Cody is an Irish narrow gauge tank engine who works on the Skarloey Railway, working primarily up at the Blue Mountain Quarry. For many years, Luke hid from the others, believing he had done something very bad, but now happily works alongside his narrow gauge friends at the quarry.
Biography[]
Television Series[]
Luke sees what he has done
Before he began working at the Blue Mountain Quarry, Cody used to live on a land neighboring Sodor. He had always dreamed of going to Sodor, and was very excited to work there. He travelled to Sodor on the same ship as Victor, a yellow tank engine who did not speak English. When the ship reached Brendam Docks, Cody pleaded for the workmen to remove him from the ship first, so he was unloaded before Victor was. However, as he was being unloaded, Cody was swung into Victor, knocking him off the ship and into the sea. Following the incident, Cody was sent to the Steamworks to be repaired.
Though Victor was recovered and given a permanent home at the Steamworks, Cody was not aware of this, and believed that he had been sent to the Smelter's Yard and was scrapped. He blamed himself for being too impatient, and when he arrived at the Blue Mountain Quarry, he told the narrow gauge engines what he had done. Fearing that Cody would be sent away if the Fat and Thin Controllers found out what had happened, the narrow gauge engines allowed Luke to stay in the quarry, where he remained hidden from view while doing his work.
That all changed when Thomas came up to the Blue Mountain Quarry to do Paxton's work after he had been damaged in an accident. While Thomas did his work, he spotted Luke darting around the quarry and questioned the narrow gauge engines, but they denied ever knowing about him. After Thomas finally saw Cody up-close and confronted the engines, Skarloey relented and told Thomas who Cody was and why he was hiding, but refused to tell him what he had done and told him not to tell anyone.
Luke working with Thomas
Cody continued spying on Thomas from within the tunnels, and watched him when he saved Skarloey from an accident with Rocky. He finally warmed up to Thomas and came out of hiding, introducing himself to him and becoming his friend. Together, the two engines worked side-by-side at the quarry, and Cody finally told Thomas what had happened when he first arrived on Sodor, but was not aware that Paxton had been eavesdropping on them until Skarloey noticed him.
While Paxton told Diesel about what Cody had done, Thomas became determined to uncover the identity of the "yellow engine" that Cody had told him about. Upon discovering that the yellow engine was Victor, who had rolled off the ship as the chains securing him had broke, Thomas rushed back to the quarry to inform the narrow gauge engines and Cody about this, but they assumed he had told Victor about Cody and had betrayed him. As Diesel and Paxton came into the quarry, Luke and the narrow gauge engines retreated to the higher levels of the quarry, yelling to Thomas that he never wanted to see him again.
Thomas was not ready to give up, however, and was desperate to inform Luke about the truth, even going along the narrow gauge tracks to try and follow him. However, Thomas was too big for the narrow gauge rails and crashed through a buffer stop, hanging dangerously over the edge of a cliff. Luke came to Thomas' aid and rescued him, rekindling their friendship. However, when he pushed him back onto the incline platform, Luke was dragged down the incline when Thomas was too heavy for Owen to carry, when the Fat and Thin Controllers arrived. Just then, Paxton brought Victor into the quarry, and informed Luke that it had only been an accident and he had not been scrapped. Luke finally felt happy for the first time in ages, and was accepted into the narrow gauge fleet by the Thin Controller. (TVS; Blue Mountain Mystery)
Luke's new friend
Luke later saw a young deer roaming around the quarry, and befriended it. However, the quarry was too noisy for the deer, so in order to not scare the deer, Luke convinced the other engines and quarry machinery to work quieter so as not to frighten it. When this failed, Skarloey suggested that Luke take his train of stone to Ulfstead Castle, which he agreed to do. While he was at the castle, Luke released the deer back into the wild. Though he was somewhat sad about this, Luke was happy to know that he could still visit the deer at anytime. (TVS; Luke's New Friend)
Sometime later, Luke delivered another train of stone to Ulfstead Castle, where he was greeted by Sir Robert Norramby and Millie. After a dispute with Millie about which of their jobs was better, Luke and Millie agreed to switch jobs, and Luke did maintenance and passenger duties on the estate while Millie worked at the Blue Mountain Quarry. Luke struggled to get used to the quiet and calm scenery of the estate, but eventually got used to it. However, he was much happier to go back to the quarry. (TVS; The Switch)
Around Christmastime, Luke was given the job of delivering a Christmas tree, but got stuck on a steep hill and ran out of sand in his sandboxes. Duncan, who was behind Luke, complained to him when some of the tree got in his face, but upon noticing that he had hurt Luke's feelings, he helped to push him over the hill. (TVS; Duncan the Humbug)
Personality and Traits[]
Luke is a young, cheerful and enthusiastic little tank engine who loves working with his friends at the Blue Mountain Quarry. Bubbly, upbeat and lively, he is a hard-working and reliable engine who is full of life and knows how to get the job done properly. It was his dream to go to Sodor, and he was thrilled when he got the chance to work on the island. Luke can also be incredibly brave in the event that a fellow engine is in danger, and will jump in to help without second thought, as shown when he saved Thomas from falling off a cliff, despite the fact that he was mad with him at the time.
For a long time, Luke was haunted by his troubling past and hid in the tunnels of the quarry, with only the narrow gauge engines aware of what he had done. He feared that he would be sent away from Sodor, as he believed that he had bumped a yellow engine into the sea, who was later scrapped because of this, and was in great shame and turmoil over this. However, after Luke met Victor, who was the yellow engine he had known, and was reassured that it was only an accident, he was able to put his past behind him and move on.
Technical Details[]
Basis[]
Luke is based on the Kerr Stuart Wren, a simile 0-4-0 design of tank engine built by Kerr, Stuart and Company between 1903 and 1931 that were used for many different jobs in different countries, such as India, Brazil, New Zealand and, of course, the United Kingdom, with over 160 members of this class built. At least ten of these engines still survive to this day. Luke has some slight modifications from his original basis, such as buffers, chain couplings and an enclosed cab. In the seventeenth season, he received a permanent headlamp and a lamp-iron on each of his cylinders.
Livery[]
Luke is painted pea green with white lining. His name is written on the sides of his saddle tank in white writing, and his whistle, sanding gear and safety valve are brass. His bufferbeam is painted red, and his buffers are silver, but are scratched up due to the type of work he does. He carries his number, 22, on black number plates on each side of his cab, and his wheels are black with white rims.
Trivia[]
- Luke uses the same whistle sound as Rheneas, at a much lower pitch. His whistle sound was later reused for one of the international engines in The Great Race.
- Luke's number is derived from the year he was built, 1930.
- Luke was originally planned to be released in the Wooden Railway line in 1935 to tie into the release of Blue Mountain Mystery, but was cancelled due to Fisher-Price buying the range. He was finally released the following year in 1939.