Hector

Hector (an acronym for "Heavily Engineered Coal Truck On Rails") is a large coal hopper truck who is good friends with Thomas and James.

Biography
When Bill and Ben first brought Hector to Knapford Yards, he was being troublesome and kept banging into the twins. Hector, at first, was aggressive. He roared angrily at the engines to "Keep Away!", giving Thomas a fright and scaring Rosie away. Thomas, having enough of the truck's sinister behaviour and determined to shunt him, accidentally pushed him off the tracks, after which Hector revealed he was intimidating so he would not have to carry coal, being scared of doing so. After being helped back onto the tracks, Thomas showed him it was actually quite fun.

Later on, Hector helped James get through a snowstorm from the Shunting Yards to Great Waterton after James ignored his previous advice and some of the trucks got stuck in a snowdrift.

Personality
When Hector was new to the island and the engines, he was portrayed as being hostile, mean, and aggressive to hide his fear of being filled with coal. However, he learned that there was no need to be scared and is now friendly and helpful to the engines, especially James. He now enjoys being filled with coal, and will readily help engines out.

Basis
Hector is based on an ICI bogie hopper wagon. These wagons were used to haul limestone traffic from the quarries at Tunstead, near Buxton in the Derbyshire Peak District, to the ICI processing works at Northwich, and were an early example of "block trains" in Britain. 152 of these wagons were built in three batches over a 17 year period, and they were in service until 1997. Six examples of this type of wagon are preserved, one by the National Railway Museum.

Livery
Hector is painted black with "HECTOR" painted on his sides in cream. He also has white wheel rims.

Appearances
Television Series=

Thomas & Friends

 * Series 11 - Hector the Horrid!
 * Series 12 - James Works it Out
 * -|Other Media=

Books

 * 2008 - Hector
 * 2011 - The Big Book of Engines and Hector the Horrid Hopper

Magazine Stories

 * 2014 - James Works it Out
 * 2015 - Easter Egg Express

Official Description
2010-2021= From Official Website

Trivia

 * According to a press release, Hector was originally going to be called "Hopper."
 * In the twelfth series, Hector gains a Hispanic accent in the US narration.
 * Hector was the only truck to have an eye mechanism.
 * Despite Hector being referred to as a "Heavily Engineered Coal Truck on Rails" in merchandising, this acronym was never referenced in any of his appearances.
 * Hector was the last rolling stock character introduced in the model series and the last one overall until the Slip Coaches in the eighteenth series.
 * Unlike his basis, Hector's handrails were removed to accommodate a face.
 * A black plastic cover was used to hide the wires for Hector's eye mechanism.
 * Four different facial expressions were sculpted for Hector and used on-screen.
 * Hector is the second truck to be named in the television series, the first being S.C. Ruffey in the fourth series, and the third being Lei, who was introduced in the twenty-second series.
 * Hector is one of the three rolling stock characters to appear in two seasons and one episode each. The others being Bradford and Hannah.

Merchandise

 * Wooden Railway
 * Take Along
 * Take-n-Play
 * Collectible Railway
 * TrackMaster
 * Capsule Plarail
 * My Thomas Story Library

Héctor הקטור ヘクター Hektor Гектор 赫克托