Many different faces have been introduced to the Thomas the Tank Engine series over the years – some becoming key players while others seemingly pop up once and never again as if to say, “Look for me at your local toy store!”. Many of these characters have quietly drifted out of the spotlight, albeit still present in merchandising for a good while afterwards. But there is one character, one who was once so prominent in the show’s marketing who suddenly disappeared without a trace…
Mavis is a diesel engine who works at Ffarquhar Quarry, first appearing in the Railway Series book, Tramway Engines and later debuting on TV in the third series of Thomas & Friends. Mavis is described as a feisty young engine who is full of her own ideas – she doesn’t take kindly to Toby’s advice at first, much to his frustration. Though stubborn and arrogant, particularly in her earlier episodes, Mavis still means well and is hardworking nonetheless.
Based on a Class 03 diesel shunter, Mavis has a very recognisable design to fans of the series with her cowcatchers and side plates as well as hazard stripes on her front and back. While her black paintwork may seem reminiscent of Diesel, her additional features make her seem much more appealing – especially as a collectable toy. Much like how viewers associate Cranky and Salty with Brendam Docks or Victor and Kevin with the Steamworks, if ever something was happening at the quarry then you know you would find Mavis there. Mavis was introduced to the television series not long after the show made its way over to America through Shining Time Station – Britt Allcroft and Rick Sigglekow felt that having a strong female character would resonate better with American audiences than Daisy the Diesel Railcar with a face full of makeup and her oddly Stripper-esque theme music.
Which is why it was rather strange when in 2018, right around the time Mattel decided to introduce more gender balance into the series, the character who was introduced for that very reason some 20-odd years ago mysteriously vanished…
As new characters Nia and Rebecca took the spotlight, Mavis quietly disappeared from view with her last known sighting being during the ‘Where in the World is Thomas?’ musical number in the 2018 film, ‘Big World! Big Adventures!’. It wasn’t that the producers were instructed not to use existing female characters anymore either – the likes of Belle and Marion continued to appear throughout the series… even Daisy had a few roles! And yet the show’s original go-to female characters were neglected, with Rosie slipping into the background while Mavis seemingly took a seat next to BoCo at The Sidings (even if it is a ruddy silly name for a pub!).
So what happened?
Mavis was seemingly a best-seller in the toy ranges for years, often appearing on various promotional artworks. It’s not like she was a duff character who didn’t sell enough toys… but rather it was the toys that weren’t being sold at all. Following the Thomas toy redesigns of 2014, Mavis was not reintroduced into Trackmaster, Take N Play or Wooden Railway; the only way to buy a Mavis was her Bachmann model or the Japanese Capsule wind-up range, until they were eventually discontinued.
Remember earlier when I mentioned how much Diesel and Mavis look alike? I reckon what happened is that people were getting them mixed up. With Diesel being the more recognisable of the two, some sort of miscommunication happened between ‘the powers that be’ that led to Mavis being ditched from the toy lines in favour of the more popular “black diesel character”. There’s also the fact that she’s black – a very dull colour for a toy train – so Mattel probably figured that one black train would probably be enough for the toy shelves. And with Diesel being the more popular character, Mavis got the short end of the stick.
That’s just my two cents anyway, so take it with a grain of salt.
From a recognisable face associated with one of Sodor’s most prominent locations to a complete absence from the series… Mavis the Quarry Diesel’s fate is one of the saddest there is. The writing team had the perfect opportunity to give her some more time to shine, yet it was all wasted for the sake of selling more colourful, flashier orange and yellow toy trains…
But maybe it’s not as bad as it seems. For all we know, Mavis could’ve been quietly getting on with her jobs at the quarry, working as hard as she always does while everyone else was faffing around with jungle animal costumes or pretending to be ‘super engines’.
