#caledonian engines

[mean-scarlet-deceiver]

In March 1939 the LMS sends Stranraer a Class 5 to test. It goes very well and soon Stranraer is awash in secondhand Black Fives. The funny part is "a hard core of ex-Caley men" at Northern Division headquarters have feels! They are OFFENDED that the Stranraer men prefer the new engines to "their incomparable 60 class" and so they insist they repeat the test with a Caley 4-6-0!

The test appears to go sadly and Stranraer's like "Hmm yes, thank you for that interesting experience (we'll be sticking with the Staniers)" and headquarters insist, insist, "[a]s a great favour," that they keep the test engine.

[taiyooosworld]

Donald and Douglas infosheet!!

Dòmhnall 'Donald' McIntosh

The older brother but acts less mature.

190cm (maybe)

Around 26-28 years old.

Gets sick WAAY too easily

He can not have any other liquid other than water in his tender(?), rainwater? Nope, worst option, he's instantly sick for a week. Seawater? Nope, instantly sick. Just put the normal water in his tender please

History nerd

Did I say he gets sick easily?

He's sick almost 7 days a week or less

He's always sick, but always tries to hide it cause he thinks it's annoying that he gets sick easily

I mean like, not in a 'im so annoying bc I get sick easily' I mean 'GETTING SICK EASILY IS THE MOST ANNOYING ASS THING THIS UNIVERSE HAD GIVEN ME AS A QUIRK JUST GIVE ME A NORMAL IMMUNE SYSTEM PLEASE'

Forgets to take care of himself (ex. Forgetting to take his medicine or forgetting to eat), which is probably why

His quirk of being easily sick is based off of a NWR series and one of the episodes, aka Auld Faker on YouTube.

His weakness to illnesses is so bad that he has his own watertank to refill his tender on

Needs to wear glasses

Douglass 'Duggy' McIntosh

Younger twin but acts more mature.

190cm (maybe)

Same age as Donald,, obviously

Rarely gets sick (bro stood in the cold for around 6 hours in my au and all he got was a very light cold)

He used to be very arrogant in his teen years

Maths nerd

He probably loves snow

He likes eating snow

He takes care of his physical health a lot, which is how he recovers from sicknesses very easily

Uses a lot of home remedies which actually work for sicknesses

He force-feeds Donald into eating cause blud keeps forgetting

Probably listens to Mitski,,,

Kinda does not hang out in the cold now cause he values his life very much

Maths.

He tackles people down out of affection along with Donald

'Gentle twin' no he's the twin that'll smack you down with a slipper

Dyslexic

↑ he spells his name as 'Douglas' instead of 'Douglass' which is what his actual name is, that's why his nameplate is 'Douglas'

has pica syndrome (most engines have this in my au but not all)

[duskstargazer]

[2015]

Merlin sighed as he stopped for the signal. He’d been making good time, and had been enjoying the chance to stretch his wheels. Nevertheless, he stopped near the main line. He perked up, hearing the clattering of trucks, yet no engine could be heard to accompany them.

To his horror, a rake of trucks came clattering past. He noticed the lack of a coupling gear on the lead truck, and was able to piece together what had happened. Before he could decide his next course of action, however, a pair of whistles made his boiler run cold. Donald and Douglas were coming the other way, and he didn’t know which track they were on.

There was only one thing Merlin could think to do - blow his whistle as loud as he could and hope for the best. ---

Donald and Douglas were double-heading a heavy goods train down the main line. This had become far less common over the years, with stronger engines like Murdoch joining the fleet, but the need still arose every once in a while.

Suddenly, the two heard a shrill whistle.

“Och,” Douglas huffed, rolling his eyes. “Yon’s Mr. Invisible.”

“Invisibility oon!!” Donald mocked, and they both laughed.

Donald stopped laughing abruptly.

“Donnie?” Douglas asked. “Ye alright?”

But Donald didn’t answer. Douglas soon saw why - a goods train hurtled past, with no engine in front. It rolled by on its own - as if by magic!

The two then heard Merlin’s whistle again, and shared a terrified look.

“Ye dinnae think…” Douglas began.

“Aye. Fook this.” Donald grunted.

Nothing more was said. The two unanimously doubled their speed, neither having an explanation for what they’d just seen. If they hadn’t rushed by so quickly, they might’ve noticed a bright, silver engine waiting at the junction.

[lomotunes2008]

What if Edward was a Caledonian Railway Dunlastair class?

Look at them. They look so Edward-y.

[opelman]

But if I should become a stranger you know that it would make me more than sad... by Treflyn Lloyd-Roberts Via Flickr: Caledonian Railway pair 419 and 828 steam south over Avon Viaduct on the Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway under gloomy skies at the end of an "In Search of Steam"/Scottish Railway Preservation Society photo charter. Locomotives: Caledonian Railway 439 Class 0-4-4T 419 and 812 Class 0-6-0 828. Location: Avon Viaduct, Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway, Falkirk, Scotland.

[str33tydr1ft]

Boom oc reveal

Meet Julian, in their older desgins they used to be a Panier Tank, however they just seemed like a Duck recolour so I changed them to a Caledonian 0-6-2 Tank Engine,

So yeyeye lil blue bitch

[duncandonuts06]

"Breakvan"

[Donald and Douglas'] plan was good; but they had reckoned without a spiteful Brake van.  The van had taken a dislike to Douglas. Things always went wrong when he had to take it out. Then his trains were late, and he was blamed. Douglas began to worry.

'Ye're a muckle nuisance," said Donald one day. "It's tae leave ye behind I'd be wantin.'"

"You can't," said the van, "I'm essential."

"Och are ye?" Donald burst out. "Ye're naethin' but a screechin' an' a noise when a's said an' done. Spite Douggie wad ye? Tak that!"

"Oh! Oh! Oh!" cried the van.

"Haud yer wheesht," said Donald severely. "There's mair comin' syne ye misbehave!" 

[xylem-3-keys]

Human Donald and Douglas

5/15/2023 Update: I have made a backstory and bio for the Scottish twins. They were first since they're my favorites. Trigger warning still. You can image the artwork in your head because I don't have the motivation to draw doodles of their past.

I'm just too excited to draw them. Have a blue version because I care about Reverend W. Awdry :'D I prefer black and will use black for my future art but still I made the blue version for Rev's legacy. 😤 ✊

NWR 1- 12 Height Comparison

Age 24

Bio

The Scottish twins have the same uniform with the same hairstyle because they enjoy impersonating each other since they were children and intend to make jokes. Despite that, they give a dirty look if anyone tries to piss them off. Both have personalities different from one another as Donald is the calmest twin but is more tempered than Douglas. He has a duck name Dilly and is super gentle towards her since they have first met. Like Henry, Donald was inspired to become gentle towards animals. Douglas is more cheerful than Donald but sometimes he gets jealous over his brother's duck. He never leaves Donald behind and shows his bravery without hesitation despite their bickering, arguing and falling out. Donald and Douglas worked together almost all the time which made both of them practical, peppery and proud of their performance to serve on the North Western Railway.

Backstory (TW // Contains torture mentions death WILL CHANGE THEIR STORY)

Raised by a loving mother and a loving father, Donald and Douglas were taught how to become great brothers to each other, be there for one another and generally be two amazing sons. When they were kids, they loved to play with each other. They loved impersonating each other and having fun wherever they went with their parents. They sometimes argue but no matter how many times, they'll always get back together. They lived a happy and normal life until their lives changed forever.

When the twins were eight at the time they went back home from school, their parents weren't there. They looked around all over the house including the backyard. Their parents weren't present which made them worry because they were always home when the brothers came back from school. Hours have passed by and there is no sign of their parents coming home. The next morning, instead of being taken to school, the police showed up at their home and took them to the police station for an interview. Donald and Douglas told them their story after being informed that their parents had gone missing. Unfortunately there are no witnesses of anything that has happened to their mother and father so they couldn't live on their own, they had to move to an orphanage. However, a private investigator was involved and was interested in adapting them. The twins were sad that they would not see their loving parents again, but they were reassured that he and the police would find them so the twins trusted the investigator and got to know him. So with that, they can still attend school and live on with their normal lives but they are still upset over their missing parents. Years have passed by and they are still not found which made Donald and Douglas lose hope.

When they turned 16, it was their time to work on the Caledonian railway. They were given a class 812 uniform and the number tags of 57646 for Donald and 57647 for Douglas. Unfortunately, they are unable to see their investigator again but he promised to end the investigation once their parents were found. Their boss or controller was ruthless, selfish, and very mean when they first met him. He ran the Caledonian railway full of guards who kept their eye on workers who dared to make a wrong move. They expected a good controller who treats their workers fairly like in other railways but what they have heard was that working class men got punished by torture methods or worst of all execution. The controller held a big grudge against them because they're identical so he ordered them to have their number tattoos on their arms just in case the twins try to play a trick on anyone or remove the number tags off their uniform. Not only they receive tattoos, they were given a torture punishment by the spinning wheel (which contained a list of torture methods: skin burning, whipping, waterboarding, denailing, dry-boarding, walling, stoning, combing, electrocution, rats, and boiling water) as Donald got the ‘waterboarding’ method and Douglas got the ‘whipping’ method. Despite their torture punishments, they were given the same room they have in the Caledonian mansion because the controller had a history of being organized on almost everything he owned. But it didn’t change the fact that they weren’t safe on the railway. The first time they got their punishment under 18 was when Douglas tripped himself and knocked the goods crates by accident, making a mess on the station. The guards forcefully took to a nearby torture cellar. Donald sprung into action to attempt to take out the guards and save his twin but he was immediately pinned down and restrained. Both tried to break free but the guards were stronger than they thought they would be. As they were both dragged into the torture cellar, both were helpless as Douglas got whipped on his back while shirtless and Donald got waterboarded. It was one of the most excruciating pain that they have ever endured in their lives. The reason why they didn’t get executed is because their boss told the twins that it was just the beginning for them. The next time one of them tries to get involved in either of them being restrained will be sentenced to death. Because they didn’t want to lose each other, they became wise enough to follow the rules and not do anything stupid that could lead them to death or suffering the same punishment. Even though they got tortured over small mistakes, they still managed to stay alive and not lose each other. But whenever their controller was having a bad day, he would take out his anger on Donald but mostly on Douglas because of his little lack of being careful and beat both of them with a cane. They couldn’t fight back because they would be sentenced to death. When one of the men told them about their boss, they found out that the controller ordered another set of twins because he couldn’t stand them making mistakes like other Caledonians did in the past and how much they looked alike. There wasn't anything they could to stop the madness. The only choice Donald and Douglass wanted to make was to make their boss pleased but they knew he didn’t care all along. Neither did the controller or boss cared about any of the working class men but treated them like garbage.

Five years later after their living nightmare on the railway, the time has come when the controller informed Donald that he’ll be heading to Sodor for the help of goods work. Douglas on the other hand was going to be executed on the same day his twin would arrive in Sodor. Douglas felt helpless at the time they heard the news. As their controller left, Donald thought of a plan to escape the railway while comforting his brother. Douglas mentioned that they’re identical and wished to get rid of their numbers which gave Donald an idea for their plan to escape. As night fell, it was time for their plan. They went to the bathroom and washed off their tattoos but because it was permanent ink, they went on washing off their last number of “6” and “7.” The numbers aren't completely washed off but it was the best they could do. Donald then told his brother to wait and went to steal a rope from the basement. They used the rope to sneak out of the window without the guards gaining any suspicion towards them. As Donald and Douglas successfully made it out of the mansion and threw away their number tags, they headed on to the nearby station and waited for the train that takes them to Sodor. It was their lucky day that the train that heads south west has arrived at the station. The twins went aboard the train and chose the option to head to Sodor as Donald entered his verification requirements. They were relieved that they escaped this nightmare for now but they still miss their parents who are still reported missing. They miss their investigator who helped them get through the education. Their goal they were focusing on was to arrive at their new destination and have Sir Topham Hatt to keep both twins but they will be traumatized by the pain they have suffered from the actions of their former ruthless controller possibly forever but they'll maybe get through it by therapy and help by new friends.

[jammyjams1910]

THE HAIR FLOOF THE HAIR FLOOF THE HAIR FLOOF THE HAIR FLOOFFF

Caledonian Blue looks so formal doesn't it?

✨🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿💙🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿✨

[humanoidhistory]

Steam engine from Neilson and Company Glasgow, Caledonian Railway, built in 1877, designed by George Brittain.

(ETH Library)

[mean-scarlet-deceiver]

I heard that increased power was to be provided for this train, and waited in pleased anticipation of a Class 5X or a Baby Scot. On 18 January 1937 there arrived at Ayr for the 7.46am Caledonian class 60 4-6-0 No 14641! I am not exaggerating when I say that of all classes of engine employed on main line express work at that time, none had a poorer reputation than the Caley 60s. My own runs behind them had been dull in the extreme. I knew an LMS official (ex-Caley) who commuted by the 7.46am, and in conversation I ventured to hint that the authorities might have done something better for that train. He was shocked. 'Oh, but these are grand engines!' he protested.

- David Smith, Legends of the Glasgow & South Western Railway (in LMS Days)

[sparkarrestor]

So we all know that Awdry originally had James as a GSWR Class 403 since it fit the description of an inside-cylinder mogul, but later changed James to be an English design. This post stems off the thought of "What If Awdry kept James Scottish?"

This whole thing was also brought on by @mean-scarlet-deceiver's Tales of the G&SW excerpts.

Beware, my writing of a Scottish accent is terrible, try not to cringe.

What If Scottish James

Written By: SparkArrester

1929

James was in a foul mood. Henry, like usual, failed. Now he was stuck with his coal train. That he had to arrange himself. Apparently the new shunter was busy with something that wasn’t shunting.

“Stupid Trucks, stupid coal, stupid everythingggg”, He moaned as he marshalled his train, “All that time being cleaned was a waste!”

The trucks, sensing an opportunity for mischief, made it their mission to give James the worst morning possible. They jammed their brakes, ran hot axles boxes, and some even derailed in the yard. The breaking point was when an old tippler’s front hatch flew open. Coal poured out onto the rails, and onto James, coating his front end. The trucks all burst out laughing, but they were soon cut off.

“Yee wretched little INGRATES!”, Burst out James in a perfect scottish dialect, “Ye all oor jus’ little devious muckle nuisances that are no fit ta scrape ta scale oof me boiler, ye little wee gobshites!”

This continued for some time, until James heard a familiar whistle, and immediately blanched. Percy rolled in looking gobsmacked.

“Err, uhh, hey James?”

“Wha arr ye -ahem- what are, uh, you doing here Percy?”

“Coming to take over the shunting.”

“Ah, right.”

“...”

“... Percy.”

“Yes?”

“Please don’t tell anyone…”

“James, I’m pretty sure everyone on this side of the island heard you.”

“... Dang it.”

1951

James sat there, covered in tar. His crew had already gone to the station to phone for help, and one of the old Suddery Tanks brought a crane to assist. He was hoping for an engine like Edward or Henry to take him to the works. In the meantime, quietly grumbling to himself was good enough. In fact, he was so absorbed with himself that he forgot his surroundings.

“Stupid wee muckle nuisances…”, he muttered, “Stupid Toby. If ‘e wasnae a huge prat my red coat wouldnae be in ruins. Honestly, those wee branchline engines are nothing but great big pieces ‘o-”

A ring of a bell broke him out of his thoughts. He jumped back as he realized Toby and Percy were right beside him. He prayed they hadn’t heard him. They did.

“Ark ay Percy!”, Chortled Toby in a terrible Scottish accent, “Whatever isnae that dirty object!”

“That isn’t even how you use isnae…”, muttered James, but of course they took no notice.

They continued speaking in terrible accents all the way to the sheds. James didn’t know if he should be angry at their teasing, or their complete butchering of his old dialect (one he had tried his hardest to shake), so he settled for both. 

1959

The Fat Controller had brought a new goods engine to help out. James was glad at first, now someone else could work the pick-up goods while he got more passengers. He had heard that there was something up with the new engine when it had arrived, but he didn’t put much stock into it. Later in the day, he was backing down on what would hopefully be his last pick-up goods in a while when he heard a whistle. A deep-toned whistle that he had not heard in years. James grimaced as a Caledonian steam engine pulled up on the adjacent line, giving him the stink eye.

“Well Well Well…” The Caledonian spat, “A Sou’-West engine. And one of Pee-Wee Drummond’s oven-boxes! Ah hoped we saw the last ‘o ye back ‘ome!”

“The feeling is most certainly mutual!” He replied with vitriol that wasn’t really there. He hoped to leave everything pre-sodor behind. But of course it had found him. At least he still had a slight bad opinion towards the Caledonian, it did him good in this confrontation.

“Ark aye!”, Exclaimed the Caledonian, “Why do ye soond like tha?”

James was taken aback, “Like what?”

“There it is again! Aye Douggie!”

The question of who “Douggie” was got itself answered quickly, when an identical Caledonian  engine pulled up besides the first.

“Aye Donnie. What’s up!”

“Wait wait, just let that Sou’-West engine speak!”

James defiantly shut his mouth, but then his crew chose that exact time to ask him something. He replied as quietly as possible. But not quiet enough.

“O Aye!” Exclaimed “Douggie”, “He soonds like a wee sassenach!”

James went red in the face, “Well! I-I-I-”

“Tha accent is ass!” Chortled “Donnie”, and soon “Dougie” joined in.

They continued until James left, his face matching his paintwork. He put a good few months practicing his accent, and it was hard. He now figured out what exactly was up with the new engine: there were two of them, and they both sucked.

[lomotunes2008]

Me when Scotland:

Man Donald and Douglas' themes SLAP so hard bro🎧🔥🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🔥🎧

[scotianostra]

On October 16th 1995 the Bridge to the Isle of Skye opened.

Prior to the opening of the bridge the main route to Skye was by the ferry between the 2 villages Kyle of Lochalsh and Kyleakin. The ferry service was operated by Caledonian MacBrayne the short route of about 500m took 5min, at peak times there was often queues to use the ferry.

The bridge construction started in 1992 built by the Scottish company Miller, but designed by a German engineering company DYWIDAG Systems International in collaboration with civil engineering firm Arup.

The main bridge is a concrete arch, supported by two piers. This connect Skye to the small island called Eilean Bàn, the rest of the bridge is level across to the mainland. The total distance across is 1.5 miles. The main arch is about 35m high with around 30m clearance for boats on high tide.

Eilean Bàn (White Island) is the small island upon which the main arch of the bridge rests.

The island has a 21m high lighthouse just below the bridge arch. The lighthouse keepers (before automation in the 1960s) stayed in the cottages on the Island. These cottages where then purchased by Gavin Maxwell who is best remembered for is work with otters. Maxwell did many interesting things including writing wildlife books, his most famous is called "The Ring of Bright Water”.

These days the island is a wildlife reserve being managed by the Bright Water Trust. One of the cottages is now the Maxwell museum. This is a reconstruction of Maxwell’s 40ft living room, containing original artefacts, recreated by Virginia Mckenna of the Born Free foundation.

Most people wanted the bridge, but the way in which it was funded was conversional. Rather than the UK government paying for it, the government allowed it to be privately funded. Then granted a licence for the private company to charge tolls. It was said to be the most expensive road bridge in Europe.

This clearly upset many people. Locals on Skye setup a campaign group called SKAT (Skye and Kyle Against Tolls). After years of campaigning, legal challenges and then the setup of the new Scottish parliament in 1999 the leading political parties made it a priority to have the tolls abolished.

On the 21st of December 2004 the bridge was purchased by the Scottish Government and made free to cross.

[the-north-western-kitties]

The first of Edward and Gordon's kits - Raven!!!

Don't let that innocent expression fool you, she is a nightmare (but everyone loves her). She is part of the Furness-Gresley triplets, herself being the oldest. She was the first kit to open her eyes and almost whacked her brother into opening his (until Edward pulled her off)

Her red fur is a reference to the Furness Railway. Kits can be born with the fur/paint colour of what the engines would have been on the old railways if the infection had been a lot sooner (such as any kits of Donald or Douglas can be born with Caledonian blue fur, any of Gordon's or Scotsman's with green for the Great Northern Railway, you get the idea)

[opelman]

Manuel by Treflyn Lloyd-Roberts Via Flickr: Caledonian Tank 55189 steams round the corner towards Manuel during an "In Search of Steam" photo charter. Locomotive: Caledonian Railway 439 Class 0-4-4T 55189. Location: Manuel on the Scotish Railway Preservation Society's Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway, Falkirk, Scotland.