Gordon the Big Engine

Gordon the Big Engine is a fictional anthropomorphic tender locomotive in The Railway Series books by Wilbert Awdry and is one of the central characters in the television series Thomas and Friends, which is based on the books. He is a 4-6-2 blue tender engine, painted blue and carries the number 4. Gordon is the most important engine because he is the biggest and best and he pulls the express.

Gordon the Big Engine
Thomas & Friends character
Gordon the Big Engine at the Eastleigh Lakeside Steam Railway in 2002
First appearance	The Three Railway Engines (The Railway Series, 1945) "Thomas and Gordon" (Thomas and Friends, 1984) "A Thomas Promise" (Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go)
Created by	Rev. W. Awdry
Voiced by	Neil Crone (Thomas and the Magic Railroad) Keith Wickham (UK) Kerry Shale (US) Kenji Utsumi (Japan; 1990–2004; S1-8) Kenta Miyake (Japan; 2005–present; Calling All Engines! onwards)
Number	4
Information
Gender	Male

Biography

The Railway Series

His first appearance in The Railway Series was in the very first book, The Three Railway Engines. The eighth book in the series was dedicated to him, as was the thirty-first. He is the prototype of the LNER Gresley Class A1, built in 1922. He was part of Sodor's N.W.R. (North Western Railway) until he was transferred to the British Railway with the smoke deflectors at the end of the series. He pulled the express for 87 years until 2011 he was replaced by high-speed electric engines Pip and Emma. Gordon is one hundred and three years old as of 2025, and he has been part of the North Western Railway for his entire life.

Thomas & Friends

Gordon was built in 1922 by Herbert Nigel Gresley. He was Gresley’s GNR a1 prototype. Gordon remained rather “hush hush” from the public and, apart from test runs, was never put into regular engine traffic or given an official GNR number. This evidence suggests that Gordon is, or at least was, a real engine.

Voice actors

• Neil Crone (Thomas and the Magic Railroad (UK/US) and Thomas and Friends: All Engines Go! (US))
• Keith Wickham (UK; Hero of the Rails onwards)
• Kerry Shale (US; Hero of the Rails onwards)
• Kenji Utsumi (Japan; Series 1 - 8)
• Kenta Miyake (Japan; Calling All Engines! onwards)