Diesel (RWS)

Diesel, as his name implies, is a black diesel engine who originates from the Other Railway, and is the first known standard-gauge diesel to ever arrive on Sodor.

Biography
When Diesel visited the North Western Region on trial from British Railways, Duck was asked to show him around. Duck was unimpressed by Diesel's claims of being "revolutionary" and left him to his own devices. As a result, Diesel was made into a laughing stock by the trucks for trying to pull some rusty old trucks and failing spectacularly.

Diesel then blamed Duck for not helping him and swore a vendetta plan; he spread rumours that Duck had given the big engines rude nicknames, which led to Duck being sent to Wellsworth pending an inquiry into the matter. Diesel meanwhile got too big for his buffers and started telling lies about Henry, but he was found out and sent home in disgrace. His visit was brief but impactful, as his behaviour left a bad impression about diesels to the Sodor engines.

Several years later, Diesel was brought back to help on Thomas' Branch Line whilst Percy was being repaired. Diesel tried to win Thomas and Toby over, without success and after he destroyed an old truck, he was to be sent away. However, on his day of departure, Clarabel slipped on oily rails left by Daisy and came off at some points near Dryaw. Diesel - realising that Thomas was blocking his only way home - went to the rescue. Clarabel put in a good word for him, and Diesel - although he returned to the Other Railway - has since always been welcome on Sodor.

When Thomas went to the National Railway Museum, Diesel pushed him onto a lorry so that he could be transported to York.

Personality
Diesel is, in essence, the average pantomime villain. He is oily, malicious, devious, scheming and full of ideas to get revenge. He views himself and any other diesel as highly above the steam engines and believes that all diesels are "revolutionary".

Basis
Diesel is based on a British Rail (BR) Class 08 diesel-electric shunter. In the real world, BR Class 08s were in fact the most successful shunting engines in the world with 996 of them built. Over seventy of them are preserved by heritage railways, such as the Dean Forest Railway and museums, such as the National Railway Museum. Around one-hundred BR Class 08s also remain in service on the national rail network.

Aside from Diesel himself, one other BR Class 08 also appears in The Railway Series.

Livery
Diesel is painted in the BR mixed-traffic black livery, which was the standard livery for shunting engines from 1948 until the mid-1960s. Diesel has unpainted silver siderods - unlike most BR black Class 08s, which had them painted red - indicating he was built by Darlington Works.

Appearances
Railway Series= {{Scroll box|

The Railway Series

 * Duck and the Diesel Engine - Pop Goes the Diesel, Dirty Work and A Close Shave
 * The Little Old Engine - Rock 'n' Roll
 * Main Line Engines - Buzz, Buzz
 * James and the Diesel Engines - Old Stuck-Up
 * Thomas and the Great Railway Show - Not the Ticket

Companion Volumes
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 * 1972 - The Railway Series: Surprise Packet
 * 1976 - Famous Engines
 * 1980 - Annual
 * 1987 - The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways and Thomas and the Evil Diesel
 * 1996 - Thomas the Tank Engine: The Complete Collection
 * 2005 - Sodor: Reading Between the Lines
 * 2007 - Thomas the Tank Engine: The New Collection
 * -|Other Media=

Annual Stories

 * 1990 - Old Square Wheels
 * 1991 - Rusty Red Scrap Iron
 * 1992 - Galloping Sausage

Books

 * 1989 - Thomas's Book of Colours

Trivia

 * Diesel was the first diesel engine to be introduced in The Railway Series.
 * He was created when Eric Marriott, the editor of The Railway Series at the time, suggested that Awdry should introduce a diesel in order to keep the books up to date.
 * He and Mavis are the only standard gauge diesels in The Railway Series to have grey faces.
 * Contrary to the television series and Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go - in which he is depicted as having a horn - Diesel is illustrated with an air whistle in The Railway Series.