#ttte coppernob

[weirdowithaquill]

Traintober 2024: Day 5 - Exhibition

The NRM Stoplight System:

The engines who live at the York National Railway Museum have spent many years with their fires unlit and no water in their boilers at all. They are exhibits, always on display. Sometimes, things are changed up when a special exhibition brings in new engines or shuffles around the residents – these exhibitions also bring in a lot of extra visitors, and so the NRM developed a chart which visitors to the museum can check to see who may be interested in talking to them when they go; this chart includes a description of the engine and a stoplight colour – the colour tells visitors whether or not the engines are comfortable speaking to guests, while the blurb explains why. Here is a small excerpt from the NRM webpage:

‘Hello everyone! This is a quick explanation of the stoplight system in use at our museums. When you visit, you might notice that on the exhibit signs we have included a large, coloured disk – this is a very important part of our museum, but does not have anything to do with the history of these fabulous machines. Instead, it is there to let you know whether or not the exhibit you are looking at will be up for a conversation. Green means they will happy to have a conversation, yellow means that there may be special provisions that may stop the engine from wanting to have a chat and red means that these engines do not want to talk to our guests at all during exhibitions. Here are a few examples from our York Museum, with a short explanation behind their colour:

Stirling: Green. Of all the engines in our collection, Stirling is one of the most unique and one of the cleverest too. Built by Patrick Stirling to pull The Special Scotch Express, this engine has no limit to the knowledge he has gathered over the decades. He loves chatting up a storm and always has a fun fact for everyone – if he could become a University Professor, he’d have left us years ago!

Henry Oakley: Green. Of all the engines in the museum, Henry Oakley is one of the most polite and gentle. Henry Oakley is quite an old engine, meaning he has met many people and heard many stories throughout his career, and he loves to share them! Make sure to say hello to Henry Oakley, especially if you have small children, as he is one of the few engines to regulate his tongue!

Lode Star: Green. Lode Star is a very kind woman who loves to talk to guests; in fact, she’s so talkative that some people can’t get away from her! This is one engine who is happy to speak to everyone – it’s quite the contrast to other GWR express engine King George V, who is a red-light engine. Make sure you say hello to this kindly and chatty engine, and if you want a long conversation, ask her all about her express runs.

Coppernob: Yellow. Built in 1846, you must forgive Coppernob for being a bit of an old grump at times. This old engine has spent the vast majority of his life motionless now, and it has made him irritable sometimes. Coppernob does have a dry wit and can be very fun to talk to, however he tires easily and can be somewhat outdated in his views due to his age.

Boxhill: Yellow. Boxhill is a very cheerful and bright locomotive, however she is unfortunately entirely deaf, and only understands British Sign Language thanks to the dedication of the NRM team. If you can sign, Boxhill will be happy to reply, however because she is unable to understand anyone unless they use BSL, she is included as a yellow-light engine on our list.

Evening Star: Yellow. Unlike many other engines on this list, Evening Star is extremely uncomfortable with large crowds associated with exhibitions, and as such her colour is moved to yellow whenever a major event is happening at the NRM. She is sometimes ok for a short chat, but please be mindful of her and be aware of any signs she may exhibit of being uncomfortable.

Mallard: Red. Please do not speak to 4468 Mallard at any point during your visit during any exhibition, event or on regular opening days. Mallard was taught that she was the greatest engine ever due to her breaking the world steam speed record, and she has never managed to unlearn this view. She can be rude, abrasive and demanding, and we recommend looking, but not speaking to her.

Duchess of Hamilton: Red. The Duchess used to be a yellow rated engine, however recently she was upgraded to red due to her temper and her foul mouth, caused by her trip to the United States and later her time as a holiday park attraction. The Duchess does have her nice days, however most days she prefers to sleep, and trying to start a conversation with her may lead to her swearing or starting an argument with Mallard.

Thank you for reading this quick explainer about our stoplight system here at the NRM, and we hope to see you soon!’

During major exhibitions at the National Railway Museum, these coloured disks are often placed around the engines beyond their exhibit information board, to help tourists if they are unable to see the board. This system was developed after the Great Gathering exhibition in 2013, when Mallard and Duchess of Hamilton got into a screaming match over a question asked by a tourist that was so foul that the museum got fifty-seven separate customer complaints. It’s included in the brochures, and signed in at least twelve different languages – so hopefully, when the next exhibition occurs, guests to the museum will know not to speak to some of the engines.

Back to the Master Post

[tornadoyoungiron]

You have an entire afternoon (5 hour shift at the museum) and Olivia gives you a choice.

You can't get out of it and you're stuck until someone picks you up from the museum. If you don't do either you'll incur the wrath of Olivia Gresley which I do not reccomend.

[askyoungiron]

Question for the York NRM locomotives: what was it like when Coppernob was a fellow resident? Has he always been a bit of an objectionable fellow to deal with?

HAMILTON: Oh always! It's his way or the mainline according to him. Thankfully he has dialed back the attitude somewhat, but it is still there. Even though he is abrasive and quite difficult to deal with I do feel sorry for him. He's stuck in the past and he desperately wants to return.

I think Stephen helps him though. Maybe one day he will mellow out but I doubt that it will happen anytime soon.

[putuponpercy]

Digging through my Google docs and found the fic I started of Edward and Lady Coppernob's last conversation before he left for Sodor and I am,, so soft for this part

[houseboatisland]

Coppernob: What was Brother baking, just then?

Poppet: Cooking, Nobby.

Coppernob: Credit where it’s due, youngster.

[the-rewritten-railway-au]

Rhys

🩷 Autumn 1899; December 1968

CW/TW: Pre-transition period (Edward), hostile work environment, gaslighting, mentioned character death, mentioned workplace violence

Buckled Tracks and Bumpy Trucks - Season 20 Episode 17 (edited)

Word Count: 1,823

Someone else was his first love interest.

A/N: "Rhys" is pronounced "reese." I didn't come up with that, btw. His crew did.

~

In the chilly autumn weather, passengers walked about Barrow-in-Furness Station. The leaves cluttering the ground crunched as folks stepped on them, awaiting the next passenger train.

A sharp whistle, reminiscent of the squawks of seagulls flying by coast line, went off in the distance, pulling in the passengers’ attention to the Indian-red tender engine approaching. She steamed into the station with a range of blue coaches with white trim, easing to a stop.

She was a Class 21, a class of engines dedicated to express passenger services. The sunlight reflected against the brass trim of her splashers and brass dome, giving it a gleaming shine. The oldest of the Class 21s greeted the awaiting passengers with a warm smile, as steam gently spewed from her chassis.

The weather was nice that day. There was no wind. Just the gentle breeze against her frames. It was like a soothing touch, which she appreciated.

Coming in the opposite direction, a small four-driver tender engine came by, hauling a goods train for someone else to take care of. Once he blew his whistle, the eldest Larger Seagull groaned. She would be foolish to not recognize it.

“Guid day, Coppernob,” she greeted through clenched teeth, trying to sound as nice as possible. Her crew reminding her to be nice to the elderly engine had become a daily routine, despite how arrogant and bossy he was. She didn’t need to turn the scolding into a daily thing.

Coppernob wasn't taking her forced greeting. “Don't treat me like a fool, young engine!” he hissed. “Such disrespect. You're better than that.”

“I wid if ye'd just go awa’,” she grumbled, “and didnae go around, gossipin’ aboot me.”

“It’s for the well-being of others, Alice,” he reminded her as her crew hushed whispers, telling her to knock it off. “We can't have your reckless behavior ruin the reputation and workflow of the Furness.”

Alice scoffed. “It’s always aboot thaim wit’ ye.”

“Bunny!” hissed her driver.

Before Coppernob reprimanded her, a Furness Railway 7 class steamed up to the platform adjacent to Alice’s. Unlike Coppernob, he had splashers, designed in a style similar to hers.

“Good day, you two,” he greeted. “Anything new I missed?”

“Nah! Nah!” Alice squawked out, immediately blushing out of embarrassment from the slip-up. She ignored the piercing glare from FR No. 3. “Nawthing new, Rhys.”

Rhys hummed, not convinced. A Furness engine would have to be a fool to not notice the conversation from kilometers away. And not to notice how furious the glare directed towards him was. However, he chose not to poke any further. Yet.

Alice’s guard blew his whistle, interrupting the thoughts going through the engines’ minds.

“Och!” she perked up. “Thon’s me. Guid-bye, Rhys!” With a quick whistle that resounded throughout the station, Alice departed from Barrow-in-Furness, heading north on her railway line, the Cumbrian Coast Line.

Once she was gone, Rhys sighed before glancing at Coppernob. “What is it you have against me?”

Coppernob didn't respond. Instead, he stormed off, leaving the other confused.

…

About a week later, Alice and Rhys met again but at Roose Station. The latter had finished telling a story that left Alice squawking.

There was just something about spending time with Rhys that comforted Alice, making her feel warm and appreciated. It was different to the way her sisters would comfort or check up on her every evening, especially if she’d had to defend one of them from one of the other Furness engines.

It was different, yet she couldn’t figure it out.

As she calmed down, a saddle tank engine pulled in, hauling a small freight train of steel rails, coming from the Barrow Haematite Steelworks.

“Diane!” exclaimed Rhys, noticing the black tank engine. “How’s the Steelworks going for you?”

Diane gave a quick smile to Alice, who smiled nervously, before replying. “Exhausting!” she exclaimed. “But it's good work!”

“Good to hear, dear! Good to hear!”

“You know, I’m surprised the old horse hasn't tried physically separating you both,” Diane noted. “He complains about you two whenever he runs out of things to whine about.”

Alice hummed, her freckled face crunching at the mention of Coppernob. “I din’ get why he diz’nae want me near Rhys. He diz’nae make sense aboot it.”

“Remember, dear,” Rhys assured. “He just… wants the best for you.”

The Larger Seagull frowned.“Well, he huz a funny way o’ showin’ it.”

Just then, her guard blew his whistle. With a heavy sigh, she bid farewell to the other two engines and promptly left.

Once she was gone, Diane shot a glare at Rhys. “Have you told her?”

The 7 class winced.

“Rhys!” she scolded.

“I know! I just-” He took a deep breath. “It’s too soon. We don't know when.”

“But it’ll be soon, Rhys!”

“I’ll tell her tomorrow, I promise!”

“You better!” she exclaimed before steaming off to Ravenglass, leaving her friend to go his way with the daunting thoughts in his head. His crew tried to soothe him, but it only made him feel more guilty.

…

“Alice! Stay away from that engine!”

Her safety valve was ready to burst. Earlier that morning, she fended off one of the Seagulls, her predecessors, up at Foxfield after seeing them pester one of her baby sisters. The utter annoyance those older engines could be.

And then they wonder why they could’nae get me and ma sisters tae ‘behave’ being the thought to go rampant in her mind after every confrontation.

“Bug’ aff! I'm no’ dealin’ wit’ ye today!” yelled Alice before storming off.

Coppernob chased her down. “Listen to me, young lass-!”

“Shut it!” she screamed. “Yer raps ma knittin’!”

“Watch your tongue-!”

“Or whit?” she taunted. “Whit'r ye goin’ tae dae? I'm no’ afraid o’ ye!”

“I want you to get away from that engine…” hissed Number 3, the words seething like painfully hot steam. “And you will do it as soon as you see him.”

“Ye cannae control me!” Alice argued. “Why is it thon when I’m finally doin’ better, it’s all wrong?”

“It wouldn't be wrong if you weren’t acting like that with him!”

Still furious, she looked at him confused. “Like whit? Whit’re ye implying?” she questioned.

Coppernob stared at her in horror, eyes going wide.

The look brought tension to Alice’s frame. “Copper-?”

“You can't even see it, can you?”

“See whit-?”

“You’re too far gone,” he mourned.

“Excuse me-?”

“Stay away from Rhys,” he hissed. “I don't want to find out that he’s broken the same way you are.” With that, he steamed away, returning to his work leaving a stunned Bunny behind.

“Broken…?”

…

That evening, Alice returned to her shed, only to find Rhys, resting in a siding. His crew were smoking cigarettes, unaware of the larger engine. Coppernob’s words had stung her to the core. She spaced out momentarily when Rhys called out for her.

“Alice! There you are,” he hollered, alerting his crew. They quickly climbed aboard into his cab. “Listen. I-”

“Am I broken?”

“...Pardon?”

“Am I broken, Rhys?” she asked again, looking Rhys straight into his eyes. “Coppernob said I’m broken.”

“What-?” He was dumbfounded as he approached the young Victorian engine. “No, of course not, Alice! Don't listen to Coppernob. His age is getting to him,” he reassured her.

“Okay…” was all she said before letting the silence overtake.

Her mood upset Rhys, making him rethink his choice. Should he? He didn't want to upset the young engine even further, but she needed to know.

It would be worse if she went about her life, not knowing what happened to her dear friend.

“Did… ye want tae say somethin’?” asked Alice after a while of silence. “Sorry if I-”

“I'm being withdrawn.”

Bronze pupils shrunk as her eyes went wide. “Ye're what-?”

“I'm being withdrawn, Alice. I don't know exactly when… but it might be soon,” he stated, carefully wording his sentences.

“Soon? How long have you known?”

“Alice-”

“How. Long?” she asked sternly. Her eyes burned in frustration and despair.

Rhys sighed with guilt. “A month.”

“And you didn't tell me?”

“I don't want to break you.”

“Break me?” she scoffed, offended as tears brewed up and her voice began to crack. “I'm not fragile, Rhys!”

“But you're still growing out of your old behavior!” he exasperated as both crews held onto the brakes of their respective engines. Alice’s crew held extra tight, making sure they didn’t let go as their engine tended to be hostile, especially out of emotion. “Alice, please promise me you won't go back to your old self.”

“Rhys-!”

“Alice, please,” he begged. “Please, do it for your sisters. For Diane. For me. The board isn't going to tolerate it any further, and you know that.”

At the mention of her little sisters, Alice agreed. “I promise, Rhys,” she sobbed. “I promise.”

…

“I hope ye're happy,” Alice sneered. It was the following morning and she’d come across Coppernob at Barrow-in-Furness once again.

“What?” scoffed Coppernob.

“Rhys is bein’ withdrawn.”

Shock went through the older engine's frames. “Whatever for?”

“I dinnae ken. Go ask him yerself,” she sneered.

“Alice!”

“Dae me a favor and boil yer smokebox,” she hissed before storming off, jerking the coaches by accident. The sentient ones yelped and her passengers were startled as her crew scolded her severely, and Coppernob called out for her.

She blocked out the sounds of the world around her as her four driving wheels pushed her north towards Foxfield.

.

.

.

Later that week, Rhys was withdrawn. He was able to bid farewell to Diane but not Alice. Diane was the one to break the news to Alice.

Alice broke her promise.

And Edward made a realization.

Rhys, I’m so-

“Edward?”

Said engine jerked, accidentally jostling his trucks.

A few days had passed since he left the Steamworks with his pistons fully repaired. He’d spent a week waiting for the parts to arrive.

“Did you even hear what I was saying?” James asked again, concerned as the extra Troublesome Trucks Edward hauled yelped and complained.

“Guidness, naw,” Edward replied, guilt building on his panic. His freckled cheeks burned. “Och, dear. I’m sae sorry-!”

“Are you okay?” James interrupted. “You spaced out for a bit.”

“Er, somewhit?”

“We can stop-”

“Naw, naw!” he exclaimed. “No need to! It's just- You reminded me of something.”

“Something you'll tell me?” James asked with a glimmer of curiosity in his heterochromatic eyes.

“N-No’ today…” He looked down. “Sorry.”

“Oh…”

“B-But-!” Edward stammered, “what about your adventures on the Mainland, hm?”

“You're gonna have to be more specific, Ed,” chuckled James.

The smaller engine pieced together what he could recall from the conversation that had taken place. “That incident with the twins! Up in Whitehaven?”

James winced playfully. “Oh, what a mess that one was-”

As James continued to ramble on, Edward's mind focused in. But not after he processed what he'd realized.

I wis in love wit’ Rhys, and I didnae even ken…

~

AND then his twin baby sisters were built the following year and things are all good again, right...?

...right? :)

Well damn, i guess I did end up writing a story before the 1910s ovo ANYWAYS, first EoSR story of 2024 and it ended up being a ship-verse story but its angst-

very normal muxse behaviour

i got to actually sit down and work on Edward's backstory a little more. It was EXTREMELY vague before so hopefully this starts adding up, especially for "You've Got Mail." (i'm a bit all over the place with my fics)

Being the oldest of a new generation is already a lot of pressure but how would it feel when its tradition for them to try to shape you in a way that is deemed appropriate in your railway. This usually works but Edward was different.

Notes:

Rhys had zero romantic interest in Edward.

Rhys' basis: 16 - FR Class A3 0-4-0 - built 1858 by W. Fairbairn & Co., Manchester - 1899 withdrawn

Introduced Diane (FR 17 "A5" class) and Old Coppernob (FR 3 "A2" class) sooner than I thought ovo Oh well.

The family relations on the Furness are a bit odd because the A2, A3, and A5 don't have a specific designer, just like the K2s. Just know that Edward isn't related to them. To my understanding, the Furness Railway 21s were designed by Sharp, Stewart & Co. Neither Pettigrew or Mason designed them. Same goes for said classes. Only the A5s were built by Sharp, Stewart & Co. but in the original Manchester location.

^ that being said, Diane and Edward are probably distant cousins for that reason, but Old Coppernob and Rhys aren't related to them. :p

Rhys translates to "ardor" in Welsh. Ardor means a strong intense feeling, which i think perfectly describes what engines feel when they're in love. :)

there was a lot of back and forth on previous love interests for these two. at one point, i considered Goldilocks to be James' first love interest but went against because i just thought it was weird and it would imply that Edward is a replacement for Goldilocks. I did not want that so i scrapped it.

Edward and Old Coppernob are basically the failed unintentional attempt of a healthy father-son relationship. They're both at fault for this. (yes, Edward has daddy issues. it just kinda happened but it also feels like it makes sense considering his role as the oldest and the issues he has)

guys i dont JUST write angst, i swear- :((((

evidence:

ps if i made you sad, read "He Squawks!" (one of my favorites /bias) it has pre-2x5 fluff + silliness (not the main focus but the silliness is :p the screenshot is unrelated :p)

[anonymousboxcar]

@mean-scarlet-deceiver Oh, absolutely! I got carried away with the other stuff, but you’re spot on about the thrills and chills. I can see Edward’s love of spooky tales and ghost stories starting there.

I think he and the other Furness engines would be particularly thrilled by the drawn-out, third act pursuit of the Count. The heroes are trying to board the right ships and trains to beat him to Castle Dracula. Locomotives are also bound to a schedule, drilled to bring their passengers to stations ASAP, so I can see that being a real (metaphorical) nail-biter for them.

It’s an everyday stressor elevated to new levels by a supernatural threat. Each setback, each delay, winds them up more and more. So when Mina pulls out her encyclopedic memory of timetables at the eleventh hour, they all erupt into wild cheering and whistling.

One blubbers he’s so proud of her for “thinking like an engine,” setting off another racket that has the cleaner’s ears ringing for a week.

(I can only imagine what Coppernob would think of all that, lol. Would any of them even want to explain this tizzy to him?)

i have just realized that Dracula was published in the UK exactly one year after Edward was built and my brain is absolutely frozen/quivering with the massive potential of this knowledge

[sparkarrestor]

Uh oh

Context: In 1966 D5714 was having its steam-heating boiler tested when flames shot out of it’s exhaust and set Barrow Shed’s roof on fire. Half the roof was lost but the loco itself was actually fairly unscathed. Somehow.

[thesudrianchronicles]

NWC 7: Finally! An Atlantic!

Written By NorthBritishAtlantic

1929

An engine coasted down the Cumbrian Coast Line along the West Coast of England. He seemed to move majestically, his motion hardly making any sound. Like a phantom in the mid morning sun.

As he passed through smaller stations with names such as “Parton”, “St Bees” & “Seascale”, he noticed people on the platform & even some engines looking on at him in awe & surprise.

For you see. This engine was very far from home. For he was a North British Atlantic.

And he had said goodbye to Scotland, for a new life on a small Island, which many people said was in the middle of Nowhere.

Soon, he arrived at a large looking station. Its overall roof covering its platforms. He saw a sign which read “BARROW CENTRAL”, in big bold letters. He pulled up to the platform & his crew got out of his cab.

“We’ll be back in a few minutes Sam.” His driver said.

“Don’t wander off now!” His fireman added, before the driver slapped his arm. Which made Sam chuckle.

The two humans left their Atlantic with his thoughts. He looked around his surroundings. It was a quiet Sunday morning, and there weren't any trains due for an hour or two. So he had the station all to himself.

Or so he thought.

“HEY!” A voice called from behind, causing the Atlantic to jump. “What you doing in my platform?”, “Sitting there like Lord Mutt.” “I’ve got a station to run ya know?!”

Sam looked to his right. Sitting on the track next to him, was a tank engine. Her black paint was bright but dirty. And the letters “LMS'' were in big bold yellow lettering on her sidetanks.

“Well?” She said, eyeing up the larger engine. “Do you say anything?”, “Or do you just sit around & look like an idiot?”

“That’s enough Poppet.” An older voice called. “Leave Him be, even if he is sitting on the mainline taking up space.”

Sam looked over to his left. He saw an older looking engine sitting inside a glass box next to the platform. He had 4 small wheels, a tall thin funnel, and most notably, he had a large round copper firebox.

“The name’s Sam.” The Atlantic spoke, “And you two are?”

“I’m Coppernob”, the old engine said, “And the tank engine next to you is Poppet.”

“What’s an LNER engine doing all the way down here?” asked Poppet, raising an eyebrow at Sam.

“Heading to Sodor”, Sam replied, “NWR needs an engine for local passenger work. So I’m going there to stay.”

“Why you staying?”, Asked Poppet curiously. “Wouldn’t your frien-”

“If I stay I'll end up scrapped.” replied Sam bluntly, cutting Poppet off mind sentence. “My class is on the way out, it's only a matter of time before I’m withdrawn.”

“Don’t worry about it mate.” Poppet said, understandingly. “I’m on borrowed time myself.” “Most of the older Furness engines are being withdrawn as of late.”

“But you at least still have work.” Said Coppernob, “A hard working engine is a useful one.”

Sam sighed. Thank you Coppernob, he smiled slightly.

Poppet chuckled. "Just call him Nobby!" "Everyone else does!"

Coppernob rolled his eyes. Poppet just laughed, and Sam smirked.

“Alright then! Nobby it is!” Sam chuckled.

“So Sam.” Coppernob asked, making the other two stop chuckling. His facial expression was blank. “Have you travelled far?”

“Aye, a wee bit.” Sam said, his gaze returning to the older engine. “Perth, you heard of it?”

“Perth?” Poppet said, raising an eyebrow. “Isn’t that a part of Glasgow?”

The look that Sam threw at Poppet made her shut up instantly & made Coppernob burst out laughing.

The three engines would continue to talk for about 15 more minutes. Nobby & Poppet were telling Sam about one of the old FR’s busiest & most interesting tourist days back in the spring of 1919.

Just as Coppernob was telling Sam about his rather, as he put it, “interesting” experience with a young fireman. Sam’s crew arrived back & came up to see him.”

“Awwww Sam!” His Driver chuckled, putting her jacket back on. “Looks like you made some friends already!”

“Yeah, good on you lad.” His fireman added, trying to hide the obvious lipstick marks on his neck.

“Well come on then!” His driver said, climbing into his cab. “Sodor awaits us!”

“Well goodbye you two.” Said Sam, “I’ll try & visit as much as i can.” “If this all works out that is!” He added chuckling.

“Bye Sam!” “See you around!” Poppet called as Sam drove off.

Sam blew his whistle loudly in goodbye. It echoed around the yard, and startled some of the engines in the shed! He picked up some speed, as he chuffed over the bridge to await his new life.

On the isle of Nowhere.

30 Minutes later

“FINALLY!” a stout gentleman nearly yelled from the platform. “FINALLY I GOT AN ATLANTIC!”

Special thanks to @mean-scarlet-deceiver for letting me use Nobby & Poppet for this story.

[edwards-exploit]

edward birdhouse in your soul. do you see it.

[cerenemuxse]

Edward being excited, fucking screaming and crying over his baby twin sisters <3 (1900, colorized, SD)

Oh, and Coppernob is there, I guess.

CW: a bunch of unorganized thoughts /srs so if things don't make sense, my apologies. This is a running theme in my blog, haha-

I had names for his sisters but I'm currently going through and renaming them because of a couple names 🙃

ANYWAYS, I am mentally ill for this. Despite all the bullshit he went through (because of his own actions), there are at least a few sweet moments. Those moments being meeting his little sisters. It's tradition to introduce the newest members of a class to the oldest of said group.

But when these two came into his life, things got better for him. However, those twins turned out to be chaotic shits but he still loves them nonetheless. Their names are Hansel and Gretel. While I'm not sure when the actual FR 124 and 125 were built, I'm assuming not the same month. The definition of being twins is dependent on who you ask. For example, Hansel and Gretel were built the same year, 1900, but not the same month. Since they were the two additions around the same time, they considered themselves twins. They're fraternal twins, btw. Don't look identical but they're twins.

FR 22 looks nearly identical to Edward. The similarity is so strong that they used to get mistaken for one another. The differences between them is that FR 22 has a flatter nose, one eye wrinkle, one eyelash, and smaller eyebrows. Other than that, they share the same features.

Each of the Larger Seagulls had one or multiple nicknames. Edward had multiple. The very first nickname he got was "Bunny." This was a reference to the bunny that Alice follows in "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," which is where Edward's given name came from, AND because Edward has the tendency to twitch his nose like a rabbit. <3 The second nickname he garnered was "Seagull" because the idiot loves seafood, ESPECIALLY shrimp. However, this nickname was MOSTLY used by his sisters, who used it very lovingly thank you very much. They all love and support each other, even when disagreements happen.

FR 37 was going to be named Dorothy, but here's the problem. "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" wasn't written until 1900. FR 37 was built in 1896, 4 years prior to the publication of the book. She's the reason why I'm going through and renaming some of them. Hansel and Gretel kept their names. The original names for the rest were Aurora (FR 22), Drizella (FR 34), Anastasia (FR 35), and Cinderella (FR 36). Part of the reason why I'm going through and renaming them is to add some Scottish fairytales, too.

Also, if Edward had stayed on the FR and "TGR but There's a Roleswap" never happened, he would've seen all but one of his little sisters be withdrawn and scrapped. FR 21 was the second to last of the Larger Seagulls to be withdrawn and (possibly) scrapped, leaving FR 37 as the last remaining member for an entire year before facing a similar fate. The first to be withdrawn would've been Hansel, FR 124, the second youngest. That had to fucking hurt when he found out that the twins' lives were cut short, both having a short service lifetime.

[tornadoyoungiron]

TRAINTOBER | Day 27 - Record Breaker

The Seagulls are excited to discover that the famous Great Western, City of Truro, is visiting Barrow-in-Furness. Coppernob is less than excited, however.

Furness Railway’s No. 3 ‘Coppernob’ in their Glasshouse at Barrow-in-Furness

~~~

A wild storm had blown through one night. In the morning, the true extent of the damage had been revealed, roofs had flown off houses, trees had been sprayed over the roads and now lorries and cars could not use them.

The rails had been the lifeline, and within a few hours, they had been mostly cleared to allow resources to get through where they were needed most. 

Certainly, Barrow-in-Furness had the advantage of being a major port town but marine transport was far too slow for the mail or the resources would be far too costly to transport via the ocean. 

And so this was how the Great Western’s bright spark, the City of Truro found himself racing towards the North on a mercy mission with supplies and mail from the South. He was passing through LMS territory where once, the bigger engines would jeer and try to spook him, but now they cheered him on, the engine that claimed to beat the LNER’s golden boy.

To them, anything was an improvement over Flying Scotsman, such was the rivalry between the two railways so great.

“He’s here, he’s here! There he goes! The fastest engine in the West!” Came the tittering of engines as he passed and City of Truro arrogantly raised his boiler higher on its frames, basking in the Furness Engine’s praise. 

He loved it, he loved the attention, it validated him, made him strive to be better, to prove to his railway that he was invaluable.

He came upon Barrow-in-Furness station to find it empty and no one to receive him. Truro scowled, deeply annoyed. There was supposed to be somewhere here to meet him to authorise and check his mail run. Oh he did so hate being made to wait.

“This place used to run a lot better before Grouping,” a voice called to him. “Sad sorry lot these LMS fellas. Too much area to oversee makes them slack at the top. Things fall the cracks you see.”

Truro looked over to the grand structure nearby, a magnificent glasshouse with ornate designs framed an older-looking engine with a strange globe-like firebox and a boiler like that of a think barrel. 

He had heard tell of this engine. The fiery red Coopernob, they called him with a personality to match his paint.

“Well, the Great Western Railway takes pride in doing things the correct way and not allowing things to slip through the cracks,” Truro boasted. “I’m the City of Truro. Perhaps you’ve heard of me?”

The red engine’s eyes narrowed and his lips parted into a thin line as his gaze grew critical of the Great Western engine before him. 

“You boast that the Great Western way fills in its cracks yet here you are, breaking records behind their backs and making yourself a damn nuisance and a poor role model to the younger engines here,” Coppernob suddenly spoke harshly of Truro and the Great Western was shocked.

“Excuse me?” Truro spluttered. He’d heard that Coppernob could be a right ass but he hadn’t been expecting to be quite this upfront about it.

“You’ve got the young ones all a titter with your supposed Record Breaking run,” Coppernob scoffed deeply annoyed. “Now that you’re here they’ll be all caught up in their own heads rather than focusing on work.”

“Excuse me for wanting to be something more than the purpose I was created for!” City of Truro scoffed, annoyed. “What right do you to be judging me anyway, sitting pretty in your little glass house?”

“My judgement comes from decades of experience young one,” Coppernob disputed. “I have more than half a century over you and you do not look like much to me. Just another young upstart who thinks he can bend the rules due to his fame.”

Truro just snorted in response and turned his attention to a Larger Seagull approaching the station, presumably the one to takeover his train.

The Seagull squeaked at the sight of him.

“City- City of Truro! It’s an honour to meet you!” Number 24 squeaked. “My brother would be beside himself to meet you but he’s on the Island of Sodor.” 

“Haha well if you see him again then tell him I send my regards!” Truro winked and him and the Seagull made a strange noise in response. “But who knows, maybe one day I’ll visit there myself, you never know!”

“His, his name is Edward if you happen to meet him!” 

“Sudrian Number 2, I think you will find,” Coppernob interjected and Truro glanced at him. 

Ray of sunshine this one was, wasn’t he?

Not wanting to cause more fuss, Truro simply smiled and gathered his steam again.

“Well this was… fun, but I must be off,” the City Class smiled. “Cracks to fill and all that.”

Coppernob frowned but said nothing more as the Larger Seagull gave a shrill peep goodbye to the engine.

“Good-bye Mr Truro, thanks for helping us out!” 24 called and with a blast of his whistle, the City of Truro disappeared down the line. 24 glanced at Coppernob. “Interesting fellow, isn’t he? I won’der if we’ll see him again.”

Coppernob said nothing, but he had a feeling that he would end up meeting that engine again. Just in ways he would have never have anticipated.

~~~

I always find it hard to write Coppernob. He’s so different from the other engines because he comes from a time of different values and it’s hard to mesh him with the others. He always ends up very antagonistic even when I don’t want him to be. Still, I did want to give him a little more time in the spotlight because he is a deeply important engine in history.

It’s so rare that anything like him gets preserved in the same way that he did. 

You’ll notice that young Truro is a little more like Scotsman in personality than he is currently. Before everything, Truro was full of life but sadly, a lot of things took that childish joy away from him. 

[askyoungiron]

FUCKING GO EDWARD GET HIM GET COPPERNOB!!

EDWARD: Well, I have been sitting on my feelings for well over a hundred years. Sorry if myself being angry was a bit much for anyone.

GREEN ARROW: No it was beautiful. You’re beautiful Edward 🥹

[theflyingkipper]

Even when cold and silent iron, a steam engine can be plenty intimidating

[sparkarrestor]

The furness lads (the directors and stationmaster) think that the NWR has just committed train robbery, but when they cross the bridge they just see everyone having a grand old party at Vicarstown.

And 18 gets to see his dope ass boulders because he deserves it :)

Also #savejohnnymathersbutdonthissufferingisfunnylol

In which the situation becomes so serious that Coppernob gives up bullying young Mathers!

HA HAA JUST KIDDING 😁

[putuponpercy]

I have been thinking about early days Edward recently and have made a connection-

Edward is the Disney princess with the tragic backstory, FR and its workers are the wicked step mother and sisters, the Fat Controller is the Fairy Godmother, and Thomas is the goofy loveable sidekick that is there mainly for comedic value but also has an equally tragic backstory