Victor (Thomas and Friends)

Victor is a Cuban narrow gauge tank engine who works at the Sodor Steamworks.

Bio
Victor is a narrow gauge engine who used to work at sugar plantations in Cuba. He was transferred to Sodor by boat and, during his journey, the chains holding him to the deck snapped. Once Victor and Luke, an engine they had picked up during the journey, docked at Brendam, Victor tried to tell the workmen about his problem, but they did not understand him, as he only spoke Spanish. Luke was lifted off of the ship first and knocked into Victor, sending him rolling off the deck and into the sea. Thankfully, Victor landed on a jetty, but because of the bad weather, he was left there for a very long time. When he was finally lifted out of the water, he was sent to the Sodor Steamworks. Victor decided that he must learn English and his first word was "red" as that was the colour he chose to be repainted in; "a bright new colour for his bright new life on Sodor".

He now works at the Sodor Steamworks and is always busy finding, delivering, or collecting parts and supervising activities around the yard. He works closely with and mentors Kevin, whose clumsiness often drives Victor mad. He is a wise and friendly engine who is always ready to help his friends, however, he refuses to put up with nonsense.

In his first appearance, Victor helped Thomas restore Hiro with the help of Kevin. Victor would leave flatbeds of old engine parts for Thomas and the other engines to bring to Hiro. After Sir Topham Hatt found out about the situation, he put Victor in charge of overseeing Hiro's restoration.

Victor has helped to repair many engines. However, such work can sometimes become too much for him. Once he had four engines awaiting their turn for repairs when he and Kevin were attending to the maintenance of some trucks. Then he ended up with too much to do when Gordon arrived with blocked valves, Thomas came with a loose footplate, and Emily wanted her buffers polished. Quickly though, Victor rearranged the workload, telling Thomas, Percy, Edward, and Emily to wait whilst Gordon was mended followed by 'Arry and Bert.

Victor visits the Skarloey Railway once a week to examine the narrow gauge engines. Once Peter Sam did not want to bother him prior to his visit, even when Skarloey, Sir Handel, and Duncan needed repairs. However, when Peter Sam ran out of coal, he asked Rheneas to get Victor. Victor informed Peter Sam that it is his job to fix engines, so it would not be a bother to ask for his assistance.

Until recently, Luke believed that Victor had been scrapped as a result of the damage he had taken after Luke had accidentally knocked the Cuban engine off of the boat and blamed himself for the accident. Years later, when the truth about the situation came out, Victor told Luke that he was not to blame.

In the seventeenth season, Victor allowed Kevin to work at the docks, helped Scruff get clean and get a new coat of paint, and allowed Edward and Henry to sleep at the Steamworks when the turntable at Tidmouth Sheds was frozen.

In the eighteenth season, when Duncan became exceedingly grumpy during the holidays, Victor and Mr. Percival made him a bet: if the Scottish narrow gauge engine could go a whole day without complaining, Victor would give him a new coat of paint before the other engines.

When Kevin got lost in the snow, Victor feared for the worst and set out to find him, despite his hatred for the snow. He refused to give up his search for him until he was eventually informed that Kevin was safe and sound back at the Steamworks.

Persona
Victor is a narrow gauge engine who keeps the Sodor Steamworks operating. He is a busy engine with a winning sense of humour and a heart of gold. He is highly respected among all of the Sodor engines for helping to sort their repairs and see to their needs. He is very friendly, can often put a smile on an engine's smokebox, and will often help guide an engine where he feels it may be to their benefit. Victor also has a firm manner when something needs to be sorted and stands no nonsense from naughty steam engines or lurking diesel engines. He takes his work very seriously and takes great pride in helping to maintain the service of the Steamworks. In his time, Victor has helped restore, repair, and repaint many of Sodor's locomotives and he keeps the Steamworks a welcoming, bustling, hospitable environment. He keeps a keen, watchful eye over Kevin the crane, who assists him in the works' operations. Kevin's clumsiness and antics may cause Victor bother and disturbance, but Victor is fond of Kevin and glad to have him as part of the team.

Basis
Victor is based on Minaz No. 1173, an 0-4-0ST+PT locomotive built by Baldwin Locomotive Works that worked at the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes Sugar Mill in Cuba. The engine carried water in its saddle tank and oil in its side tanks. It was in poor condition and withdrawn after 1993. 1173 was rescued from Céspedes on August 3rd, 2012. From there it was transferred to the Patria Sugar Mill Museum where it was repainted and put on display with other engines rescued from Céspedes and other sugar mills.

As the Sodor Steamworks is based on high profile locomotive works (such as Crewe, Doncaster, and Darlington), Victor is based on the narrow gauge locomotives that lived there, delivering parts to different departments. So, while Victor's prototype is standard gauge, he, like the high profile works locos, is narrow gauge.

Livery
Victor was painted bright yellow with green lining and was numbered 1173 when he first arrived on Sodor. When he learned to speak English, his first word was "red", so he was painted dark red with yellow lining, and black and yellow hazard stripes on his front bufferbeam; the black and yellow hazard stripes on the rear of his cab are above his rear bufferbeam. The sides of his cab have the Sodor Steamworks logo on them.

Appearances
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Television series
He will appear in the twentieth season.
 * Season 13 - Creaky Cranky, The Lion of Sodor (mentioned), Slippy Sodor, The Early Bird, Play Time, Time For a Story, Percy's Parcel, Toby's New Whistle, Steamy Sodor and The Biggest Present of All
 * Season 14 - James in the Dark, Charlie and Eddie (mentioned), Henry's Health and Safety, Victor Says Yes, Thomas in Charge, Thomas' Crazy Day, Thomas and Scruff (cameo) and O the Indignity
 * Season 15 - Gordon and Ferdinand, Henry's Happy Coal, Surprise, Surprise, Stop that Bus! (does not speak), Stuck on You, Kevin the Steamie, Wonky Whistle and Tree Trouble (does not speak)
 * Season 16 - Race to the Rescue, Percy and the Calliope (does not speak), Salty's Surprise, Emily's Winter Party Special, Welcome Stafford, Don't Bother Victor!, Happy Birthday Sir! (mentioned) and The Christmas Tree Express (cameo)
 * Season 17 - Kevin's Cranky Friend, Scruff's Makeover, Gordon Runs Dry (cameo), The Lost Puff, Bill or Ben?, Santa's Little Engine (does not speak) and The Frozen Turntable
 * Season 18 - Thomas and the Emergency Cable, Duncan and the Grumpy Passenger (mentioned), Long Lost Friend, Duncan the Humbug (does not speak), Emily Saves the World (mentioned) and Samson Sent for Scrap
 * Season 19 - Who's Geoffrey?, Snow Place Like Home, Best Engine Ever and The Other Side of the Mountain (does not speak)

Specials:
 * Hero of the Rails
 * Misty Island Rescue
 * Day of the Diesels
 * Blue Mountain Mystery
 * King of the Railway
 * Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure
 * The Great Race

Magazine stories
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 * 2010 - Percy's Parcel (does not speak) and The Best Present of All (does not speak)
 * 2011 - Victor Says Yes, Steamy Sodor (does not speak), Gordon and Ferdinand (cameo), and Henry's Health and Safety (cameo)
 * 2012 - Stuck on You, Blue Mountain Mystery, The Best Present of All (does not speak), Where's That Bus? (cameo), and The Fat Controller's Bedtime Story (Issue 651)
 * 2013 - Henry's Ghost, Surprise, Surprise!, and Early Bird! (mentioned)
 * 2014 - Bill or Ben (cameo) and Frozen Turntable
 * 2015 - The Perfect Present (does not speak)

Voice Actors

 * David Bedella (US; Hero of the Rails onwards - UK; Blue Mountain Mystery onwards)
 * Matt Wilkinson (UK; Hero of the Rails - sixteenth season)
 * Anders Sundstedt (Norway; Hero of the Rails - seventeenth season, excluding King of the Railway)
 * Trond Teigen (Norway; King of the Railway onwards, excluding the seventeenth season)
 * Kōichi Sakaguchi (Japan)
 * Robert Missler (Germany)
 * Paweł Szczesny (Poland)
 * Jacek Król (Poland; Samson Sent for Scrap only)
 * Guillermo Coria (Latin America; Hero of the Rails onwards)
 * Gadi Levy (Israel)
 * Carlos Salamanca (Spain)
 * Carlos Moreno (Spain; King of the Railway only)
 * George Siena (France and French speaking Canada; Blue Mountain Mystery onwards)
 * Pasi Ruohonen (Finland; Hero of the Rails onwards)
 * Alexander Kotov (Russia)

Trivia

 * Victor is, presently, the only narrow gauge engine owned by Sir Topham Hatt.
 * Victor burns oil instead of coal, hence his additional side tanks and lack of coal bunker.
 * Victor is the first engine to speak a language other than English. Other engines who also speak different languages include Millie, Axel, Carlos and Étienne.
 * Victor is the first, and currently only, narrow gauge engine to have a snowplough.
 * The DVD cover of Hero of the Rails depicts Victor on standard gauge track at Brendam Docks. However, Victor is a narrow gauge engine and cannot travel on standard gauge track.
 * In his original yellow livery, Victor has the same number (1173) as his basis.
 * In the nineteenth season, Victor gained a tail lamp.

Merchandise

 * Wooden Railway (normal, sea soaked, and flashback versions)
 * Motor Road and Rail (normal and flashback; Asia only)
 * TrackMaster (normal,  talking, flashback, and sea-soaked versions)
 * Take-n-Play (normal, flashback, sea-soaked, partially repainted versions, and push 'n' puff)
 * My First Thomas
 * My Thomas Story Library (discontinued)
 * Mega Bloks (discontinued)
 * Wind-up (normal and flashback; Japan only)
 * Boss (discontinued)
 * Collectible Railway
 * Minis (Classic, Heroes, Graffiti and sea-soaked)
 * Motorized Railway
 * Thomas and Friends Adventures (coming soon)