The Truth About The Tank Engine Percy
by Tim Beachum
Percy was first introduced in the Railway series of books, that were written by Rev. Awdry and his son, Christopher Awdry. Percy's popularity really sky-rocketed when the television series Thomas and Friends was released.
Percy was one of the last engines to come to the Island of Sodor. He resides along with the other steam engine trains, that we all know and love i.e. Thomas the Tank Engine, Gordon, and Henry. Percy is considered to be the youngest of all the steam engines trains. At first I use to get all of the steam engines confused, as time went on I figured it all out, and I now know that Percy is the little green steam engine with the number 6 displayed on his bunker.
When Percy was first brought to Sodor the bigger engines initially tried to bully him, but Percy soon showed that he was more than capable of standing up for himself. After doing such a good job the little steam engine was eventually promoted to work on Thomas' branch line. When Percy isn't pulling trucks, he can be seen taking Annie and Clarabel when Thomas is busy. On the island of Sodor Thomas and Toby are considered to be Percy's best friends.
Let me throw in another little Percy fact that some fans may not know. The little engine Percy appeared in The Railway series book number 5 entitled, "Troublesome Engines." This series was originally published in 1950. Percy was given his own title in book number 11, the title of that book was "Percy The Small Engine."
Many Thomas the train fans never realized that Percy was the source of major friction between Rev. Awdry and C. Reginald Dalby - who was the original illustrator of The Railway Series. Rev. Awdry had complained that Percy did not look like a real locomotive, an issue that had caused contention between the two men on several occasions and concerning several characters. In an effort to avoid confrontation Awdry built a small model of Percy to ensure that Mr. Dalby got it exactly as he wished.
Dalby insisted that his cartoonish design was better and their disagreement finally came to a head when the book, "Percy the Small Engine, was written. Rev. Awdry contacted Dalby to let him know his dissatisfaction, and figured the best way to approach Dalby was head on. He told Dalby that he thought that his version of Percy looked like a green caterpillar with red stripes, and made it crystal clear to Dalby that he wanted Percy to look more like a real locomotive. Dalby was so insulted by Rev. Awdry's comments that he felt it was better to resign right there on the spot.
Although there is no proof of this accusation, it is rumored that Rev. Awdry took a poke at Dalby during the tv episode called, "Woolly Bear" when Thomas insulted Percy by saying that he looked like a green caterpillar with red stripes. Since then it is also rumored that Awdry and Dalby have managed to move pass their disagreements and are said to be friends once again.
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