[4] The improvement was not as great as hoped for and after the grouping, the LMS sold James to the Fat Controller's North Western Railway.

The Fat Controller has given James a new coat of red paint, to cheer him up after the accident on his first day, and becomes rather conceited.

After meeting Thomas again, he focuses enough to move their train over Gordon's Hill, and he and Edward laugh about its comical name origin, which unfortunately leads to James' laughter becoming hiccups, frightening an elderly passenger.

The next day, the Fat Controller, still cross over his hat's dampening, threatens to repaint James blue if he continues to cause trouble.

James is resting in the shed the next day when Gordon arrives feeling mournful (he has accidentally been switched to the loop line and had a long, wasted journey).

Unlike the books, the TV episode "Thomas and the Breakdown Train" had a red-coloured James from the beginning.

For unknown reasons, James also appeared in all episodes before "Thomas and the Breakdown Train" even though this story established him as being a new engine.

[8] Thomas & Friends: The Adventure Begins retells the first seven episodes of the show, with some alterations; most notably, James appears in his original black livery from the second book.

In this version, James arrived on Sodor before Thomas and is the engine Annie and Clarabel originally belonged to.

James comes back some time later, now painted in his familiar red, but finds that his two coaches have been assigned to Thomas's newly acquired branch line.

After some investigation, he uncovers and is imprisoned in a large steelworks that Thomas had escaped from earlier and is forced to work there.

[9] In the 2000 film, Thomas and the Magic Railroad, James was threatened by Diesel 10 and almost got pushed back into a smelting pit before being teleported out by Mr.

[10] In the 2021 reboot, James was brought back as a supporting character, rather than as part of the main cast as with the original series.

Much like many of the other characters in the reboot, many of James' design elements and personality were altered to a more engaging dynamic towards the young engines.

This battery-powered locomotive is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the "largest model railway engine" ever built, at 2.64 x 1.5 x 6.52 metres.

[citation needed] On the East Lancashire Railway, unrestored LMS Ivatt Class 2 Mogul No.