|
Edward the Blue Engine is a anthropomorphic steam locomotive from ''The Railway Series'' children's books by the Rev W. Awdry, and the related TV Series ''Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends''. He is a blue 4-4-0 tender engine with red stripes, about the same size as James the Red Engine, and has the number 2 on his tender. Also like James, he is a mixed traffic engine, meaning that he can easily pull freight or passengers, though he prefers freight. He is one of the major characters in both the books and the television series. Edward is a kind engine, who is always keen to help a friend in need. The younger engines can always rely on him to lend a listening ear and sympathetic advice. He works hard and will always do his utmost to get a job done. However, the big engines tend to see him as old-fashioned and slow. But the smaller engines such as Thomas the Tank Engine, Percy the Small Engine, Toby the Tram Engine and Duck the Great Western Engine respect him greatly and will stick up for him at all times. It is true that he is one of the older engines on The Fat Controller's railway (indeed, he helped to build it), but he has proved time and time again that despite his age he is entirely capable of working as hard as any engine. Several of the stories revolving around him, both in the books and television series, have involved Edward proving his worth to the others. Two of the most notable were 'Old Iron', in which he earned himself an overhaul by capturing a runaway James, and 'Edward's Exploit', in which he brought home a special train despite a breakdown, caused by one of his coupling rods breaking. Edward has a branch line which he runs with BoCo, a diesel engine. Edward is equally happy with coaches or trucks, but he has also been known to help other engines with heavy loads, pull special trains and even act as a pilot engine for the Royal Train. Edward was first featured in ''The Three Railway Engines'', Awdry's first book, in 1945. Edward featured in his own book, ''Edward the Blue Engine'' in 1954. ==Charlie Sand and Sidney Hever== Edward is the only engine whose driver and fireman are named in The Railway Series (Henry's fireman 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', their names are 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). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Edward the Blue Engine」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|