Top 10 Best Thomas and Friends Characters

He's the one who used to crack me up a lot. I would rank him as my second favorite engine. He is old and worn out, but still does hard work

He's really great friend everyone, he's really wise and caring, and he's a hard worker, I also like how in The Adventure Begins he acts almost like a father figure to Thomas, he's the OG in the Thomas series!

Why don't we selebrate him? He was the 1 but that was past down to a class E2 model tank engine. He was left in the dust and with the number 2

I like Edward because he is original character and had a wonderful personality. His character teaches kids that you should always be nice to people even when there mean to you. Very nice.

Henry is my favorite character because he's so dang great. I also really like him in the cgi series, because he's not just a green version of Gordon like in the earlier seasons.

Even though he does have a lot more problems throughout his life, he does a lot of work. He pulls the flying kipper, he pulls the express when Gordon's not there, he helps Hiro up Gordon's hill, and is brave

Unpopular opinion, but I think he was better after he became the gentle giant type, because, as a teenage fan of a toddlers' show, I can easily relate. Maybe I'm not seeing what people saw in him that set him apart from Gordon in his grumpy days, but, with the fact that Henry was originally built with the wrong firebox and had to have special coal for a while, it's easy to see why his former grumpiness would be a mask for his inner insecurities.

Henry, by far, has the best history of all the other engines. He was the equivalent of a lazy person who won't do what he's told to a failure that can't do anything and after his accident with the Flying Kipper, he became one of the most successful engines on Sodor

Incredibly entertaining to watch, it's always fun to see him get his comeuppance but watch him grow at the same time. He looks cool, has an iconic voice, has a load of the best episodes, and an air of authority around the other engines. He comes across as rude and arrogant but is a good guy underneath it all.

Gordon has been my favorite since I was a child. I still have all of the old original Thomas tapes from way back when their mouths didn't move! The new streamlined engines can stay on the mainland. I like Spencer too he's cool.

I think he should be first because he has a full character arc. I only believe this because the Unlucky Tug gave a pretty good dam reason.

Gordon's a very confident but snooty character and is very fun to watch his reactions to engines and what he gets.

He's been my favorite since I was about 8 and he still remains my favorite. Although he can be rude to engines, he has a nice coat of red paint

James was my favorite ever since I was 2. I don't know if it was because of his fiery red coat or snooty behavior but whatever the reason I was drawn to him.
James is arrogant and vain but cares deeply about Sir Topham Hatt's praise and approval and will work hard to get it. He is also very relatable to the other engines because like Gordon, he can be quite proud. Like Edward and Henry, he can sympathize to others even if he does or does not help. He is like Thomas where he can be mischievous and bump a few annoying freight cars here and there. And like Mavis, he is quite bossy with coaches and the troublesome trucks.
Also, I always thought his advetures were the best, I.e. getting stung on his nose, almost getting burnt alive by Diesel 10's claw, getting stuck in a dense fog, falling off tracks, and needing Jeremiah Jobling's bootlaces to tie a busted pipeline. Those are not even half.
James is the smaller of the 3 main tenders ( the others being Gordon and Henry) so he can ...more

James is an interesting one: very flawed with prejudices, but in Season 1 he was portrayed as a hardworking engine who just fell in with the wrong people (Gordon and Henry), and this led him on somewhat of an antagonistic arc.

James is my all time favorite. You can't not love this guy's vanity. The other thing I love about him is that he is redeemable in the end and has a heart of gold.

While I am slightly annoyed with how the T.V. series tries to feature Thomas wherever possible, this is because he is the most popular character, which I'm not surprised about. I think there is a little bit of Thomas in quite a few people I know. He's cheeky, naughty, quick to do the wrong thing when in a bad temper, and tends to let advice from older, more experienced engines such as Edward slip through one cab door and out the other (he doesn't listen). But he is also kind, sympathetic, brave and willing to help anyone out of trouble. While his appearing in episodes in which his role clearly suits other characters frustrates me (the original books, 'The Railway Series', was an ensemble series, and the 'friends' part of the title suggests a larger main cast of characters akin to the books), it is clear that the character has gone on a visible journey in his 70-year working life as a children's character. At the start, Thomas was overexcited and bored with his work as a station pilot. ...more

Thomas is number 1 not because he's cheeky but he tries his best to help others in need. He doesn't have to be important to be number 1, He just needs to be selfless.

I had to save Thomas for last. He is the best character out of all the boys. Honestly though, he could use a few tweaks in his personality.

Thomas is better than Percy, James, Gordon, Edward, Henry, Toby, Duck, Oliver, Donald, Douglas, Bill, Ben and Emily. He is my Favorite Character.

He's been my favorite character since I first watched the show. I used to have a little TrackMaster toy of the little green engine, along with some others. I'm still surprised that he only had the lead role in two movies, like Day of the Diesels and Tale of the Brave. I'm still hoping that they'll make a sequel to The Adventure Begins where Percy is the main protagonist. I also like him because of his personality. While some don't like him being a coward even after the events of Tale of the Brave, I don't mind that. Given how accident-prone he is and how he doesn't get the spotlight as much as Thomas does, he reminds me of Luigi from Super Mario. He may be a little timid sometimes, but when things get serious or his friends are in need of help, he's always willing to be there to help those in need. Overall, Percy is my number one favorite character in the series. He's a precious cinnamon roll that must be protected. I still remember that scene in Day of the Diesels where Flynn stays ...more

Percy is one of the best characters throughout the franchise. He is sometimes known as 'The little guy' because he is somewhat little, but he does shunting in yards.

Percy is my favorite character. I love this little guy. He is cheeky, innocent, nieve but cheerful, and is always willing to help his friends. Percy is an accident prone little fellow though, and has the best crashes of the show. He runs into a brake van, runs over important luggage, slides into the water on 2 occasions, gets caught in an avalance, and crashes into a chocolate factory of all things! Despite this, Percy is still a real hero, and gets braver as the show (and by show I mean classic series lol) goes on. He always screams in his early crashes, and by Series 5 his quick thinking saves him and his Driver from getting caught in a landslide. And by Series 7 he rescues Thomas from a mudslide! He also has a grouchy side, especially to Henry and James. He and James are funny. You'd think James being older he would be smarter than Percy, but somehow not. Percy tried to put sense into James, but he never listens, and Percy does get a good jolly out of making James mad. He and ...more

Percy is honesty one of Awdry's greatest characters alongside Gordon. He has so many great moments in the classics and in the Railway Series. He is a cheeky little scamp who stands no-nonsense to these bigger idiots like Gordon, James, Henry, Harold or Thomas (the latter in the books). He has so much going for him that it's a shame the writers have ruined him in recent years.

Toby is similar to Edward but they have their diffrences. Toby's the one who sits back and watches the engines make a fool of themselves, before he tells them what to do.

I hate the way he was treated in season 19. I mean, he only got three speaking roles in that season! I mean, come on!

Did the Toby the tram engine events took place in 1949 before the events of Gordon the big engine (1950)?

He's such a kind and determined character. It's sad the way he's being treated.

Ok, let me settle everything down, Duck is very special to me because Britt Alcroft had no desire what so ever to have, mm mm, Montegue into the series, even though he was in the railway series,"Mainline Engines". But one day Britt was just walking down the road when she saw a Britsh Great Western Painnier tank engine. She decided that it actually was a good idea just to settle in a awkward vain great western engine. Duck was also supposed to be introduced a little more down the road, but Britt and the Reverand himself wanted fans to see what thomas and friends could do and wanted more viewers. But this is what I don't understand, why do some people hate Duck because he dose' the do anything or he just talks about how amazing being great western is. Well people like Oliver and he always talks about how awesome being great western is. And I am going to be very honest right now, I don't think that Duck is that bad in the CGI series. You can make all your opinions because I don't care, ...more

The reason why fans like him is because he is (The original) number 8, and he has a quirky personality. I like Duck, but I'm not a fanboy. and many fans feel that if Emily becomes no. 8, it would be disreguarding the awdry's works, on top of Emily "replacing" him. but he WAS going to be in the steam team, but many people thought the lack of female characters was sexist, and HiT was already in many sticky spots about that, so they had no choice. here is a list of female characters before season 7. Lady Hatt, Mrs. Kyndly, Daisy, Mavis, The Refreshment Lady, Caroline, And Lady. And that is why people like Duck the great western engine. now feel free to dislike this comment and reply that my opinion is weird. thank you.

Omg where to begin, Duck has a fun name, fun personality, fun design, takes place in so many great episodes. Honestly they should switch the show to Duck and Friends!

Personally my favorite characters are Donald (9) and Douglas (10) because they're the original tough guys. And don't worry, I won't dislike your comment.

This dude is one of the amazing characters in the show. He has a brake van named Toad who got scrapped with him. And that he's Duck's counterparts

I love Oliver because he had such an amazing back story, and went from arrogant fellow to MVP chad. He should have more episodes, his brakevan has more than him!

He has the best character development and some of the best episodes like Escape and Toad Stands by. What I love about him is that he's flawed and three dimensional unlike most of the new series characters. He's an underrated character that needs more love(his break van has more episodes than him).

One of the best arcs of any character.

Runs away from scrap, escapes from the diesel depot with Douglas, gets too big for his boiler, trucks push him into a turntable and so he goes and fricking pulls their gangleader apart.

Donald has also been one of my favorites since I was 5. I'm glad that he's the first one of the two Scottish twins and that he's number 9 too!

Donald was my favorite character when I was little. I love the theme song and how he is 1 out of 2 Scottish characters is the hole entire franchise

I like Donald and Douglas especially in season 3. Donald is more of the fun kind of guy and likes playing games.

He and Douglas should have appeared more often. Very underrated, these two. I'm glad they returned in SLOTLT.

I love that Douglas is nice to everyone. Especially his brother. I also like the time that he helped Oliver escape from scrap. Along with Toad and Isabel

I absolutely love Donald and Douglas. There personality's were really good. As well as George Carlin's Scottish impressions were hilarious.

I like Donald and Douglas especially in season 3. Douglas is the more serious guy and likes to get work done.

? Elizabeth is 19 on the list, and on Dougie's part of thie list it also says he is on number 19! Is this goof seen on your computer?

When Sir Handel was new he was bossy, rude and arrogant. After about a year of this he was sent to the quarry as punishment. While he was there The Thin Controller took over the Skarloey Railway and in 2006 he was invited back home, a changed engine.

I like Sir Handel, he's like the narrow-gauge version of James.

Such a heart-warming dynamic with Duke & Peter Sam.

Sir Handel is better than Peter Sam.

He is a great character and needs to return!

An engine who's terrifically wise and grand.

Narrow gauge version of Emily.

Duke is better than Skarloey.

Oh yeah! Here we go. The Narrow Gauge engines. Skarloey is named after the island he lives on. (The Skarloey Railway) I love his coaches and his cool red paint.

He is my favourite narrow gauge and at the start of an unlucky tug video he showed skarloey saying I'm tired. Love that part.

He's a badass old man he never gives up.

Skarloey is better than Stephen.

No way. Peter Sam is nothing like Gordon. Here's how I match up the standard and narrow gauge engines:
Ivo Hugh - Thomas
Skarloey - Edward
Rheneas - Henry
Duke - Gordon
Sir Handel - James
Peter Sam - Percy
Rusty - Toby
Freddie - Duck
Duncan - Donald
Bertram - Douglas
Luke - Oliver
Mighty Mac - Bill and Ben
Smudger - Diesel
Go by personality, not by numbers.

The only episodes he appears in that I hate are Snow (Even though he only made a cameo appearence in that episode, the ending was not funny at all! ) & Duncan Gets Spooked (He never spoke, give him a speaking role! )

Let's make this straight, I think Peter Sam is the narrow gauge version of Gordon. Respect my opinion please.

Peter Sam is also the narrow gauge version of Percy because their names both begin with the same letter.

Finally! My favorite narrow gauge engine in the franchise! Duncan is my favorite because he has nice yellow paint. Despite his rudeness to other engines, he loves to Rock N' Roll and will never stop!

Guess what everyone! Duncan is now in full CGI! Look up Duncan and the Grumpy Passenger and Duncan the Humbug for him in full CGI! You're welcome!

This guy I like because Thomas1Edward2Henry3 gave him a great like I'm not scared of this engine and when he sees the engine he's like AH! and that's why I likes him.

This dudes personally shines brighter than all the engines lights!

I can watch this guy scold his trains for hours and not die due to cringe.

Sir Topham Hatt is better than Mr. Percival.

He's so funny! He has hilarious one liners!

Funniest character on the show.

Ahh Bill and Ben trolling since the 1980s... They should be a bit higher up on the list

Double trouble equals double fun.

Bill is better than Ben.

Double trouble equals double fun.

Ben is better than bill.

Boco is the Edward version of Diesel 10 but with a slanted front and back. Also I would have D199 or Class 40 on this list but I don't know if they are on this list.

I don't really have a reason why I like him. I just do. Although he was (and this is my opinion) the diesel version of Edward.

Anyone thought what ever happened to BoCo? He stopped appearing early in the Classic Series for no reason.

"Stop! You're making me giddy! " BoCo was a brilliant character ever since his first episode (The Diseasel).

Rheneas is better than Skarloey and Toby.

Rheneas is better than Smudger & Stanley.

Why is Rheneas this low? He saved the Skarloey Raiilway! Should be in the top ten.

Why is he so low

Honestly, even though she's got some major bossy moments in season 8, Emily I feel is one of the strongest characters in the entire series. Unlike many of the engines on Sodor, she's not afraid to put her ego aside when it comes to caring for others.

Because she was not introduced until Season 7. In all the seasons before that she didn't appear because she didn't exist.

I Like her because, her basis and her voice, that she's the leading female engine.

Like Magic Railroad she doesn't deserve the hate she gets.

Love his livery. Just wish he would have returned in CGI.

My favourite non railway series character.

Arthur is better than Murdoch.

Arthur is better than Fergus.

Her name, Lady, literally means "female lord" like the female equivalent/equivalence of lord just like what she truly really is herself.

Sorry, but the magic she represents doesn't fit in with the world that the Rev. W. Awdry created.

Magic never existed on Sodor before she came along, but everything else about her was okay.

I'm surprised they haven't featured her in any of the CGI episodes.