Duncan (Thomas the Tank Engine)

Duncan is a character from "The Railway Series" and its adaptation "Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends". He was created by W.V. Awdry. Duncan is a stubborn engine that likes to complain that he is overworked. He is known for swaying on the track dangerously, which his driver calls "Rock 'N' Roll".

Railway Series history

Duncan was introduced in the story "Home at Last", in the series' fourteenth volume. In earlier books, he caused trouble for the Thin Controller by getting stuck in a tunnel, derailing due to his swaying, and even stalling on a viaduct with a train full of passengers. However, in later volumes, he mellowed out. He stayed on task and did his best to help out in the most recent of stories.

Duncan in the TV series

Duncan was introduced in the adaptation of "Home at Last" in the fourth run of "Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends". Rather than having his red coat of paint with the other engines in the books, he is painted bronze yellow in the TV series. A number of roles he had in the Reverend's books were televised in the same season, but all the stories featuring him in future seasons were originally written by hired writers, as well as the director and creator Britt Allcroft.

Duncan continues to make mistakes while being stubborn and ignorant in current seasons, seemingly forgetting the lessons he's learned in the past. He has appeared in every season since his introduction (with the exception of Season 8, which featured no Narrow Gauge engines). Duncan will feature in the direct-to-DVD film, The Great Discovery, when he tells Thomas another way back to the Wharf.Fact|date=July 2008

In the Japanese version, he is voiced by Ryoichi Tanaka.

Merchandise

Duncan has also been adapted in his TV series form into several products, which include:

*An Ertl Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends die-cast model
*A Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway model
*A Tomica/Track Master motorised engine and wind-up toy
*A Take-Along Thomas & Friends die-cast model

Prototype

Duncan is based on "Douglas", a 0-4-0 engine built in 1918 that works on the Talyllyn Railway in Tywyn, Wales. The engine ran for some years under the guise of Duncan, depicted by painting the engine in red livery with a face wearing a Scottish cap. This ended in 2007 when the engine was withdrawn for major overhaul.