's current grace.
- All There in the Manual: The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways contains a good chunk of his book counterpart's history.
- Adaptational Comic Relief: His book counterpart only appeared twice (Little Old Engines and Duke the Lost Engine), and was portrayed as easygoing, but had no real quirks. Sir Robert Norramby is easily one of the most energetic humans in the franchise.
- Captain Oblivious: When he returns to Sodor after several years away in King of the Railway, he doesn't seem to be aware that his welcome back party is actually for him and leaves again after less than a minute.
- Cloudcuckoolander: He is very eccentric.
- Cool Old Guy: His very energetic nature presents him as this.
- Failed a Spot Check: His book counterpart had no idea about Duke. It is unknown if it applies to him in the TV Series continuity, since Duke hasn't yet returned to the show.
- Legacy Character: Similar to Mr. Percival, he was based off of a RWS character who had a title that was passed down from their predecessor. Unlike Mr. Percival, his name is mostly identical to his book counterpart.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Although he's usually laid-back and fun-loving, he can be this trope at times, as shown when he scolds Glynn and Stephen in "Runaway Engine".
Sailor John
- Voiced by: John Hurt
The main antagonist of Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure. The owner of the railboat Skiff, Sailor John is out to steal the treasure hidden inside the recently discovered pirate ship.
- All There in the Manual: According to the official site, he was kicked out of the Navy.
- A Pirate 400 Years Too Late: He's in the 20th century at the very least, and he acts like a typical pirate.
- Bad Boss: Skiff seems to be in poor condition by the time Thomas meets him. Sailor John also seems perfectly content putting Skiff in incredibly dangerous situations.
- Big Bad: Sailor John serves as the main villain of Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure.
- Big Bad Friend: Sailor John is this to Skiff. Even though Sailor John is highly abusive towards him, Skiff still considers him a friend. Luckily, Skiff ends up betraying him for good, and joins Sodor.
- Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: He might be inspired by P.T. Boomer, but with the workprint now out, it can be confirmed that the two are actually quite different. Boomer was an indirect threat to Sodor, as while his plans would've destroyed Lady and thus the steam engines, he didn't believe that they even existed since he wasn't a native to Sodor, while Sailor John is a villain who is quite closer to Sodor's roots physically speaking, and his antagonism with Thomas is quite personal. Both are jerks, but Boomer is established as a threat from the get-go and made no effort to hide that he was a villain, while Sailor John presents himself as a False Friend. Finally, Boomer, for all of his bluster, was not a physical villain, being more content to heckle and bribe people, whereas Sailor John doesn't hesitate to use dynamite, shovels, and Skiff to cause physical harm to others.
- Emergency Cargo Dump: Sailor John steals the lost pirate treasure and he and his railboat, Skiff, sail away with it. When they take on water, the weight of the treasure causes Skiff to sink. Skiff tells Sailor John to throw it overboard, but being the Bad Boss he is, Sailor John refuses, and orders Skiff to keep sailing anyway. Skiff responds by knocking both Sailor John and the treasure into the sea.
- Evil Counterpart:
- To Captain Joe, Skiff's current owner. While Captain Joe treats Skiff with respect, Sailor John abuses him by stomping on his deck.
- For Sir Robert Norramby as well. Both are prominent human characters whose plans help drive their introductory films, and both are rather quirky. However, the similarities quickly end there. Sir Robert is a man with great status on Sodor, with his goals always being to introduce new elements for the island, making him a rather esteemed individual, and he's a very kind-hearted man who knows when to put his foot down and exert his authority. Sailor John however, was kicked out of the navy and is one-step removed from being a penniless-nobody, with his single-minded goal pretty much rendering him a one-off character, cameos aside. And while he portrays himself as a good guy, he quickly shows his true, abusive colors.
- He's also one to Thomas the Tank Engine himself, especially when examining Thomas' character arc in the film. Both are notably rather arrogant and rude towards others with enormous pride in what they want to do. But Thomas legitimately wants to prove himself, while Sailor John is completely focused on the treasure he's got pretty much nothing else left in life. Thomas ultimately learns to accept his faults and becomes a humbler character, whereas Sailor John is so focused on the treasure, he fails to accept responsibility and remains a rotten Jerkass.
- Expy: Somewhat one of P.T. Boomer, a character cut from Thomas and the Magic Railroad, in that he's a human antagonist that acts as a Knight of Cerebus and utilizes explosives, and both have Greed as major motivations. Likewise, their motifs of motorcyclist and pirate are clear signs to their status as villains. However, in terms of goals and motivations, the two differ greatly. Boomer was out to settle a personal grudge, with money as a secondary theme, while Sailor John's entire motivation is that he wants the titular lost treasure.
- False Friend: To Thomas. He at first portrays himself as an amiable fellow, not unlike Sir Robert Norramby. But it doesn't take long until his obsession with the treasure shows itself and he breaks ties with Thomas after their second digging.
- Flipping the Bird: A G-rated example. While sailing away, he salutes Thomas with his left hand. Unless a person's right hand is disabled or missing, saluting with the left hand is considered an insult.
- From Camouflage to Criminal: Sailor John was discharged from the navy prior to becoming a pirate.
- Hidden Depths: He's a quite impressive engineer, as shown when he rigs up the pirate ship as an escape vehicle.
- Ink-Suit Actor: He shares visual similarities with his voice actor John Hurt, who he also has the same name as.
- Knight of Cerebus: The darkest antagonist of the series to date and the first human antagonist who tries to outright damage an engine with explosives due to his ruthless and nasty behavior. He even surpasses P.T. Boomer in that regard, doing far more direct damage to Sodor and the characters than Boomer ever did (or rather, was supposed to if he wasn't cut).
- Laughably Evil: Relatively speaking however, he's still a bumbling pirate who sails the rails for treasure.
- Mad Bomber:
- Attempts to throw lit sticks of dynamite at Thomas during the climax.
- In the film, he throws a stick of dynamite at the Fat Controller's office to break into his safe to steal the treasure.
- Perma-Stubble: As befitting his nature as a pirate.
- Riddle for the Ages: It's never stated why Sailor John wanted to steal Captain Calles' treasure. Is it just for money or does he have a connection with the former pirate?
- Ruthless Modern Pirates: Although it's unclear what time period the show takes place in, we can assume by the locomotives used, the technology, and the fashion that it's sometime in the 20th century. Sailor John is an incredibly vicious and greedy sailor, and he also refers to himself as a pirate as he gets arrested.
The Thin Clergyman (Wilbert Awdry)
- Voiced by: Rob Rackstraw
A clergyman who enjoys taking pictures of trains.
- Ascended Extra: His first appearances were cameos, but starting from the Small Railway Engines, he becomes a semi-prominent human character, with many speaking roles.
- Creator Cameo: The author of the Railway Series himself.
- Fat and Skinny: He's thin, while his friend, Teddy Boston, (The Fat Clergyman) is fat.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: His appearances in the most recent specials starting from Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure. Also has a few in episodes where he appears, but does not speak.
- Good Shepherd: A very kind-hearted clergyman.
- Nice Guy: Is very kind to the engines whenever he talks to them. He was also very apologetic to Bert after seeing the little engine get into trouble because of the Thin Clergyman not watching the puddles on the road.
- Not So Above It All: While amiable in both the series and in real-life, he had a great deal of disgust for episodes that lacked the realism that he prided on having in his books... yet when James starts singing and bouncing near the start of Journey Beyond Sodor, he's seen swinging to the tune.
- Rail Enthusiast: Both in real-life, the books, and in the show. It's most apparent in Tit for Tat, where he and the Fat Clergyman take pictures of pretty much every engine on Sodor. Plus, there's the fact that he attends events like The Great Railway Show.
- The Vicar: Not directly stated in the show, but was one in real-life and it is apparent in his book title.
- Suddenly Voiced: His first appearance didn't have him speak. His appearances in the adaptations of Small Railway Engines have him be much more talkative, due to taking an active role in the episodes.
The Small Controller / Fergus Duncan
- Voiced by: Rob Rackstraw
The General Manager of the Arlesdale Railway. He is nicknamed the Small Controller because his railway is often called the "Small Railway".
- Confirmed Bachelor: He's so passionate about his work that he never married.
- Ironic Nickname: He is taller than the Fat Controller and the Thin Controller, but he is called the Small Controller because his railway is called the "Small Railway".
- Mascot's Name Goes Unchanged: Unlike Sir Topham or Mr. Percival where their controller names are different between English regions ue to poltical corrections, Mr. Duncan is the only controller ro retain his title. Mainly due to how "Small" refers to the railway he runs, similar to Mr. Percival's "Narrow Gauge" title to the US.
- One-Steve Limit: He shares the same first and last names as the traction and narrow gauge engines.
- Stern Controller: He knows when to get strict when the engines on the Arlesdale Railway misbehave. One example include when he sends Bert to the sheds as punishment for getting the Thin and Fat Clergymen wet.
Reverend Charles Laxey
The Vicar of Wellsworth, and Trevor's owner.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: He hasn't been seen since "Best Dressed Engine".
- Good Shepherd: He's a very nice Vicar.
- Nice Guy: Befitting his status as a Good Shepherd. He even held a party for underprivileged children.
- The Vicar: He's the trope image.
Charubala
- Voiced by: Sheena Bhattessa
The controller of the Indian Railway. Introduced in Season 22.
- Graceful Ladies Like Purple: Charubala wears some purple.
- Meaningful Name: Her name means "pretty girl" in the Gujarati language.
- Railroad Baron: Or, rather, Railroad Baroness. She's the controller of the Indian Railway, and is one of the more modern examples. She's also not evil unlike most examples.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: She isn't above being stern to her engines, and she is shown to have some authority as shown when she got some tiger poachers arrested in "Tiger Trouble".
- The Smurfette Principle: The first female railway controller in the series.
- Token Minority: Also the first railway controller to be a person of colour.
Ruth
- Voiced by: Dominique Moore
An American inventor who is Introduced in Season 24.
- Ambiguously Brown: Has visibly darker skin compared to most other human characters on Sodor.
- Brainy Brunette: She has short brown hair and is pretty quick to put her inventive knowledge to use when she can.
- Curtains Match the Windows: Brown hair and brown eyes.
- Flying Car: She builds two of them: one which resembles a car-like spacecraft, and the other looking like something from Back to the Future.
- Gadgeteer Genius: She works as an inventor.
- Goal in Life: Her childhood dream was to be a railway engineer, due to growing up near a railway and being fascinated by them. While her interests gradually shifted towards technology and invention, she never lost her love for railways.
- I Choose to Stay: Following the events of World of Tomorrow, Ruth decides to stay on Sodor, eventually moving to a windmill on Thomas's branch line.
- Intergenerational Friendship: With the Earl, who greatly admires and respects her talent.
- Science Hero:
- When Baz and Bernie accidentally cause the robot to go haywire, Ruth and Thomas work together with the electromagnet to stop it.
- She uses her flying car to chase down Baz and Bernie after they steal Kenji.
Baz and Bernie
Bernie (left) and Baz (right).
- Voiced by: Bob Golding (Baz), Rob Rackstraw (Bernie)
A pair of criminals introduced in season 24 that infiltrate the Technology Fair to steal an invention to sell for profit. They're Sonny's owners.
- Bumbling Henchmen Duo: A pair of incompetent criminals serving as the main antagonists of World of Tomorrow.
- Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: Like Sailor John, what they want is money. But while Sailor John was after an old treasure, Baz and Bernie want to make a quick buck out of a modern invention. They're also far worse at planning and improvising compared to Sailor John, and far more comical than he was.
- Didn't Think This Through: Their biggest flaw is failing to plan anything out in advance.
- Their entire plan consists of three parts: infiltrate the fair, steal something, and get away. They have no idea what they're going to steal or how; everything beyond the initial idea is improvised.
- Their attempt to steal the robot fails when they can't figure out how to control it, leading to them breaking the remote and the robot to go haywire.
- After stealing Ruth's hovercar plans, their plan to use Kenji as their getaway vehicle completely blows up in their face when Kenji can't run on the Main Line without a power source, as Sodor's Main Line has no overhead wires, and begins slowing down.
- Expy: Anyone else get any Jasper and Horace vibes from these two?
- Fat and Skinny: Bernie's the fat one, and Baz is the skinny one.
- Implied Death Threat: Baz tells Sonny that there's "a scrapyard with your name on it" if he doesn't comply.
- Kick the Dog: They routinely insult Sonny, who's clearly distressed by it. After meeting Thomas and learning about what being "Really Useful" means, Sonny turns on them.
- Laughably Evil: They're both hilariously goofy and incompetent, but Baz isn't above threatening Sonny's life if he doesn't comply.
- Literal-Minded: When Sonny refuses to help Baz steal Ruth's hovercar plans, Baz tells him that "There's a scrapyard with your name on it" if he doesn't do as he says. Bernie then asks Baz if there's really a scrapyard named Sonny.
- Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: Routinely mistreating Sonny makes him turn on them, forcing them to improvise a new getaway vehicle after stealing Ruth's hovercar plans.
- No Honor Among Thieves: With Kenji slowing down, Baz has Bernie uncouple Kenji's coach to lighten the load. Bernie ends up stranded on the coach while Baz gets away, who gloats about now having more profit for himself.
- Not-So-Harmless Villain: While they do seem comedic and incompetent, Baz does steal Kenji, leave Bernie on his own to get the invention for himself and threatens to scrap Sonny. Bernie is sympathetic by being rather dopey, but Baz can be nasty.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Their "cooks" disguise has them change their hats, and nothing else. While both Thomas and Sir Robert are immediately suspicious, they're both too busy with preparations for the fair to act on it.
Little Thomas
- Voiced by: Rachel Miller
The young son of Albert, the stationmaster of Knapford Station. Introduced as a baby in "Thomas the Babysitter", he was later shown as a young boy in "Thomas' Fuzzy Friend".
- Cute, but Cacophonic: In his debut appearance, he would not stop crying unless Thomas didn't stop moving so he could fall sleep. This annoyed Annie, Clarabel, and all the passengers onboard them.
- Getting the Baby to Sleep: In his debut appearance, he cries whenever Thomas' train comes to a stop, but stops crying and falls asleep when Thomas gets going. This gives Thomas the idea to make a journey without stopping, and sure enough, that is what gets him back to sleep.
- One-Steve Limit: At the end of "Thomas the Babysitter", he is named after Thomas the Tank Engine himself. To tell the two Thomases apart, he is referred to as "Little Thomas" while the tank engine is referred to as "Big Thomas".
- Rail Enthusiast: He loves trains, especially Thomas.
- Reused Character Design: His model is recycled from that of another blonde-haired background boy.
- Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome: Little Thomas was introduced as a baby in in "Thomas the Babysitter". In "Thomas' Fuzzy Friend", he's aged up to be a young boy.
