Frieda

Frieda is a big streamlined German tender engine who participated in the Great Railway Show. She was a contender in the strongest engine competition.

Biography
Frieda was present when she and the other international engines accidentally arrived on Sodor instead of the Mainland. When Thomas came to the Mainland to bring Gordon his safety valve, he mistook Frieda for Gordon. Frieda scoffed at this and puffed away to compete in the strength competition alongside Henry, Hiro, Vinnie and Shane, but the winner of the competition was left unknown.

After the Great Railway Show ended, Frieda left the Mainland and returned to Germany.

Personality
Frieda is a sleek, blue streamlined engine from Germany. Aside from being described as beautiful and strong, she can show to prove that anything the boys can do, the girls could do better. Frieda is also a rather grumpy engine, who does not smile much, and does not suffer fools gladly.

Basis
Frieda is based on the DB Class 10 built by Krupp in 1957. They were built to pull express passenger trains with the Deutsche Bundesbahn after the Second World War. The class was nicknamed 'Black Swans' ('Schwarze Schwäne') because of their shaping.

One of the two locomotives, 10 001 is preserved at the German Steam Locomotive Museum in Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg.

A printout seen in The Making of The Great Race shows that Frieda was at one point going to be based off of DRG Class 61 number 61 001, a streamlined 4-6-4 tank engine. 61 001 was built by Henschel in 1935 to compete with emerging high-speed diesel multiple units at the time on the Henschel-Wegmann train. The engine was later withdrawn in 1952 following a severe accident in Münster the previous year, and was later scrapped in 1957.

Livery
Frieda is painted blue with yellow and redlining and red wheels. She has the number "409" painted on the sides of her tender in red, and the German flag painted on both the sides of her streamlined casing and tender.

Appearances
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Thomas & Friends

 * Series 23 - Grudge Match

Specials

 * 2016 - The Great Race

Music Videos

 * Series 22 - The Journey Never Ends and All the Girls Around the World

Videos
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 * 2016 - Meet the Contenders: Frieda of Germany
 * 2017 - Great Race Friends Near and Far: Frieda the Grumpiest Engine

Books

 * 2016 - 6-Movie Coloring Collection, Off to the Races! , The Great Railway Show , The Great Race , The Great Race: Sticker Activity Book and The Great Race: The Movie Storybook
 * 2017 - Thomas and the Trains of the World
 * 2018 - Character Encyclopedia
 * 2019 - Engines Around the World

Audio Files
Whistle

Frieda has Shane's whistle sound, but at two steps lower in pitch.

Trivia

 * Frieda's Wooden Railway prototype incorrectly had coal in the tender; both members of her class were built or rebuilt as oil-burning locomotives. This was fixed on the final toy.
 * She is the only female character introduced in The Great Race not to be a tank engine.

Quotes
"Do I look like a Gordon? My name is Frieda!"

- Frieda to Thomas for thinking she was Gordon

Merchandise

 * Wooden Railway

Video
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