Arthur (Original)

"*Arthur was a mixed traffic engine for the Midis, one of the earliest editions when they first came to Sodor. Without question, he was the MOST boastful engine I have ever known! He was forever prattling on about his spotless record, how he had never once been late. What made it worse is that it was true. Somehow he always delivered his trucks trains on time and without failure. He was also never shy about calling out those engines who were late, even if they are on his own crew.*"
— Edward, Ghost

## Character Information

### Works at:

London, Midland and Scottish Railway (1923)

### Configuration:

2-6-2T

**Arthur** was a large tank engine from the *London, Midland, and Scottish Railway* (LMS). He was one of the earliest Midis who arrived on Sodor. In 1923, he had a serious accident on Gordon's Hill (then called the Preston Incline). He later returned as a ghost.

## Biography

When the LMS was formed in 1923, Arthur arrived on Sodor along with Douglas as the new engines for the Midis. Arthur was notoriously boastful about his spotless record, having miraculously always delivered his trains on time without any failures. He also called out those engines who were late, including his colleagues.

Late one night in the winter of 1923, Arthur was taking an express train. He was delayed at Maron and when he could leave, he was late. He recklessly sped down the line, desperate to preserve his spotless record. The poor visibility, icy rails and the steep descent of Gordon's Hill resulted in him derailing and all of his passengers were killed. Arthur was scrapped, having been killed in the impact and his body became a mangled heap of metal. Mr. Zorro then replaced him with Donald. It was also his accident that prompted Mickey to arrive on Sodor.

One night, in the winter of 1937, Thomas, Edward and Toby told the other nor'easters about Arthur. Edward had told the story, and that on the anniversary of Arthur's death, his ghost would appear and attempt to reach its destination, but was remained skeptical about the whole idea. When Arthur appears as a ghost, he resembles an E2 class locomotive, faceless and with 5 LMS Express Coaches with the souls of his victims.

## Persona

Arthur was for all intents and purposes a hardworking engine, who was well known for having a spotless record up until his accident. His spotless record resulted in him developing a deeply arrogant and boastful personality that alienated him from the other engines. However, much of said behavior was implied to be driven by a desire to impress Mr. Zorro, who admitted that he had praised Arthur for his successes, and had pushed Arthur to maintain his record. Unfortunately, said desire would manifest in the worst way possible as extreme recklessness and an implied fear of failure, something that contributed to his fatal accident.

## Livery

Arthur was painted in the LMS maroon livery with gold boiler bands and yellow lining. The letters "LMS" were written on his side tanks in yellow, shadowed by red. His wheels were also painted red and his cab steps were painted black while the steps at his front buffer beam were red and he had white lamp irons.

## Basis

Arthur was based on an LMS Ivatt Class 2MT tank engine developed for the London, Midland, and Scottish Railway (hence the initials on his tanks). Unlike his basis, Arthur lacked a sand dome. Arthur's ghost form's basis is an LB&SCR E2 Class. The model used for this is Timothy the Ghost Engine.

## Trivia

* Arthur was the first character to die in the series, albeit not chronologically.
* Arthur was built in the 1920s, even though the LMS Ivatt Class 2 2-6-2T locomotives were never built until 1946. In Extension, it was revealed that he was a prototype of the class and that further refinement and construction of the class were put on hold due to the crash Arthur had caused. Eventually, however, the class was finalized and further construction started in 1943 at the earliest.
* Arthur's crash seems to mirror that of the Wreck of the Old 97 in America.
* This first Arthur is identical to another Arthur, built in 1943. However, this one is not arrogant, and is instead kind and friendly to the other engines, like his canon counterpart.

## Appearances

### The Stories of Sodor

#### Season 2

* Spectre *(mentioned)*
* Sabotage *(appears as a ghost)*
* Shunted *(mentioned)*

## References

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmGhBkjOCuc