This page is for the characters that are from Sodor the Early Years. Any characters that were from the Railway Series and Televsion series can be seen here and here, though they will be added here if there's changes from the source material.
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Recurring
Lily
One of the original engines of the Wellsworth and Suddery Railway. She taught Thomas how to run branchlines before he took over his own.
Sometime during 1934, the railway was desperate for money and needed to present a modern image to the world. It was believed that she had been scrapped along with the other Wellsworth and Suddery engines. It was later revealed that she was saved from scrap by her crew, courtesy of the Fat Director. She was planned to be sent to Scotland along with Neil, but her ship sank during a storm. Luckily, Lily was found by a diver many years later and the current controller restored her so she can work on Thomas' branchline.
- Character Tic: Lily calls other engines by their full names instead of their more common nicknames. Eg: she calls 'The Works Diesel', Geoff, by Geoffery.
- Cool Old Lady: She was built in the 19th Century, and is wise and motherly to most other engines.
- Expy: Was originally developed as being Sodor the Early Years' answer to Lady.
- Fish out of Water: Because she was underwater for a long time, she had to get used to the modern world Sodor had become.
- Proper Lady: Lampshaded by Gordon at one point. (This also lampshades her status as an Expy of Lady.)Gordon: She's always been a proper lady.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: She blames Henry for indirectly causing Colin's accident with the houses back in 1923, and had Henry came out of the tunnel, all of this would've been prevented. Despite Henry explaining his change, Lily refused to listen to reason, and still holds a grudge against him.
- Rejected Apology: Even decades later, she still holds a grudge against Henry for staying in the tunnel and indirectly causing Colin’s accident in the process.
- Reformed, but Rejected: Henry apologised to Lily for getting bricked in the tunnel (and indirectly causing Colin to crash into some houses), but she refuses to forgive him.
Patrick
A visiting diesel from BR, who Henry helped get to Crovans Gate (He takes up Bear's spot in the story). Since then, he had visited the railway on many occasions when the workload was high. During 1985, when Barry came to be restored, he was bought to Sodor to help with the goods traffic and to escape
being withdrawn like his brothers, and now he mostly works alongside Peter.- Composite Character: He was originally Old Stuck Up with Bear's spot place in 'Super Rescue'. This was because there was no model of Bear at the time.
- Demoted to Extra: He was very prominent in "Early Years", but by the time "Modern Years" started, Patrick was reduced to smaller roles or silent cameos. Ironically, the character he replaced in "Super Rescue" (Bear) ended up having more screentime in Modern Years.
- Divergent Character Evolution: Patrick was originally a repurposed model of Old Stuck Up, but was later given a new model with new face.
- Reused Character Design: Patrick was originally a reused model of Old Stuck Up, but was given a new model with faces based on Alfie from the TV series.
Sheffield
A grumpy tank engine who was originally brought into the island to help with Duck's line. Formerly known as 16, Sheffield had a second chance working at a heritage line.
- Accidental Hero: Even though his paranoia got him into an accident in "Two Heritage Engines", Sheffield was able to save his remaining friends at his previous line after hearing one of Maxwell's coaches broke. He told Emily Hatt about the two and she was able to find new homes for them.
- Canon Character All Along: He's really 16 from Wilbert The Forest Engine, and is also meant to be the Austerity Engine that the Fat Controller mentioned at the end of the same book.
- Green and Mean: During his time on his heritage line and most on Sodor, Sheffield was painted green and wasn't a happy fellow. Though he's not mean, just grumpy.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's rough and blunt but still a good engine.
- Perpetual Frowner: He's always seen frowning when he first came to Sodor, but later on, he does show a slight smile every now and then.
- What, Exactly, Is His Job?: When Sheffield was first brought in, he as meant to help out on the Little Western. But after his first two episodes, he was working all over the island. It was revealed in "Two Heritage Engines" by Emily Hatt that Sheffield is an odd job engine.
Olivia
An engine that was built for Sir Walter in 2006, but after his death in 2009, Olivia was sent to work at the Arlesdale Railway.
- Foil: To both Lily and George in the first season of Modern Years. As Lily has a grudge with Henry due to him being selfish for not coming out of the tunnel and George disliking railways due to an incident with Colin, Olivia held a grudge against Jane Albworth for selling both her and Jake away after Sir Walter's death. Unlike Lily and George though, she was able to let that grudge go by the end of the episode.
- The Smurfette Principle: She is the only female steam engine on the Arlesdale Railway. (Sigrid of Arlesdale, who is also a female Arlesdale Railway engine, is a diesel.)
Adeline
The original number 7 of the Skarloey Line, Adeline was an oil burning engine brought in for work with the Ministry of Défense's munitions dump. She was lost in what appeared to be a tragic accident but many questions surround that event. She is eventually rescued by Duncan, Ivo Hugh, and a CH-47 Chinook helicopter, having survived but developed amnesia (and eye problems that result in her wearing glasses) and rejoins the Railway as its number 11.
- And I Must Scream: Adeline was stuck under the Iron Bridge after her sacrifice, completely submerged and rusted away but still alive. Temporary lulls in the river's flow allowed her to be able to call for help, but because no one could see where she was (and the lack of equipment needed at the time to get her out), she was ultimately not rescued until the early 2010s.
- Due to the Dead: Her tragic accident explains why Ivo Hugh is number 7 instead of Duke, who arrived long before he was built. Adeline was lost not long before Duke arrived so the number 7 was retired until Ivo was built 40 years later, at which point they felt enough time had passed. When she returns to the railway after her rescue and restoration, Adeline understands that Ivo Hugh is the number 7 engine now, not her, and now bears the number 11.
- Eye Scream: Not graphic, but still, it turns out that decades spent rusting away underwater at the bottom of the Iron Bridge wasn’t good for her eyes. To help her see, she now wears special glasses.
- Heroic Sacrifice: She takes a train of wagons filled with rigged explosive material and pulls them away from exploding in the middle of a quarry full of volatile material, at the cost of falling into the swamps at the bottom of the Iron Bridge. While she survives, she is trapped there for decades, and the other engines believed she had died.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: A complex case. A combination of the explosion and the years she spent stuck under the river had damaged her memory. While she does manage to steadily remember bits and pieces of her past life (and the names of her former colleagues and friends), the damage was so extensive that she sadly will likely never remember the rest of her previous identity entirely. She ultimately takes this in stride, deciding to form new memories instead of lingering on the past.
- Smurfette Principle: She is the only female engine on the Skarloey line.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: She gives a short, but poignant one to Duke after he acts rude and nasty towards the descendant of his namesake for failing to live up to his expectations, pointing out that while she might be sad to have lost her own history and past, at the least she wasn't stuck living in the past like him. He's utterly flabbergasted.
Harris
Formerly owned by the Ministry of Defence, Harris is a battery-powered electric engine who shares history with Adeline. Like her, he eventually becomes a full-time member of the Skarloey Railway, becoming its number 12 engine.
- Crippling Overspecialization: He runs on rechargeable batteries, but that means he’s not as good at long distance travelling as the other Skarloey Railway engines, who all run on either coal (Skarloey, Rheneas, Sir Handel, Peter Sam, Duncan, Ivo Hugh, Duke, Atlas, Adeline after her rebuild) or oil (Rusty, Fred, Adeline before her accident). But since he’s now the station pilot at Crovan’s Gate, this doesn’t inconvenience him.
Visiting
Alfred
A B12 locomotive who came to the Island of Sodor before. He was sent away due to bad behavior, but despite this, came back as a spare engine on a few occasions.
- Ascended Extra: You see, Alfred was 98462 from the original Railway Series and is one of the engines were very rude to Edward in the first book, but was never seen again after that. Around 2009, a YouTube user named Skarloey 123 created a fan series called Sodor: Dark Times, which was a alternative reality take if the series went dark. The main antagonist was Alfred, who was a mad bomber psychopath who wanted revenge on the engines of Sodor, and later reveled to be 98462. Alfred in this series is depicted as he was in before. However, the creator changed him into someone who was just a jerk to Gordon.
- Forever War: Had this with Gordon since his arrival. It started out when he overhead the Fat Director talking with Nigel Gresley that he'll take an engine from his railway as an exchange for Gordon.
Tornado
A recently built A1 Peppercorn who came to helpout with Gordon's passenger trains until he was finished being repaired.
- Replacement Goldfish: He was like this to Gordon for a few episodes, until the latter came back from repairs.
Humans
Mervyn Burns
- Big Bad: Of Season 5 of Sodor the Early Years.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: He's the head of Sodor Road freight who also runs a contraband smuggling operation between Sodor and Ireland.
- Dirty Coward: When he realizes that the police are onto him, he flees in his car.
Norman Spencer
- Big Bad: Of Winds Of Change. He planned to modernize the North Western Railway by sending every steam engine off to heritage railways, museums, or scrapyards, and replacing them all with diesels. Until he has a Heel–Face Turn.
- Heel–Face Turn: In the miniseries Couriers and Concerns, he realizes his modernization plan would've been a fatal mistake, as during his time in Copenhagen, he read the Railway Series books and came to understand why everyone loves the engines.
- Not Evil, Just Misunderstood: When he realises he doesn't understand the railway, he resigns and takes a job with a bank in Copenhagen. Even Duncan says this about Mr. Spencer when Rheneas says that he's a nasty piece of work, with the Scottish retorting that he's just a pigheaded idiot.
- Put on the Bus: Left in Winds of Change with a couple of fleeting mentions since.
- The Bus Came Back: He returned in the mini series, Couriers and Concerns
Emily Helen Hatt
- Reasonable Authority Figure She was already a Team Mum to the NWR engines, even before she became the new Fat Controller. She only punishes those, such as Hopper 006, who deserve to be punished.
- Team Mum: Even before she became the Fat Controller, Miss Hatt has maintained a gentle and caring influence on the NWR engines.
Simon Norramby, The Earl of Sodor
A young man that Adeline and Duke first meet during an accident with a lorry. He's revealed to be the current Earl of Sodor, but comes into conflict with Duke due to their different sensibilities. The problems end up being much more deeply tied into Duke's abandonment issues and Simon's ignorance of the family's traditions regarding the old engine, resulting in them barely being able to tolerate each other's presence. It is eventually patched up once Duke begins to see Simon's better qualities.- The Chains of Commanding: Simon in truth feels immense uncertainty and pressure about being in his position as the new Earl of Sodor, given he didn't expect to get it so early in his life, barely being 30 years old in his words. He ends up striking up a friendship with Duke to lean on his years of wisdom and knowledge.
- Innocently Insensitive: Simon ends up unintentionally getting on Duke's nerves due to his modern sensibilities and tastes, but one of the bigger things that ends up really hurting Duke's feelings is that as the Earl of Sodor, it's typical for them to visit Duke, something which Simon has not done. Justified, as no one had told him that this was a tradition, and the sheer unexpectedness of suddenly being the Earl of Sodor had caused the tradition to slip between the cracks. After he and Duke patch things up, Simon makes it a point to truly codify visiting Duke as a family tradition to ensure it won't be forgotten again.
- Intergenerational Friendship: Simon, a young man barely thirty years old, ends up befriending Duke, one of the oldest steam engines on the Isle of Sodor.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: While very young, Simon proves himself to be a very reasonable and intelligent young man, diffusing an impatient driver's agitation about being late due to accident by pointing out how he was only increasing the delay by bothering the workmen. He also makes the effort to help stop a train at risk of running into a landslide by waving it down with his umbrella. It's this incident that helps him and Duke break the ice.
