Rebecca

''"I'd like to introduce you to my new friend, Rebecca of England! Rebecca is a steam engine who's recently come here, to work on the Island of Sodor. When Rebecca first arrived, she was so nervous. She made some clumsy mistakes and was worried she wouldn't fit in. Rebecca is a very special engine. She's as big as Gordon, and she's just as fast! Rebecca has become very popular on Sodor. Rebecca's now joined us at Tidmouth Sheds, and we all love having her around. Welcome to Sodor, Rebecca!" ''- Thomas talks about Rebecca in Meet the Characters!

Rebecca is a new character who debuted in Season 22 of Thomas & Friends, subtitled Big World! Big Adventures!. She is a Bulleid Pacific engine originally from the Mainland, who moved to Sodor to become a new member of the Steam Team.

Basis
Rebecca is based on a SR West Country class locomotive, commonly nicknamed the "Battle of Britain". Ten members of the class have been preserved, one of which works on the Bluebell Railway.

Bio
Rebecca originally lived on the Southern Railway, later part of the British Railways. She was originally painted a dark green with black on her roof. Due to demand and passenger overload, Sir Topham Hatt needed a new engine to help Gordon with the Express, and he met Rebecca while visiting the Southern Railway. Rebecca was originally nervous about the offer to work on Sodor, but after being reassured that there was nothing to be scared of, she took up the job. Before she left for Sodor, Rebecca was given a repaint to fit in with her new job. She decided to be repainted yellow with a large red and orange stripe, and her roof was painted blue. Rebecca chose the new colour scheme, hoping she would get noticed. To complete her new look, nameplates were added to her smoke deflectors, and the number “22” was painted on her cab. To also help signify her position as a member of the North Western Railway, the letters “N.W.R.” were painted on her tender.

Before Rebecca arrived on Sodor, Henry left Tidmouth Sheds in order to take up a new full-time job based on the Mainland, and Sir Topham Hatt brought Rebecca to Sodor to serve as a secondary Express engine alongside Gordon. Though she arrived a day earlier than what Sir Topham Hatt expected and nearly bumped him and Winston off the rails when she tried to stop at Knapford. Her first job was to pull the express, though she caused a small mishap when she accidentally collected Flying Scotsman's passengers at Vicarstown early. After hearing how the other engines mentioned how fast and strong they were, Rebecca decided that she would leave the stations early to prove how she can get things done fast, but this caused a lot of confusion and the passengers got angry. Sir Topham Hatt scolded her at the end of her first day about what is happening, and Rebecca apologised for what she did. Rebecca was then officially welcomed into Tidmouth Sheds, and while Gordon knew he would never get to see Henry ever again, he took in Rebecca as his new friend, and accepted her as Henry’s permanent successor on the railway.

Rebecca met Belle, Marion, and Harvey and complimented them on their water cannons, diggers, and crane respectively. Rebecca then felt as if she was not special due to not having a special feature. After hearing Duck mention that the crew at the Sodor Steamworks "can do anything", Rebecca goes there to get the features fitted on her, but to no avail. Thomas and Marion help Rebecca realise that complimenting others and making them feel good about themselves is her special quality.

Livery
Rebecca is painted yellow and blue, with red and orange stripes on her body and tender. Her cab has the number “22” painted in white, and her tender has the lettering “N.W.R.” also painted in white. She has navy blue nameplates on her smoke deflectors. Her footplate is coloured red with two small lights, and she also has a blue roof covering the top of her body and cab.

Voice Actors

 * Rachael Miller (UK/US)
 * Beata Wyrąbkiewicz (Poland)
 * Orly Tagar (Israel)
 * Manuela Bäcker (Germany)

Thomas & Friends
She will appear in the twenty-third season.
 * Season 22 - Forever and Ever (indirectly mentioned), Confusion Without Delay, What Rebecca Does, Seeing is Believing, Apology Impossible, Samson and the Fireworks, Thomas' Animal Ark, Hunt the Truck (cameo) and Counting on Nia

She will also appear in the twenty-fourth season.

Specials

 * Engines Around the World

Promotional Material

 * Meet the Characters! - Meet Rebecca of England
 * Share a selfie for Children In Need!

2018

 * TrackMaster (with scrap truck and decorations, based on What Rebecca Does)
 * TrackMaster Push Along

2019

 * Wood
 * Motor Road and Rail (with blue tanker)
 * Minis

Trivia

 * Rebecca’s number is a reference to her being introduced in Season 22.
 * Rebecca is the second engine in the series to be lettered for the North Western Railway. The first was Rosie.
 * Rebecca is currently the largest engine in the Steam Team, taking over the title from Gordon. Mattel likely did this in order to have her serve as a "positive role model" to female audience members. She is also the largest female engine on the North Western Railway.
 * Rebecca is the only member of the Steam Team to not appear in a feature-length special.
 * According to art of her prototype liveries, she was originally going to be named “Miranda”.
 * Rebecca’s nameplate text, number and “N.W.R.” lettering are depicted in the font ”Flange BQ”, which is also the font used in the Thomas & Friends logo and in episode titles and credits from Season 8 onwards.
 * Rebecca joining the Steam Team in Confusion Without Delay was done in order to address criticism from feminist and social justice groups over a lack of female members in the main cast.
 * According to a fact file in a UK magazine, Thomas was originally supposed to meet Rebecca on the Mainland. This idea was likely dropped during production.
 * Rebecca's Motor Road and Rail model incorrectly depicts the blue parts of her as black.