Mike (RWS)

"Give me goods trains every time."

- Mike Mike is a small strong grumpy red engine who prefers goods trains to passengers. He works on the Arlesdale Railway.

Biography
Mike was built by H. Clarkson and Son of York from a design which aimed to incorporate improvements on the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway's River Esk and, like their River Mite, has succeeded. Mike is tough, robust and powerful. He is more sure-footed than Rex, but his performance is sometimes erratic.

Mike worked on an unnamed line in England until 1967, at which time their line closed down and he, Rex and Bert were sent to Sodor to work the Arlesdale Railway. Not long after arrival, Mike mocked Duck when the latter had trouble with his whistle making unusual noises, which lead to Rex jokingly telling Mike to lose his whistle. While pulling a passenger train, a stray cow had wandered onto the line and Mike whistled so loudly to make her move that his whistle flew off. This meant that his crew and passengers had to whistle for him. To make matters worse, there were no spare whistles for Mike so he was sent to the quarries for the rest of the day. Mike would soon come across some sheep on the line and complained about how silly they were, with Rex pointing out how useful their wool was.

Mike, along with the other small engines, was offered to be in a book about Duke if they behaved. When the rescue team found him, Mike brought tools to help him out of the shed.

In 1976, a few months after Jock came into service, Mike decided to pay the new engine back for all his cockiness. So, whilst double-heading a passenger train, Mike reduced steam after leaving the Green, forcing Jock to pull him and the train alone. However, Mike's plan backfired when his injector failed on the return journey and Jock had to take him home. After being mended, Mike apologised to Jock.

Thomas & Friends
Before Mike's Thomas & Friends counterpart was introduced in the 2015 special Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure, he had perviously appeared in Thomas & Friends merchandise. He appeared in the books Thomas' Giant Coloring Book and Thomas' Sticker Express. Wooden Railway and Take Along models of him were released and he appeared in the 2002 Trading Cards.

Personality
Mike means well and works hard, but can sometimes appear a little cunning and arrogant. He thinks he should be in charge of the other two engines, though neither of them really let him boss them around. Bert simply humours him, but Rex goes out of his way to tease Mike and wind him up, which is not very difficult given the fact that he is hot-headed. Mike much prefers pulling goods trains to passengers, unlike Gordon, as he considers goods much more straightforward and less likely to complain. He is proud of his strength and appears rather confident, but he would not be so easy to tease if he was not hiding at least a little insecurity. He can sometimes be a little argumentative and irritable and it is common for him to overheat when he loses his temper.

Basis
Mike is based on the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway's River Mite.

Livery
Mike is painted in scarlet red with blue lining and yellow cab window frames. The word "ARLESDALE" is painted on his tender in yellow with a red outline. He has a black running board with red bufferbeams and valences. He also has a brass dome and brass nameplates with red backing. His wheels are painted black.

Prior to arriving on the Arlesdale Railway, Mike was painted green, which often ended up with him and Rex being mistaken for each other.

Appearances
Railway Series= {{Scroll box|

The Railway Series

 * Small Railway Engines - Ballast, Tit for Tat, Mike's Whistle and Useful Railway
 * Oliver the Western Engine - Donald's Duck and Resource and Sagacity
 * Duke the Lost Engine - Sleeping Beauty
 * Jock the New Engine - We Need Another Engine, Sticking Power, Jock and Teamwork
 * Wilbert the Forest Engine - Wired-Up

Companion Volumes
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 * 1970 - Twelve Happy Engines
 * 1972 - The Railway Series: Surprise Packet and Narrow Gauge Rails in Sodor
 * 1976 - Famous Engines and Railway Map of the Island of Sodor
 * 1979 - Annual
 * 1980 - Annual
 * 1987 - The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways
 * 1996 - Thomas the Tank Engine: The Complete Collection
 * 2005 - Sodor: Reading Between the Lines
 * 2007 - Thomas the Tank Engine: The New Collection
 * -|Other Media=

Books

 * 2005 - Duck
 * 2007 - Thomas' Giant Coloring Book
 * 2008 - Thomas' Sticker Express
 * 2011 - Duck the Great Western Engine

Documentaries
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 * 2005 - Hashire! The "Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends" Steam Locomotive is Alive!

Official Description
2002-2009= From Official Media:

Trivia

 * His name is a pun on both River Mite's and his wheel arrangement, the Mikado, or Mike for short.
 * In Mike's trading card promo, he is incorrectly depicted as a 4-8-2 along with Rex and Bert.
 * Mike was originally planned to be released in the ERTL range, and had at least one prototype made, however it was cancelled due to the discontinuation of the ERTL range.
 * Had it been released, it would’ve made Mike the first (and possibly only) of the original three Arlesdale Railway engines to be made in ERTL; it is unknown if Rex or Bert were ever planned.
 * Mike's prototype model used James' face.