Neville, Thomas and Friends Wooden Railway (Tomy)
A black painted wooden "Neville" locomotive and tender with pale grey lining and running number 33010, from Tomy's "Thomas and Friends Wooden Railway".
Neville is based on a wartime Q1 Class "austerity" locomotive produced at Brighton Works.
The Q1 locomotive class
Unlike most previous steam locomotives, which were "over-engineered" with a large safety margins built into their designs so that they could have a long and hopefully trouble-free life, the Q1s were designed to be simple to construct and to use as little metal as possible, so that they could be produced quickly to meet wartime demand while being sparing with resources – as emergency wartime locos, the Q1s didn't need to have a long lifespan.
The Q1 Class replaced the more conventional-looking 1938 Q Class
The "Thomas" character
Neville's unconventional looks initially lead to him being shunned by the other steam locomotives, who mistake him for a diesel loco.
Location
This is a modern toy that is part of the Museum's "children's play" collection, available for school visits and children's events. It is not normally on display.
