TIMOTHY (NWR#0)
DETAILS
Class: LBSCR E2 (First Variant)
Built: 1913, Brighton Works
Arrived on Sodor: 1914
Current Age (2015): 102 Years old
Shed Allocation: Kirk Ronan
Timothy is a kind engine, who was a prototype of the LBSC Billington E2 Class. He was the Station Pilot at Tidmouth Station from 1914 to 1920, when he was allocated to the Kirk Ronan Branch to help Neil and Clive out, as their brother Matthew had disappeared. The Kirk Ronan Branch closed in 1932 as a result of the Great Depression. Timothy (who had a cracked cylinder at the time) was left in the Kirk Ronan Goods Depot, and was forgotten about. Over 30 years later, he was discovered, and was restored back to his former glory. He was restored in time for the Kirk Ronan Station reopening (1968), and was also one of the witnesses to Gordon's Crash that very day. Timothy continues to operate the Kirk Ronan Branch alongside Molly and Neil. Neil pulls passenger trains, Molly takes the goods trains, and Timothy does both. He also does shunting work at Rolf's Castle and Kirk Ronan Harbour.
THOMAS (NWR#1)
DETAILS
Class: LBSCR E2x (Second Variant)
Built: 1914, Brighton Works
Arrived on Sodor: 1915
Current Age (2015): 101 Years old
Shed Allocation: Ffarquhar
Thomas is an LBSCR Billington E2 class, with added wheel arches above his front two wheels.
Many of the first E2's, such as Timothy, didn't have the extended Side tanks. Thomas is one of the later variants of the class, hence why he has extended side tanks. Thomas is the "face" of the NWR, mainly due to his popularity with children around the world, thanks to the RWS and TVS. He is rarely boastful about this nowadays, but when he first learnt of his fame, he began to act a lot like Gordon. Despite being over 100 years old, Thomas is still often cheeky, but he proves to everyone that even with age, it is still good to have fun now and again. Thomas currently works on the Ffarquhar Branch with Percy, Toby, Ivor & Stanley. His faithful coaches, Annie and Clarabel have worked with him for nearly a century, and they say there is no other engine who pulls them as smoothly along the line as Thomas.
EDWARD (NWR#2)
DETAILS
Class: Furness Railway K2 Larger Seagull
Built: 1896, Glasgow
Arrived on Sodor: 1899
Current Age (2015): 116 Years old
Shed Allocation: Wellsworth
Edward is a K2 (larger Seagull) built in 1896 to the design of W. F. Pettigrew for the Furness Railway. Edward Arrived on Sodor in 1899 to pull express trains for the Tidmouth, Knapford, and Elsbridge Light Railway. Edward is a very kind engine, and is the number two of the North Western Railway. He is a constant provider of good advice, though sometime he will lose his temper, or get very upset, like he did when his best friend Samson was killed in an explosion while trying to save him.
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Edward holds a degree in Psychology, gaining it sometime between 1970 and 1990. At the present moment, he is helping Phillip recover from his PTSD.
HENRY (NWR#3)
DETAILS
Class: GNR/C1 Atlantic (Formerly), LMS Black 5 (Currently)
Built: 1919, Unknown workshop
Arrived on Sodor: 1919
Current Age (2015): 96 Years old
Shed Allocation: Tidmouth
Henry was built as a strange mix of engines.
In 1919, An unidentified rival builder to Sir Nigel Gresley Sent a spy to steal the GNR A1 Blueprints.
The Spy however, failed and took the wrong drawing, which was of an engine that Gresley had experimented with, but had deemed unsuccessful.
The Blueprints that the Spy took were of an engine that was a mix between a C1 Atlantic, and Gresley's new Design, the A1 Pacific.
The Rival Builder however, didn't realise he had the wrong blueprints until he had finished.
The result, was Henry. Once realising the mistake, he quickly put Henry up for sale for a cheap price.
Bertram Hatt was desperate for new engines at the time, and accepted the offer. Little did Bertram know, he had just been tricked.
Henry was a very poor steamer, as Gresley has found out with earlier tests. Henry continued to have steaming problems until 1935, when he suffered severe injuries in a Crash with The Flying Kipper caused by Sam Richmond and Hugo. Henry was rebuilt by Sir William Stanier's team at Crewe Works, and returned to service. He has worked without fail since then, and continues to be the NWR's most experienced heavy goods engine.
GORDON (NWR#4)
DETAILS
Class: LNER A0 Pacific Prototype
Built: 1922, Doncaster Works
Arrived on Sodor: 1923
Current Age (2015): 94
Shed Allocation: Tidmouth
Gordon was designed by Sir Nigel Gresley as a prototype for the LNER A1 pacific, named the A0. Only one A0 Pacific was built, and that was Gordon.
Gordon came to the Island shortly after testing. Sir Nigel Gresley was an old friend of Bertram Hatt and sold Gordon off at a discount price, along with a spare boiler.
in Gordon's early years, He was quite rude and boastful, but as he got older, he became more kind. He is less boastful today, but still often gets into arguments with engines such as James. After his horrific crash at Kirk Ronan Station on its reopening day (1968), Gordon was sent to Crovan's Gate Works for repairs. He remained in the works for over five years, and when he returned in 1975, he got a lovely welcome back from his family and friends, who were quick to notice his new corridor tenders and smoke deflectors. Gordon set off on a ryn with a welcome back express, and after racing down Gordon's Hill and passing through Maron, he set a new speed record for Sodor, having reached 120mph, mainly due to the new tubing and cylinders he received at the works. Gordon now pulls long distance trains non-stop from Tidmouth to Barrow, only stopping at Vicarstown to swap passengers. (He used to also stop at Crovan's Gate to fill up with Water and Coal, but as he now has two tenders, he has no need to.)
In the late 90's, Pip and Emma (BR Class 42 HSTs) took over the WildNor'Wester Express service. Gordon, while he no longer pulls this service, continues to haul the regular Expresses usually managed by Connor and Caitlin. (The former killed in 2009's Attack on Tidmouth, the latter returning to the USA in 2011.)
Gordon has been in service for over 93 years (2015, current time in the series), and continues to be the best high-speed locomotive in the NWR's fleet followed closely by Fowler.
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JAMES (NWR#5)
DETAILS
Class: L&YR Class 29 Prototype
Built: 1921-2, Horwich Works
Arrived on Sodor: 1925
Current Age (2015): 90
Shed Allocation: Tidmouth
James and his Brother Winston were designed and built by George Hughes as a potential upgrade for the L&YR Class 28. (The 28's having been rebuilds of the Class 27)
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The upgrades consisted of a slightly larger boiler and a 2-6-0 wheel configuration compared to the 0-6-0 Class 27's and 26's, and while these 'upgrades' did little to improve performance, they did make James and Winston rather unique. After a year in service Winston was loaned by the North Western Railway during their Locomotive Crisis, while James remained in the workshop as more modifications were made.
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In 1924 the workshop and George Hughes were satisfied with their improvements, and took Winston back into their hands while James was sent to the NWR as a replacement. James differed slightly from Winston with an even larger boiler, although the workshop did forget about changing his 'temporary' wooden brake blocks.
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As a result of this error James suffered from an accident in 1925 on his third day. He was subsequently mended and repainted at Crovan's Gate Works.
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James had a tendency to boast and make many mistakes throughout his early years. Despite being a mixed traffic engine he preferred to pull coaches like Gordon and Alfred, and seemed to work hard to fit in with the bigger engines.
On many occasions James has been known for 'going on strike' with the likes of Henry, Alfred, Gordon and Crovan over the years, most notably one in the late 30's with Henry, Gordon and Alfred after Duck and Percy blocked the entrance to the sheds.
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PERCY (NWR#6)
DETAILS
Class: GWR 0-4-0
Built: 1925
Arrived on Sodor: 1926
Current Age (2015): 89
Shed Allocation: Ffarquhar
Percy was built sometime in 1925 by Avonside Engine Co. as a potential successor to the Trojan of 1897. Troublesome and cheeky, he eventually wound up in Swindon Works. In 1926 he was purchased by Bertram Topham Hatt who required a new tank engine for shunting at Tidmouth.
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