- "Give me a "brake!" Get it?"
- ā Bruno's joke, Shake, Rattle and Bruno
Bruno is a red brake car who lives and works on the Island of Sodor.
Personality
Bruno is smart, relaxed and joyful. He loves making puns and will often use comedy to get through difficult situations. As a brake car, Bruno travels facing backwards at the rear of the train and thus has a unique perspective on the world.
Bruno is also autistic; as a result, he is detail-oriented and likes routine. Bruno in particular likes schedules and timetables and memorizes where all the tracks on the Island lead. For this reason, he is often entrusted with guiding more rambunctious engines such as Diesel and Kana. He also has a special interest in people, his favorite type being mechanics.
Bruno will often emote using his stepladders, which he flaps when sad or excited, or his lantern. He is also sensitive to loud noises and, when stressed out by them, will produce large ear defenders made of steam from his smokejack. Additionally, Bruno has difficulty maintaining eye contact and will usually be looking at his surroundings rather than whoever he is talking to - this does not mean he is not listening, however.
Technical Details
Basis
Bruno is based off of an American caboose, specifically one with the cupola in the center. The Sodor Line cabooses from the original series' merchandise share the same basis, albeit with four wheels instead of eight like Bruno has.
Livery
Bruno is painted red with white stripes on his sides and yellow hazard stripes painted and covering the top portion of his back end. His buffer beams and footplate are painted yellow, and his roof and handrails are painted black. Bruno also carries the number 43 on his side in yellow with dark red borders, while his wheels, buffer housings and coupling blocks are the same shade of red as his main body.
Bruno's prototype design depicts him with a grey roof and wheels, and yellow handrails, buffer housings and coupling blocks.
Appearances
Audio Files
Whistle
In Go Go Thomas!, Bruno shares Thomas' whistle sound, despite being a brake car. However, some real life cabooses do have whistles.
| First used | Last Used | Sound Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Go Go Thomas! | Go Go Thomas! |
Trivia
- Bruno is currently the first of several things:
- The first All Engines Go exclusive character to be rolling stock.
- The first bogie brake van in the franchise overall.
- The first rolling stock character to be portrayed as a child.
- The first character officially recognized as autistic in the franchise, although some believe he's actually the second autistic character in the franchise, with Theo potentially having some traits.
- The first main character to be rolling stock.
- The first child character exclusive to All Engines Go to be a male.
- Is the only main character not to speak in a season premiere/finale.
- The two digits of his #43 are in different fonts. The #4 is taken from Gordon's tender, while the #3 is taken from Henry's.
- Bruno's face in All Engines Go is depicted with dark blue irises, whereas his prototype design depicts him with aqua irises. His prototype design also shows him having grey wheels and a grey roof. This was carried over to his prototype Push Along toy.
- Bruno is currently the only member of The Biggest Adventure Club to be rolling stock.
- Bruno's number is a reference to 1943, the year that autism was first identified.
- According to Daniel Share-Strom:
- Bruno was originally meant to be named "Bruce the Caboose".
- Bruno likes even numbers. Bruno himself even mentions it in the 2022 movie, The Mystery of Lookout Mountain.
- Bruno was still being developed during the production of the second season, hence why he has less appearances than in the third season.
- Bruno, along with Sandy, are two of Daniel Share-Strom's favorite characters.[5]
Quotes
- "Thanks for moving me, cause I'm not an engine; I'm a brake car."
- ā Bruno's opening phrase, Let's Roll
Merchandise
- Push Along (discontinued)
- Motorized (discontinued)
- My First Thomas (discontinued)
- Plarail
- Magazine toys