Charlie Sand and Sidney Hever
Edward is the only engine whose driver and fireman are named in The Railway Series (Henry's driver was named in the annuals, being 'Ted'). In the foreword to 'Edward the Blue Engine', their names are given as Charlie Sand and Sidney Hever, and in the story 'Saved from Scrap', their names are mentioned.
These names are puns on their jobs. One of an engine driver's jobs is to sand the rails when they are slippery in order to allow the engine to grip. A fireman's job is to "heave" the coal from the tender or coal bunker to the engine's fire.
Their first names come from a real engine crew named Charlie and Sidney on the Wisbech and Upwell Tramway (see Toby the Tram Engine).
Read more about this topic: Edward The Blue Engine
Famous quotes containing the words charlie, sand and/or sidney:
“Don’t pay any attention to Ah Ling. He has a mania for quoting Confucius. And Charlie Chan.”
—Joseph O’Donnell. Clifford Sanforth. Mrs. Houghland, Murder by Television, reassuring her friends after the houseboy has pointed out a sign of ill omen (1935)
“She had more sand in her than any girl I ever see: in my opinion she was just full of sand. It sounds like flattery, but it ain’t no flattery.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)
“Thou blind man’s mark, thou fool’s self-chosen snare,
Fond Fancy’s scum and dregs of scattered thought,
Band of all evils, cradle of causeless care,
Thou web of will whose end is never wrought;
Desire! desire, I have too dearly bought
With price of mangled mind thy worthless ware;”
—Sir Philip Sidney (1554–1586)