Skarloey, a narrow gauge saddletank engine, is the oldest engine on the Skarloey Railway. Talyllyn, from the Talyllyn Railway, is his twin, and Rheneas is his brother.
Bio 
Edit
Skarloey was built at Fletcher, Jennings & Co., Whitehaven in 1864 as a 0-4-0ST with no cab, which later caused him to bounce a lot, alongside his twin, Talyllyn. He was the first engine to arrive on the newly developed Skarloey Railway in May 1865, arriving by steam ship at Kirk Ronan Harbour, before being delivered to Crovan's Gate by Neil. His young antics proved bothersome but he soon matured when he received his cab and trailing wheels. He received these when he returned to Whitehaven 1867 where he was briefly reunited with Talyllyn.
The trailing wheels improved his running greatly, and his together with the cab made him a favourite with the men in spite of his shy steaming. In consequence Skarloey was always worked harder than Rheneas, and in 1897 he returned to Whitehaven a second and final, time for heavy repairs. No further overhauls were done to him apart from general maintenance in the SR workshop; te result being that by 1945 his boiler and firebox were in such a poor slate that he could only be steamed in dire emergency. On one such occasion in 1952, he damaged his springs whilst bringing home Sir Handel's train, resulting in him receiving a much-needed overhaul.
He was sent to Gibbons Bros. Ltd. in England for this, where he met his twin Talyllyn, who was there for the same purpose, for the first time in some 60 years. He returned almost as new in 1958, but was still somewhat shy in steaming. After many experiments, however, Mr. Hugh finally cured this fault by fitting a brick arch in his firebox and a "Kylchap" cowl on his blast pipe. This work was done in the SR's workshop with no outside help at all.
Since returning to service, he has been very much a voice of reason on the Skarloey Railway: he was responsible for Sir Handel's comeuppance when the latter became boatsful about his new wheels, and changed Duncan's views about passengers by telling him about the time when Rheneas saved the Railway.
At the celebrations for his and Rheneas' 100th birthday, he collected the Duke of Sodor (much to Peter Sam's confusion) and took him around the new loop line. He underwent another heavy overhaul at the Steamworks in 1985, returning to service in May of that year.
Mr. Hugh needs the narrow gauge engines with some new colors in 1995, Skarloey was repainted dark red, the narrow gauge engines are repainted orange-red, dark blue, dark green, orange and yellow, since Sir Handel and Peter Sam their old colors in 1947.
He later attented Ivo Hugh's naming and bought along a special train with important guests. However, he had to stop when a sow and her piglets strayed onto the line. His passengers had to come out to catch the pigs and return them to their field, and Skarloey was late but arrived in time for the naming ceremony.
In 2003 to 2008, Skarloey has acted like a very young engine and has tried to prove his bravery by getting hauled up the winch on the incline and by having a race with Rheneas and Freddie. He has also acted timid, being scared of an old wooden bridge, the wharf and storms.
At the Blue Mountain Quarry, Skarlory is still the respected leader of the narrow gauge engines.
In 2014, he once had to take an evening passenger train, but Duncan took his coaches so that a grumpy passenger would not complain about the train being crowded, but this only resulted in angering Skarloey and his stranded passengers. The next day, Skarlory was delayed by Duncan again when he refused to leave the platform until the same grumpy passenger had borded his train. Later during the Christmas holidays, Skarloey was upset by Duncan's constant grumbling, so he, Rheneas and Rusty told Mr. Percival, who devised a plan to stop the grumpy engine from moaning all the time.
Livery Edit
Skarloey is painted red with white and gold lining.
Departing For Crewe Edit
In the second season, Skarloey, and his friend, Rheneas, only appeared in "Skarloey & Rheneas Depart For Crewe".
Basis Edit
Skarloey is based on The Talyllyn Railway's Talyllyn.
Appearances Edit
- Season 12: Rheneas and the Risky Rendezvous
- Season 13: Victor's Loco Motives and Ivo Hugh's Day at the Zoo (cameo)
- Season 14: Freddie at the Ready
- Season 15: Flash Gordon (cameo)
Specials:
Trivia Edit
- Skarloey has appeared in Keekre24's Wooden Railway Collection videos.
- Skarloey has appeared in most of The Television Series' episodes.
Persona Edit
Skarloey is the sage of the Skarloey Railway and is an old, faithful little engine. Although once full of enthusiasm and his own ideas in his youth, Skarloey is now one of the oldest engines on the Island. He is a calm-natured, quaint, and mature engine and may often try to guide or watch over less experienced narrow gauge engines in his firm but fair and friendly manner. He acts kindly to engines and passengers alike and always enjoys a gentle, smooth journey through the woods by the lakeside and stopping at all the gates and stiles he remembers so well.
Gallery Edit
|}
