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This article is about the brake van. You may be looking for the sixth season episode. |
Bradford is a strict and disciplinary brake van who lives on the Mainland. He works with Samson.
Biography[]
Thomas & Friends[]
Bradford was brought to Sodor by Samson. When he noticed Thomas struggling with his Troublesome Trucks , Bradford offered to be his brake van for the day. Once coupled up, Bradford quickly took charge of the trucks and barked at them to behave. Thomas and the other engines were very impressed, until they found out how strict Bradford liked to stick to the rules of the railway, which made the trains that they were pulling with him very late. The next day, Thomas decided to take a train without Bradford, but ended up running into trouble with the trucks, and collided with Percy at Gordon's Hill. Bradford eventually went back to the Mainland with Samson.
Bradford later attempted to help Samson overcome his fear of fireworks, but failed when Samson mistook railway detonators Cyril the Fogman had put on the track for fireworks and ran away in fright, going faster out of surprise at each detonation. Samson almost crashed into Rebecca and eventually ended up running into Nia. Bradford then encouraged Samson to follow the fireworks to the castle and then both of them enjoyed watching fireworks at Ulfstead Castle.
Stories From Sodor[]
Season 8[]
When Samson and Bradford visited Sodor to help at Blue Mountain Quarry, Bradford insisted Samson stick to the timetable. Bradford helped Samson to get directions to ensure they would be doing so. After, this, Bradford worked with the other engines and caused trouble for them, namely Henry and James. Later, 'Arry and Bert caused problems for Bradford when they insisted on pulling him while his brakes were on. This caused his brakes to break. At the end of the day, Bradford and Samson agreed to help each other to be really useful[1].
Season 12[]
Like in the television series, Bradford attempted to help Samson overcome his fear of fireworks, but failed when Samson mistook railway detonators Cyril the Fogman had put on the track for fireworks and ran away in fright, going faster out of surprise at each detonation. Samson almost crashed into Rebecca and eventually ended up running into Nia. Bradford then encouraged Samson to follow the fireworks to the castle and then both of them enjoyed watching fireworks at Ulfstead Castle[2].
Personality[]
Bradford is an officious and strict brake van who adheres to every railway rule, no matter how minor the rule might be. Although he means well and does his best to keep the trucks in order, his overzealous and military-like attitude makes his trains commonly run very late. Because of this, the engines find him annoying. He is also quite conceited, as he claimed he knew how much the engines "appreciated" him. Despite his usual rigidity, Bradford also has a caring side, as shown when he tried to help Samson overcome his intense fear of fireworks.
Basis[]
Bradford is based on a standard LMS 20 ton brake van. A handful today survive in preservation on heritage railways.
Livery[]
Bradford is painted two-tone green with a red stripe across his sides. The number "0919" is painted inside his stripes in gold.
Trivia[]
- Bradford apparently has a very keen sense of sight, as he is able to tell just from one glance the exact height of the load of stone in Thomas' trucks, and notice a tiny crack in Henry's lamp.
- Bradford's persona and dialogue are based on various characters portrayed by British actor Windsor Davies, in particular Battery Sergeant Major Williams from "It Ain't Half Hot Mum".
- Even though Bradford has taillights facing towards his front, he is almost always seen coupled up facing his train instead of facing backwards, thusly putting his side mounted taillights into questionable use. To compensate for this, he has a back mounted taillight.
References[]
- ↑ SFS.08.07."Keeping to the Timetable"
- ↑ SFS.12.05."Samson and the Fireworks"
Locomotives | SR | Stepney | Boxhill | Bluebell and Primrose | Adams |
---|---|---|
LNER | Flying Scotsman | Mallard | |
LMS | Jinty and Pug | Duchess of Hamilton | |
GWR | City of Truro | |
BR | Diesel | Class 40 | D199 | Old Stuck-Up | The Other Railway Diesels | |
NG | Talyllyn | Dolgoch | Douglas | Prince | River Irt | River Mite | Northern Rock | |
Other | Albert | Workshop Engines | Cromford | Captain Baxter | Stephenson's Rocket | Novelty | Sans Pareil | Wilbert | Sixteen | Splatter and Dodge | Spencer| Hiro | Connor | Caitlin | Samson | Logan | Sam | The Mainland Diesels (Zach and Bohls, Ulli, Jerry) | Merlin | Lexi | Theo | Hurricane | Frankie | Rebecca | |
Rolling Stock | Bluebell Railway Coaches | Helena | Spencer's Coaches | Connor's Coaches | Caitlin's Coaches | Plank Trucks | Troublesome Trucks | Flatbeds, Conflats and Well Wagons | Ladle Trucks | Brake Vans | Bradford | |
Vehicles | Beresford | |
People | Elizabeth II | The Thin Clergyman | The Fat Clergyman | Duke and Duchess of Boxford | Tim Rackers | Tom Brewster | Ian Watts | |
Locations | Vicarstown Bridge | Walney Channel | Barrow-in-Furness | King's Cross | Paddington | Euston | St. Pancras | Brighton | Carnforth | Crewe | Fletcher, Jennings & Co. | The Scottish Engine Company | The Great Railway Show Yard | The Mainland Canal | The Steelworks | The Experimental Engines' Yard | Bridlington Goods Yard | |
Railways | Talyllyn Railway | Ffestiniog Railway | Snowdon Mountain Railway | Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway | Bluebell Railway | Dean Forest Railway | Toby's Old Tramway |
Sudrian Crystal Railway | Locomotives | 'Arry and Bert | Aaron | Annaleigh | Bear | Benjamin | BoCo | Brady | Daisy | Dawn | Derek | Dodge | Duck | Emily | Helen | Henry | Kylie | Oliver | Olivia | Paxton | Percy | Philip | Sam | Scruff | Victoria | Whiff | William |
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Rolling Stock | Bradford | Emerald | Emily's Coaches | Flora's Tram Coach | Jerome and Judy | Malachite | Watermelon Tourmaline | |
Non-Rail Characters | Alfie | Bulgy | Cranky | Demolition Derby Cars | George | Trevor | |
Skarloey Railway | Locomotives | Luke | Peter Sam | Smudger |
Non-Rail Characters | Colin | Madge | |
Arlesdale Railway | Locomotives | Rex |
Keystone Railway | Locomotives | Beryl | Emerald (Keystone Railway) | Fluorite | Fuxite | Green Diamond | Green Pearl | Malachite (Keystone Railway) | Ocean | Peridot (Keystone Railway) | Tremolite | Tsavorite | Zoisite |
The Mainland | Locomotives | City of Truro | The Class 03 | The Class 40 | D782 | Flying Scotsman | Jerry | Mia | Samson | Sans Pareil |
Other Railways | Locomotives | Attila | Gator | Gina | Raphael | The Russian Tender Engine |
Rolling Stock | An An and Lin Yong | Aubrey and Aiden | The Chinese Breakdown Train | |
Non Rail Characters | The American Crane | |
Originally | Zane |
Episodes | Episodes | A Trip to Misty Island | The New Building | The First Tour | Dizzy Diesels! | Stepney's Day Out | Rain | Happy Hannah | A Trip to the Park | An Old Friend | BoCo and Splatter | Time | Mysteries | Rosie and the Puppies | Transportation | Speaking in Code | Surprises from Misty Island | Bradford the Hero | Ashima's Visit | Hiro's Hero | Silly Sidney | Whiff's Whiff | Strength | The Narrow Gauge Railway Show Part 1 | The Narrow Gauge Railway Show Part 2 | Rosie and Jennifer | Damian's New Buffers |
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Transcripts | A Trip to Misty Island/Transcript | The New Building/Transcript | The First Tour/Transcript | Dizzy Diesels!/Transcript | Stepney's Day Out/Transcript | Rain/Transcript | Happy Hannah/Transcript | A Trip to the Park/Transcript | An Old Friend/Transcript | BoCo and Splatter/Transcript | Time/Transcript | Mysteries/Transcript | Rosie and the Puppies/Transcript | Transportation/Transcript | Speaking in Code/Transcript | Surprises from Misty Island/Transcript | Bradford the Hero/Transcript | Ashima's Visit/Transcript | Hiro's Hero/Transcript | Silly Sidney/Transcript | Whiff's Whiff/Transcript | Strength/Transcript | The Narrow Gauge Railway Show Part 1/Transcript | The Narrow Gauge Railway Show Part 2/Transcript | Rosie and Jennifer/Transcript | Damian's New Buffers/Transcript | |
Galleries | A Trip to Misty Island/Gallery | The New Building/Gallery | The First Tour/Gallery | Dizzy Diesels!/Gallery | Stepney's Day Out/Gallery | Rain/Gallery | Happy Hannah/Gallery | A Trip to the Park/Gallery | An Old Friend/Gallery | BoCo and Splatter/Gallery | Time/Gallery | Mysteries/Gallery | Rosie and the Puppies/Gallery | Transportation/Gallery | Speaking in Code/Gallery | Surprises from Misty Island/Gallery | Bradford the Hero/Gallery | Ashima's Visit/Gallery | Hiro's Hero/Gallery | Silly Sidney/Gallery | Whiff's Whiff/Gallery | Strength/Gallery | The Narrow Gauge Railway Show Part 1/Gallery | The Narrow Gauge Railway Show Part 2/Gallery | Rosie and Jennifer/Gallery | Damian's New Buffers/Gallery | |
Characters | Characters With Main Roles | Jacob | Sierra | Thomas | Bash and Dash | Ferdinand | Gordon | Den | Dart | Stepney | Hannah | Jackie | Jennifer | Rosie | BoCo | Splatter | Bradford | Hiro | Sidney | Whiff | Percy | Damian | Skarloey | Rheneas | Talyllyn | Dolgoch |
Characters Introduced | Talyllyn | Dolgoch | Bash and Dash | Ferdinand | Jennifer | Bradford |