I view Thomas and Percy’s relationship as a brotherly relationship but Edward being Thomas’s true friend does kinda feel right. And The Adventure Begins and CGI as a whole (from season 17-21) did their relationship justice

I like to think that Edward was eager for Thomas and Stepney to meet because they're both tank engines built by the LBSC and therefore, Edward wanted Thomas to meet one of his cousins.

Edward is a wise mentor

Thomas and Edward are definite best friends. While other engines look down on Thomas, Edward treats the little tank engine as an equal and Thomas looks up to the old engine like a mentor. Old Reliable Edward is the prime showcase of the two putting Gordon in his place as the big engine himself treated them like dirt constantly. I'd say that Thomas and Edward are real friendship goals.

Edward being Thomas' actual best friend feels pretty right tbh, they helped built the NWR afterall, they've been together for a long time. I see Thomas and Percy having a brotherly bond, they may get hostile to eachother but they get along in the end, but Edward and Thomas feels like they have a more important relationship, he's the engine Thomas looks up to, his mentor. Also I like how it seems Percy and Thomas have they're own mentors, Toby is Percy's and Thomas is Edwards, pretty cool.

A lot of people see Edward as Thomas' teacher/mentor. Let's just agree if this is the case, Thomas is his favorite student

In my opinion, the CGI era did the best job with the two. In "The Adventure Begins" Edward was a real stepfather to Thomas. He gave him advice and was always on his side. In the episode "Old Reliable Edward", Gordon was mean to Edward and Thomas thought "You know what? You helped me back then, now I’ll help you!”. And that's what makes the episode so great. We see how much Thomas cares for Edward. I believe the episode takes place before the Miller era which would explain why Gordon is nice to Edward in the Miller era but not in this episode. In "Hero of the rails", Edward (with Gordon and James) defends Thomas from Spencer. When Phillip went to Sodor, Edward remembered that Thomas was just like Phillip was now. And in season 21, Thomas says goodbye to the person who was once a stepfather to him.

I always loved the father son dynamic of Thomas and Edward, Edward respects Thomas and in turn Thomas respects Edward which is a huge 180° because Thomas doesn't respect anyone, Toby only got on Thomas's good side because he scared the grouchy policeman Thomas would have still despised Toby if he hadn't done that, Gordon (in the RWS atleast) got on Thomas's good side because of their alliance, Edward is one of the few characters Thomas actually respects without gaining anything from it and for all we know they could have been best friends since day one of working for the NWR . Thomas and Edward are the Bob cratchet and Tiny Tim of the thomas franchise and are truly like father and son

Edward is the mentor Thomas looks to for advice and someone he can learn from. Anyone who tries to put him down or ignore him he won’t be afraid to lash out and explain his importance.

Saving Edward 100% deserves a video! I personally think it's one of the best S9 episodes. S1: Edward lets Thomas take his train so he can 'see the world'. S9: Thomas takes Edward's train to prevent him from being scrapped.

Edward is like a older brother to Thomas Since they both helped to build the NWR I like to think they bounded and forever kept it But even though Edward is an old wise sage Thomas does struggle to be like him but his check gets the better of him Then over the next few years Thomas grows and as matured as a character

I’d say Percy is Thomases best friend in the way that he’s someone Thomas spends a lot of time with and (even if they were initially hostile to one another) has formed a close friendship with. But Edward on the other hand, even if he doesn’t have the same title as best friend, I think Edward and Thomas more important relationship. Thomas clearly sees Edward as someone respectable and a real mentor figure. And on the flipside, Edward (unlike the other Tender Engines at the time) is very much aware of how important Thomas’s job is. Edward doesn’t see Thomas as beneath him, but instead his equal in terms of importance. So I guess what I’m saying is the difference between Thomas’s friendships between Percy and Edward is this: Percy is the best friend, someone you have a deep emotional bond with and enjoy spending time with. But Edward is the mentor. The engine Thomas aspires to be like and looked up to.

I like to think that Thomas and Percy have their own mentors. Thomas has Edward and Percy has Toby

The way I see it, Edward never teased or looked down on Thomas during his early years while the other big engines did and Edward would come forward to comfort and help him. Because of this, Thomas looks up to Edward and respects him.

I'd like to see a type of story where someone is jealous of their close relationship and tries to break them up, only for the two cause the plan to backfire.

I like how the Hit era also kept up James and Edward's friendship. I'd argue they were more successful reconstructing that one, since while we still had cases of James being haughty around Edward, they also shown moments of him being insecure, knowing that Edward ultimately has a better reputation than him. It's a nice call back to James' book where Edward was teaching him the ropes. Even in spite of cases like Old Iron and Edward's Exploit, James sort of sees Edward as the older brother he can't quite match up to. I like how it even perks up a bit in the CGI era, unlike Gordon, James never really went back to being snooty around Edward and their friendship was even shown odd times like in All In Vain.

You have Skarloey and Rheneas, two engines that are friends, but also brothers. Rusty and Duncan, the pair that had not always got along, but are still an amazing dynamic whenever they're onscreen. Thomas and Percy, two best friends that grew to respect each other more after the second season. And speaking of Thomas, I like how consistent the dynamic between Thomas and Edward is and was. From the Railway Series to the twenty four season long running 1984-2020 TV series adaptation of the books, it's shown that Thomas and Edward's relationship has been the strongest of the entire franchise. I like how Thomas went from the opposite of Edward to becoming almost like him as the series went on. The later fully CGI seasons past Seasons 13-16, while sometimes showing Thomas whenever he's being cheeky, cocky, or high and mighty in some cases (SLOTLT especially), has shown Thomas' good natured side and I can tell that Thomas has been the most kindest and most sympathetic out of every other season of the show. If we're going to look at Thomas' dynamic with both Percy and Edward, I feel that all three engines are best friends respectively. Thomas is like an older brother while Percy is the youngest brother (which has shown a lot more when the show went on until Season 24), whilst I agree with people saying that Thomas and Edward are like father and son figures with each other and it's very evident since Thomas' introduction in 1946 on the second book of the Railway Series, "Thomas the Tank Engine". "Old Reliable Edward", while an episode that has a done before concept, is the best episode utilizing both Thomas, Edward and Gordon in the same episode and it is wonderful. It's Thomas and Edward's friendship at it's best here and it felt absolutely true to all three characters. Thomas is the man with the plan to teach Gordon a lesson, Gordon is a total jerk who puts Edward down with vocal insults, and Edward is the one, whom at this point, has started having enough of Gordon's ways of talking down to him, and even mocks his insulting comments to him after having found out he is stuck on his hill the second time this week. It's peak Edward right there.

Honestly I see Thomas and Percy as best friends i see Thomas and Edward's friendship as one with mutual respect.

I have a very good point. As you know Thomas and Edward where always best friends and always stayed as best friends. Just like Thomas was with Percy and still is. I loved seeing Thomas and Edward working together and talking at the same time throughout the classic seasons aswell as CGI. Both are amazing friends that always cared for each other no matter what. And that's what I really enjoy seeing. Their friendship together was unstoppable, Especially in ''The Adventure Begins ''.

Not Percy, Not James, But the engine who started it all…

Thomas and James bring out the worst in each other. Thomas and Edward bring out the best in each other.

Edward and Thomas’ relationship reminds me of my relationship with my dad and I. We both treat each other like equals and we both see each other as the only members of our family we view as worth A damn.

I would consider Thomas and Edward as a father/son or brother relationship as Edward is the wise and kind sage like with Toby and Thomas is the one who can be cheeky but does mature over the course of the first seasons of the show. I would have loved to see Thomas and Edward paired more in the books and TV series because as you said “These two do bring the best in each other.” I really enjoyed this video and I wonder what you think of how I consider Thomas and Edward’s relationship/friendship.

Really, Saving Edward could have been a good episode for character dynamics with some tweaks. I like role reversal episodes, the idea that Edward is acting up and embarrassed about it so the guys he's been taking care of, without any questioning at all, try to return the favour, is a sweet premise. Heck, it even has Gordon come check on him in the end. Edward and the Mail, Signals Crossed, Toby Feels Left Out and even Trouble in the Shed are similar. Even if they're not all the best written, it's cute seeing the younger engines looking out for their mentors. It's really only ruined due to lack of nuance from Edward. The idea he doesn't want to show he's wearing down and isn't performing well could fit him, he doesn't like letting people down and is known for just NEVER giving up even when it might be more practical for his well being, but they also turn him into an outright defeatist, someone who thinks he's a weak old man on death's door. It's more annoying because not only is it not in character, but they didn't even HAVE to have him act that way for the plot to work. You could actually quite easily deconstruct Edward's character to be flawed for that exact situation. (At least it maintains Gordon's character development though, unlike Old Reliable Edward.)

To me, Thomas and Edwards' dynamic reminds me of Lightning McQueen and Doc Hudson from the Cars franchise. Doc is older and wiser; McQueen is cocky and younger. Now sure, McQueen didn't care about Doc at first. But when he discovers his past, McQueen gained a lot of respect for the old legend. Even begging to know Doc's racing strategies. And by the climax of the film, Doc becomes McQueen's mentor. In short, McQueen's respect for Doc is nearly similar to Thomas' respect for Edward.

I love to see Thomas and Edward together, they are true blue friends. Percy may be Thomas’ best friend, they do fall out with each other on occasion.

I must say, this is a great video of Thomas and Edward's friendship. Their bond is very good over the show's eras from model to CGI. Perhaps if you have to be more familiar with the CGI series, go and watch all of it to help you, especially to include it in your videos more often. Just a helpful tip. Everyone likes Thomas and Percy as best friends in the show and it's very popular to them and me. Nothing wrong with that. If you need a new idea for your next video, perhaps something around Duck and Diesel's rivalry. Would be great.

14:45 I was eating my dinner when I was watching this. So I got caught off guard when my name & comment was read out, watching amazed while I had face full of Spaghetti for a full minute! 😆 Honestly, thank you so much for reading my comment! It made my day! 😊

I've always loved Edward and Thomas' relationship! I love Edward as Thomas' mentor

So glad to see you back, Cinder. I admit I missed new content by you and boy did you hit the ground running with this one. It's amazing how one can look into a character as seemingly flat as Edward and find more depth that would help a fellow fan appreciate him more, especially when it comes to his dynamic with other engines like Thomas. I am one to see the NWR's numbers 2 and 5 to have a similar relationship due to them both being mixed traffic engines. So, that would give them some common ground and understanding to each other. But I do accept the idea that Edward is closer to Thomas with what's displayed here. You even had me appreciating the HiT era of all places. I also just plain love the fact that Old Reliable Edward was included. That episode gave us prime focus for all our favorite blue engines, written their characters with loads of respect and the execution was so on the point that I thought I was watching one of the original books roll out of the pages while I was reading it. As for how I see their relationship, I see it as a blurred line between big brother/little brother and father/son. It's hard for me to choose which one as they give off vibes of both to me. Especially in some cases of the HiT era where Edward worries he could be scrapped and Thomas would tell him "Hey, you know Sir Topham Hatt better than that. Why not give yourself a break?" And Edward also conceding with Thomas that Rocky is the best option for help when a mess occurred. While I agree that those episodes could use adjustments, in both cases it's a lot like when a son gives his dad the same advice he would've been given on vice versa. For the brother dynamic, mostly it's thanks to the way they were written in the classic era with Edward the Big Bro listening to Thomas and giving him some help and Thomas the Little Bro looking up to Edward and willing to stand up for him. In conclusion, this video was everything I was hoping for and I'm so glad I got to see it the day it came out. Thank you so much, Cinder.

Thomas and Edward's relationship has started reminding me of how I got on with my SNAs in school. I’m glad you decided to make this video cause I’m starting to respect these two and their friendship a lot more lately.

I view Thomas and Edward’s relationship like Obi-Wan and Anakin’s Master and Appreciate and great brotherly friends

Personally, I would consider Thomas and Edward to be like a father and son, while bonding over the fact that they had to leave their previous railways behind and initially faced an uncertain future. Also, I can imagine that, even if they did bash buffers at first, they would continue to bond over the fact that the Furness Railway weren't interested in having Edward back, due to him being old and a shy steamer and the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway sent Thomas to sent to Sodor by mistake and decided that it was easier to write him off as being lost. I know that it hasn't been officially confirmed, but I think that it would add a really nice layer to the story these two share.

There’s also a very small moment in the Season 20 episode Mucking About, where Thomas tells Edward about Max and Monty and Edward tells him to ignore him. Thought that’s something you should know about in the CGI Era, great analysis video of these two character’s relationships.

As I brought up in my comment on the community post Thomas respects Edward the most out of the other tender engines Edward is Thomas's actual best friend, a scene I like from the cgi series is when Thomas asks Edward for advice when he was having trouble with Max and Monty which shows he trusts him when it comes to good advice

I really like to see someone do a Thomas and friends rewrite of saving Edward. Maybe it could take place in the early years of the north western railway?

Personally I see Percy as more of a brother to THOMAS AND for Edward I see them as father and son.

The only complaint I have about this friendship is I wished there was more of it such as in the CGI run (Brenner run basically)

There has been some KZfaq content that had some moments where Thomas and Edward may not always get along. I agree that Philip in his first 2 episodes he was a diesel version of Thomas, but some of the events and his first time meeting James and Gordon didn't play out exactly the same as Thomas' first days. "Old reliable Edward" I knew you were going to talk about because Thomas and Edward were just complete bad@$$3$ to leave Gordon on his hill to die for being a total prick to Edward... 😎😏💙 Edward does seem to be considered a best friend for Thomas, but I sometimes often see that with Percy. Mainly in The HIT and CGI Era from S13 to 18. 1 other horrible HIT Era Edward episode you could've added was "Edward and the mail". I did found out with "Edward strikes out" was that James was originally going to be the main character for the episode, but there was a problem with his model so the producers probably thought: "F**k this let's use Edward instead", and that's what made the episode so hated.

I think this video here made me like Thomas and Edward’s relationship more. I see them as having a father/son relationship as they got to know each other more throughout the series. It was Edward who helped Thomas mature throughout the seasons, it was Edward who was his only and first friend on Sodor and it was Edward who did not judge Thomas at all for who he is, and in turn, Thomas respects Edward :) Even though, they r simply just train locomotives, sometimes they tend to rub off on u in the right correct way. Like Edward and even Thomas have influenced me to be more kind, mature, wise etc.

Maybe Edward should work on the Ffarquhar Branch sometime or pull Annie & Clarabel for a little while when Thomas was away? Since he was his longtime friend.

I will say this though, despite the unfortunate turn that Thomas took when HiT took over, I did still love that bond between Thomas and Edward and there were even some gems in the HiT / CGI era. With Old Reliable Edward, Saving Edward, The Adventure Begins, etc. Even though there were some issues with the first two ( With Gordon still saying Edward is out of date despite Edward already proving himself he’s still a hard worker and Edward suddenly being doubtful in himself which is a far cry from the wise mentor we met before ) I did still love how Thomas helped Edward out. Nice work, btw!✌️

I see Edward and Thomas more like father and son than best friends. With one Edwards the oldest of the main fleet on the northwestern and was Thomas's mentor on the rails along with the fat controller who was the other mentor too. Plus Edward's pretty kind-hearted and down to earth and a loyal friend and treats Thomas like his own son. I see the whole Edward and Thomas being like father and son dynamic than good friends.

The student and the master

I prefer to see them as brothers (as opposed to father and son) because they give off an energy of being each other’s equal in their eyes. I think Gordon more resembles a father figure in Thomas’s life (not a particularly good father, but a father nonetheless). Percy is like a stepbrother. He comes in later and has lived a whole life of his own. And Gordon seems to treat him better than Thomas, who gets jealous and takes it out on Percy. As he grows up, he accepts Percy and they become “let’s go do stupid shit” best friends while Thomas and Edward are “I would raze mountains for you” best friends.

I say. Edward is a grandparent Thomas is the child

I'd say they're more like father and son... Especially with the way Thomas doesn't let others bully Edward. Probably because to Thomas, Edward is the absolute best and he looks up to him. And so he wants to instantly dish out pay backs to anyone who messes with is """dad""" (heavy quotations)

Hiro is definitely the second character Thomas respects, not cheeky once to him and it makes sense given how he’s certainly a grandpa figure to him, but I definitely feel Edward is a father figure, where as Gordon is like the typical big brother, but like say Greg and Rodrick, learn to be friends instead of just born siblings or mutual coworkers, but Edward was Thomas’ confidant and role model fundamentally since day 1.

They are like Sunset Summer bring a student to Princess Twilight Sparkle.

Is like Edward father's finger to Thomas and i love that .

I’m not sure the best way to word this but, it’s likely Thomas didn’t start out respecting Edward at first i mean he only warmed up to Toby after he startled the police officer so it’s likely he was similarly rude at first, however something happened and there grew to be some sort of mutual respect at least in the railway series and early model seasons prior to the other engines arriving

A well-covered video that showcases their relationship very well. I also have a special announcement to make; I have just sent off my finalised outline for my Thomas & Friends project to the CEO of Mattel no less. A lot of serious thought and preparation went into it, and I considered everything put into it with utmost priority, all the while focusing on family affairs. I had to re-send it (because I didn't realise Mattel's employees use capital letters in their email addresses), but it is off. The opening episode in fact cements the roots of Thomas and Edward's relationship via a fact-inspired shunting incident. Regards, Samuel Farris.

Great to see you back Dude! I'm sort of like Edward whilst my BFF is sort of like Thomas! Can't wait for your James and the Diesel Engines video!

Kinda off topic (amazing video btw), but on the topic of relationships I found it funny how thomas and henry are just sworn enemies, such as thomas pestering henry for being ill in his old shape, and henry being snappy at thomas for being late in something on the air. And many more examples, I think.

If Thomas is the eternal child, then Edward is the eternal father.

This from I picked up from KZfaqr “Trampy” videos but Thomas’s respect for Edward is from him being different from the other bigger engines. He’s not arrogant, lazy, or boastful like Gordon, James, and Henry were in the first season. He gets his trains ready and treats Thomas as an equal. And Thomas’s cheekiness is stemmed from being under appreciated and look down on by the bigger engines, hence why he pulls pranks. It’s info like that that dives more into understanding the friendship and bond between Thomas and Edward.

In my opinion, Edward and Thomas are not Father-Son, Gordon and Sir Topham Hatt are more fatherly to Thomas. Edward And Thomas' relationship is something that we may never understand as it's years of history between a cheeky tank engine and a kind little engine. Edward was the only engine who ever supported and listened to Thomas and gave him the ability to grow and achieve his dream. Edward is empathetic towards Thomas as he was once the smallest engine who was never let out of the sheds so he found Thomas a way out of the yard so he could see the world. Thomas feels a sense of loyalty towards Edward for supporting him and respects him the most out of anyone including the fat controller. They may not hang out a lot but one thing's for sure, Thomas is the closest with Edward.

Percy and Toby seemed more like best friends too.

Regarding how in the Hit model series most character's personalities were brought to a single trait. There is a term for that, "Flanderization". It comes from The Simpson's character Ned Flanders who had a larger character for the first 8 or 9 seasons but starting in season 10, his whole personality became "devout Christian."

Great points! I really love this video!

I love to think of Edward and Thomas as a father and son, even if The Railrway Series and the Classic Era didn't show it all that much; The Adventure Begins had shown that quite well.

Thomas and Edward. Just like Ten Cents and Hercules.

I won't even thought of that when growing up with the series, now seeing this video and thinking about it now I can just feel that friendship after feeling it from Thomas and Edward.

Hell yes it's here

One of my favorite shots(and moments in the series) is the wide shot in Trouble in the shed of Thomas and Edward passing one another on the mainline while Edward, Gordon, and Henry are shut up in the shed

Thomas and Edward have definitely known each other the longest since they were the first ones to help build the railway (at least in the lore of the RWS books and possibly even the model series of the TV show) in the early days of the Northwestern Railway, and definitely know each other the best compared to any other character that came along after. If anything, I bet Thomas probably started out with Edward back then the same way he did with every other new character introduced (like Toby for example), a cheeky and borderline disrespectful at first, but eventually got humbled by said new character (or Sir Topham Hatt at worst case), and eventually grew to understand them better, and eventually become work colleagues turned best friends.

Ah Yes The 2 Engines Who Arrived To the NWR to Build the Mainline

Besides Edward, the only engine Thomas 1,000,000% respects is Hiro from the CGI series

I think Toby and Percy work as best friends a bit

Great video mate. I’ve always seen Edward as a mentor and big brother to Thomas. BTW what’s the funny voice at 6:44 from?

I think Thomas and Edward are like big and little brothers because Edward was always there to help him out if he needed it. Like when he took Thomas to the works when he was ill in the episode: The Runaway

The George Carlin version of Old Iron really shows Thomas and Percy's reaction clearer than Ringo's version but his meme of James panicked is funny

If i say one thing about Thomas and Edward friendship I'll say that those two had some rough and even worse times than maybe we know and i think i never realized this over the years but i think that's what it makes their friendship so charming but in my opinion this is what it make me love Thomas and Edward friendship.

This Describes it all: Percy: Oh Hello Thomas! Thomas: Green Caterpillar with Red stripes, Crawls Likes it too, Blue’s the only Proper Color for an Engine. Edward: Ah That Big Engine Gordon. Such an Annoyance. Thomas: How about we trick him? Now if Percy said the Latter, Thomas would tell him to get over it. Also, Normies: Thomas and Percy are Best Fwiends. Thomas And Edward: Are We a Joke to you?

I think Thomas & Edward is good 👍to Thomas because he make me happy 😊because they are blue because they are good 👍frinds and I hope they can keep there friend ship

6:42 that was hilarius, whats that sound even called again? Btw great video like always, really enjoyed this one 👍

I love how you appreciate their friendship too imo Thomas and Percy's friendships and episodes parallel each other a lot They got their mentor bestie: Edward and Toby respectively Their alliance friend: Gordon and Duck respectively Their friendly rivalry with a vehicle: bertie and Harold respectively An episode where a big engine had enough of their pranks and pranks them back: Thomas and gordon and percy and the signal respectively An episode where they race and win against a vehicle: thomas and bertie and percy and harold respectively An episode where they are a complete idiot and ignore a danger sign: down the mine and takes the plunge respectively But through their rough moments they always have that one engine they look up to and as we know for Percy its Toby and who else but Edward for thomas

Thomas and Edward has always been a great dynamic, truly loved their dynamic. Like it makes perfect since out of universe in that Edward was the first engine ever created by awdry , and Thomas being the first engine he made for Christopher, ultimately being the OG essentially. Even in universe Thomas and Edward built the railway , I think it's even very briefly mentioned in the TV series that , they were the ones that built the railway (could be wrong). I love that awdry created an in universe reason they are so close and honestly think it's out of them being the OG creations, much like how he created Henry's issues because of real world issues. Again truly the dream team dynamic

I think that thomas and Percy are like brothers and Edward is like a dad or a grandpa to them

I kinda see Edward and Thomas's relationship as more like Big/Little Brother relationship, yeah Thomas and Percy are best friends the kind of best friend that you have fun with in school. Share some classes with, tell some jokes and work on school projects with but Edward is that cool older sibling type that lets you know which teachers are more strict than others, and the kind you get the good practical advice, he also doesn't mind giving you a ride once in a while but he also isn't afaird to let you know when you screwed up big time but he doesn't put you down when doing it. He makes you want to be better because you don't want to disappoint him. Plus the teasing between the two is way more lighthearted Edward knows when Thomas is just being silly and not condescending.

Cool

Edward is like father to him.... I think tbh Edward shares that sort of relationship with a few "younger" characters, but it's definitely significant with Thomas, especially after TAB

9:50 Thomas And Edward 15:57 Ten Cents And Hercules

They're basically younger and older brothers

This is a great video

I would have loved if both Thomas and Edward were the 2 engines of the NWR chosen to go to the National Railway Museum at York in that RWS book Thomas And The Great Railway Show.

Very nice video and I agree about Edward and Thomas being best friends Edward was the one of the first engine’s featured in the original Railway stories by the Rev W Awdry and he has always been there for Thomas helping and advising him when he was in trouble and needed help as shown in some of my favorite episodes both in the classic model series and in the late CGI series especially in the anniversary special The Adventure Begins: when Thomas first came to Sodor Edward shows him how to handle and shunt trucks in the yard to the episode Old Reliable Edward: Thomas defended Edward and taught Gordon a lesson after he said that Edward was too old and not useful anymore it’s a shame that Edward has been treated so badly by the current state of Thomas and Friends especially in All Engines Go need I say more anyway thanks Cinder’s for sharing this great video looking back at the wonderful brother- father-son friendship between my two favorite engines 👍💙

Brothers and work colleagues!

Edward is actually the first engine I ever got when I was 2 years old! Which is why he's my favourite engine!

Well about that thomas and edward are even older than the other engine no.1 and no.2

Maybe do Toby and Percy next as they were in the RWS

Brothers

One interesting fact is that "small locomotives = children" and "big locomotives = adults" was not Aedy's idea. Awdry gave each locomotive a "birth year", meaning the year they were built and the year they arrived on Sodor. For example, Thomas was built before 1915 and arrived on the island of Sodor by accident on 1915 and remained on the island from 1920 onwards. Toby was built in 1914 and arrived on the island in 1951 to help Thomas, Henry was built in 1919 and arrived on the island in 1922 to pull an Express train and Gordon was built in 1920-1921 and arrived on the island in 1922 to replace Henry who was stuck in the tunnel at that time. But the relationship between Edward and Thomas is special because they are the locomotives that have worked on the island of Sodor the longest, as Edward was built in 1896 and arrived on the island in 1915 to help build the new main line. The previous locomotives were either sold on, according to Awdry, or scrapped.

If you don’t mind, can you do a video on what the Railway Series and the tv show would’ve played out with Percy as the main character instead of Thomas? This line of thinking stems from the Percy character video from The Unlucky Tug where Percy was said to act like the main character during Season 5.

Gordon can’t be Thomas’s best friend because even though they start hating each other and formed an alliance, it may have broken an old reliable Edward when Thomas played a trick on Gordon to look out for his true best friend, because they’ve been often clashing ever since (lost treasure, great race (don’t like that movie but it’s true). Just a little theory on the season 18 episode about Thomas and Gordon’s rivalry growing back

to be well rounded ,edward does need flaws to be 3 dimensional just rockys example comes out of nowhere, edward could have a flaw where his kindness is taken advantage of or maybe theres something he could gerenally hate that makes sense, scrap or cocky engine etc, its why edward is hard to write as a main character unless something bad happens to him, hes always a side character to another flawed character which are more easier and interesting to write for, edward is not always interesting

I agree with Edward and Thomas being best friends because Percy and Toby are best friends in the first five seasons.

Everything you said is very true. The best way to describe their relationship is good friends who seem like brothers because of how much time they spent together while working to build the standard gauge main line and its offshoots, and that time made these two more wholesome than they would be otherwise.

I’d say brothers

I’d say mentor and student