"James the Red Engine" Favorites & Collectibles

About James

James is a medium-sized engine. His six driving wheels are not as big as Gordon's and not as small as Thomas'. He has a fine scarlet coat and brass dome and likes to think of himself as a really splendid engine. This can occasionall lead to high-falutin' ideas about the sort of work suitable for such a noble creature; invariably, they land James in trouble.

He first appeared in the Railway Series in 1946, in the book Thomas the Tank Engine. Two books in the series, no. 3 James the Red Engine and no. 28 James and the Diesel Engines are dedicated to James. In the stories, James crashed on his first day into a field. It was blamed on the wooden brake blocks he was given. James has a reputation for being naughty. Some of the incidents include breaking a coach brake pipe and needing a passenger's bootlace to fix it, crashing into tar wagons, and spinning on the turntable. Despite his behaviour, James is an engine proud of his red paint and is considered to be a really useful engine. He is similar in size to Edward and is one of the few engines allowed to pull the Express when Gordon is away.

He is very proud of his red paint and shining brass dome, and so likes to stay clean. He hates pulling trucks, and believes that he should only be used to pull coaches. He thinks himself superior to the other engines, and can be shallow, boastful and arrogant – particularly to Edward, and those engines who appear old-fashioned, weak, slow or dirty. However, on a number of occasions he has found himself forced to accept help from those he has insulted, and is ultimately apologetic.

James is one of the few characters to have their own song (James The Really Splendid Engine) in the TV series, the chorus of which is based on his theme music used in the early seasons.