Thumper

Thumper is a driller with two arms and caterpillar tracks. He is used for loosening rocks.

Biography
Thumper was built by the Sodor Mining Company to speed up mining operations. He was brought to Boulder Quarry by Edward to help clear rock from the cliffside faster.

The workmen were initially impressed with his hard work, however he proved much too powerful. Thumper's arms accidentally dislodged an enormous boulder from the mountain which chased Rusty, Skarloey and Rheneas down the line before nearly crushing Percy and running into the sheds at the mine.

Because of his large size, he often gets out of control on mining sites and causes minor disruptions. After his initial problems at Boulder Quarry, Thumper is now used strictly for slate mining.

Personality
Although Thumper never spoke, it has been said he is laid back in approach with a "cool dude" attitude, though he can come across as accident-prone. His manner is cool, and no job is too big for him.

According to the "Thomas and Friends Writers' Bible", Thumper is good-natured and dedicated worker who doesn’t like being idle.

Basis
Although Thumper was built by the Sodor Mining Company, he is not based on any known quarry machine - at any rate, a machine of his type would be extremely hazardous to those around due to the lack of a window at the front of the cab, making the operator unable to see. Thumper's design appears to be a Hodge-podge of various different machinery. His front end appears to be based on a Fowler 0-4-0 diesel, while his treads appear to come from a Kliment Voroshilov tank, albeit with the treads mounted backwards with the drive sprocket in the rear.

In real life, a machine of Thumper's design would be impractical due to the end of its arms not providing a sufficient area to loosen the rock on the sides and below and above the machine, let alone be capable of making a proper hole through the cliff face and properly loosening or clearing rocks. Furthermore, the arms appear to be on a non-flexible joint with the side rods attached to the inner arms appearing to be quite thin, thus potentially leading to the machine being more capable of damaging itself than loosening or clearing rocks.

Livery
Thumper is painted orange-red with his name (Thumper) painted on the sides of his bonnet in white. His roof is painted black.

In the video game Building the New Line, Thumper has white lining around the top of his bonnet.

Appearances
Television Series=

Thomas & Friends
Other Media= {{Scroll box|
 * Series 5 - Rusty and the Boulder

Books

 * 2001 - Thomas the Tank Engine Encyclopedia
 * 2002 - Thomas the Tank Engine Encyclopedia
 * 2005 - Thomas the Tank Engine Encyclopedia
 * 2008 - Thomas' Sticker Express
 * 2010 - Thomas the Tank Engine Encyclopedia
 * 2015 - Thomas the Tank Engine Encyclopedia

Video Games

 * 2000 - Unten Thomas Deluxe Set
 * 2002 - Building the New Line
 * 2008 - Begins Educational Learning

Other
}}
 * 2002 - Trading Cards

Official Description
1997-2000= From Official Website:

From Official Website:
 * -|2000-2008=

From Official Website:
 * -|2010-2015=

Trivia

 * Thumper was never referred to by gender in Rusty and the Boulder, rather he is referred to as "it" instead. Merchandise descriptions confirmed his gender as male.
 * Three different facial expressions were sculpted and casted for Thumper; happy, worried and angry, but only his happy face was used on-screen in one episode.
 * Thumper's model is currently on display in Drayton Manor.
 * In the Norwegian dub, Thumper is called "Dundrern", roughly meaning "barreller".