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- “I'm worried, Mr. Douglas. This disrespect for engines, where's it going to end?"
"Who knows?"
"I've got a plan, Mr. Douglas. May I stay here today and help Mr. Oliver? We're both Great Western and must stand together."
"Of course, Toad.” - ― Toad talking to Douglas.
Toad is Oliver's loyal brake van who escaped from scrap with the help of Douglas.
Biography
Toad worked with Oliver on the Great Western Railway before being threatened with the prospect of scrapping. Oliver and Toad ran away for the greener pastures of the North Western Railway, but Oliver ran out of coal on route. Luckily, they were rescued by Douglas and brought back to Sodor.
When S.C. Ruffey began to start a trend of disrespecting the engines, Toad had the idea for Oliver to show him and his lieutenants the error of their ways. This turned out better than expected, for Oliver pulled S.C. Ruffey apart and won back the respect of the trucks.
Toad was tired of always going backwards and wanted to be a leader for a change. The trucks decided to teach Toad to be careful what he wishes for by breaking away from Oliver on Gordon's Hill and as a result, he crashed into some level crossing gates, narrowly avoided Gordon and James and stopped by taking a plunge into a muddy pond. Afterwards, Toad decided that always going backwards was not so bad after all.
Toad once had a positive outlook on snow, unlike Oliver at the time. However, after spending a cold and miserable night in the snow after Oliver had an accident by crashing into a giant snowman, he decided that snow was not as magical as he thought after all.
While Gator was on Sodor, he once took some of Oliver's trucks with Toad, who kept insisting that Gator should stop and relight his lamp. After being briefly taken off the train after forcing them to stop with his brakes, Toad had the "bright" idea of giving Gator one of his lamps to replace his broken one. This idea worked and Gator thanked Toad once they had finished their journey.
Toad soon became bored of repeatedly hearing the story of Oliver's escape and longed for an adventure story of his own to tell. His wish was granted when he went to work with James, who ran much too fast and hit a fallen branch on Gordon's Hill, uncoupling his trucks. Toad managed to stop the trucks and prevented a crash with Thomas and Percy. When he returned to the Yard, he told a disbelieving Oliver all about it.
Toad eventually began to sing during his journeys with Oliver, which the Western engine liked at first, but quickly got fed up of listening. Later, as they were passing Bluff's Cove, Toad spotted a whale stranded on the beach and tried to tell Oliver, but Oliver thought Toad was joking. But later that day when the two passed the same area again, Oliver saw the whale and apologised to Toad. They informed the Sodor Search and Rescue Centre, but after a few attempts at moving the whale proved unsuccessful, Toad had the idea of using a flatbed to transport the whale to Brendam Docks, where Cranky gently placed the whale back into the water. Now whenever Toad passes through Bluffs Cove, he remembers his friend and sings about him.
Toad, along with Oliver, helped to build the new Harwick Branch Line and attended the line's opening.[3]
Toad was traveling with Oliver when Skiff bravely warned both him and Duck to stop for a fallen tree during a storm.
Personality
Toad is a polite, gentlemanly brake van. He is also somewhat imaginative and a bit of an optimist. Toad minds his manners well and is always quick to refer to the engines as "Mr.", "Miss" or "Sir". He escaped from scrap with Oliver, with some help from Douglas. Toad is very loyal, keeps Oliver's trucks in order and has his best interests at heart. He has a cunning streak within him should the trucks cause any particular bother and does like fun when it comes his way, but he is typically calm, obedient and content in his work.
Technical Details
Basis
Toad is based on a GWR 16/25-ton brake van. Early vans were just 10 or 16 tons weight, but this gradually increased to 20 and 25 tons. A brake van on the Mid Hants Railway (No. 35907) was renumbered 56831 and given 16 ton markings to match Toad in the television series. A number of these brake vans are preserved by heritage railways, such as the Dean Forest Railway.
Livery
Toad is painted grey with the letters "GW" and his number (56831) written on his side in white.
Appearances
Books
Magazine Stories
Toad also appeared in the magazine stories, A Long Way Up! and The Snow Engine!. Annual Stories
Audio Stories
Video Games
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Songs
- I Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside (performed)
Trivia
- Toad's model was originally displayed at Nitrogen Studios.
- Toad's Ertl toy incorrectly states that his number is 5683 instead of 56831.
- Both Toad's physical and CGI models deviate a bit from their real-life counterpart: in real-life, Toad's basis has sandboxes near the handbrake and also has a white interior with a desk, seat, etc. Toad lacks these features, both in the model and CGI forms.
- In the US dub of "Toad Stands By", narrator George Carlin did an impression of Peter Lorre for Toad's voice.
- Toad was called Crapaud in the French dub between the third and seventh series.
- In Latin America, Toad gains an Argentinean accent in the eighteenth series episode, Toad's Bright Idea.
- In the Japanese dub, Toad refers to Oliver as Oribā-san (or another engine with a different name from Oliver), mainly because "-san" is a suffix attached to the end of a person (or in this case, an engine) to refer to them in a formal way in Japan.
- in the Finnish dub, Toad was called Tomi in the third and fourth series. From the fifth series to the present. His name Tomi was replaced by Tatu.
- In the Days Out with Thomas events, his face was worn by Class 40.
- Toad's faces are also often used on other types of brake van including SR 25ton "Pillbox" vans, SR 25ton "Queen Mary" vans, LMS 20ton vans, BR 20ton vans and BR 20ton "Shark" vans. Depending on the railway these vans are sometimes said to be Toad himself, other times they are just generic vans with the same face design.
- Toad's Hornby and Bachmann models incorrectly depict him as being a 20-ton due to their toolings being based on them.
- During the model series era, Toad had a total of eight facial expressions, one of which, an angry face, was not used on-screen.[4]
- One of Toad's faces is now owned by Twitter user TomsProps.
- Toad's Wooden Railway toy was among the toys that were part of the Lead Paint Crisis in 2007.
- A GWR 20 ton brake van resembling Toad was put on display at Drayton Manor from 2009 to late 2019. In February 2020, it was given Toad's happy face. Since July 2022, it has been replaced with his wincing face.
References
| Locomotives | Duck | Donald and Douglas | Oliver | |
|---|---|---|
| Rolling Stock | Passenger | Old Slow Coach | Slip Coaches |
| Goods | Toad | S.C. Ruffey | |
| Non-Rail Vehicles | Bulgy | Bulgy's Friend | Skiff | |
| People | Captain Joe | The Museum Manager | |
| Stations | Tidmouth | Tidmouth Hault | Tidmouth Town Hall** | Haultraugh** | Bluff's Cove** | Arlesburgh West** | |