Sam

Sam is a large American tender engine originating from the Virginian Railway.

Personality
Hailing from the United States of America, Sam is the largest, strongest steam engine to ever visit the Island of Sodor. With a big heart to match his massive size, Sam is super-strong and will travel far and wide to help an engine in need.

Basis
Sam is based on the Virginian Railway Class AG, also known as the "Blue Ridge". He shares his number with a member of his class. The engine bearing this number was scrapped in 1960.

Trivia

 * Sam is one of three merchandise-exclusive characters (the others being Logan and Dustin) with a book tie-in for Wooden Railway "Sodor Story Collection" series.
 * In real life, Sam would be too large for the British loading gauge.
 * At a weight of 389 tonnes (not including his tender), Sam is the largest locomotive ever to come to Sodor.
 * Sam has only been partly modified to work on Sodor. He has buffers on his tender and has been given chain-and-hook couplings, yet lacks buffers on his front. Furthermore, his air brake compressors (normally mounted on the smokebox door) have been removed as have several air brake reservoirs. This was likely done for character design reasons, as the location of the compressors would interfere with the normal placement of Sam's face.
 * Sam's blueprints can be seen in Welcome to the Island of Sodor Logan! as well as his own promotional video.
 * Sam has twenty wheels, the most wheels of any engine on Sodor (thirty-four counting his tender's wheels).
 * Sam's illustrations and CGI model both show him with black wheels, yet his Wooden Railway toy depicts him with green wheels.
 * Sam's CGI model lacks the step ladders used for his crew to enter his cab as well as his number on his front.
 * In some illustrations from his book, his number along with being on his cab sides is also on his front near his cowcatcher. His CGI model only has his number on his cab sides.
 * Sam's basis was built in 1945, the same year the first Railway Series book was published.
 * In Sam and the Great Bell, Sam appears to be much thinner than his CGI model.
 * Sam's name could be a homage to Uncle Sam (a personification of the United States of America).
 * Sam is the first standard gauge articulated locomotive in the franchise.