Allan

"*Oh Crumbs!*"
— Allan, What a Catch!

* **Class**: BR Class 08 Shunter
* **Designer**: British Railways Darlington
* **Build date**: 1961
* **Configuration**: 0-6-0DMS
* **Arrived on the DR**: 1961

**Allan** is a diesel shunter who lives on the Dark Railway.

## Bio

Allan was built in 1961 at Darlington Works. Two months later, he was brought to the Dark Railway after Mr. Dark asked British Railways for another shunting engine. When he arrived, Allan was under the belief that he was the greatest shunter in the world, but due to his inexperience, he was soon taught otherwise after making a mess of the yard at Soma. After Theo and Otto cleared up the mess, they offered to teach Allan how to shunt properly. He accepted, and quickly learned how to do things properly, sorting out the entire yard at Merecombe Industrial Estate single-handed. He was eventually assigned as the yard shunter at the Industrial Estate.

In 1964, Ryan was repainted blue, making himself and Allan look almost identical. Allan used this as a chance to do something different, and managed to persuade Ryan to swap jobs for a day. Unfortunately, neither had told the other what they had to do, and because Allan had no experience at being a station pilot, he made a mess of Merecombe. The pair were quickly found out and were spoken to severely by Mr. Dark, who decided to have Allan painted black in order to tell them apart.

The following year 1965, Allan started complaining about needing a holiday. Mr. Dark agreed with him, and arranged for him, Owen, and Ryan to be sent somewhere. However, the trio were knocked out before they left, and when they awoke they found themselves in Port Monteau, where a man told them that they would be starring in a British Transport Film before carrying on to their holiday. The shoot was a disaster, with the shunters getting drunk the night before, Owen vomiting after trying to pull a train, and Allan pushing a rake of new Mk2 coaches into the sea. The director, angry that his film was ruined, sent the three to Scotland before they returned to the DR later that year. Shortly after their return, they were kidnapped by Leanne as part of her revenge scheme against the DR, but they were quickly rescued.

In 1967, Allan began to wonder if he was needed at the Industrial Estate anymore. Speaking to Mr. Dark about it, he was told that he would be moving to Galen Junction to act as the station pilot there. After being taught what to do by Owen, Allan became adjusted to his position, though he made a mistake one night when he placed the wrong coaches into the platform, delaying Dave and Turbo. He was assured that he wasn't to blame, and continued to work at the junction, maturing as he did so. In 1968, Allan was placed in charge of the work to double-track the line between Galen Junction and Axley. He didn't understand the reason for having a new set of catch points installed, but soon learned after running away and almost crashing into Dave.

Following the rebuilding of the railway in the wake of the Gasworks Tunnel collapse, Allan and Ryan decided to go exploring and eventually arrived at Soma. Allan messed around with the slate chute and was covered in dust as a result, being sent to help clean the quarry up by Mr. Dark as a punishment. After Howard's engine caught fire at the end of his visit, Allan had him pushed under the water tower to douse the flames. Allan was later devastated when Owen was killed in a fire at Galen Junction, having lost his mentor. After working on the railway's extension to Colhapper, Allan was chosen to haul the opening train, though he had some trouble deciding who would accompany him before choosing Hannah. He was also involved in a chase with Mr. B involving one of Mr. Chairman's custard creams. Amidst an ongoing slew of verbal abuse towards the diesel fleet in 1972, Allan ended up in a heated exchange with one passenger. This resulted in a graffiti attack on Ryan, presumably in a case of mistaken identity. After this, Allan suggested that the diesels go on strike until the situation was resolved, which they agreed to. After a period out of traffic being overhauled, Allan returned to traffic in 1975, where he swapped duties with Ryan and began working primarily at Merecombe for a time. Whilst here, he revealed to Dave that Caracus Smash Ltd were working on a new-build steam engine. He was later cross to learn that Ryan had got to see Bellgrave station before anyone else, only to get bored of it quickly when given the chance to see it for himself. Allan was the one to collect Gordon when he arrived on the DR, and he was awestruck by his presence.

## Persona

Allan is brutally honest and always speaks his mind, even if this makes him sound cynical and grumpy.

## Livery

Allan was originally painted in British Railways blue, with yellow bufferbeams and coupling rods, and wasp stripes on front and back. Later, in 1965, he was repainted into British Railways Black with an early crest, to differentiate himself from Ryan. In 1968, however, he returned to BR Blue, but with the addition of a Nameplate on his sides due to his hard work.

## Basis

Allan is based on the British Railways Class 08 diesel shunter, which were built in numerous numbers during the 1950's and 60's.

## Appearances

### The Dark Railway Series

Episodes:

* Series 2 - Allan, Hide and Seek, Some Kind of Fuel (*cameo*), and Taking Out the Trash
* Series 3 - The Return of Sir Eustace Missenden, Like a Sir, 257 Squadron, Tender Moments of Tender Engines, BR Blues, Football Shortfalls, Super 8, Who Goes There?, and Revenge of the Forgotten (*cameo*)
* Series 4 - Owen's Woes (*does not speak*), The Big Bad Wolf (*cameo*), Turbo (*cameo*), Allan Does Galen, and Trucks
* Series 5 - What a Catch!, Abomination (*mentioned*), Signal Lost, and Claim to Fame
* Series 6 - Ouverture (*cameo*), Trepid (*cameo*), Fustercluck, Ed, Ed and Eddie, Asphalt Assault (*mentioned*), Burnin' and The Prime Time of your Life (*does not speak*)
* Series 7 - Futura, Smashing! (*does not speak*), The Road to Colhapper, Ey Up?, Rollerskate Disco, and The Man in Overalls
* Series 8 - One More Time (*mentioned*), De la Trip, The Great Custard Cream Robbery, and Short Circuit
* Series 9 - Rock Shock (*cameo*), Time Wasted (*mentioned*), Extend Extra, Wipeout (*cameo*), and Shapeshifter (*cameo*)
* Series 10 - 101 (*cameo*), Body Angels (*mentioned*), Tunnel Vision, The Road to Bellgrave, and Barry the Steam Engine
* Series 11 - The Times (*mentioned*), Relations, Quatro, Further (*mentioned*), Sundowner (*does not speak*), Chord Memory and The Brickenkopf (*mentioned*)
* Series 12 - What To Do and Shuffle (*cameo*)

Specials:

* Pogo
* The Missing Christmas Presents
* The Aspergers Flyer (*does not speak*)
* You Bang Snowploughs
* Phantoms Can't Hang

Films:

* Event Horizon

## Trivia

* According to Dark DJ, Allan is one of his favourite characters.
* In series 3, when Allan is painted black, he has his number painted on his front bufferbeam, but this is removed in series 4. This was due to him initially using the Class 12 shunter model in Series 3 which was later swapped for an authentic Class 08 model.
* In series 9, Allan's original model was replaced with the advanced Class 08 model from the Woodhead Railway in Blue addon from Dovetail Games.