Duncan

Duncan is a grumpy Scottish narrow gauge engine who came to the Skarloey Railway as a spare engine after Peter Sam's accident with some slate trucks.

Personality
Duncan is a Scottish narrow gauge engine with rough manners and a strong temper, making him the least social of the Skarloey Railway fleet. He was prone to boisterously bouncing about, which became known as "rock 'n' roll", whenever the mood took him, which once led to wedging in the north mouth of Rheneas Tunnel (probably caused from keystones knocked down by his funnel) and derailing on a stretch of line near Cros-ny-Cuirn.

While Duncan means well, he often grumbles and complains, usually about not being polished or being over-worked and can be rude, rough and bad tempered. He has also been shown to dislike Christmas for some reason. He claims to be a plain engine who believes in plain speaking, an approach which can cause him to make callous or belligerent remarks. Duncan can be a competitive engine too, particularly with James. He can be impulsive, even more so than Sir Handel and make rash decisions which usually lead to his own downfall, (such as getting in arguments or short lived feuds with Rusty). He is not always quick to apologise or realise the error of his ways. However, upon Skarloey recalling Rheneas' gallant act to get his passengers home, Duncan admitted he had the wrong attitude and tried hard to be a more useful, respectable engine in the future.

In spite of his rough ways, Duncan can be a little misunderstood as he is focused, confident, resourceful and has a big heart. He is always willing to lend a helping hand whenever he can and wants to be really useful.

Basis
Duncan is based on the Talyllyn Railway's Douglas, an Andrew Barclay "E" or "Light" Class 0-4-0WT. Between 2000 and 2015, Douglas was dressed up as Duncan for special events associated with the "Thomas the Tank Engine" franchise, known as "Duncan Days"; since 2016 Edward Thomas has performed this duty. Several other engines of this class are also preserved.

Livery
In the Railway Series, Duncan is painted in the Skarloey Railway's red livery with blue and yellow lining and with his name painted on the sides of his boiler in yellow. In the television series, he is painted golden yellow with black lining and gold boiler bands - as of the switch to CGI, however, the lining on his cab is unpainted. He also wears a brass (originally black) nameplate on either side of his boiler and a black numberplate on each of his coal bunkers.

Appearances

 * Season 1 - The Trouble With Trucks (does not speak)

Trivia

 * The Rev. W. Awdry's model of Duncan is currently on display at the Narrow Gauge Museum in Tywyn.
 * Duncan's large scale model is currently on display at the Hara Model Railway Museum in Japan.
 * Duncan's tendency to do "Rock-n-Roll" that resulted in incidents such as scraping tunnels with his cab and derailing were inspired from his real life basis Douglas, who was known for being a "Rough Rider" with its short wheelbase.
 * When the Skarloey Railway returned in the sixteenth series, Nitrogen Studios went to the Talyllyn Railway to take measurements of the locomotives to make CGI models of the Skarloey engines. Unfortunately, Duncan's basis, Douglas, was having an overhaul and could not be measured, hence why Duncan did not return in Series 16. When Duncan actually did return in Series 18, he is clearly based on his television model, not his basis, unlike the other engines. Because of this, he is the only narrow gauge engine to have brake pipes and not to have a Talyllyn styled tail lamp.
 * Duncan is the only narrow gauge engine who has not gained a new whistle sound since his debut in the fourth series.
 * Duncan's happy face mask for his small scale model (used in the fourth and fifth series) is now owned by Twitter user Thomas Merchandise.
 * In the Latin American dub, Duncan had a German accent between the ninth and eleventh series.