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Porter is an American saddle tank engine who works at Brendam Docks.

Biography

When Salty was experiencing engine trouble, the Fat Controller brought Porter to Sodor to work at Brendam Docks while he arranged for Salty to be mended at Vicarstown Dieselworks. When Porter arrived to help out, Salty was convinced that Porter had been sent to replace him. After some mishaps, Porter managed to stop Salty from having an accident, and then he used his sand domes to sand the rails after Salty accidentally spilt oil on them. Later, the Fat Controller told Salty that he was to work with Porter and that he was not going to be replaced.

When Bill and Ben teased Harvey about "going fishing" and made fun of Porter's three domes, Porter helped Harvey see the positive side of being both a crane and an engine. Later, Porter helped arrange the Flying Kipper for James after he made Henry late the previous night.

Porter also warned Thomas, Salty and the dock workers of Percy's runaway trucks, told Gator - who was waiting for his ship to arrive - that nobody is worried about how Gator looks, teased James when he was collecting the Flying Kipper and witnessed Cranky almost falling into the sea while trying to stop Gator's ship.

While Salty was working on the Mainland, Porter was left to do the work alone. Timothy arrived to help after Bill and Ben told the Fat Controller that Timothy was of no help at the Clay Pits. Porter and Timothy worked well together until Salty returned. When the Clay Pits became a mess due to Timothy's absence (and Bill and Ben's immaturity), Porter, Salty and Timothy helped Bill and Ben clean up.

Porter was one of the many engines who wanted to go to the Great Railway Show but was not chosen.

When Salty was accidentally knocked off of the docks, Porter was left with a quadrupled workload, his own already having been doubled due to the amount of ships coming in. During the frantic rush to sort the docks out, Carly accidentally dropped some sacks of flour on top of him, clogging his funnel and taking him out of action.

Personality

Porter is a kind and helpful engine, with a good sense of self-confidence and does not worry about what other engines say about him, such as calling him a 'camel' because he has so many 'humps' (domes). Porter is not above engaging in a bit of friendly dockside banter himself, but when another engine is feeling low he can be very supportive. Porter's easy-going manner makes him very popular. He is a hard worker, although he can be a bit of a perfectionist at times. He is also very brave and can keep his head cool in a crisis, though he can feel rushed like any other engine.

Technical Details

Basis

Porter is based on a H.K. Porter 0-6-0ST (first built circa 1896), built in Butler, Pennsylvania, north of Pittsburgh. These engines mainly worked in the dockyards on the east coast of the United States. The Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal Railroad, which served the dockyards in Brooklyn, New York, owned several examples of Porter's design, all of which were retired after the railroad started using diesel locomotives in 1963. One of these, B.E.D.T. 15, was rebuilt into an operating replica of Thomas by the Strasburg Railroad in 1998 for use during Day Out with Thomas events throughout the US. Porter appears to be directly based on B.E.D.T. 15 prior to its rebuild. Another engine, 14, is preserved at the Ulster & Delaware Railroad Historical Society in Arkville, New York. Yet another is preserved in Essex, Connecticut on the Valley Railroad.

The dockyard engines are also based on H.K. Porter 0-6-0STs.

Livery

Porter is painted viridian with yellow stripes and lining, brass fittings and gold nameplates with his name painted on them in black. He has a gold star on each side of his lamp and red window frames.

Appearances

Official Description

Audio Files

Whistle

Porter's whistle is South Simcoe Railway 136's Canadian Pacific 5-chime, but at four steps higher-pitched.

First used	Last used	Sound Effect
Series 17	Series 23

Trivia

• Porter is equipped with a bell, however it has never been heard in the television series.
• David Menkin gives Porter a Brooklyn accent, reflecting his basis' origin in the US version and in the UK versions of both Pouty James and Cranky at the End of the Line.
• Porter has been modified for use on Sodor, given screwlink couplings with added buffers, and appears to have been significantly scaled down compared to his basis, to the point where even open trucks are taller than him. As a result, his buffers and couplings appear to be very low to the tracks, which in reality would make it difficult for him to be coupled to typical British rolling stock. In addition, his cab doors, as well as his cab in general, are too small for crew members to fit through comfortably. As a result, he has never been seen with crew entering or exiting his cab, however he has been seen with his crew inside his cab on multiple occasions.
• Porter is the last new character to have separate voice actors for both English dubs.
• Porter's valve gear appears not to be properly animated - the entire mechanism slides in and out of his cylinders as he moves.
• Porter is the second engine in the television series to have three domes, the first being Rosie.
• Porter is the only engine to be introduced in the seventeenth series.
• In Spills and Thrills/No More Mr. Nice Engine! and in some merchandise inventory listings, Porter is referred to as "Baldwin".
  • According to Sam Wilkinson, Baldwin was the initial name, but the staff went through different ones until it became finalised. Presumably, the term originated from the Baldwin Locomotive Works. His final name comes from his builder, H. K. Porter.
• B.E.D.T. No. 14, another engine from the Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal Railroad, and another member of this class were featured in the Shining Time Station Christmas special, "'Tis a Gift".

Merchandise

• TrackMaster (discontinued)
• Take-n-Play (discontinued; normal and talking; cancelled)
• Wooden Railway (discontinued)
• Capsule Plarail
• Minis
  • Classic Minis
  • Spooky Minis
  • DC Super Friends Minis (as Captain Cold)
  • Sports Minis
  • SpongeBob SquarePants Minis (as Barnacle Boy)
  • Insects Minis (Praying Mantis)
  • Pirate Minis
  • Fantasy Minis (Cyclops)
  • Galaxy Minis
  • Advent Minis
  • Dino Minis

References