Old reliable Skarloey, gallant old Rheneas, impertinent Sir Handle, Cheerful Peter Sam, reliable Rusty, grumpy Duncan, and brave Duke, truly a railway with a heart of gold.
Skarloey/Tallylynn Rheneas / Dolgoch Sir Handel / Sir Haydn Peter Sam/ Edward Thomas Rusty/ midlander Duncan/Douglas Duke-prince / princess Mighty mac / little giant Freddie ??? Luke ??? Victor ??? Millie ???
@@vanessasandoval96 Luke's basis is a little locomotive named Peter pan, and Millie's basis is a little french well tank engine, and Victor's basis is a locomotive that was built by baldwin and exported to Cuba, I don't know Freddie's basis.
@@Arkay315 Freddie is based on Russell from the Welsh Highland (tbh I only know this from looking him up just now because I was sure he was a Baldwin 10-12-D, but he actually isn't)
@@Trainfan123 I honestly wish Chris Awdry would've brought Neil back for a story. Have him reunite with Skarloey and have Neil talk about how much the island has changed. Or he could've had Neil cameo in the Railway Museum book. Have him interact with Thomas.
Eh, I feel like they'd be philosophical about it. They're vital for keeping the line running smoothly, of course, but much in the same way that comparatively few* people go to the Talyllyn railway to see Midlander or Alf, they probably know full well that on the Skarloey they're the crew to the steam engines' cast: if no-one notices they're there, then they're doing their jobs well. As long as the steam engines respect them, they're happy. * though that does give me the idea of a "diesel enthusiast gala day" story where the likes of Rusty and Fred get put into the spotlight when the passengers actually want to ride behind them for a change and the steam engines get rather baffled (or possibly quite grumpy, in Sir Handel or Duncan's case...).
In the TV show, Skarloey only started becoming childish after his model got scaled up and he subsequently lost the gold ring on his funnel. It's almost as if it was an ancient artifact possessing him.
There is a theory that says that the reason why Skarloey was acting childish is because he was possessed by Proteus, which could explain why he reverted to his mature self in Blue Mountain Mystery.
Skarloey is definitely one of the greatest wisest, and most reliable engines on Sodor. An amazing start, a middle chapter everyone would like to forget, and such a grand return. He proves that the littlest engines can do the greatest things, and the fact that he helped raise awareness of a real life narrow guage railway, and continues to help keep it around makes him even better.
It was just so iconic how he casually brought it up during that interview. That made me respect and love him even more than I already do. The funny thing is, that, since I watched the show before I read the series, I wasn’t expecting it.
I think Old Faith is perhaps the best story in the book because of Sir Handel coming off the track at the points. the name sake of it is given steam again but I can't help thinking that the controller of the railway at that time was wondering if his boiler given its state of repair could hold steam pressure again safely.
Ngl Skarloey strikes the perfect balance of all the other older engines he's got the never give up attitude of Edward and Rheneas, the history and mentorship of Duke, the chaotic watch the world burn side like Toby, and the optimism of Stepney
All divine character traits embodied into one singular silhouette that turned into a light of realism in its purest form the likes of which no one has ever seen. And that in my opinion is what the heart and soul of a legacy looks like, in Wilbert Awdry's eyes of course when he lived his time here on Earth 🌎
22:47 Funny you should say that Tug. I remember seeing once as a kid in an early 2010's Thomas Magazine a Bio page for Skarloey, on it was a section at the bottom giving the reader fun facts, one of them showed a promo pic of him on the old trestle bridge... it said and i quote: *"When Skarloey was younger he was too scared to cross an old bridge."* This actually confirms that The Old Bridge does indeed take place in the early days of the SR before the engines grew up like you think, and Duncan & Sir Topham Hatt being there IS just a writing error. If this wasn't the case nor the writers intentions... why else would the publishers for the magazine specifically state that line in the bio if they didn't have some behind the scenes source of the show to go off?.
So wait, some of the later model seasons were actually flashbacks to when they were younger? Now I definitely have to watch the series again in timeline order and not just season order
Skarloey may be one of the oldest but he's young at heart. He will always be that fun-loving young engine. His personality, design, and age make him stand out. My favorite character.
Skarloey is a character I’ve never see anyone hate (and I hope it stays that way), he’s just so lovable it’s really hard too. His arc is absolutely fantastic and felt very natural, despite him being inconsistent in season 6/7 and in the hit era I’m glad that was changed in Blue Mountain Mystery. If I ever make a Thomas tier list he’s definitely going to be in S Tier for me. Also I like the Skarloey the brave joke lol
I gotta say. Skarloey is really cool. He’s very unique especially in his introduction season/seasons. They did ruin him in the hit era but fixed him following blue mountain mystery. I must say, Skarloey is one of a kind 🍷🗿
Regarding "The Old Bridge", I bet Sir Handel and Peter Sam would've been used had they had a large scale prop of Sir Handel. It would make a lot more sense considering he nearly fell to his death in Bulldog.
Your visit to the Talyllyn Railway was what brought me to this video about Skarloey. Can’t wait to see it again once everything is back in its place. Skarloey is a great character, no questions asked.
i grew up with the hit era shows but i don’t remember them much (the classics and then cgi stood out to me more.) and i forgot how dirty they did skarloey. i remember watching the blue mountain mystery movie and being like “yep that’s good ol skarloey how he’s always been.” but yeah damn they did make him a coward for a while there 😭
@@s.p.d.magentaranger1822 The first six all have a Pantheon profile now (which I partially made), but they're the Gods of Adaptation Dye Jobs in the Hall of Adaptational Changes.
I never liked the narrow gauge crew much when I was younger, but I really do love it now and appreciate the respect for the real life preservations Awdry wanted to respect
I just realized you can see the Culdee Fell Mountain Railway if you squint hard enough, you can see what looks like ridges where tracks are laid. (In the opening shot)
I grew up with the hit era. But ever since watching S4 and reading the RWS books, I had more respect for Skarloey and chnaged my perspective on Hit era Skarloey. Great video
Skarloey Secrets: Why he became a child in the Hit Era: So in Wilbert Awdry died both in real life and in the Railway series. What if he also died in the model series? And the narrow gauge engines all had coping mechanism. Skarloey reminisced about being a child, and started to act like a baby. Why he started to give up in Rusty to the Rescue: When the Skarloey Railway was in disrepair, Skarloey being the namesake started to lose hope. He believed that if the railway opened under him, the railway would also close under him.
I’ve always liked Skarloey, especially when I learned more and more about his true character (as I was mostly exposed to him in the Hit Era) but this video made me appreciate and love him so much more and I’m grateful for it. Excellent analysis Tug
That’s probably because they were absent for a few years and Andrew Brenner just joined the writing team. If we saw more of the Skarloey engines in the Miller era (or Nitrogen era, whatever you wanna call it), I don’t think he would be so lucky.
I know why Skarloey aged backwards in the model era, the ring! Skarloey had the ring around his funnel in seasons 4 & 5 and the ring made him feel old and wise. Seasons 6-12, he lost his ring and it made him forgot who he was.
@@ryanfuller912 I doubt that means anything here because the same could be said for season 5, and plus most of the character changes are just fans exaggerating because they think TATMR destroyed the franchise.
After the narrow gauge engine but Duncan have appeared in blue mountain mystery they reappeared in late season 16 of don’t bother and Christmas tree express
I think we should take a moment to appreciate the fact the CGI incarnation had a Welsh accent and I'm reading this back in my head in a Welsh accent as well... And I always wondered about Peter Sam's funnel, what is with that shape anyway? I see now that it's real, but why was it shaped like that?
At least The CGI series create episodes around the narrow gauge railway sometimes. The writers tried their best to feature the railway as much as the Blue Mountain Quarry. There's no rule about appearances about Blue Mountain Quarry and the railway.
I 100% feel like Skarloey is in my top three favorite Narrow Gauge characters along with Rheneas and Stewart. James, Duck, and Edward fall as my top three fav standard gauge engines.
I didn’t know Awdry was the guard back then, and he flag down the train so that the refreshment lady can get on. And too bad we didn’t get a Skarloey episode in the cgi era, but at least we got some stories of him in the books and tv series.
To this I think Hit era Skarloey is worse than CGI Henry for one good reason. The CGI series fixed Henry at least and he has 3 good episodes. Like Edward and Rheneas Hit didn't fix Skarloey's character and he didn't have good episodes.
Ok, as much as they made Skarloey toned down into a child during the later model series, the episode "Skarloey the Brave" and during that scene *WEE!* is actually both funny and a bit fun because this actually made Skarloey an old man that wants to be forever young 😅
Skarloey, going by his Railway Series saga, clearly connected with people from the beginning of his life - or more precisely the expectations he had relating to them. It is why he wanted to look good by pulling coaches; it is why he got such an impression of himself when he returned with a cab. I also like to think the scene where he voices his demand to pull coaches to Mr. Mack actually shocked the Manager, and thus other workers, because they were not used to engines being able to talk. All those things clearly impacted Skarloey going forward. Rheneas being comparatively more reserved and inclined to snap when pinned down only further highlights how Skarloey was a breakout character in a sense; once Skarloey found Rheneas did not necessarily intend to cut in on his benefits, they gradually settled into working together as equal partners. Regards, Samuel Farris
Tug if any of the first six Narrow Gauge Engines survived in the Hit era, it would be Sir Handel and Duncan. Duncan was still mischievous, but at least his grumpy side is no longer there. Sir Handel, who was pompous and antagonistic in season 4, returned as a mature older engine in season 10.
Is it just me or does the skarloey railway theme sound VERY relaxing like if someone made a 1 hour version of the skr theme i would sleep to it evry nigru
Skarloey is my favorite ❤️ character of the Narrow Gauge engines ever since he was first introduced in season 4 and I have visited the Talyllyn railway twice and the last time I was there it was when the railway was celebrating the Awdry Extravaganza 2 and I got to see the actual tv model of Skarloey which was the highlight of my trip thanks for sharing this interesting video of my favorite Narrow Gauge engine 👍❤️
I always loved Skarloey. I love his character, and his adventures in the books and classic era. His wise personality from the books and classic, will always be the best.
Hey unlucky tug, I would like to thank you for making the video's you did (even on the old channel which sadly didnt survive). Bcs of your video's my passion for thomas & friends came back but also my love for trains came back. Now im drawing up plans for a railway focused mod for minecraft. I might never came up with those plans if i didnt discovered channel.
Couldn’t have said it better myself. This channel has done a lot of good things for me. I found it two months ago during a particularly hard time in my life, and I’m grateful for it. It reignited my passion for the series, help me remember things that have been repressed for so long, and I learned a few things too.
I honestly can’t help but compare the narrow gauge engines to the tmnt for these facts 1. When the tmnt and narrow gauge engines made their debut in the original stories they all had the same red color scheme (masks for the turtles, paintwork for the narrow gauge engines), and the only way you could tell them apart was in the turtles case they’re weapons, in the engine’s case they’re name plates and numbers 2. When they got their shows they were given they’re now trademark colors, ralph and skarloey being the only ones to keeep the Original red
Considering how many times they showed inaccurate engines in season 4 (Duncan on the MSR, Rheneas on the SR when it should have just been Peter Sam, Skarloey and Rheneas on the MSR) I think we can argue that the Duncan appearance is an error. As for Topham, I imagine him as an ancestor of the Topham we know today. He does wears the same suit, but then again STH wears the same suit in almost every episode.
Skaroley is honestly my favorite engine. Rheneas too. I couldn’t believe that in the model series they changed his character. I will have to go with model series but only seasons 4 and 5.
Maybe the kid like skarloey and rheneas and the easponsable rusty in the hit era are replicas build to represent the 3 while the real skarloey rheneas and rusty are being overhauled.
Looking back at this video, I'm starting to feel like we need a video that answers the question as to why real life places were never mentioned in the model series. (Unless Magic Railroad is already a stand-in for that answer. :/)
Skarloey has a good story arc in the railway series. imo, the HiT era needs to be totally rewritten and remastered. The characters introduced in the HiT era need to be rewritten and revamped.
Skarloey's flanderization, along with all the other narrow gauge engines in the Hit Era is just annoys me. If only we could have something like, Season 10's "A Smooth Ride" but have Skarloey in place of Sir Handel and have Peter Sam be in place of Duncan, and Rheneas in place of Peter Sam to help Skarloey up the hill.
After rewatching this wholesome Sodor's Finest character analysis of Skarloey as many times as I can think of wanting to, I have to say just two things to make a brief statement on my opinion: 1. I am so stupendously glad that the Unlucky Tug's content is being re-uploaded, as well as for a backup RU-vid account that the copyright infringement administration unnecessarily and unethically banned his original account, which I hope gets reinstated for every one of us in the Railway Series/Thomas & Friends fandom universe inspired by the legacy of the Reverend Wilbert Awdry himself. (Fo' real though, fuckin' goddamn shame on RU-vid for doing such a thing like that 😠😤) 2. Skarloey is officially now another favorite character of mine I would like to be indicted on my list. Not only does this video change my perspective on him, it's how the exact agreement on how his character portrayal in the TV show has regressed like in the original book stories. I think it was Gullane Entertainment that placeholded the record of Skarloey's character assassination, and the HiT era continued it to a more slain degree. I was in middle school at the time I've watched the HiT era of the show (maybe around 2008, 2009 or 2010 somewhere there) and watching the episodes of how Skarloey was characterized, I was appauled, like literally sick to my stomach of how HiT treated him like that 😖🤮 I could not bare to have any span of attention to even watch the Skarloey episodes.
I’d hate to imagine what Skarloey would be like if he appeared in the reboot given how they make most of the smaller engines children because of their size.
Truthfully, no. They're very different. Skarloey is much more mischevious than Edward; Edward is the type to give a stern, kind warning about the thing you're not supposed to do, whereas Skarloey will warn you about it, but usually in the form of an anecdote or story to prove his point; sometimes in a serious way, such as telling Duncan about Rheneas, but also often in a mischevious way, such as goading Sir Handel into "fighting" with George. Even when he's telling other engines off, Skarloey tends to be more direct than Edward. I would say Skarloey's a nice middle ground between Toby and Edward, the other two wise old sages. He clearly cares for his railway and everyone on it, and would do anything for them--human or engine alike--but he's not as saintly as Edward or as chaotic as Toby. Plus, we get to see Skarloey make mistakes, even if they tend to be flashbacks in reference to himself or stories that he's heard about, whereas we don't see that so much with Edward. They're both brilliant engines, but if Edward is a kind, ever-caring, encouraging, and generous figure, Skarloey is mischevious, cheerful, relatable, and the type to let the engines learn their lessons for themselves.
I grew up reading the original books, as written by the great Reverend Wilbert Awdry. I started reading them as a kid around 40 years ago, and quickly came to love them! _Skarloey_ was a loveable character right from the start! I remember his appearance in "Four Little Engines," and the antics of engines like "Sir Handel." I remember the scene where he deliberately splits the rails when his driver says _"We'll leave the coaches, and fetch some trucks!"_ *"Trucks?!?"* Sir Handel rudely replies. *"I won't!"* and promptly spreads the rails. *"So there!"* he says!!! 🤣 _Peter Sam_ was another engine I always liked, and was pleased to have "met him" during my very brief visit to the Talyllyn Railway in 2019. Rheneas was _different..._ in my view as a kid. I couldn't pronounce his name, and just preferred Skarloey and Peter Sam. Then there was _Duke._ There was something about him I liked from Day 1, and now when I see him in videos I still think of him as _"Granpuff!"_ All in all, great memories, and perhaps the origins of my love of British steam, despite being an Aussie! 😍😍
I was watching Thomas & Friends several times during the 2000s and early 2010s as a kindergarden child. I watched the episodes about the narrow gauge engines during Season 8-11 and that created a first impression for me about them, that they are childish and highly emotional, especially about Skarloey. And I also thought, that Sir Handel doesn't exist, so when I read about him for the first time, he seemed so strange and unknown to me, compared to the other narrow gauge engines. For a long time, this is how I thought they were always like that. This is why, when I watched Blue Mountain Mystery in 2012 - the 1st time the narrow gauge engines were shown in CGI - I was surprised, when I heard Skarloey's voice, which was very deep and serious. This is because I thought that Skarloey and the other narrow gauge engines will continue to be childish in the CGI series, instead of being serious and hard-working. Later on, when I saw and read about the history of the narrow gauge engines, I realized, that they were always hard-working, reliable, very wise and experienced - apart from Season 8-12. But since the first impression I saw about them during those seasons are staying with me since then, I always get a strange and confusing overall picture of the narrow gauge engines when I look at them. It is especially true about Skarloey, because I first recognized him as a very childish engine and I thought for a long time, that he is always like that. I had no idea, that he is actually a serious, hard-working, old and wise engine. I realized, that first impressions on someone or something can truly have a strong influence on many people for their entire lives.
Besides the inclusion of Mr. Percival, all of Duncan’s episodes (S9-11), _Mighty Mac, A Smooth Ride,_ both of Freddie’s episodes (S10-11) and Madge’s episodes, the HiT era was a pretty bad time to be a fan of the Skarloey Railway (season 12 was their worst year *period!).*
At the :20 segment, you are dealing with 'roadster" horses. IE: The Blinders... This is a style of English horses that are borne to bring people from one space to another. They are quick to their feet and will never skip a beat. Love your channel, just wanted to let you know!
Technically they are. The BB class (Rheneas's basis) and the C class (Skarloey's basis) were practically the same at first, only difference being that Rheneas is a well tank and Skarloey is a saddle tank.
In my theory when Skarloey and Rheneas act childish, The Old bridge, Rheneas and the dinosaur, Skarloey the brave, Push me, Pull you and Skarloey storms thought take place in Skarloey and Rheneas's Younger years while in fearless Freddie they wanted to see if Freddie was still the fastest engine on the SKR but when HIT Entertainment adaptations this stories into the show they decided to add present day characters.
