Mr. Chairman

"*Chairman's Custard Creams... they're tasty!*"
— Mr. Chairman

* **Voice Actor**: Gwion Rhys Davies

**Mr. Chairman** is the former chairman of the Dark Railway Preservation Society.

## Bio

Not much is known about Mr. Chairman's past. Indeed, he is a very mysterious man who keeps himself to himself for the most part. The most that is known about him (according to the engines and DRPS volunteers) is that he has a strange fondness for custard creams, so much, in fact, that he owns his own custard cream manufacturing facility. Despite this, he is an excellent leader, and has been in charge of the DRPS for several years without incident. His calm outlook on situations often reassures his fellow volunteers, Mr Dark, and the engines.

Mr. Chairman became the chairman of the DRPS in 1970 following its founding. He oversaw most of the society's activites, such as its purchases of engines and maintenance projects. In 1972 he ended up in a mad chase with Allan after Zeke Dark stole one of his custard creams. In 1974, he found himself facing strong opposition from Goose over his insistence that Goose operate the passenger shuttles to Soma only. Despite Goose daring him to sell him on, Mr. Chairman eventually opted to lay him up in the maintenance bay until he could behave. After finally convincing Goose to return to work, Mr. Chairman remained determined to keep his engines going despite the poor winter weather. This was a decision he came to regret, as a runaway caused by the weather resulted in the viaduct to Soma collapsing, severing the quarry from its only proper connection to the outside world and trapping Abomination and Andy within its confines. Although his lack of consideration was met with disapproval by many on the railway in the aftermath, Mr. Chairman remained determined to make up for his mistake. When Zeke and Mr. Dark travelled to London to meet with British Rail about legal matters, Mr. Chairman was put in charge of the railway. Despite his concerns about his suitablity, he kept the railway running smoothly with the help of Brian.

When Eddie returned to traffic in 1978, Mr. Chairman was keen to recruit him for the DRPS. He blackmailed Goose into persuading him into helping them, threatening to take away his jobs if he didn't. Eddie would eventually agree to do it, but only on his own terms and he refused to outright join the society due to Mr. Chairman's conduct, to his disappointment.

In 1978, the DRPS faced severe financial difficulties. Mr. Chairman was forced to tell his fleet about the decision to withdraw Mr. B from service, much to their dismay and fury. Despite this, none of them blamed him personally, instead blaming the society as a whole. It became clear that Mr. Chairman was losing his authority over the society's remaining members who preferred to listen to their treasurer, Mr. Short. When Goose suffered a serious failure, Mr. Short overrode his suggestion to return Mr. B to traffic and warned he was on thin ice. Taking his engine's feelings into consideration, Mr. Chairman decided to forego consulting the society and agreed to sell Mr. B back to Mr. Smash so he would have a chance to work again. After Andy suffered a catastrophic failure which the society could not afford to repair, Mr. Chairman stood up to Mr. Short and the remaining Society's members over their disregard for their engines. After the society was formally disbanded, he took it upon himself to take care of their outstanding affairs and debts, refusing Zeke's help so he could atone for his failures in the society. He oversaw the sale of the society's rolling stock and was alarmed when Andy requested to be sold as a spares donor to the North Western Railway, though touched when Andy said he was doing it (at least in part) for him. Mr. Chairman was later confronted by Eddie over his failures with the society and Goose, demanding the latter be sold to the DR. Mr. Chairman accepted responsibility for everything, but assured Eddie that he did have the best intentions for the railway. He then revealed that he had purchased Goose and his autocoaches himself, meaning the pair were now free to make their own decisions on their future. He allowed Goose to remain on the railway, revealing he had enjoyed both owning him and being on the DR.

## Persona

Mr. Chairman is rather calm and has demonstrated that he is a capable and caring man. He also loves Custard Creams, and will resort to any measures to protect his supply of them.

## Attire

Mr. Chairman has dark hair and brown eyes, and often wears a grey business suit.

## Appearances

### The Dark Railway Series

Episodes:

* Series 7 - Futura (*cameo*), Smashing!, The Road to Colhapper, Mothership Reconnection, and Rollerskate Disco (*mentioned*)
* Series 8 - Revolution 909, Face to Face (*cameo*), The Great Custard Cream Robbery, Time Waster (*mentioned*), Short Circuit (*does not speak*), and Outro (*does not speak*)
* Series 9 - 9, Goose, Rock'n Roll, Rock Shock (*mentioned*), Time Wasted, Extend Extra, and Wipeout (*mentioned*)
* Series 10 - Welcome to the Tunnel, Body Angels (*does not speak*), Tunnel Vision (*mentioned*), The Road to Bellgrave (*mentioned*), Coaled Weight (*mentioned*), Dirty Colossus (*mentioned*), Quack Attack, and Buckin' Hell
* Series 11 - The Times, Since Then, Quatro, Puppets, Sundowner, Chord Memory, and The Brickenkopf
* Series 12 - Ventura (*mentioned*), Fresh (*mentioned*), What To Do, and Outrun (*mentioned*)

## Trivia

* Mr. Chairman is the private owner of Goose.
* He is also the owner of the Chairman's Custard Creams company, as well as a model railway venture.
* Mr. Chairman, along with the Chairman's Custard Creams, made a cameo appearance when Gwion Rhys Davies appeared in the second series of *The Great Model Railway Challenge*. He featured in the fourth episode of the series. Mr. Chairman even got mentioned by name, as he was intended to be an animated figure on his team's layout. The animation failed to materialise after his head was lost in the final hours of the challenge. He made a further cameo appearance in the second episode featuring Gwion's team on their *Jurassic Park* themed layout.