Carlos

Carlos is a small Mexican tender engine who has competed in the Great Railway Show, every year since the event's inception. During the most recent one, he competed in the best decorated parade.

Thomas & Friends
Carlos first participated in the very first Great Railway Show, competing in the strength competition. He ended up winning this event.

Carlos continued to compete in the Great Railway Show every year. When the show was being held in England, he competed in the best-decorated parade. He competed against Yong Bao, Rajiv, James and Emily, but ended up losing the event to Rajiv. Later, as he was refilling his tender with coal, Carlos was forced to reverse when Philip was trying to escape from Vinnie, causing the latter to be covered in coal dust when the hopper was still pouring coal out.

After the Great Railway Show ended, Carlos left the Mainland and returned to Mexico.

Carlos later met Ace in Mexico. He greeted Ace and asked him where he was going, as Ace was being transported on a flatbed by Thomas and Nia.

Personality
Carlos is a proud and happy steam engine from the heart of Mexico. Always wearing a smile, this engine is the life and soul of the Great Railway Show. Originally competing and winning the strongest engine race at the very first Great Railway Show, this engine continues to please the crowds and is now taking part in the Best Decorated Engine Parade.

Basis
Carlos is based on a Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México (National Railways of Mexico) GR-3 class 2-8-0, built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Eddystone, Pennsylvania. The engine carrying his number, 903, was built in 1910 and was originally built for narrow gauge tracks and was used by the Veracruz Terminal Company and the Teziutlan Copper Company before being bought by NdeM in 1945. Re-gauged to standard gauge in 1950 and taken out of service in 1963, the engine is currently on display outside the José Cardoso Tellez Railway Museum in Acámbaro in the Mexican state of Guanajuato.

According to the behind the scenes video of The Great Race, Carlos was originally going to be an NdeM NR-1 class 4-6-4 Hudson locomotive.

The small mean engine is also based on a Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México GR-3 class, but has been modified.

Livery
Carlos is painted black with a silver smokebox, cowcatcher and bell. His cab doors, windows, handrails and other details are painted red, while his sandboxes and dome are painted with green lining around them. His number 903 is painted on both his headlamp and cab and his company's initials, "N. DE M." are painted on the sides of his tender.

Appearances
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Thomas & Friends

 * Series 23 - Grudge Match

Specials

 * 2016 - The Great Race
 * 2018 - Big World! Big Adventures!

Music Videos

 * Series 20 - James the Really Splendid Engine
 * Big World! Big Adventures! - Free and Easy

Learning Segments

 * Guess Who? Puzzles

Videos
}} Other Media=
 * 2016 - Meet the Contenders: Carlos of Mexico
 * 2017 - Great Race Friends Near and Far: Carlos Races Raul!
 * 2018 - Meet Yong-Bao of China!

Books

 * 2016 - 6-Movie Coloring Collection, Off to the Races! , The Great Race , The Great Race: Sticker Activity Book and The Great Race: The Movie Storybook
 * 2017 - Thomas and the Trains of the World
 * 2018 - Character Encyclopedia and Thomas and Ace Race Across the World!
 * 2019 - Engines Around the World

Audio Files
Whistles

In The Great Race only, Carlos reuses The Rainbow Sun's whistle. In BWBA onwards, Carlos reuses Luke and Axel's whistle sound, but at a slightly lower pitch.

Trivia

 * Carlos has been partially modified to work on British railways; he has added buffers and his lamp has also been moved to accommodate his face. As such, his bell has been moved to accommodate his lamp.
 * Carlos has been significantly scaled down from his basis, as he is roughly as tall as the lowest part of Yong Bao's tender. This would make his buffers lower than those on conventional British rolling stock. However, as he only took part in the Best Decorated Engine competition, his buffers would not be necessary.
 * When Carlos backs away from the coal hopper, he says the phrase "Fizzling fuegos!", where in Spanish, "fuegos" means fires.
 * Like Hiro and Yong Bao, Carlos has a buckeye coupler on his front and a chain and hook coupler on the back of his tender.
 * Despite Carlos using coal, his basis is an oil burner.
 * In a deleted scene from Big World! Big Adventures!, Carlos is briefly depicted with the Aztec Calendar around his face.
 * Carlos is the second engine who speaks Spanish, with the first being Victor.
 * In Big World! Big Adventures!, Carlos' whistle is a slightly lower pitched version of Luke's and Axel's whistle. His first whistle, which was only heard in The Great Race, is the same sound as Lexi's and Marcia's, and was first used from the Rainbow Sun, and it came from CN 3254's 1989s whistle.
 * Carlos' livery contains all three colours of the Mexican flag.
 * Carlos is the only character introduced in The Great Race that does not have any merchandise based on him.
 * Carlos' eccentric rods are not animated properly as they do not complete a full rotation around his larger connecting rods.

Quotes
"Fizzling fuegos!"

- Carlos gasping in horror when he saw Philip coming towards him, The Great Race

"Hello! Where are you going?" "Wherever I want to, mate! I'm a free spirit! I follow the sun!"

- Carlos meets Ace, Big World! Big Adventures!

Videos
Carlos Carlos קרלוס カルロス Carlos Карлос