Liveries and Engine Identity

In our world, the livery of an engine refers, in essence, to its paint job. At a glance this might seem inconsequential, but for those who are familiar with various railways, an engine's livery is the most important part of their outwardly being. The particular paint job that an engine has is full of history and symbology, which when put together, tells the onlooker everything they need to know about the engine before them. The same is true within the Railway Series, and, due to the main characters being engines themselves, takes on a new dimension of meaning as shorthand for a sentient being's identity.

Usually, these paint jobs are standardized across a single railway's fleet; all the engines follow the same coloring and patterning, with slight deviations where necessary to convey important information. The engines of Sodor, however, are beholden to no such rule. In the early years of the North Western's operation, there was a standard livery, as can be seen in the first two books. North Western Blue- that is, a blue base coat with red boiler bands and red lining. It was, however, discontinued after multiple complaints from the passengers, who were irritated that they couldn't tell the engines apart. From roughly 1925 forward, following James' arrival and subsequent major accident, the engines of the North Western are allowed to choose their livery colors.

Which brings us to the engine that inspired this whole essay. James is an experimental variant on the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Class 28 locomotives, affixed with an elongated pony truck and wheels five inches bigger than normal, in an attempt to solve the 28's tendency to keel over at high speeds. As we know, none of these augmentations solved the issue, and even made it harder for James to maneuver across steep hills and similar inclines. This in addition to the questionable way he was made in the first place- his breaks were initially made of wood, alongside who knows what else- and the fact that he was quickly pawned off to the NWR following his failure as a solution, meant he was, very quick to ditch the L&YR livery post-accident. His book even notes that Sir Topham Hatt 'gave' him the choice as a 'gift' to cheer him up.

From this moment onward, he gains what he and all the other engines refer to as his 'splendid red', different from any other engine's red. There is a quality to his paintwork that is his and his alone, stemming from the unique circumstances it was given to him in. This despite it being, in reality, quite similar visually to the formalized livery of the neighboring Skarloey Railway engines. (The only difference is James' blue tender lining, which he would not gain until the later part of his life, anyways.) It is here that we see James develop his perceived vanity for the rest of the books' run. He becomes extremely protective of his 'splendid red', and extremely proud that it exemplifies his own uniqueness and, on some level, his value as an engine. He's decided for himself that his identity as an individual person is something that can only be uniquely expressed through his specific livery and that it is distinct and separate from what it was before he got that livery. He is a unique variant of a unique variant of engine, all to himself. To the point where, the mere threat of a repaint is enough to send him into tears.

The other engines that've made Sodor a home since, are, nowhere near as defensive as James, but they do share a similar line of thinking. Their liveries are a chance for truly unique expression.

Daisy is one such example, rather than capturing something that she never got to be, or always was, she is somewhat defined by her intention, perhaps more so than even James is. She is a custom Metro-Cammell Lightweight DMU, a breed that, despite technically being engines, are usually classified as motorized rolling stock. As such, they usually carry the BR crest for rolling stock rather than the 'cycling lion' insignia the working engines use. Daisy however, does carry the engine insignia, and unlike the rest of her kin, is expected to do as much intensive labor as the other engines. She is just as much an engine as the others, after all. This despite the fact that she is not built to do so- which is true, the Lightweights and their successors, the 101s were not meant to do anything but transport passengers- and often complains that such labor will damage her internally. I will always find it a shame that this little visual detail was left out of the CGI era's design for her, especially since she's still complaining of pain- it's absence takes away a lot of the context for this aspect of her personality, but then again, given the CGI show, that was most likely the point..

Speaking of diesels that have been lacking context for a while, Diesel himself also has a notable livery- in that he barely has one at all. He's squarely- no pun intended- on the opposite side of this whole affair. Diesel was envisioned as a character symbolizing what Awdry felt were the absolute worst parts of the then-impending dieselization movement, and a huge part of that is the aggressive sterility and utilitarianism present in the design of many of these engines. Diesel himself is a British Railways Class 08, one of the most plentiful and successful breeds- and therefore one of the most successful in sending steam engines to the cutter's torch. He is jet black, which is common for his class- and indeed, is the basis for their mixed traffic livery- but lacks a number, nameplate, BR crest, or any other means of identification. At least, besides his bare siderods. This is his single defining trait, which only confirms that he was one of the few made at Darlington Works. Besides that, he has nothing. 'Diesel' isn't even his proper name. He doesn't have one, and noone- including himself- ever put any effort into an alternative. This is in sharp contrast to the handful of other terribly behaved diesel engines, such as Spamcan- who had a name, though given in irritation, number and proper livery- and Class 40- who at least had a livery and his breed acknowledged. Unlike these two, Diesel is a Sodor resident. He lives and belongs to this community and yet, Diesel is, even on this island of talking engines, uniquely dehumanized.

On the lighter side of things, sort of, we have engines like Donald and Douglas. Born 57646 and 57647, the twins are of the Caledonian Railway- either 812s or 652s or some cross of both- though were built too late to receive the deep blue livery that their kin were widely known for. Instead, they were built in typical unlined black, with their drivers eventually adding onto it at some point on their own- something their previous owner never noticed. When the two arrived on Sodor, they had red and white lining from cab to tender, and, more importantly and famously, lost their serial numbers. Unique now, but only as a pair, as was in their best interest.

As we all know, only Donald had been bought by Hatt originally, but he and his crew couldn't bear to leave Douglas behind- especially not when that'd spell certain death. So the two had had their numbers keyed off and painted over, and adopted proper names for themselves instead, making it impossible for Hatt to correctly pick the engine he'd intended to keep from the other. This is one of two only times we've seen engines pick out names for themselves on their own, and the sole time we've seen them do such as a point of necessity. Even after both earning their keep and being renumbered as the NWR's 9 and 10, they still keep their self-chosen names. Indeed when they were given their choice of paint, Hatt tacked on name plates as part of the process. A different point of necessity, sure, as by that point the twins had developed a habit of posing as each other to take each other's punishments when they felt especially threatened by the prospect of separation, but a distinct necessity all the same.

Which leads neatly into the rest of the Little Western gang's livery choices. Both Duck and Oliver are formerly Great Western Railway engines, something that they bandy about with pride- Duck far, far more so than Oliver. As such, both requested to have their respective eras of GWR liveries reinstated when they were bought. Duck's with the full 'Great Western' lettering on the sides of his tank, and Oliver's with the 'shirt button' emblem he had carried.

Curiously, the two also sport the numberplates they had when they were bought, rather than their respective NWR 8 and 11- and doubly so as we know that both are undoubtedly not wearing their running numbers and have never stated their true own. Neither have ever said exactly what exact significance their borrowed plates have, but clearly both had to have been someone very special. In Duck's case, he is a 5700 pannier tank. He currently wears the number 5741- which wouldn't have been one of his kin he'd have ever worked with directly. Duck spent his whole working life in London, while 5741 never touched the city.

Oliver is similar. As a 1400 autotank, he wears the number 1436- but the real 1436 was cut up long before Oliver made it to Sodor. It has been noted, however, that Oliver's front bufferbeam seems to have the impression of the number '1420' on it when seen in the daylight- something noone has ever confirmed or denied. Still, the real 1420 did indeed make it into preservation, is still in steam, and was unofficially christened with the name Bulliver, in reference to it's days on the GWR as a push-pull- which would certainly fit Oliver.

Now. There are also a few other minor characters that also bear interesting liveries- and trust me, it hurt to have to cut Bear's paragraph for lack of meat- but surely by now, you have a decent picture with the main cast, here. There are, in saying that, infinite ways and reasons for an engine's outward self expression, or lack thereof, and I would love, personally, if we get some of those further explored with the impending new show. Perhaps that's a bit too far fetched a hope, given that after season 7 or so, a lot of the new cast was painted in ways to better sell toys rather than in-universe character contemplations, but it would be a nice way to bring back one of the most interesting aspects of the universe.

Neko

Essays

Liveries and Engine Identity

Engine Families: Of Blood and Otherwise

Nagh Buerla

They're Waving At Me: How Do The Faces Actually 'Work'?

Trucks, Tankers and Toad

Engine Neurodivergence, Mental Illness and What Humans Misunderstand

Ducks and Bears: On Engine Disability and Ableism