Mr. George Hugh

Mr. George Hugh was the former manager of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, was the man who designed and built James, and is the current manager of the Skarloey Railway.

Biography
George Hugh lived a relatively normal childhood. He lived with both his parents who were relatively wealthy and managed to inherit the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway off of his uncle. He developed a passion for engines and even designed an entire class of engine, the L&YR Class 28. He built a prototype of said class and named him James. James became his prized engine and George used him whenever he could. He used James as his wedding escort and for all sorts of important duties. However, his railway came to a close in 1921 after it was absorbed into the LMS. Mr. Hugh went to find work and left his engine in a siding, unwilling to let him be sold for scrap. A new opportunity presented itself when a new manager was needed on the Skarloey Railway on Sodor. Mr. Hugh sold James to the NWR, a railway also on Sodor, packed his things, brought his family along, and moved everything to Sodor. He managed to comfort James and reassure him that he'd have his chance to prove himself.

In 1929, he managed to convince Sir Topham Hatt to purchase another tank engine. Bertram and George were friends from childhood, and Bertram trusted George greatly. The two remained friends throughout the course of the Great Depression and World War II.

Shortly after the war, he retired Skarloey temporarily and left Rheneas to take control of the goods and passengers on the railway.

In 1953, the Skarloey Railway was struggling, and George barely managed to scrape the funds to purchase Falcon and Stuart, aka Sir Handel and Peter Sam, two former MSR engines. It was around this time that Bertram told George he was planning to retire soon, and George indicated that he had no intention of following suit until his railway was above water again. They both discussed their sons as replacements and George stated that it'd be wrong to place his son under such extreme burdens so early on.

In 1959, George was informed by the Barrow-In-Furness police that Henry had been hijacked. He then went to inform the police that Thomas, Edward, and Donald had been captured and that explosions were heard from Knapford. He then returned to Crovan's Gate Sheds where he told Bertram and Charles Hatt to hide from Diesel 10. After the Hatt Family took Sir Handel to escape, Peter Boomer hijacked Rusty. George followed the two engines in Duncan. Duncan caught up to Rusty and biffed him off the rails, knocking Peter out temporarily. They all returned to Crovan's Gate Station in Sir Handel, where Lowham Hatt informed them that Knapford Station had been bombed. George went off and found James and the other engines being held in Crovan's Gate works and brought him back to the station. George, Bertram, Charles, and the bodyguards traveled in James to Patrick Boomer's workshop. There, Bertram, Lowham, and the bodyguards went to confront Boomer while George, Charles, and James stayed behind. After hearing gunshots, Charles ran inside. George followed and walked in to find Bertram, Lowham, and the bodyguards either dead or wounded on the floor. He took one of the guns from the bodyguards and shot Boomer in the back, killing him. George then went to comfort Charles and they were eventually rescued by police. George attended Sir Bertram's memorial service at Knapford Station.

George is slated to return again in Sodor Then and Now Season 2 and a few of the Season 1 Short Films.

Personality
George is a very kind and caring person who has an unbreakable bond with his engine James. The two have been through nearly everything together. On top of that, George loves his wife and his two sons David and Ivo dearly. George hopes that Ivo will have as much a passion for the Skarloey Railway as he does and will take good care of it when he inevitably retires. George was also very close friend with Bertram Hatt up until his death in 1959.

Appearances

 * Sodor Then and Now 5: Proving Worthy (S1, E5)
 * Sodor Then and Now 6: Little Engines (S1, E6)
 * Sodor Then and Now 7: Old Faithful (S1, E7)
 * Sodor Then and Now 10: Boomer's Reign (S1, E10)

Trivia

 * The name George Hugh is a reference to George Hughes, a head engineer and designer of the L&YR Class 28's.
 * George Hugh takes the place of David Hugh in this timeline. David Hugh in this timeline is Mr. Ivo Hugh's brother, not father.
 * Mr. Hugh was initially not going to appear again after his farewell to James in Episode 5, but his inclusion was added in the final draft of the script. He then became one of the primary human characters in Season 1.
 * Mr. Hugh was initially going to die in the Season 1 finale, but that was cut.