Tai

Tai is a purple trainee shunter introduced in the sixth season. ^[1] She originally worked at the freight yard of Zheng-Chu, and now works with Skipper Stu and Hamish at the Docks.

Biography

Tai originated from the foreign city of Zheng-Chu, in which she worked at the large freight yard where a number of container goods are sorted daily. At some point prior to her introduction, Tai would move to the Chuggington harbour, to assist Skipper Stu and Hamish with their work.

While on an important shunting job, Tai ended up damaging her exhaust pipe while trying to move a heavy container of anchors. Upon seeing Hanzo's skills and another accident with a container and sand wagon colliding, Tai decided to take on his offer to learn "the three ways of the track", those being breathing, balance and focus. Despite having a little trouble learning the skills, she soon impressed the other chuggers at the Docks by moving the containers with ease. ^[2]

After some consideration from Skipper Stu, Tai was sent out on her first deliveries around Chuggington. Unfortunately, her lack of knowledge on the routes lead to her being late with the ice for Frostini, a number of parts to repair the CPHQ turntable that had begun spinning out of control (with Asher trapped on it), and a timer for the Chug-a-Sonic Speed Track. Wilson and Koko would attempt to help her by painting the tracks with coloured lines to help her, but they ultimately washed away due to a rainstorm while delivering beams to repair the Rocky Ridge Rickety Bridge. Realizing she truly needed directions, she returned to the Docks and was offered help from Brewster, who accompanied her to help deliver the beams and repair the bridge. ^[3]

As a result of becoming tired of constantly being stuck at the Docks, Tai would accompany the Wilson, Brewster and Koko with their duties for the day. ^[4] Additionally, Tai would team up with Rosa to compete against Emery and Hodge during the Rip Roaring Relay Race, of with the former two would win. ^[5]

In preparation for Skipper Stu's anniversary, Brewster ordered a special anchor for him; however, he did not realise that the ship would be arriving at the Docks while Skipper Stu was present. In an attempt to keep the gift a secret, the trainees took on their spy personas to retrieve it, with Tai joining them during the mission. ^[6]

Tai was briefly put in charge of the Drop and Load Yard while Cormac was at the Repair Shed getting his prongs fixed. Tai attempted to try stacking the way she used to practice in Zheng-Chu, known as Chug Shui; unfortunately, Cormac (being quite the perfectionist) became determined to keep things his way. After a minor accident, the two chuggers made peace, with Cormac learning that doing things differently was not as bad as it seemed. ^[7]

Personality

Having lived in two cities, Tai has obtained much shunting experience. She is incredibly tough, strong, and has a can-do attitude- always striving to get the job done. Despite this, Tai has shown to have too much faith in her beliefs, evident by her being hesitant to ask for directions and eventually taking on a slightly different mindset from Hanzo. Even so, Tai is very flexible and willing to adapt to new environments and skills.

Additionally, Tai is understanding and is reasonable with other chuggers in difficult situations. For example, when Brewster became jealous of Tai after she received his title as the strongest trainee (which would lead to the two becoming trapped in a rockslide) Tai saw how much Brewster cared about his strength and encouraged him to do his best regardless of his significance. ^[8] In all, Tai is a trainee as tough as nails with a heart of gold, who, while can be hesitant to swallow her pride, knows what is best to do.

Technical Details

Basis

Tai, being a modification of Calley, is loosely based on a Krauss-Maffei ML 500 C diesel hydraulic shunter which were built in Germany.

Livery

Tai is painted purple with orange stripes and paintwork. Her window frames and handrails are additionally grey.

Appearances

Chuggington Season 6 - The 3 Ways of the Track, Odd Train Out (does not speak), Tai Tracks, Imagine That, The Great Chugger Caper, The Art of Chug Shui, Brewster's Best Buddy and You for a Day (speaks in US dub only) Specials Season 6 - Celebrate Chuggington Discover Chuggington: All Aboard! Docks Song (indirectly mentioned)

Songs

• Imagine That (performed solo)
• Let's Train Together (performed)
• Celebrate Chuggington (performed)

Audio Files

Horn

First used	Last used	Sound Effect
The 3 Ways of the Track	Brewster's Best Buddy

Other Languages

Trivia

• Tai's model is modified from Calley's original model, with only one of her original horns, her original warning light and the removal of her head and tail-lamps.
  • This makes Tai the third character in the series to reuse another character's model, with Daley and Rosa being the first and second, respectively.
• Tai, along with Calley and Emery (not counting his coach) are the only chuggers to date with an 0-6-0 wheel arrangement.
• Despite receiving a new livery and other minor modifications for her finished design, Tai would use Calley's original model with no modifications whatsoever for the storyboards of Season 6. ^[9]
• Tai's running board uses a similar pattern to that of Calley's Chug Patrol model despite it being based from her original model.
• As revealed in The Great Chugger Caper, Tai has the ability to spin 360 degrees on her chassis.
  • She is also the fifth chugger who is able to rotate 360 degrees. The first is Zephie, the second and third are Hoot and Toot, and the fourth is Cormac.
• In the Polish dub of the series, Tai is referred to by the name of "Tala", the Polish nickname for "Natalia".
• Despite her being a trainee, Tai's model has a "fully fledged" plaque, due to her reusing Calley's model. However, these plaques, while still present on a lot of the chuggers, lost their meaning in the fourth season.
• Tai is the first trainee to be introduced in the series since Piper in Season 3.
• The grey half of Tai's running board frequently changes between a darker and lighter shade of grey.

References