Rusty the Little Diesel

Rusty is a diesel engine who does maintenance work and odd jobs on the Skarloey Railway.

Bio in the Railway Series
Rusty was built by Ruston and Hornsby Ltd. in Lincoln, England. He was bought by Sir Handel Brown direct from the builders in 1957 to assist Sir Handel and Peter Sam. While they handled passengers and goods, Rusty was paired with CME Mr. Ivo Hugh to repair the ageing trackbed along the line.

When Sir Handel pretended to be ill, Rusty was asked to assist Peter Sam with the slate trucks and later that day had to perform a rescue operation at the quarry when Peter Sam had an accident on the incline.

Following the return of Skarloey, Rusty was put back on maintenance duties, but had an argument with Duncan about taking care on a "bad bit" of track south of Cros-ny-Cuirn. While initially refusing to help the conceited Duncan when he derailed, Skarloey reminded Rusty of his responsibility towards the passengers and he set out at once, later making up the quarrel with Duncan. Later that year, Rusty and Mr. Hugh were chosen to demonstrate to a television crew how they maintained the line at Quarry Siding.

In 1961, Rusty and Mr. Hugh discovered a washed out section of track south of the tunnel and the railway was closed temporarily while he and the workmen repaired the line. He was later present when Rheneas finally returned home.

In 1964, the Lakeside loop line extension was opened in a grand ceremony at Quarry Siding. Rusty was asked to bring visitors to celebrate the occasion.

In 1984, Rusty was in charge of carrying away tree branches and other cuttings, which were being trimmed from the line so that passengers could get a better view.

In 1995, Rusty was put in charge of the weedkiller train, a job he disliked because it required slow speeds. The weedkiller later created trouble for Rheneas, who could not get a firm grip on the wet, greasy rails. He later had to take Sir Handel's trains after Sir Handel had caused his firebars to collapse.

Bio in Television Series
Rusty has always been a helpful little diesel. He has mostly been seen clearing lines, and doing other railway maintenance work. In the fourth season, Rusty helped saved Stepney, who was stranded on a siding in a scrapyard on the Other Railway, from scrap. When the Boulder went loose at the Quarry, Rusty narrowly escaped his own destruction after being chased by the giant stone. Along with Skarloey, Rheneas, and Elizabeth, he saved the Skarloey Railway from abandonment. Rusty once saved Duncan from falling into a river from an old bridge. He is currently working at the Blue Mountain Quarry and the Skarloey Railway, along with the other narrow gauge engines.

One Christmas, when Duncan began complaining more than ever, Rusty had the idea of telling the Thin Controller, who devised a plan. Rusty later saw Duncan lose his temper with Luke, who was blocking the track in front of him. But when Duncan felt sorry and helped Luke carry on his way, Rusty saw this too and told the Thin Controller.

Persona
Rusty is a trusty, tame, friendly little diesel. He is a dedicated worker, often maintaining the line, while understanding and respecting the importance of his duties. He also has a rather distinctive two-tone horn. Rusty is quick to remind others with regards to proper conduct, particularly Duncan, who was initially very suspicious of the little diesel. But despite their arguments they both seem to make amends in the end, because of how kind and tolerant Rusty is. He has a good working relationship with both Skarloey and Peter Sam in particular. Caring, calm, and quick-thinking, Rusty is modestly a credit to the Skarloey Railway.

Basis
Rusty is based on the Talyllyn Railway's Midlander, a Ruston Hornsby diesel, Unlike his basis, Rusty was never fitted with a different shaped radiator.

Livery
In the Railway Series, Rusty is painted charcoal-black with gold lining. In the television series, he is painted orange with yellow lining and white lettering.

In The Thomas Way DVD, the Mr. Perkins segment features a re-illustrated version of Trucks!. In this, Rusty is painted orange, like in the television series.

Appearances
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Railway Series

 * The Little Old Engine
 * Gallant Old Engine
 * Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine (mentioned)
 * Very Old Engines (does not speak)
 * Great Little Engines (does not speak)
 * New Little Engine

Television series

 * Season 4 - Trucks!, Home at Last, Rock 'n' Roll, Special Funnel (does not speak), Steam Roller, Rusty to the Rescue, Thomas and Stepney and Bowled Out (cameo)
 * Season 5 - Stepney Gets Lost (does not speak), Duncan Gets Spooked, Snow and Rusty and the Boulder
 * Season 6 - Dunkin Duncan, Rusty Saves the Day and Faulty Whistles
 * Season 7 - The Refreshment Lady's Tea Shop, Rheneas and the Roller Coaster, The Runaway Elephant, Harold and the Flying Horse (cameo), The Grand Opening and Trusty Rusty
 * Season 9 - Tuneful Toots, Rheneas and the Dinosaur (cameo), The Magic Lamp, Duncan and the Old Mine and Skarloey the Brave
 * Season 10 - Follow that Flour (cameo), Duncan Drops a Clanger, Thomas' Tricky Tree, Which Way Now?, Wharf and Peace and Missing Trucks (does not speak)
 * Season 11 - Thomas and the Big Bang, Duncan Does it All, Sir Handel in Charge, Cool Truckings (cameo) and Wash Behind Your Buffers (cameo)
 * Season 12 - Mountain Marvel (cameo), The Party Surprise, The Man in the Hills, and Push Me, Pull You (does not speak)
 * Season 16 - Don't Bother Victor! (cameo) and The Christmas Tree Express
 * Season 17 - Luke's New Friend and The Switch
 * Season 18 - Disappearing Diesels, Duncan and the Grumpy Passenger and Duncan the Humbug

He will appear in the twentieth season.

Specials:
 * Calling All Engines! (does not speak)
 * The Great Discovery (cameo)
 * Blue Mountain Mystery
 * King of the Railway (cameo)

He also cameoed in an eighth season song.

Magazine stories
Rusty the Little Diesel/Gallery Rusty also appeared in the magazine stories, Boat Bother, Fast Food!, Hello, Skarloey!, Musical Duncan, Rock 'n' Roll Rescue, Rocking About, Roll and Rock, Rusty's Plan, Rusty and the Cheeky Boys, Smoke Signals, and The Cliff Railway.}}
 * 1997 - Rusty the Diesel and Rusty's Revenge (does not speak)
 * 1998 - Really Useful Rusty!
 * 2000 - Harold's Race! (cameo) and Creepy Cutting! (does not speak)
 * 2001 - Too Much Rock and Duncan Gets Upset
 * 2002 - Big Ideas!
 * 2004 - Windsurfing (cameo) and Elephants and Engines
 * 2005 - Duncan's Rock and Roll (mentioned)
 * 2007 - Rusty's Rescue! and Cliff Ride
 * 2009 - Thomas and the Big Bang
 * 2010 - Big Ideas
 * 2011 - Flight Sight
 * 2012 - Blue Mountain Mystery (speaks in speech bubble only) and Going Rusty
 * 2013 - Christmas Tree Express
 * 2014 - Edward the Helpful Engine
 * 2015 - Dusty Rusty

Voice Actors

 * Matt Wilkinson (UK/US; sixteenth season onwards)
 * Hideo Ishikawa (Japan; fourth - seventh seasons)
 * Tokuyoshi Kawashima (Japan: ninth season onwards)
 * Arash Marandi (Germany)
 * Stan Limburg (The Netherlands)
 * Christian Greger Strøm (Norway; sixteenth - seventeenth season)
 * Scott Maurstad (Norway; Blue Mountain Mystery only)
 * Luis Leonardo Suárez (Latin America; Blue Mountain Mystery onwards)
 * Krzysztof Szczerbiński (Poland; Blue Mountain Mystery - seventeenth season)
 * Grzegorz Kwiecień (Poland; eighteenth season onwards)
 * Carlos Moreno (Spain; Blue Mountain Mystery onwards)

Trivia

 * A major continuity error occurred in the original American broadcasts of the ninth season, where Rusty was referred to as female by Michael Brandon. While Rusty was clearly stated as being male in the original books, not once in the television series had he been referred to in gender-specific terms 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 male.
 * In the television series, Rusty is nearly twice the size of his basis. This was so his eye moving equipment and motors could be accommodated. When he received a large scale model and later returned in CGI, he was the same larger size for continuity reasons.
 * Rusty has been through some modifications in the television series. These include:
 * Season 5 (large scale model only):
 * Larger face.
 * His grey buffers became silver.
 * Season 9:
 * He receives a two tone horn.
 * Season 12:
 * Slightly smaller face.
 * Season 16:
 * Face went back to its Season 5 size.
 * Added air vents.
 * Rivet detailing on his cab.
 * More accurate chassis to his basis.
 * Rusty's large scale model is currently on display in Japan at the Hara Railway Museum (previously on display at Nitrogen Studios).
 * At Diesel's Locomotion Mayhem at Drayton Manor's Thomas Land, Rusty is depicted with side rods and 6 wheels.

Merchandise

 * ERTL (normal and metallic; discontinued)
 * Wooden Railway (reissued in three-pack; separate)
 * Take Along (three-pack and Faulty Whistles four-pack; discontinued)
 * Take-n-Play
 * Motor Road and Rail (discontinued)
 * TrackMaster (discontinued)
 * My First Thomas
 * My Thomas Story Library (discontinued)
 * Thomas Engine Collection Series (discontinued)
 * Thomas Town (discontinued)
 * Trading Cards (discontinued)
 * De Agostini (discontinued)
 * Brio (discontinued)
 * Nakayoshi (discontinued)
 * Wind-up
 * Pocket Fantasy (discontinued)
 * Mega Bloks (discontinued)