Rusty the diesel
Encyclopedia
Rusty the Diesel is a fictional Ruston & Hornsby diesel engine
on the Skarloey Railway
in The Railway Series
children's books by the Rev. W. Awdry, and the spin-off TV series Thomas and Friends. He is responsible for hauling maintenance trains for gangers to repair the track. He also occasionally pulls trucks and, when the railway is very busy, passenger trains. He is one of the kinder diesels on the Island, and he is always trying to make his friends happier.
, Rusty is painted black. He is No. 5 on the Skarloey Railway, and often has arguments with another engine called Duncan.
of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends, and ran with an orange coat, rather than his black one in the books.
Like all of the engines, he received a larger-scaled model in Season 5
for easier filming. This new model has a much larger face than the original. However, his old model made a return in Calling All Engines. In 12th season
his large scale model face has shrunk to its original size like Seasons 4-5. As the series progressed, Rusty is not as responsible as he was in his earlier episodes. In recent seasons, he has rushed through work, and he even strayed from it until he ran out of diesel oil in Tuneful Toots. To date, Rusty is the only diesel engine that rescues a steam engine (Stepney) in the episode "Rusty to the Rescue" rather than scrap it, a major contrast to 'Arry and Bert, who constantly seek the chance to scrap a steamie.
A major continuity error occurred in the original American broadcasts of the 2005 season, where Rusty was referred to as a female in the narrations. While Rusty was clearly stated as being male in the original books, not once in the TV series had he been referred to in gender-specific terms up until then. Nonetheless, the two episodes that contained this error (Tuneful Toots and Duncan and the Old Mine) were edited for their DVD releases, now identifying Rusty as a male character.
In Calling All Engines, Rusty is seen working with Lady in the mountains during a dream sequence, using his fourth season small scale model.
in Wales
.
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
on the Skarloey Railway
Skarloey Railway
On the fictional Island of Sodor in The Railway Series by Rev. W. Awdry, the Skarloey Railway is a narrow gauge railway which runs from the main line at Crovan's Gate to the passenger terminus at Skarloey. Beyond Skarloey the line continues to a slate quarry.In the stories, the railway is run by...
in The Railway Series
The Railway Series
The Railway Series is a set of story books about a railway system located on the fictional Island of Sodor. There are 42 books in the series, the first being published in 1945. Twenty-six were written by the Rev. W. Awdry, up to 1972. A further 16 were written by his son, Christopher Awdry; 14...
children's books by the Rev. W. Awdry, and the spin-off TV series Thomas and Friends. He is responsible for hauling maintenance trains for gangers to repair the track. He also occasionally pulls trucks and, when the railway is very busy, passenger trains. He is one of the kinder diesels on the Island, and he is always trying to make his friends happier.
Railway Series history
In The Railway SeriesThe Railway Series
The Railway Series is a set of story books about a railway system located on the fictional Island of Sodor. There are 42 books in the series, the first being published in 1945. Twenty-six were written by the Rev. W. Awdry, up to 1972. A further 16 were written by his son, Christopher Awdry; 14...
, Rusty is painted black. He is No. 5 on the Skarloey Railway, and often has arguments with another engine called Duncan.
Rusty in the TV Series
Rusty was introduced in the 4th seasonThomas and Friends - Season 4
Thomas and Friends is a children's television series about the engines and other characters working on the railways of the Island of Sodor, and is based on The Railway Series books written by the Rev. W. Awdry....
of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends, and ran with an orange coat, rather than his black one in the books.
Like all of the engines, he received a larger-scaled model in Season 5
Thomas and Friends - Season 5
Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends is a children's television series about the engines and other characters working on the railways of the Island of Sodor, and is based on The Railway Series books written by the Rev. W. Awdry....
for easier filming. This new model has a much larger face than the original. However, his old model made a return in Calling All Engines. In 12th season
Thomas and Friends - Season 12
Thomas and Friends is a children's television series based on Rev. W. Awdry's children's books, The Railway Series.Season 12 premiered on 1 September, 2008 in the United Kingdom , with Michael Angelis as the narrator...
his large scale model face has shrunk to its original size like Seasons 4-5. As the series progressed, Rusty is not as responsible as he was in his earlier episodes. In recent seasons, he has rushed through work, and he even strayed from it until he ran out of diesel oil in Tuneful Toots. To date, Rusty is the only diesel engine that rescues a steam engine (Stepney) in the episode "Rusty to the Rescue" rather than scrap it, a major contrast to 'Arry and Bert, who constantly seek the chance to scrap a steamie.
A major continuity error occurred in the original American broadcasts of the 2005 season, where Rusty was referred to as a female in the narrations. While Rusty was clearly stated as being male in the original books, not once in the TV series had he been referred to in gender-specific terms up until then. Nonetheless, the two episodes that contained this error (Tuneful Toots and Duncan and the Old Mine) were edited for their DVD releases, now identifying Rusty as a male character.
In Calling All Engines, Rusty is seen working with Lady in the mountains during a dream sequence, using his fourth season small scale model.
Merchandise
Rusty has been released in a number of the model ranges for the series, including:- Ertl Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends
- Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway (available with construction cars)
- Take-Along Thomas & Friends (available with rescue cars)
- Tomica/Track Master Motorised and a Wind-up model (released in 2006)
- My First Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends
Prototype
Rusty is based on the 0-4-0 "Midlander", a diesel engine built in 1954 that works on the Talyllyn RailwayTalyllyn Railway
The Talyllyn Railway is a narrow-gauge preserved railway in Wales running for from Tywyn on the Mid-Wales coast to Nant Gwernol near the village of Abergynolwyn. The line was opened in 1866 to carry slate from the quarries at Bryn Eglwys to Tywyn, and was the first narrow gauge railway in Britain...
in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
.