The Character Allen is one of A.H Peppercorn's A1 pacific locomotives, specifically the real life British Railway's number 60114, W.P Allen. This locomotive was the prototype locomotive for the Peppercorn A1 Class. Allen is one of the youngest members of Copley Hill's locomotive stud: he was built in 1948, as the unnamed, apple green, 60114. In the series, Allen pulls “The Fair Maid” passenger express regularly as his day job. Young, cocky, but well meaning, Allen currently wears the British Railways Brunswick Green livery with pride. . 60114 was built in 1948, entering traffic in the August of that year. It was allocated to several sheds throughout its career, including Copley Hill (56C), Grantham (35B) and Doncaster (36A). It was finally withdrawn in the December of 1964. No members of the Peppercorn A1 class were preserved, but the 50th member of the class – 60163 Tornado, has been built by the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, and is currently in operation. The inspiration for Allen came from a chance conversation between the series creator and a close friend. Allen was originally to be named Arthur (after A.H Peppercorn), and was to be of class A2 – the model used was a Bachmann A1 pacific, at which point it was suggested to use Allen, rather than Arthur – and make Arthur a separate locomotive that could provide a contrast between the two outwardly similar, but inwardly different classes. Thus, after a few trailers as “Arthur”, Allen was born! First Appearance: Episode One, A Great Problem Goes West! Final Appearance: Episode Thirty, Tornado & The Last Run to the Cross

	Stephen is a Gresley rebuild of a Stephen Holden B12 locomotive – numbered 61572, Stephen is a hard working locomotive who works suburban traffic in and around the Leeds/Liverpool areas. Stephen is the oldest member of the Copley Hill stud (being built in 1911), and is the wise old sage who recounts times past, and gives useful advice when it is needed. Stephen currently wears British Railways mixed traffic black livery, though he has also appeared in LNER green, and BR express Passenger blue (which is not a livery the class would have actually carried). Wise and sensible, Stephen is the only character to have appeared in every episode of the series so far. He has established himself quite firmly as the fans' favourite character.  Built in 1911, in reality 61572 was never allocated to Copley Hill shed (nor named) – however lots of locomotives of its wheel arrangement (4-6-0) were, such as the B4s and B16s. 61572 was allocated to London Stratford (30A), Ipswich (32B) and Norwich Thorpe (32A) throughout its life, being withdrawn for preservation in 1961, and currently at the time of writing, under overhaul on the North Norfolk Railway. Simon Martin, the series' creator, had had an old Hornby B12 model, that had been named Stephen by his grandfather for as long as he could remember – the reason? The original designer of the real class was Stephen Holden, and he and his father being steam enthusiasts, gave it an appropriate name. The engine itself was quite elderly, so it was natural that the character of Stephen would be the oldest of the engines in the series. He first appeared in episode one, and has appeared in every episode since – and remains the only engine to do so. First Appearance: Episode One, A Great Problem Goes West! Final Appearance: Episode Thirty, Tornado & The Last Run to the Cross

	Sir Ralph is a Gresley A4 pacific, and is a rather pompous character who has a good heart in his smoke box somewhere. Numbered 60006, and named Sir Ralph Wedgwood, he is painted in British Railways Brunswick Green. Not everything is what it seems, and Sir Ralph is not quite the locomotive he appears to be - originally, his name was Herring Gull. He gained the name Sir Ralph Wedgwood after his friend, Gadwall (whom had been the first to be renamed after the Chief Officer of the LNER), was destroyed in the Baedeker Blitz on York in 1942. This caused some confusion amongst the engines, happily this has now been resolved (see episodes 8-10). 60006 started out in life as LNER 4466, built in 1938. Copley Hill hardly ever saw any A4s in real life, and certainly not 60006 – which was allocated to Kings Cross (34A) for almost the entire length of its career, save some time spent at York during the war years, and in its twilight years, at Aberdeen (61B) until withdrawal in the September of 1965. Sir Ralph's character had probably the most complicated of beginnings. Originally, this was to b a locomotive that at the end of the series would be a preserved example of the A4 class, and it was originally Sir Nigel Gresley, 60007, that was chosen (and indeed, for every episode up to episode 10, the nameplates read “Sir Nigel Gresley” not “Sir Ralph Wedgwood” - the model bought to represent Sir Ralph originally being 60007. It has since been renamed, renumbered and weathered). The series very much needed a locomotive with almost obvious character flaws (haughty, pompous and at times, rude), but at the same time give the series a much needed set of running gags, and a lengthy story arc. Early research showed that there had been two Sir Ralph Wedgwoods, A4s 4466 and 4469 taking on the name (with 4466 replacing 4469 after it was destroyed in a bombing raid at York during the second world war). This was expanded upon, eventually forming – if not the most popular, then certainly the most sensational of the episodes so far – Episode 10, The Legacy of Gadwall. First Appearance: Episode One, A Great Problem Goes West! Final Appearance: Episode Thirty, Tornado & The Last Run to the Cross

	Herbert is a nervous V2 locomotive, a Gresley design, who is afraid of cows – he has struck up a close friendship with Stephen and Allen, and idolises Nigel as his hero (after being 'saved' from a herd of cows, and a single curious bull). Herbert, as a mixed traffic locomotive, pulls a variety of traffic, and can be seen pulling anything from passenger trains to fast goods trains. Although in reality 60903 was not named, the character of Herbert was named after his designer, Herbert Nigel Gresley (better known as Sir Nigel Gresley). Herbert's first appearance came in "Veto a V2!" 60903 is another locomotive that, in reality, was never allocated to Copley Hill, though other V2s were throughout the shed's British Railways days. It was allocated to Kings Cross (34A) for the whole of its life, so by sheer coincidence, was indeed allocated to the same shed as Sir Ralph Wedgwood, 60006. 60903 was one of a few V2s which were fitted with a double chimney. 60903 was built in 1940, and withdrawn from traffic in 1963. One was preserved, 60800, Green Arrow, which gave its name to the class V2 – the “Green Arrow” class of engines. Herbert's involvement in the series was pure chance. A model of fellow (and preserved) V2, 60800 Green Arrow, had been bought on a whim by series creator, Simon Martin, for running on his layout – like Nigel (who came into being first, but appeared later in the series), he took his name from his designer: Herbert Nigel Gresley First Appearance: Episode Two, Veto a V2! Final Appearance: Episode Thirty, Tornado & The Last Run to the Cross

	Nigel is a Gresley V3 locomotive, and is a powerful mixed traffic tank engine. Wearing plain black with a cycling lion crest, Nigel is, like Herbert, named after his designer, Herbert Nigel Gresley. He is known to listen to the cricket matches on his driver's old wireless set. His first appearance came in episode 4, "Nigel, Herbert and the Cows". This series of “prairie tank” were first built in 1928, and originally envisaged to work ex-Metropolitan Railway traffic. Gresley V3s found themselves all over the Eastern Region, and particularly pulling suburban traffic from London, and in Scotland, but the largest contingent of V3s were based in the Leeds area (near Copley Hill). The class became extinct in 1964. Nigel's model was an old Bachmann V1/3 tank engine picked up at a boot fair – it had a broken middle axle, which was fixed after Episode 3 – allowing the model to make its début in Episode 4, with a newly cast face, renumbered and running sweetly. The prototype's association with Copley Hill meant that it was a sure-fire candidate for appearing in the series. First Appearance: Episode Four, Nigel, Herbert & The Cows Final Appearance: Episode Thirty, Tornado & The Last Run to the Cross

	Tavish is a Gresley J39 locomotive, and is the only six coupled tender engine in the series so far. Scottish in origin, Tavish has a strong Scottish accent and a hard working nature. Tavish first appeared in Episode 7, and has been a firm fans favourite ever since. The most numerous of Sir Nigel Gresley's designs (numbering 289), J39s were allocated mainly to the North Eastern and Scottish regions of the British Railways, however could be seen from time to time in several different locations. It is not unlikely that some would have been stabled at Copley Hill from time to time, especially given Copley Hill's status as a “C” shed. The J39s were first built in 1925, and were continued to be built by various manufacturers for the LNER, all the way up to 1937. The last J39, 64747, survived as a stationary boiler until 1964. The association of the Scottish region and the ex-LNER locomotives is well known, and it was thought (rightly so), that a Scottish locomotive would help balance the series somewhat in terms of the character's traits, locomotive design, and accents*.   *Simon's Scottish accent in Tavish's narration is admitted to be, by Simon, the worst part of the series, and he'd like to take this opportunity to apologise to the whole of Scotland for a shameful portrayal of their accent!!! First Appearance: Episode Six, Goodbye, Stephen the Green Engine Final Appearance: Episode Thirty, Tornado & The Last Run to the Cross

	Scott is a Gresley A3 pacific, better known as Flying Scotsman. Numbered 60103, Scott made his full debut in Episode 8 "Scott and the Herring Gull!" although he has appeared in the background of other episodes. Scott at present is a very tense, angry character, and has been portrayed as being similar to Sir Ralph in terms of character, although there appear to be some more devious tendencies than the haughty A4 pacific. Scott has been the subject of an ongoing trilogy in which he accused Sir Ralph of being an impostor - happily it has been resolved, and the two engines are friends once more. It is not unfair to say that 60103 (formerly its more famous number, 4472) is the most famous steam locomotive in the world. Originally allocated to Kings Cross (34A), 60103 was in fact allocated to Copley Hill very briefly in 1955 and 1960, however history records 60103 as having been allocated to Doncaster, Leicester (38C), Grantham (35B) and Kings Cross (34A). It is unlikely that 60103's forays to Copley Hill resulted in its shed plate being changed to 56C, due to the length of its stays there.   Flying Scotsman was built in 1923, made its 100mph run for which it became famous in 1934, and was withdrawn by British Railways in 1963, having had a working life of precisely forty years. Preserved by Sir Alan Pegler, the locomotive made main line outings at a time when steam was being cast out by British Railways. In 1967, the then restored 4472 made a trip to the USA, ultimately ending in near-disaster, if not for the efforts of Sir William McAlpine. 4472 was finally bought for the nation in 2004 by the NRM (National Railway Museum, York) after being put up for sale. “Scott” is the name used for the series and the reasoning behind this was a joke made behind the scenes – one of the production team had not heard of Flying Scotsman...! So this was expanded upon as it would have been, more or less true. In the 1950s, Flying Scotsman was one of hundreds of east coast main line pacific locomotives, and would have been just one of many – a small fish in a big pond.  In Episode eight, this is explained in this way: neither Allen nor Tavish knew of Flying Scotsman, both having been built after the engine's major exploits! First Appearance: Episode Eight, Scott & The Herring Gull Final Appearance: Episode Thirty, Tornado & The Last Run to the Cross

	Hawk is a very hard working pannier tank from the ex-Great Western region of British Railways. He is powerful, a supreme shunter and likes nothing more than to talk about his favourite place in the world – Swindon! Hawk first appeared in Episode 3, and reappeared in Episode 11 – and remains the only character to date to have his name appear in more than one episode of the series (Episode 3 Hawk Aye! And Episode 11 Hawk Eyed! Being the episodes in question). Hawk is of the class 94xx, designed by Frederick Hawksworth for the Great Western Railway, and is numbered 9400. One example has been preserved at Swindon works, being one of only ten engines in the class of two hundred and ten to be built at Swindon. Hawk's real life prototype, Swindon preserved 9400, would never had worked on the Lickey Incline, nor made it as far as Copley Hill, but some tank engines of the same class, numbered 8400 to 8406 were used on the incline after transferral from the Western Region of British Railways. Another “Hawk”, 9466 has been preserved, and is mainline certified.  Hawk is a deliberately more irate, more determined character than the rest of the characters in the series. The model used is a mixture of an old Lima 94xx model, and a Bachmann 57xx chassis – the original chassis, seen in Episode 3, is part of the reason that Hawk did not reappear until Episode 11 – it was a bad runner, giving up the ghost immediately after filming Episode 3. After several hundred emails requesting his return, over a period of nine months, it was decided to give the plucky tank engine a reprieve, and he returned, with a new – and better running chassis – in the August of 2008. To date, the series creator is unsure whether or not Hawk's immense popularity would warrant his own series...! First Appearance: Episode Three, Hawk Aye! Final Appearance: Episode Thirty, Tornado & The Last Run to the Cross

	Arthur is a hard working Peppercorn A2 class pacific, who came to Copley Hill after Hawk mistook him for a thief...   He has a lot to learn, but has a big heart. He loves the highlands of Scotland, where he normally works, and has found in Tavish the J39 a great Scottish friend. 60525, A.H Peppercorn, was allocated to Doncaster for the first year of its working life (1948), and spent the rest of its life in Scotland, at Aberdeen, Ferry Hill (61B), until withdrawn in 1962. As one of only fifteen Peppercorn A2 pacifics, 60525 was the first of the batch, and one of the few which did wear LNER apple green livery from new. While 60525 was withdrawn and then scrapped, one Peppercorn A2 was preserved, 60532 Blue Peter, which is currently awaiting an overhaul. The two locomotives had several detail differences including the chimney arrangement: Arthur, being the prototype for the A2 class (like Allen is for the A1 class), was fitted with a single chimney which it kept until withdrawal. Blue Peter is one of the few members fitted with a kylchap exhaust and double chimney. An old Trix model A2 pacific, an unused Hornby A3 replacement chassis, and an unused name from the series' main character (Allen). Arthur was scratch made, painted and finished, tested in Episode Nine, and allowed to make his first appearance in Episode Twelve. First Appearance: Episode Twelve, Hawk the Hunter! Final Appearance: Episode Thirty, Tornado & The Last Run to the Cross

	“Gronk” is Copley Hill's latest acquisition – a brand new diesel shunter. Based on a standard design, namely the 08 shunter, Gronk is dedicated to his shunting duties and very mindful of the other engines' needs. He made friends with Hawk and Arthur, and is very timid around the other engines. Gronk is the first diesel character in the series. The British Rail Class 08 is a class of diesel locomotive designed for shunting. It was the standard BR diesel-electric shunter, based on the LMS 12033 series. Production started in 1953 and when it finished in 1962, the class had become the most numerous of all British classes, numbering 996 in total. There were also 26 of the near-identical but higher geared Class 09, and 171 similar locomotives fitted with different engines and transmissions, which together brought the total number of outwardly-similar machines to 1193.   Since their introduction in the 1950s, rail freight has primarily moved to fixed-rate bulk freight traffic and inter  modal freight operations which reduce or remove the need for shunting, therefore only a few class 08 locomotives remain in service today. Not having a main character as a diesel for a historical series set in the 1950s is impossible – and Copley Hill, like many of the yards in Britain, swiftly gained a few diesel shunting locomotives, of various types, the first of which was indeed a class 08 shunter. Gronk is based on this shunter, but like Thompson is not necessarily a particular member of the class. He carries a number that does limit him to Eastern Region appearances, however. Currently in BR black, Gronk will appear in BR green, and BR green with yellow warning stripes later in the series. First Appearance: Episode Eleven, Hawk Eyed! Final Appearance: Episode Thirty, Tornado & The Last Run to the Cross

	The first true villain of the series, DELTIC is an arrogant, powerful and fast diesel electric locomotive. He is so sure of the fate of the steam engines, that he fails to see his own fate rapidly approaching... English Electric absorbed the company Napier & Son into its large business and saw that the use of the marine Deltic engine would be suitable for propelling railway locomotives. DELTIC (or DP1) was their demonstrator locomotive, painted in French blue with cream stripes and whiskers, it stunned the linesiders of the day. Deltic, built in 1955, was tested on the Midland Region, followed by the Eastern Region, where it was retired from service after a powerplant failure in 1961.   It is preserved at the National Railway Museum's branch of Shildon. DELTIC was an early choice for villainous diesel, and was originally intended to appear much earlier in the series. Its appearance was held back in order to finalise the script for episode fifteen, and in order to buy up the National Railway Museum's stunning 00 gauge model for filming. With some minor cosmetic changes to the model, DELTIC the character was born... First Appearance: Episode Fifteen, Day of the Deltic Final Appearance: Episode Thirty, Tornado & The Last Run to the Cross