Ned/Behind the Scenes

Television Series
Ned is a fictional steam shovel created by Phil Fehrle, Jonathan Trueman and Abi Grant.

In 2002, Ned made his debut as a cameo in the sixth series of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends in the episode, Jack Jumps In and spoke in A Friend in Need. He later appeared in the spin-off series, Jack and the Sodor Construction Company.

Ned last appeared in The Great Discovery and he has not appeared in the television series since 2008. However, he was indirectly mentioned in the 2014 movie, Tale of the Brave.

Live-action model
Ned's funnel and chassis were built out of brass and the main body was built out of plastic to keep the weight down. The model was also painted in a matte finish.

There were three remotes built to control Ned, one was used to control his movement, one was used to operate his steam shovel and one was used to move his eyes. During production of Jack and the Sodor Construction Company Ned's remotes would be replaced by newer JR Propo ones, one of these remotes were sourced from JR Propo's XP642 remote controller. The steam shovel controller also doubled as a smoke and boom controller.

Ned has had two modifications throughout the television series. This includes:
 * Jack and the Sodor Construction Company:
 * The logo on both of his sides changed from "Packard & Co." to "Sodor Construction Company".
 * The Great Discovery:
 * His pupils became bigger.

Present Day
After production of the model series wrapped in 2008, most of the models and sets would be put into storage, with some being put on display at Drayton Manor Theme Park. All other models would be logged and referenced in 2009 by HiT Entertainment, from this HiT would decide on which models were to enter storage once again, which would be given to crew members and which to be disposed off. Due to only having one model made to this scale, Ned's model would stay under HiT and later Mattel's ownership.

Ned's model is currently in Mattel's storage unit in Southampton England, on the 29th of November 2022, Ned's bucket controller would be listed for sale on the Prop Gallery. It is now owned by Twitter user Hectorfan2008.

Close-up model
A larger scale model of Ned was built in the spin-off series. It was required for scenes where he had to interact with the close-up scale figures. Ned's Close-up model was not complete. only his wheels and chassis were built.

Voice Actors

 * Yasuhiro Takato