Den and Dart are supporting antagonists turned supporting characters in the Thomas & Friends franchise.
They are members of the Vicarstown Dieselworks, and they serve under the commands of Diesel 10.
Den is voiced by Keith Wickham, who also voices Norman in the same series.
Dart was initially voiced by Rupert Degas, but is now currently voiced by Steven Kynman.
Biographies[]
During Diesel 10's takeover of the Sodor Steamworks, Den and Dart took Thomas and Kevin to the Back Shed, but they released them after the Dieselworks had caught fire. They later helped with the reconstruction of the Dieselworks.
One Christmas, Den, Dart, and Diesel tried to find a Christmas tree for the Dieselworks whilst in competition with Thomas. Den later teased Flynn for spraying Sir Topham Hatt and Gordon, while Dart teased him for spraying Edward and his driver.
When Ol' Wheezy breaks down, Thomas asks Den and Dart to fix him. At first, he only wanted help from one of them. But after two failed attempts, he eventually agreed to let them work together.
When the crows fly towards the Dieselworks, Thomas blows his whistle to scare them away. Unfortunately, his loud whistle woke up Den, who was trying to take a nap. After apologizing to Den, Thomas continued to chase after the crows. As for Den, he went back to sleep.
When Mavis was sent to the Dieselworks to be repaired, Den was sent to the quarry as a temporary replacement. Initially, Den struggled with the Troublesome Trucks. But after some encouragement from Toby and Henrietta, he toughened up and finished his job. And when Mavis came back, Den went back to the Dieselworks, and reunited with Dart.
Den, Dart, and Paxton were part of Diesel's plot to be taken to The Great Railway Show. Diesel had the three disguised under crates in a large train to make it look as though he was pulling it himself, so that he would be entered into the strength competition instead of Henry. However, his plot failed when the three diesels mistook Thomas' whistle for Diesel's horn, leading them to push Thomas and cause him to collide with Norman. And then, Diesel scolded Den, Dart, and Paxton for mistaking Thomas' whistle for his horn. Later, Den, Dart, and Paxton searched for Diesel at Brendam Docks, and they eventually found out that he was on a ship.
After the workload at Brendam Docks got quadrupled, thanks to Salty falling in the sea, Den was to be sent in the dockside diesel's place. But then, the slippery seaweed that Salty dragged with him caused Den to slip out of control and set off a series of events that ended up trapping several of the diesels in the Dieselworks. And even though the steam engines managed to do all of the diesels' jobs, Sir Topham Hatt didn't realize that the diesels were still trapped in the Dieselworks. However, it's possible that he eventually found someone to fix the Dieselworks' doors, so that the diesels could be free.
When Nia and Paxton trick Diesel into their jobs, Den asks them how they did it. And then, they say, "Who knows?", in their ghost voices.
Personalities[]
Den[]
Den is the diesel engine who runs the Vicarstown Dieselworks, repairing other diesels. He is stately and deeply pensive. He tries to make sure everything he says is deeply considered and can often be heard muttering "what I mean to say is..." and can tend to over-think. He may come across as a little slow, but nothing could be further from the truth. He is rather astute and likes to take into account as much as he can with regards to a problem. Although he is not a worrier, he may tend to be on the fence about taking particular action over a matter before making a calculated, informed decision that will be worth the wait.
Den is usually the one communicating first. However, he isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, and his words come out the wrong way. So, Dart, his assistant at the Dieselworks, can sometimes tell what he's thinking and cut to the chase a little quicker for the benefit of the other engines. This is why they support each other so well as a team. Den is a hard worker, and he's popular and well respected among the diesels for fixing them with a whisk of his wheels, even if his tools may be old and shoddy and his machinery may be outdated. Although he is trustworthy and authoritative, Den may have the occasional chuckle at an engine's expense.
Dart[]
Dart works at the Vicarstown Dieselworks supporting and assisting Den. The two have worked together for so long, that Dart can often guess what Den is thinking before he can get it out himself. Despite not being the thinker of the duo, Dart is usually the doer, and he can be the chatter of the two. He quickly buzzes about the Dieselworks, occasionally bashing, crashing, and clanging into things. He can be heard grumbling, "Dizzy Diesels!", when something goes wrong. As a bonus, Dart is very able in his work, and he's a valuable team player. Despite being small in size, he's actually feisty and fast. Dart also likes jokes, sometimes to the annoyance of the other diesels. If feeling bothered (particularly by the steam engines), Dart is far from devious, but he can get grumpy, gruff, irritable, cantankerous, and sometimes cheeky too. Despite this, he's the quick-witted assistant of the Dieselworks.
Trivia[]
- Dart is the first standard gauge diesel engine to have a two-toned horn and the second overall. The first being Rusty.
- "Fiery Flynn" is the only episode where Rupert Degas voices both Den and Dart.
- "Stop that Bus!" is the only episode where Dart doesn't speak.
- Den and Dart are unique among the series’ duos in that they are almost always paired together but are not twins.
- Unlike Dart, Den makes more than one silent appearance in Thomas & Friends.
- Every time Den says something, Dart translates what he's saying by starting his sentence with "What he means is...". However, the Season 21 premiere, "Springtime for Diesel", reveals that Den can sometimes understand what the other engines are saying. When Daisy said that it could be the end of the line for her, Den knew that she was worried about her springs not being fixed. As a bonus, Dart thought that Den was welcoming Daisy to the Dieselworks when he said, "Look, Dart! A diesel railcar!" However, he was actually telling Dart that they're meeting a diesel railcar for the first time.
- Den and Dart serving as Diesel 10's two current main henchmen means they serve as replacements for Diesel 10's former henchmen, Splatter and Dodge.
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 Villains
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Island of Sodor Foreign Engines Rolling Stock Non-Rail Vehicles Humans | ||