Murdoch

Murdoch is one of Sodor's largest and strongest tender engines, who is somewhat a shy, a gentle giant and prefers the quiet countryside to the constant noise of industry. He hauls freight trains on the Main Line and lives at Knapford Sheds.

Personality
Murdoch is a mighty, powerful engine with ten drive wheels. He is one of the largest engines working on Sodor and was brought to the Island to help with the heavy workload and pull heavy goods trains across the Main Line. Murdoch is as shy as he is strong, as he is actually a gentle giant. He can often be found seeking peace and quiet, away from the bustle of the yards and the Docks. He enjoys long hauls through the countryside and although he can get short of patience and a little annoyed if he does not get some alone time, he can be quite a reserved engine. Although he can be an independent worker, Murdoch is often content to join in, help and offer advice where he deems it worthy, but, despite being hard to miss due to his defining strength and size, he will not jump to put himself at the centre of attention.

Basis
Murdoch is based on a BR Standard Class 9F, which were used for fast and heavy goods trains. The class was the last of the BR Standards and the final steam engine class built by British Railways, with the last one, "Evening Star", built in March 1960. Due to the size and shape of the class, they where given the nickname "Spaceships". "Evening Star" and eight other 9Fs are preserved. One 9F, "Black Prince" holds the record for hauling the heaviest steam-hauled train in Great Britain, at 2,198 tons.

Trivia

 * According to early concept designs of the seventh season characters, Murdoch was originally going to be a BR Standard Class 7.
 * In his concept art, he seems to have a double chimney, which were fitted on 9Fs built from 1958 onwards.
 * Murdoch shares the same whistle sound with Arthur, which itself is an LMS whistle stock sound effect.
 * The Motor Road and Rail system previously spelt Murdoch's name incorrectly as "Murdock".
 * Murdoch's model used to be on display in Canada at Nitrogen Studios. The model was displayed with no face.
 * The Halloween Engine in the eighth season episode, Halloween, used Murdoch's cylinders.
 * Murdoch was once misspelled as Mordoch.
 * Murdoch’s Take Along model had him with orange tender wheels, which was fixed on his Take-n-Play model.