#i miiiiight call them back for one of the Gordon-era loaner engines

[mean-scarlet-deceiver]

OC ‘loaners’ working the N.W.R. main line at beginning of 1922 (when Henry arrives on Sodor) 1/3: Angus

Slow, strong, and ever-so-slightly shellshocked from some war-related shenanigans, Angus is a bit of a gentle giant and deeply taciturn... 

... though, as his hosts discover, if you do finally exhaust his nearly infinite patience, he does have the ability to rant on... and on... 

Despite this one memorable outburst, Angus is difficult to dislike (and one of the OCs tries her damnedest to dislike everyone, so that’s impressive). But we don’t get to know him too well. Very shortly after Henry’s arrival, he is returned home. 

I do have some backstory for Angus, though, and it’s a bit of a shame because “home” is a very uncertain word, for him. 

Angus is originally built in 1884 off the design of Caledonian Railway 0-6-0 “294 class,” making him a distant and much older cousin to to the twenty-five-years’ younger Donald and Douglas (well, I would say cousin? they’re not even quite the same class, though you could call them, like... ‘fraternal twin’ classes? though it looks like by RWS standards this is all plenty close enough to be considered 'brother’, idek anymore). 

However, he was actually ordered by a private coal company. So, although he had running rights on the C.R.’s Moffat line, he was not himself C.R....

... though now he (sorta) is. The Admiralty ordered that Angus be put under C.R. management during WWI. His original industrial owners were not all that interested in fighting to get him back after the war, when their business model had changed so much. On Sodor, this situation would be Topham Hatt I’s cue to snag up free new engine yaayy!, but the C.R., not quite so desperate for locomotives, has been more... baffled by what to do with him since 1918. 

Modified by a small, now-defunct engineering workshop with a more powerful boiler and cylinders, Angus is harder to maintain than the rest of the class. Hence, he’s always a favorite choice to ship out when someone (smaller railway or private railway) comes knocking on the C.R.’s door looking to borrow a heavy freight hauler. 

Angus’s color is sage-green thanks to a 1919-20 stint on the Highland Railway, though it’s already so faded that it strikes others (Thomas... we’re largely talking about Thomas) as yellow. 

Angus liked Sodor, untroubled by the vocal green/yellow discourse and the ridiculously heavy workload he was given during his last two months. He was often shedded alone at the goods depot, but he liked the peace and quiet. Actually, on the whole, the other Sodor engines were not an attraction for him. (Although he and Edward got on fine. Angus considered Edward a somewhat flighty young thing, but, whatever, he’s still all right... and Edward even stirred him up so far as an ongoing game of ‘tag-the-truck,’ played in railway yards from time immemorial, although apparently not where Angus comes from wth do you have no joy in life?) That the humans treated him well and didn’t mind his (sometimes blunt) input was the thing that he found so pleasant. The general rural quietude of ‘20s Sodor was also a big draw.

And the N.W.R. would have loved to keep Angus but definitely couldn’t afford him. (To be honest, the fact that they couldn’t keep Angus because they “blew” the ‘new engine budget’ for the year on Henry, their “green elephant,” at first did nothing to endear Henry to some of the souls on his new railway. Though these souls were somewhat misinformed. The budget wasn’t completely blown; strong, reliable Angus was simply the most expensive of their four options by far.) 

The C.R., pitying their neighbor’s 1921-22 struggles (the North Western was in that pitiful a state), did extend the loan several times on pretty gracious terms. But in the end, Angus had to be returned. 

Thanks in no small part to Hatt sorting a replacement boiler for Angus to return home with (as a thank-you to both engine and railway for being so generous with their assistance), Angus does “go on” for over two decades after leaving Sodor. Which is more than all these OCs can say. 

#ttte headcanon #ttte ocs #this is all going in the early n.w.r. fic #real true railway stuff #oh yeah i changed my mind back #i was intrigued by the 'rivers' but they did not fit the criteria i needed for an Angus basis #i miiiiight call them back for one of the Gordon-era loaner engines #two of whom look LNERish and the 'rivers' were designed by the future NER chief engineer #'23 loaners