#did BR rebuild the A4's?

[network-rail]

I mean @national-rail did forget to include the Class 98's so we do need to figure out which steam loco is the best somehow

debating doing a bracket poll for the BR standard steam locomotives (+potentially anything br rebuilt) .. is that something people would like to see?

there's not many standards so it's basically a shorter version of @national-rail's (go follow btw) best rolling stock bracket. would probably be a series of 1v1s rather than 4 up against eachother though?

[hazel-of-sodor]

So small headcanon: Gordon keeps accidentally adopting pacifics. He's the oldest one in Britain (since the Great Bear was rebuilt into a 4-6-0 anyway) and they all look to him at the first. The A1/3s at first all looked to him as the big brother they loved to tease...until modernization. Suddenly their days were numbered, but he was safe on Sodor. They all agreed to not tell him, to spare him as long as they could. Gordon would learn in late 1967 that he and Flying Scotsman were the last of their siblings left, having never had the chance to say goodbye to any of the others.

When Great Northern escaped to Sodor in 68, D5701 was part of the team set to retrieve the escaped pacific. Gordon did not take kindly to the class 28's attempt to lung at his little sister, and bashed the diesel backwards. It would be discovered several months later that he had hit D5701 hard enough to cause a crack in the diesel's frames, leading to the engine's withdrawal.

Over the next decade, it would be revealed several of the A3's had escaped the cutter's torch, and their big brother would move heaven and earth to keep it that way.this culminated in late 1979, when Gordon and North Western's numbers 2, 3, and 5 stormed a British Railways owned scrapyard to save 60066 Merry Hampton, who had been discovered forgotten in a siding. While BR officials had tried to prevent 60066's rescue, they quickly found that they were no match for a furious locomotive.

Following this incident, BR put out a notice that any LNER Pacifics found were to be dumped in the NWR yard at Barrow in Furness for the safety of their workers.

But what of other Pacific's?

The first Pacific Gordon adopted was Battle of Britain 34090. Gordon met the bullied pacific during the 1949 exchange trials when she was new from the factory. He would take the young Pacific under his wing, and teach her the ins and outs of express work, as well as what he knew of goods work. By the end of the trials, he considered Rebecca his little sister. In 1967, following his discovery of the loss of his siblings, the North Western purchased 34090, and Gordon would collect her personally.

Later that year, Peppercorn A2 60532 Blue Peter, would visit Sodor. Gordon welcomed the fellow LNER pacific as his sister, even offering the Peppercorn a chance to haul Wild Nor'Wester, even though it meant he had to pull goods trains for the day.

Gordon was already cordial with his A4 cousins, but following 1967, he made concerted efforts to bond with his remaining LNER family. 2509 Spencer, Sir Robert Noramby's private engine, would become a dear confidant for Gordon over the years.

In the 1950s, LMS 6202 had been purchased by the NWR. A steam turbine, Gordon had known her from his rebuild at Crewe. They had been friendly, but their schedules had kept them from becoming closer. Gordon would request chances to run with her in 1968, in order to get to know her better.

The dying days of steam saw the Britannia class siblings Ariel, Arrow, and Lightning come to the Island. They were awed to be working with the first (successful) British pacific. Gordon saw their grief at the loss of their siblings. When Scotsman visited the NWR in the lead up to his American tour, Gordon, Great Northern, and Scotsman, they offered the Britannia's chance to join their little family. Pacific's had to stay together.

[redwryvernwrites]

Excuse me for having a fangirl theory moment, heads up because this is going to be a long one.

Theoretically, Henry could consider himself as a part of the Gresley build, while being part of the Stainer build.

Henry used to be a flawed Gresley prototype, rebuilt into a black 5. In a human's case, he’s like that one family member who is born with disabilities, later having a big comeback after a major surgery. It is quite similar to Great Northern’s case in which he was a Gresley, and was rebuilt into a Thomson. The only difference between those two is that North still considers himself as a Gresley after the rebuild, even when Scotsman and his siblings rejected him. While Henry does not have an actual opinion on lineage in the first place, until he meets the other black 5s. 

Supposedly, if Gordon and Scotsman agree to it, Henry could be a Gresley as well. Hopefully Hilsy won’t yell at them if they want to sign the adoption contract.

After all, being in one build or another, it is all up to Henry anyway. What do you think?

Henry never really considered himself a Gresley, though he did bring it up to Olivia Gresley and Stanier in a story. Gordon has long known Henry's origins but never brings it up to him because he himself has experienced how Gresley engines treat misfits and doesn't want his half-brother hurt. Scotsman also knows but does not bring it up for similar reasons.

Unlike the Stanier Black 5's who pride themselves on familial bonds and are generally excepting of most engines, (They themselves adopted the BR Standard Class 5's as their own), Gresley's have a different attitude that may not make Henry feel welcome.

Gresley's are less about familiar bonds and more about pedigree, performance and standing. If you can't uphold the Gresley name or values you get exiled like Great Northern, who was not only rebuilt but had a reputation for being super controlling and nasty. Even if he wasn't spurned, he was so much of an asshole that no one wanted anything to do with him anymore.

Black 5's however will keep Biggin Hill around even though she doesn't uphold their values because she's their sister. They unconditionally love their own no matter what.

The Gresley attitude has waned over the years and Scotsman did adopt Tornado, so Gordon and Scotsman would adopt Henry as a half-brother. They would 100% do it but you can bet that North and some of the A4s would have issues with it. Olivia would be 100% on board, she's no prude.

Scotsman threw Spencer into a lagoon for disrespecting his adopted little sister Tornado so he'd most likely do the same for Henry. The Black 5's themselves wouldn't care because if it makes Henry happy, then that's all alright with them.

As for my version of Henry, I think he sees all the drama that the Gresley's go through and wants no part of it.

Henry's called Gordon Fat Face and they've tried to outwit each other numerous times anyway so they're practically brothers.