Sir Handel

   Sir Handel


 * Number: 3
 * Builder: Falcon Works
 * Configuration: 0-4-2ST, originally 0-4-0ST
 * Arrived on Sodor: 1904

Sir Handel, named after the Skarloey Railway's first owner, Sir Handel Brown I - but previously Falcon, after the works where he was made - is a narrow-gauge tank engine.

Bio in the television series
Falcon and Stuart lived with Duke until their line was closed and they were bought by the Skarloey Railway and were renamed Sir Handel and Peter Sam respectively.

Upon arriving, Sir Handel had many adventures. He was derailed by his own coaches when he stopped too quickly in front of some sheep. Sir Handel was also very pompous and refused to do his job well, so he was sent to the sheds for a while to repent. After coming back out, he got into a fight with George the steamroller, which ended in a race with George smashing Sir Handel's trucks.

Sir Handel didn't reappear until years later, apparently because he was working in the stone quarry. When he returned, he had a much different attitude. He did his jobs without complaining, and had trouble getting up hills. He is also wiser in most situations, but in some cases he is still pompous.

Persona
Sir Handel is sometimes pompous and arrogant and thinks that pulling trucks is beneath him and will do anything to get out of jobs he does not want to do. He can be rude and stubborn and has been known to insult Agnes, Ruth, Lucy, Jemima and Beatrice by calling them "cattle trucks" and Ada, Jane and Mabel (because they were roofless at the time) by calling them "trucks".

Basis
Sir Handel is based on the Talyllyn Railway's Sir Haydn.

Livery
In the Railway Series, Sir Handel was painted blue until coming to work on the Skarloey Railway, where he was painted in the Skarloey Railway's red livery and blue-and-yellow lining. In the television series, he is painted blue with red and yellow lining.