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"Oi! Frank! I've got a bone to pick with you."

"Frank? Frankie? Are you deaf? I'm talking to you!"

"My name is Francis. Francis. Not Frank. Not Frankie. Francis."

— Francis introducing himself after James mispronounces it.


Francis, or D199 is an arrogant BR Class 46 express diesel who had a short career on the North Western Railway.

Biography[]

Francis was designed in part by Robert Hall. In 1964, he was one of several diesels who came to the Island of Sodor, along with Salty, Daisy and Derek. While he was the perfect example of what BR wanted from its diesels, the steam engines found his personality insufferable, as not only would he disparage shunting and good work, but he would boast about himself whenever possible. On one particular day, as Francis and Daisy were getting acquainted, James and Gordon chastised the blue diesel for a disruptive hissy fit he had thrown the night before over pulling a goods train. Francis claimed that such work is demeaning for the engine who broke the express record from London to Edinburgh and also pointed out that he still completed every job assigned to him. This argument didn't endear steamies to Daisy, so Francis encouraged her to follow his lead.

Francis' tutelage meant that Daisy became an excellent passenger engine but also that she became as insufferable as him. The two of them antagonized not only the steam engines but also Derek for being a "failure". The tension between steamies and diesels boiled over after Francis broke the express record to Barrow, to the point where the Fat Controller had to intervene. While his words had an effect on Daisy, they didn't sink in for Francis, who went on to throw a hissy fit over having to cover a goods train for a broken-down Gordon.

However, Francis would immediately get his comeuppance, as he unintentionally slithered into a ditch and was teased by Gordon. At the works, he once again insulted Derek, but this time, Daisy told him off for doing so. Seeing that Francis hadn't learned his lesson, the Fat Controller told him he would ask for his immediate reassignment after his repairs, which Francis agreed was for the best.

The blue diesel was reassigned to taking the express across the surrounding region and became a common sight at Barrow, occasionally bringing trains onto Sodor. While he didn't give up his gripes whenever he was given "lesser" jobs, he always competently completed them. An example of this was delivering coal; Francis often handled Sodor-bound trains of coal from the Mainland after the Marston Heights Coal Mine closed down in 1965. Another example was when he had to yet again cover for Gordon, whose reversing gear had jammed once more, by pulling the Flying Kipper. During this run, his cooling system failed, which he blamed on handling too many goods trains.

Francis was surprised to see that his rescuers were his designer Robert Hall and the latter's steam-deal experimental conversion, Barry, who had been saved from a seven-year coma. Francis was also pleased that Barry's test runs were going well, helped by Barry taking on other engines' jobs. One night, after Hall had Barry slow down in fear of overheating, Barry expressed to Francis and the others his frustration with Hall being "overly cautious", but Francis disagreed. He stated that it is all too easy to overheat and advised Barry to pace himself and only do his own work, chastising the others for "fobbing off" their work onto him. Barry and Gordon disagreed with Francis' characterization of the situation, as Barry insisted he wanted the extra work, and Gordon implored Francis to follow Barry's example. Donald agreed with Francis that Barry should rest himself, but Barry insisted on his "need" to work.

The next day, the roles were reversed when Francis had to rescue Barry, who had overheated just as Francis had said. As revealed in a psychological examination, the reason Barry did not follow Francis' advice is that keeping himself busy kept his mind off his anger about losing seven years of his life. Once Barry worked through his issues, he returned to work alongside Francis, who was pleased to see Barry prove the experiment a success.

Later that same year, Francis objected to Sir Topham Hatt's decision to put Peter on rail excursions in response to Peter tiring out on fuel deliveries. Then, Francis made a crack about Peter pulling "The War Crimes Express", so Sir Topham Hatt responded by having Francis take over the fuel trains. As Peter got ready to pull his first excursion the next morning, he asked Francis the reasoning behind his objections. Francis revealed that he met one of Peter's victims, Luther von Huss, who was nine years old at the time. He warned Peter about a potential confrontation. However, Francis would come to regret his words when they ended up being proven true, as the confrontation led to Luther von Huss fatally shooting Peter.

Francis would go on to experience more mechanical issues and death that year during the Navy's operation. Benson chastised him for being late to hand off a fuel tanker to Thomas, as two workman called Frank and Eddie had been "negligent" in fixing him, according to Francis at least. Francis thrashed himself to get his fuel train to Barrow on time and broke down again in front of Robert Hall. At the works, Hall explained to Francis that there was a defect in the manifold of his cooling system before being called away, hours before the fiery inferno at Brendam that took out both Benson and Thomas. Francis was still at the works when a badly injured Thomas was brought in, much to the blue diesel's horror. After Sir Topham Hatt announced to the others that Thomas did not survive his injuries, he explained that Francis will take a long-distance goods train to Cardiff with Thomas on it, as the nearest scrapyards have cramped capacities. The next day, after everyone has said goodbye and given their final words, Francis mournfully set off with Thomas' corpse aboard.

Persona[]

Francis is a rude, stuck-up, manipulative and arrogant engine. He would make fun of Derek for his engine problems and claim to pity the steamies for how many things could go wrong with them. Despite this, he appears to be a hard worker.

In Season 5, he seems to have developed a slightly better attitude, possibly being humbled by his mechanical issues. He gave advice to Barry when he first took the Overhaul and became a diesel, and shared in everyone’s sorrow when Thomas died, even transporting his remains to Barry Island Scrapyard without complaint.

Livery[]

Francis is painted in the British Railway's Rail Blue with yellow warning panels. His number, Diesel 199 is painted on the sides of his cab in white and with a white British railways logo.

Basis[]

IMG D199 Basis

Basis

Francis is based on a BR Class 46 "Peak" 1Co-Co1. The Class 46s never made it up to Diesel 199. They were numbered between D138-D193. 56 of them were built from 1961 to 1963, and 3 of them are preserved.

Appearances[]

The Stories of Sodor[]

Season 2[]

Season 3[]

Season 4[]

Season 5[]

Sodor Shorts[]

Sodor Specials[]

Gallery[]

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