The Mean Engines

The Mean Engines are a group of engines working on the Chinese Railway.

Da Li
Da Li (Mandarin: 大力) is a large express engine who works on the Chinese Railway.

Biography
Da Li and his friend, Xiao Hu, pull passenger trains. They used to tease Yong Bao for his appearance and the type of work he did. However, when Da Li was about to fall off a mountain with his passenger train, Yong Bao came to the rescue. Yong Bao was awarded with a new livery and the engines respected him and have been friends after that.

When Thomas visited China, he was once tasked with the important job of delivering priceless vases with Yong Bao. Displeased that they were not chosen, Da Li and Xiao Hu play a trick on them by replacing their trucks with rubbish trucks. Another time, when Thomas had trouble keeping up with all the commuters on the Chinese railway, Da Li and Xiao Hu came to save the day. Lastly, when Da Li found himself stranded on a rickety wooden bridge, and Thomas rescued him by using his light weight to push him across before it collapsed.

Basis
Da Li appears to be based on the QJ Class 2-10-2 with removed smoke deflectors or, possibly a KF7 class 4-8-4 with a skyline casing. Designated as the primary mainline freight locomotive on the Chinese rail system in the 1980s, many QJs remained in service well into the 2000s. Many QJs survive throughout China, with ten preserved at museums, while three have been preserved in the United States in operating condition and one is preserved in Japan. One KF7 is preserved in the National Railway Museum in York.

Livery
Da Li is painted in a dark purple-red colour with red buffer beams and a red cowcatcher. His wheels are also painted red with white lining.

Appearances
Television Series= {{Scroll box|

Videos

 * 2018 - Yong Bao and the Tiger, New Year's Celebration, The Ming Dynasty Vase, A Busy Day, Rickety Piers, The Rice Fields, The Lotus Flowers and The Ribbon Dance

Music Videos
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 * 2018 - Yong Bao the Brave Chinese Engine

Trivia

 * Da Li's role in the televised adaptation of the short was replaced by the The Big Mean Engine.

Xiao Hu
Xiao Hu (Mandarin: 小胡) is large tank engine who works on the Chinese Railway.

Biography
Xiao Hu and his friend, Da Li, pull passenger trains. They used to tease Yong Bao for his appearance and the type of work he did. However, Xiao Hu's opinion would soon change when Yong Bao heroically rescued Da Li and his passenger train from falling off a mountain. Yong Bao was awarded with a new livery and the engines respected him and have been friends after that.

When Thomas visited China, he was once tasked with the important job of delivering priceless vases with Yong Bao. Displeased that they were not chosen, Da Li and Xiao Hu play a trick on them by replacing their trucks with rubbish trucks. Another time, when Thomas had trouble keeping up with all the commuters on the Chinese railway, Da Li and Xiao Hu came to save the day. Lastly, when Xiao Hu accidentally left behind a group of ribbon dancers, Thomas was decorated with ribbons and took their place.

Basis
Xiao Hu appears to be based on the ET7 Class 0-8-0T. At least two ET7s survive in a derelict state at the Baotou Iron & Steel Co. in Baotou, Inner Mongolia.

Livery
Xiao Hu is painted dark green with a red running board and buffer beams. His wheels are painted red with white lining.

Appearances
Television Series= {{Scroll box|

Videos

 * 2018 - Yong Bao and the Tiger, New Year's Celebration, The Ming Dynasty Vase, A Busy Day, The Rice Fields, The Lotus Flowers and The Ribbon Dance

Music Videos
}}
 * 2018 - Yong Bao the Brave Chinese Engine

Trivia

 * Xiao Hu's role in the televised adaptation of the short was replaced by the The Small Mean Engine.
 * Xiao Hu resembles The Swiss Tank Engines from the short, Yong Bao and the Monster in the Tunnel.

The Big Mean Engine
The Big Mean Engine is a large tender engine who works on the Chinese Railway.

Biography
The Mean Engines are a pair of tender engines who pull passenger trains on the Chinese railway. As their title suggests, they were very unkind and would often talk rudely about Yong Bao whenever they passed him in the shunting yards. One day, the bigger engine came off the rails as he was pulling a passenger train through the Himalayas. Luckily, he was saved by Yong Bao, who was rewarded with a new coat of paint for his heroism and the engines apologised to him.

Basis
He is based on a Chinese Railways RM class 4-6-2 Pacific without smoke deflectors. Yong Bao is another member of this class.

Livery
He is painted plain black with a red tender running board and bufferbeams. His wheels are painted red with white rims similar to Yong Bao's.

Appearances
Television Series=

Thomas & Friends

 * Series 24 - Yong Bao and the Tiger

Learning Segments

 * Series 24 - Learn with Thomas

Voice Actors

 * Chris Lew Kum Hoi
 * Hinata Tadokoro
 * Rafael Pacheco
 * Marcio Marconato

Audio Files
Whistle

Trivia

 * His role is based on Da Li in the short, Yong Bao and the Tiger.
 * He is the same basis as Yong Bao's but with a few modifications.
 * He has been partially modified to work on British railways; he has been given buffers and a rear screw coupler.
 * His whistle was reused from Hiro but at a higher pitch.

The Small Mean Engine
The Small Mean Engine is a tender engine who works on the China Railway.

Biography
The Mean Engines are a pair of tender engines who pull passenger trains on the Chinese railway. As their title suggests, they were very unkind and would often talk rudely about Yong Bao (T&F) whenever they passed him in the shunting yards. One day, the bigger engine came off the rails as he was pulling a passenger train through the Himalayas. Luckily, he was saved by Yong Bao, who was rewarded with a new coat of paint for his heroism and the engines apologised to him.

Basis
He is based on the National Railways of Mexico GR-3 class 2-8-0 with the bell, third dome and whistle removed as well as a smaller, Chinese-styled headlamp. Carlos is another member of this class.

Livery
He is painted in a deep merlot red livery with a black bufferbeam, cylinders and smokebox and silver boiler bands.

Appearances
Television Series=

Thomas & Friends

 * Series 24 - Yong Bao and the Tiger

Learning Segments

 * Series 24 - Learn with Thomas

Voice Actors

 * Chris Lew Kum Hoi
 * Kunihiro Kawamoto
 * Julio Bernal
 * Figueira Junior

Trivia

 * His role is based on Xiao Hu in the short, Yong Bao and the Tiger.
 * He is the same basis as Carlos' but with a few modifications.
 * He has been partially modified to work on British railways; he has been given buffers, a rear screw coupler, and and his lamp has also been moved to accommodate his face.