Elizabeth

Elizabeth is a vintage Sentinel steam lorry, originally owned by Sir Topham Hatt. She often works alongside the Skarloey Railway.

Bio
Prior to becoming Controller of the North Western Railway, Sir Topham Hatt owned Elizabeth - she notes that he was not the best driver. For unknown reasons, Elizabeth was sheeted in a shed and remained there until Thomas' crew found her several decades later when they needed urgent transportation to the Works for new side-rods. Jem Cole restored Elizabeth and she is to this day in perfect working order.

When the Skarloey Railway was facing hardships, Elizabeth agreed to help the narrow gauge engines clear the line of fallen branches and restore the line, which they succeeded at.

One winter, when Thomas refused to wear his snowplough, Elizabeth scolded him, stating that he could not be reliable without it. She was given the task of taking puddings to Brendam Docks for a delivery to the Mainland, but during the trip, she slid on the icy roads and got herself stuck in a snowdrift. Thomas and Terence rescued her, and they managed to deliver the puddings in time before the ship left.

Persona
Elizabeth does not like laziness or rudeness and will respond to both in the strongest terms. Because of this, she can often come off as harsh and severe.

Although she believes roads are superior to rails, she often helps the engines out. She is very sensitive about how others refer to her by her age.

She has a special fondness for her original owner Sir Topham Hatt, and it seems that even he never seems to take offense or get angered by her strong statements when she criticized the way he drives.

Basis
Elizabeth is based on a Sentinel DG4 steam lorry with a three-way tipper behind her cab. She shares the same basis as Isobella.

Livery
Elizabeth is painted maroon with gold and black lining and a brown tipper.

Thomas & Friends

 * Season 6 - Elizabeth the Vintage Lorry, Jack Frost, Rusty Saves the Day and Faulty Whistles
 * Season 7 - Not So Hasty Puddings
 * Season 8 - Thomas and the Tuba and Emily's Adventure
 * Season 11 - Emily's Rubbish, Smoke and Mirrors, Thomas Sets Sail, Toby's Triumph and Wash Behind Your Buffers (cameo)
 * Season 22

Specials

 * 2008 - The Great Discovery (cameo)

Voice Actors

 * Fu Suzuki (Japan; Sixth - Eighth Seasons)
 * Keiko Nemoto (Japan; Eleventh Season Onwards)
 * Teresa Gallagher (UK/US)

Trivia

 * Elizabeth is the only character able to insult Sir Topham Hatt without getting into trouble, as she was the first lorry she ever drove.
 * Elizabeth is presumably named after Queen Elizabeth II, the current Queen of the United Kingdom. She was also built in 1926, the same year as the Queen was born.
 * In original concept art done by Robert Gauld-Galliers, her original name was "Grumpy".
 * Elizabeth's model is now on display at Drayton Manor.
 * Elizabeth is often misspelled as "Elisabeth", particularly in merchandise and in the subtitles of DVDs. The Official Website also spelled her name this way before the site was revamped. Elisabeth is the spelling used in the Welsh dub of the show.
 * A large scale model of Elizabeth was made to interact with the Narrow Gauge engines, as used in Rusty Saves the Day and Faulty Whistles. The large scale model was built by Chris Lloyd as revealed in an interview with Sodor Island Fansite.
 * A Sentinel steam bus (originally a lorry) that gives tour rides around Weston-super-Mare (formerly around Whitby) is named after Elizabeth.
 * In concept art, Elizabeth was depicted with a tipper, despite this not being shown in the series. This has been carried on to her ERTL, Wooden Railway, Take Along and Take-n-Play toys.