Re: Mysteries of Thomas the Tank Engine Discussion

by Guest Thu Aug 06, 2015 4:00 pm

He meant the faces.

by Toz76 Thu Aug 06, 2015 4:09 pm

I assume they aren't organic either. Besides, if they had blood, where would the hearts be?

by Diesel 11 Thu Aug 06, 2015 4:18 pm

But what if their faces were to be cut/slashed/etc.

by ThomasSirHandel Thu Aug 06, 2015 4:26 pm

Then why would James' nose turn red when he got stung in Buzz, Buzz.

If they had hearts they would probably be somewhere near their firebox but in their boiler connected to tubes and their "brain" would be in their smokebox.

by Toz76 Fri Aug 07, 2015 12:04 am

I don't know why James's nose went red, but I doubt it was blood... remember, these are sentient locomotives, but they still function like normal ones. A smokebox is a smokebox is a smokebox. Not a brain. If anything, it's affixed beneath the locos.

by OneJ_ Sat Aug 08, 2015 4:08 pm

Would anyone like to entertain and impress me with their thoughts about Bert the small blue engine? In the book Jock the New Engine, inside the story "Sicking Power" to be exact, still has Bert in his original shape. However, by 1973 he should've been given a new shape and the story takes place in 1976. What is even more puzzling is the fact that the same story states that Bert is younger than Rex and Mike, but TIOS says that he is significantly older than the two...and to ice the cake, the official website even states that Bert is younger than Rex and Mike. Everything else about the original Arlesdsle trio is true on the website. (i.e. Mike having temper issues, Bert being bossed around by the two, Rex being the natural leader of the three, etc.).

EDIT: He is also still in his older shape in the TV Series.

by Toz76 Sat Aug 08, 2015 4:54 pm

In reality, I believe either River Irt or Esk are oldest. My guess is the TVS went by the RWS, not TIOS.

by Frankthetriviaman Sat Aug 08, 2015 10:32 pm

TIOS?

by Toz76 Sat Aug 08, 2015 11:05 pm

Abbreviated form of "The Island of Sodor: It's People, Histories, and Railways".

by Jamie Parker Wed Sep 02, 2015 11:31 am

Question (with spoilers):

by Toz76 Wed Sep 02, 2015 2:06 pm

My theory:

Faces are machinery, manufactured in various factories worldwide. They are attached to the smokebox with an adhesive, and remain attached for most of the time. So no, Thomas can't get bruised. This also explains Whiff's glasses- his eyes are discontinued, and they are malfunctioning as well.

by Diesel 11 Wed Sep 02, 2015 2:11 pm

OneJ_QuintupleA wrote:Would anyone like to entertain and impress me with their thoughts about Bert the small blue engine? In the book Jock the New Engine, inside the story "Sicking Power" to be exact, still has Bert in his original shape. However, by 1973 he should've been given a new shape and the story takes place in 1976. What is even more puzzling is the fact that the same story states that Bert is younger than Rex and Mike, but TIOS says that he is significantly older than the two...and to ice the cake, the official website even states that Bert is younger than Rex and Mike. Everything else about the original Arlesdsle trio is true on the website. (i.e. Mike having temper issues, Bert being bossed around by the two, Rex being the natural leader of the three, etc.).

In my opinion, the artist didn't know about the new shape, and thus drew Bert wrong. The ERS on SiF actually has a couple of books on this.

by Toz76 Wed Sep 02, 2015 2:15 pm

Your theory falls apart when you remember that the animators visited the Ravenglass and Eskdale. I suspect they just followed his book appearance.

by Jamie Parker Wed Sep 02, 2015 5:44 pm

Toz76 wrote:My theory:

Faces are machinery, manufactured in various factories worldwide. They are attached to the smokebox with an adhesive, and remain attached for most of the time. So no, Thomas can't get bruised. This also explains Whiff's glasses- his eyes are discontinued, and they are malfunctioning as well.

Okay. Well, how can they smell? Like in The Smelly Kipper and many other episodes, they all manage to smell the fish. So how can they recognise scent and smell?

by PolkaDotSideplates Wed Sep 02, 2015 11:40 pm

They are sentient-beings either once they move for the first time, or when they first build up steam (they are born instantly with speaking and moving knowledge)

by Jamie Parker Thu Sep 03, 2015 12:19 pm

luctheminecrafter wrote:They are sentient-beings either once they move for the first time, or when they first build up steam (they are born instantly with speaking and moving knowledge)

Eh... it's pretty weird when you try to think of it with logical realism. Do you know what I think? I think we should just put it down to either "magic" or that maybe Sodor exists in an alternate universe where nothings changed from this world but that the public are okay with engines having faces and talking.

by Toz76 Thu Sep 03, 2015 2:11 pm

But the public wouldn't be okay with it. They would view it as slavery, and a bunch of people would protest for "Engine Rights". And an equal number of people wouldn't give a damaged funnel, just so long as they got to work on time. Human nature is weird...

Besides, the existence of a massive Island, with rich deposits of a super-strong sandstone, Silver and Zinc, Uranium, and Slate (there is a thread on SiF about Sudrian geology. It's quite interesting what conclusions were drawn), off the coast of England, would drastically affect the course of World History. That should be our next topic; how would the Sodorverse be different from ours?

by PolkaDotSideplates Thu Sep 03, 2015 10:27 pm

Slate is so common that whiteboards and interactive whiteboards are quite a bit less popular

by Toz76 Thu Sep 03, 2015 11:12 pm

I doubt it- the slate isn't really the right kind, and blackboards would have been obsoleted anyway. If anything, it would cause a very slight increase in slate roofing.

Also, Barrow-in-Furness would have to be completely reorganized to accommodate the NWR main line. What else?

by PolkaDotSideplates Fri Sep 04, 2015 11:31 pm

All diesels would have one higher number due to Bears number: 7101

by PolkaDotSideplates Sat Sep 05, 2015 1:32 am

I have a mystery: Why does BoCo sound like such a normal name to us?

by Toz76 Sat Sep 05, 2015 2:01 am

Because we grew up with it... if I ever have kids, I'm naming one Skarloey. Razz

by PolkaDotSideplates Sat Sep 05, 2015 3:27 pm

So weird tho

by PolkaDotSideplates Sun Sep 06, 2015 8:34 pm

How does a mountain engines sight look like? Are the faces synchronized? Does it talk like an echo? Why aren't their faces cosmetically similar?

by Toz76 Sun Sep 06, 2015 11:01 pm

Point 4: Because one is round and one is rectangular...
Point 2: I suspect they can only use one face at a time, along with RWS BoCo, RWS Daisy, and RWS Toby.
Point 1: See Point 2
Point 3: See Point 1

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