Edward the Blue Engine

Edward is a blue mixed-traffic engine. He is one of the main protagonists.

Charlie Sand and Sidney Hever
Edward is the only engine whose driver and fireman are named in The Railway Series (Henry's driver was named in the annuals, being 'Ted'). In the foreword to 'Edward the Blue Engine', their names are given as Charlie Sand and Sidney Hever, and in the story 'Saved from Scrap', Charlie's name is mentioned.

These names are puns on their jobs. One of an engine driver's jobs is to sand the rails when they are slippery in order to allow the engine to grip. A fireman's job is to "heave" the coal from the tender or coal bunker to the engine's fire.

Their first names come from a real engine crew named Charlie and Sidney on the Wisbech and Upwell Tramway (see Toby the Tram Engine).

Behind the Scenes
Edward was the first character that appeared in the The Railway Series in 1950. The inspiration for the character came from the Rev. W. Awdry watching trains on the Great Western Railway as a child. He said in interviews with Brian Sibley that to him, the noise of the locomotives' exhaust almost sounded like dialogue. For instance, the larger engines having trouble climbing the hills would appear to be saying, "I can't do it, I can't do it," and the smaller engines helping them would sound like they were saying, "I will do it! I will do it! I will do it!" This was the direct inspiration for the second story in The Three Railway Engines, 'Edward and Gordon'. The first story was 'Edward's Day Out', which was an introduction to the character.

Unlike later characters in the Railway Series, Edward is not directly based upon any particular class of locomotive, but is a generic 4-4-0. The Rev. W. Awdry has claimed that Edward is based on a heavily modified Sharp, Stewart & Co. "Larger Seagull" locomotive supplied to the Furness Railway in 1915, but this is a piece of retcon created for the book The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways. Martin Clutterbuck notes that Edward bears a closer resemblance to certain Scottish locomotives of the North British Railway, notably the D20. It is likely that Awdry chose the Furness Railway locomotive because the Furness Railway was the closest mainland railway to Sodor.

The Furness origin for Edward is once again brought up in book 41 Thomas and Victoria, as Edward and Victoria are both from that area.

Edward in the television series
Edward is one of the eight engines in The Steam Team.

In recent episodes of the TV series, Edward has been portrayed as a back engine, to help engines up Gordon's Hill – a reminiscent nod to the Season 1 Story Edward and Gordon.

In Season 10, Edward appears almost as cheeky and inexperienced as Thomas was in the first season. This is especially evident in the episode Edward Strikes Out, where he went as far as to call a new arrival "new-fangled nonsense". After this little mishap he became his old self again.

Edward was strangly absent in Thomas's feature film Thomas and the Magic Railroad. However, he did appear in the straight-to-dvd episode, Calling All Engines.

In Railroad Station Series, Edward was voiced by Long John Baldry, and almost as cheeky and inexperienced as Thomas was in the first season.

In the Japanese version, Edward is voiced by Yasuhiro Takato.

Merchandise trivia

 * Because there's a space in the Learning Curve Wooden Model, Thomas and Friends Wooden Railway depicts Edward as an 0-4-0 with a tender, instead of 4-4-0 with a tender in the TV and Railway Series. Also, Edward is seen as 2-6-0 in one of the earlier annual illustrations.
 * Hornby's model of Edward is based on their earlier London and North Eastern Railway "Shire" class 4-4-0, with coupling rods removed, and a taller chimney added.

Trivia

 * He has been seen with all characters (except Billy, Madge, Rusty, Ivo Hugh, Freddie, Mighty Mac, Bertram, Smudger, Daisy, The Pack and Molly who haven't been seen with him so far)

Theme

 * Edward's theme is his Season 1/2 theme.

Counterparts (Hero Version) (Boy Version)

 * Hercules (TUGS/Salty's Lighthouse)
 * Truro, Foduck or Northumberland (Theodore Tugboat)
 * Hodge (Chuggington)
 * Mr. Nicholas or GC Mr. Conductor (Shining Time Station)
 * Toadsworth or Luigi Mario (Super Mario Bros.)
 * Uncle Chuck, Shadow the Hedgehog, Captain Rescue, Antoine D'Coolette, Sonic the Hedgehog, Silver the Hedgehog or Jules Hedgehog (Sonic the Hedgehog)
 * Edward R. Furrow (Garfield and Friends, both share the same name)
 * Peter Perfect (Wacky Races)
 * Mack the Turtle (Dr. Seuss)
 * Brainy Brian (Horrid Henry)
 * David Read (Arthur)
 * Spongebob's Dad (SpongeBob SquarePants)
 * Howard DeVille (Rugrats)
 * Mr. Robert Simmons (Hey Arnold)
 * Brian (Doug)
 * Loopy's Dad (Kablam!/Life With Loopy)
 * Houdini (Rayman)
 * Dad Asparagus (Veggietales)
 * Krokorok, Gligar or Mudkip (Pokemon)
 * Meta Knight (Kirby)
 * Peppy Hare (Star Fox)
 * Bertie Samson (Super Samson Herms)
 * Kaepora (The Legend of Zelda)
 * Rafiki (The Lion King)
 * George (Rainbow)
 * Ned Flanders (The Simpsons)
 * Brian Griffin (Family Guy)
 * Terry Kimple (The Cleveland Show)
 * Tishka's Dad or Vasilych (Train Tishka)
 * Mr. Soil (A Bug's Life)
 * Sarge (Cars)
 * John Smith (Pocahontas)
 * Hank Hill (King of the Hill)
 * Guile (Street Fighter)
 * Cupid (The Fairly OddParents)
 * Roger (T.U.F.F. Puppy)
 * Mulan's Dad (Mulan)
 * Zugor (Tarzan)
 * Pepé Le Pew or Porky Pig (Looney Tunes)
 * Astronaut (Nitrome)
 * Hugh Neutron (Jimmy Neutron)
 * Skinny Slim (The Powerpuff Girls)
 * Wilt or Ivan (Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends)
 * Agent Johnson (Fanboy & Chum Chum)
 * Trevor (Codename: Kids Next Door)
 * Mr. Sparks (Noddy's Toyland Adventures
 * Sam Waldron (Postman Pat)
 * Roger, Zuba or Maurice (Madagascar)
 * Crane (Kung Fu Panda)
 * Leon the Chamaleon (Canimals)
 * Uncle Nathaniel (Scooby Doo)
 * Lawrence Fletcher (Phineas and Ferb)
 * Derek (Good Luck Charlie)
 * Jebadiah or Doc (The Little Engine That Could)
 * Dexter (Coilbook)
 * Lightning (Teen Titans)
 * Lucius (Bone)
 * Goat (Pearls Before Swine)
 * Constable Jones (Mary Poppins)
 * Mr. Codfish (Bedknobs & Broomsticks)
 * Paul (Pete's Dragon)
 * Engie Benjy (Doki)
 * Slinky Dog (Toy Story 1, 2 & 3)
 * Scrooge McDuck or Hodge (Mickey Mouse)
 * Adult Bambi (Bambi)
 * Jiminy Cricket (Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion)
 * John or George (Peter Pan)
 * Owl, Christopher Robin or Piglet (Winnie the Pooh)
 * John Charles Bodoque (31 Minutes)
 * Johnny Appleseed (Melody Time)
 * George McFly (Back to the Future)
 * Preacher Crow (Dumbo)
 * David (Lilo & Stitch)
 * Doc (Snow White)
 * Gonzo the Great (The Muppet Show)
 * Ernie or Bert (Sesame Street)
 * Charlie (Monsters, Inc.)
 * Sonic the Hedgehog or Roy (Wreck-It Ralph)
 * Auto or Proto Man (Mega Man)
 * Geoff (Total Drama)
 * Gurgle, Crush or Jacques (Finding Nemo)
 * Samuel (Drawn to Life)
 * Cody Banks's Dad (Agent Cody Banks 1 and 2)
 * Easy O'Malley (Jay Jay The Jet Plane)
 * Yajirobe (Dragon Ball Z)
 * Duke of Nuts (Adventure Time)
 * Muscle Man (Regular Show)
 * Spy (Team Fortress 2)
 * Zhuge Liang (Dynasty Warriors)
 * Melvin Duck (Skipper & Skeeto)
 * Thomas (3 Friends and Jerry)
 * Slinkman (Camp Lazlo)
 * Chop Chop (Skylanders)
 * Rita's Dad (Flushed Away)
 * Smoove Move (Turbo (2013))
 * Leadbottom (Planes)
 * Casey Jones, Splinter, Donatello or Leatherhead (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
 * Herb Copperbottom (Robots)
 * Takua or Kopaka (Bionicle)
 * Toots (Casey Jr. and Friends)
 * The Major (Fawlty Towers)
 * Mike or Grandad (Only Fools and Horses)
 * Mole (The Wind in the Willows)
 * Adult Zephir (Babar)
 * Pongi (Pingu)
 * The Wise Old Goat (Rupert)
 * Man-E-Faces (He-Man)
 * Foreman Jim (The LEGO Movie)
 * Roman Bellic (Grand Theft Auto IV)
 * Milo Growlerstein (Henry Hugglemonster)
 * Franklin's Dad (Franklin the Turtle)
 * Dinobot (Beast Wars)
 * George Washington (Mr. Peabody & Sherman (2014))

Counterparts (Villian Version)

 * The Diesel/D261 (Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends)
 * Nantucket (TUGS)
 * Lyle Lanley (The Simpsons)
 * James Woods (Family Guy)

Counterparts (Girl Version)

 * Molly, Emily, Belle or Madge (Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends)
 * Sigrid, Emily or Constance (Theodore Tugboat)
 * Olwin or Zephie (Chuggington)
 * Daisy or Peach (Super Mario Bros.)
 * Bunnie Rabbot or Princess Sally Acorn (Sonic the Hedgehog)
 * Maude Flanders, Marge Simpson, Edna Krabappel Flanders or Mona Simpson (The Simpsons)
 * Fluttershy, Twilight Sparkle or Applejack (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic)
 * Olive (Justin Time)
 * Didi Pickles (Rugrats)
 * Jane Read (Arthur)
 * Mary or Sergeant Calhoun (Wreck-It Ralph)
 * Olive the Stonehenge Girl (Justin Time: The Big Stone Circle)

Gallery

 * Main Article: Edward the Blue Engine/Gallery