The distinctive puffing sound made as Ivor moved was voiced by Postgate, and the show's music was composed by Vernon Elliott. Ivor's 'voice' was mostly sounded by a bassoon. Edwin Jones is Ivor's driver. He is a cheerful and kind-hearted man who perhaps sympathises more than most railway staff with Ivor's idiosyncrasies. Postgate and Firmin describe him as "an ordinary engine driver who is there to cope with whatever needs to be coped with". People who are new to the area find him rather eccentric for talking to his engine.

Gideon Coe uses Ivor's Cruising Theme as the musical bed over his last song leading up to midnight on BBC 6 Music to say nighty night.Having produced the live Alexander the Mouse, [i] and the stop motion animated The Journey of Master Ho [1] for his employers Associated Rediffusion/ ITV in partnership with Firmin, Oliver Postgate and his partner set up Smallfilms in a disused cow shed at Firmin's home in Blean, near Canterbury, Kent. [2] Ivor The Engine is entirely bogus as far as Wales is concerned - it's built entirely on a picture of Wales given by Dylan Thomas! Then, literally in the bath, I came to realise what the story was: the engine wanted to sing in the choir, which is obviously what a Welsh engine would want, so from then on it fell into place. Some of the artwork from production is on display at the Rupert the Bear Museum, along with several other items from Smallfilm's history. [17] The Rupert Bear Museum is now part of the Canterbury Heritage Museum in Stour Street, Canterbury. It's a lovely summers day and Ivor has finished all his work. Jones and Dai decide to go and relax by the river. Ivor feels a little left out standing by the station platform so he goes off on his own. The Dragons have nearly run out of Half-Crowns for their gas meter at Smoke Hill. Jones and Ivor find some in one of the most unlikely places.

Switch to English: Not that we actually hear any Welsh spoken, but after the President of the Antiquarian Society makes "a fine speech, in Welsh of course" the crowd sings "Land of My Fathers" in English. This may actually be Translation Convention for the benefit of the viewers: most Welsh people would know their anthem in Welsh, but rather fewer would be fluent enough to understand the President's speech! Ivor enjoys doing all sorts of things that humans do. As well as singing in the choir, he likes visiting the seaside, making tea from his boiler and spending time with his friends. He is fond of animals, and has several of them among his friends. He can be wilful and disobedient at times, and it is not unknown for him to go and do his own thing when he should be working. He dislikes shunting and timetables.allow her bad foot to be washed with boiling water by Jones and Evans. The only person allowed to do that is Bani It's winter in the top left-hand corner of Wales and Ivor's railway is not running because of deep snow. Llaniog needs supplies soon, though, as Eli the Baker is nearly out of flour. What Ivor needs is a snowplough. Parents Know Their Children: Jones the Steam and Ivor have a very close bond after so many years working together, but Jones usually acts as a sort of parental figure for Ivor, who is good hearted if sometimes a little disobedient, like a child. Jones can usually guess at Ivor's moods quite easily. Postgate, Oliver; Firmin, Peter (2006). Ivor the Engine: Snowdrifts. London: Severnside. ISBN 0-9552417-1-5.

Ivor goes off with Banger's Circus as "The Singing Engine". His replacement is a Juggernaut built by Bynon Smith. It turns out to be a lot less reliable than Ivor. Ivor has to deliver some pigeons to Mr Brangwyn. Thanks to Evans the Song, they end up escaping and on Miss Pryce's roof. There follow some amusing attempts to get them down. The Juggernaut is a diesel rail lorry made out of bits, bobs and flanged wheels, which appears towards the end of the series. Due to its inadequate brakes, it runs down a hill and falls into the lake soon after starting service, nearly killing Idris, whom it was carrying on a chestnut barrow.

The Speechless: Ivor can't talk like a human, but manages to communicate with Jones via his whistle and steam exhaust. Given Jones' reactions, Ivor can be quite a Deadpan Snarker at times!