Inspectors

Inspectors are people who visit Sodor from the Mainland to ensure the Island and its railways are running properly and efficiently. They also approve new railways and engines for operation. How The Fat Controller passes any of these inspections is beyond me.

Engine Inspectors
Engine inspectors are called for help when an engine experiences a problem. An inspector helped Thomas when there were fish in his tank, another assisted when James became a runaway, another chastised him for staying in the shed when Percy tricked him, and another knew exactly how to stop the runaway at Toryreck (Upper Brendam in the television series). The inspectors usually wear the same uniforms as regular drivers.

Appearances
Railway Series= {{Scroll box|

The Railway Series
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 * Tank Engine Thomas Again - Thomas Goes Fishing
 * Edward the Blue Engine - Old Iron
 * Percy the Small Engine - Percy and the Signal
 * The Eight Famous Engines - Gordon Goes Foreign
 * The Twin Engines - Hullo Twins!, The Missing Coach and The Deputation
 * Mountain Engines - Mountain Engine
 * More About Thomas the Tank Engine - The Runaway
 * -|Television Series=

Thomas & Friends

 * Series 1 - Thomas Goes Fishing
 * Series 2 - Old Iron, Percy and the Signal , The Runaway , Gordon Goes Foreign and The Missing Coach

Voice Actors

 * Kōzō Shioya
 * Toshio Kobayashi
 * Takeshi Endo

The Inspector with the Bowler Hat
"My hat! You've sucked it through your air intake!"

- The Inspector with(out) the bowler hat

At the same time Class 40 came to the island, an Inspector with a bowler hat came to quieten the engines after they made a noise protesting at the Diesel. While the Diesel tried to start up, he sucked up the inspector's bowler hat into his air-intake vent, which resulted in him breaking down. The inspector complained to Sir Topham Hatt about the incident.

Appearances
Railway Series=

The Railway Series
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 * Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine - Bowled Out
 * -|Television Series=

Thomas & Friends
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 * Series 4 - Train Stops Play and Bowled Out
 * Series 5 - Lady Hatt's Birthday Party

Voice Actors

 * Yasuhiko Kawazu

Trivia

 * His large body is reused from Jeremiah Jobling's from No Joke for James, while his small scale body is Jobling's from A Scarf for Percy.
 * His hatless head was reused from Farmer Trotter and in turn was used for the Barber in Bertie's Chase.
 * His bowler hat head was later used for Farmer Collett.
 * He appeared as a cricketer in Train Stops Play and a party guest in Lady Hatt's Birthday Party.

The Black Suited Railway Inspector
"These Engines are filthy!"

- The inspector commenting on James, Emily and Gordon

The Black Suited Railway Inspector was a man who came to examine the railway for its efficiency and cleanliness, especially the engines. He also awarded engines that looked their best. On the day of his arrival, Thomas and Percy have worked to hard they ended up getting covered in quarry dust. Thomas anticipated to look as good as Gordon, Emily and James but he soon expressed his doubt.

When the big engines were at the coaling plant waiting for the inspector, James accidentally bumped a conflat which pushed a lever and coal poured onto the tracks. Coal dust spread all over Gordon, James, and Emily. The inspector arrived with the Fat Controller and was crossed with their appearances. Then Gordon covered both men and the Fat Controller's bodyguards in coal dust after trying to clean out his funnel.

Suddenly, Thomas and Percy arrived and the inspector was so impressed by how clean they were he awarded both tank engines with 1st place rosettes.

Appearances
Television Series=

Thomas & Friends

 * Series 8 - Spic and Span

Voice Actors

 * Yasuhiko Kawazu

The Three Railway Inspectors
"I wasn't sure, but now I know the Fat Controller's Railway is the best!"

- The Railway Inspector, Thomas in Charge, fourteenth series

The railway inspectors (known as the railroad inspectors in the US) are three men who commonly inspect the railway.

Thomas & Friends
Thomas tried to impress one of them, but only succeeded in causing havoc; covering both the inspector and the Fat Controller in coal dust. Thomas was given a chance to put everything right and the inspector was very impressed with the Fat Controller's Railway. He was one of the very important visitors that attended Dowager Hatt's tour of Sodor and after party.

He returned to inspect the island once again, but with two other inspectors that look like him. When they went to inspect the Sodor Search and Rescue Centre, he and the other inspectors were not sure if having both Belle and Flynn is really necessary. However, the Fat Controller persuaded them that it's much safer with two.

Two of the railway inspectors came to inspect the North Western Railway, but proved to be grumpy and hard to impress. They eventually showed a change of heart to the railway after Thomas returned a lost watch to one of the inspectors, which was given to the inspector for working for the railway company for twenty years.

All three later returned to the Island again to observe Hugo. They expressed concern about Hugo's propeller.

A Railway Inspector, presumably the same one, is mentioned in the magazine story Caroline's Cruise. This story reveals that he lives on the Mainland.

Appearances
Television Series= {{Scroll box|

Thomas & Friends

 * Series 14 - Thomas in Charge
 * Series 15 - Wonky Whistle
 * Series 16 - Express Coming Through, Thomas and the Sounds of Sodor and Muddy Matters
 * Series 17 - Too Many Fire Engines
 * Series 19 - Lost Property
 * Series 20 - Hugo and the Airship
 * Series 24 - Emily to the Rescue

Specials
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 * 2010 - Misty Island Rescue
 * -|Other Media=

Magazine Stories
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 * 2011 - Thomas in Charge
 * 2012 - Wonky Whistle and Thomas and the Sound of Sodor
 * 2013 - Too Many Fire Engines!

Voice Actors
Railway Inspector #1: Railway Inspector #2: Railway Inspector #3:
 * Matt Wilkinson
 * William Hope
 * Keith Wickham
 * Bob Golding
 * Nobuaki Kanemitsu
 * Christoffer Staib
 * Kai-Henrik Möller
 * Jarosław Boberek
 * Jukka Voutilainen
 * Steven Kynman
 * Keith Wickham
 * Hiroo Sasaki
 * Shōto Kashii
 * Jens Wendland
 * William Hope
 * Keith Wickham
 * Shōto Kashii
 * Kunihiro Kawamoto
 * Tōru Akiyoshi
 * Andreas Birnbaum
 * Kai-Henrik Möller

The Island Inspector
"Very good work, Gordon. Very good work, indeed!"

- The Island Inspector, O the Indignity, fourteenth series

The island inspector is a man who checks that the island is running well and looking well. Before his visit, Sir Topham Hatt insists that everything is cleaned on a day that he calls "Clean Sodor Day".

Appearances
Television Series=

Thomas & Friends

 * Series 14 - O the Indignity
 * Series 15 - Wonky Whistle
 * Series 16 - Muddy Matters

Voice Actors

 * Matt Wilkinson
 * Glenn Wrage
 * Shigenori Sōya
 * Jarosław Boberek
 * Jukka Voutilainen

The Very Important Visitor
"Hooray for Henry!"

- The Railway Coal Inspector, Henry's Happy Coal, fifteenth series

The Very Important Visitor (known as the railroad coal inspector in the US) inspects coal on the railways. He once visited Sodor to study Henry's special coal, but Henry was unaware that he was a coal inspector and wanted to impress him, so he took on normal coal. The coal inspector later told Henry that he should be very proud of his special coal. He was also one of the very important visitors that attended Dowager Hatt's tour of the island and party.

Appearances
Television Series=

Thomas & Friends

 * Series 15 - Henry's Happy Coal and Wonky Whistle
 * Series 16 - Express Coming Through and Muddy Matters

Music Videos

 * Series 15 - Hear the Engines Coming
 * -|Other Media=

Magazine Stories

 * 2012 - Henry's Happy Coal

Voice Actors

 * Keith Wickham
 * Kerry Shale
 * Christian Greger Strøm
 * Jukka Voutilainen
 * Nobuaki Kanemitsu

The Chinese Railway Inspector
The Chinese Railway Inspector is a railway inspector who works for the Chinese Railway. He congratulated Yong Bao after he rescued another engine from falling off of a mountain and rewarded him with a new coat of paint and an emblem on his tender.

Appearances
Television Series=

Thomas & Friends

 * Series 24 - Yong Bao and the Tiger

Voice Actors

 * Dan Li
 * Daiki Nakamura
 * Eduardo Ménez
 * Rodrigo Horta

פקחים Inspektor