Top Hat

**Top Hat the Proud Railway Tug** is one of the main characters in the Seventyverse's TUGS spinoff series and was the fourth member of the Star Fleet.

## Backstory

Prior to the series starting, Captain Star purchased Top Hat from a railway off the coast in New England. He had worked there with two engines named Tillie and Jebediah.

Although Top Hatt would try to avoid any job that would make him dirty, he was used for a wide variety of tasks around Bigg City Port, mainly distributing railway rolling stock with his barges, Frank and Eddie. Despite his problem with dirty jobs, he was often used to tow Lord Stinker the garbage barge whenever Warrior was unavailable. After Lord Stinker saved Little Owl when a railway bridge spanning the canal collapse, he gained a great respect for the barge. Despite his cowardly behavior during the Bigg City Fire of 1922, he would later redeem himself after rescuing O.J. from Jacob Burke and Ebenezer Blair, and Mr. Jebediah Broke.

Sadly, Top Hat was killed during the Second World War when he saved Zip from an enemy bomber. The bomb hit him straight in the wheelhouse. The rest of the vessels, especially the Stars and Captain Star himself, were most devastated by his death. Zip was so grateful for Top Hat saving her that she took on the Number 4 in the Star Tugs to honour his sacrifice. A plaque with his name on it is put in a memorial, made from the Z-Stacks disused announcing house.

In the TUGS Survival AU, Top Hat merely got bombed in his smoke stack. He was repaired not long after the battle is won, and asked what he missed. He was shocked to see his lost lover, Zelda, show up at the Zero Dock after the war. She admitted she stayed away because Captain Zero didn't want anyone to mention her name, and that the port she was sent to for counseling (because Captain Lucky wasn't a counselor at the time), had lost a harbour tug and she helped out. However, Zelda had to come because a lot of her friends nearly died in the war.

## Relationships

### Ten Cents

Top Hat is often made fun of by Ten Cents when he gets too puffed up in the smokestack. However, when Ten Cents was capsizing with Izzy Gomez, Top Hat managed to use Lord Stinker to help save him. Their relationship faltered when Top Hat didn't help put out the munitions fire, but when Top Hat led the charge to save O.J., Ten Cents forgave him. Ten Cents, like the rest of the Stars, were horrified and heartbroken when Top Hat gave his life to save Zip.

### O.J.

When O.J.'s engine started causing him trouble, Top Hat remarked that O.J. goes back to the Ice Age. Their relationship faltered when Top Hat didn't help put out the munitions fire, but when Top Hat led the charge to save O.J., the old paddle tug forgave him. O.J., like the rest of the Stars, were horrified and heartbroken when Top Hat gave his life to save Zip.

### Sunshine

Sunshine often teases Top Hat when he gets pompous and cocky; this mostly came from Ten Cents. She was furious with Top Hat when he refused to help with the Munitions but happily forgave him after he led the charge to save O.J.. Like the rest of the Stars, Sunshine was horrified and heartbroken when Top Hat was killed saving Zip from an enemy bomber.

### Jimbo

At first, Top Hat was unnerved by Jimbo and was cruel to him after the diesel tug broke down and caused an accident. After Jimbo saved Ten Cents from sinking, however, Top Hat apologized to him for his rudeness.

### Kirke

When Kirke first arrived, he insulted Top Hat by calling him "Hat Stand". Top Hat refuses to take him to consoling session with Captain Lucky until Captain Star reminded him he was on time ice. On the way back, Kirke apologises to Top Hat who was surprised but was also thankful.

## Personality

Top Hat cared mainly about himself and saving his own neck. He may pretend to be cool and collected, but when he was actually faced with a threat or was placed in danger, he would panic and complain. He was often ridiculed by his companions, particularly Ten Cents and the villainous Z-Stacks. He insults Warrior's clusminess and wishes he were sold off, refuses to fight the muntions fire of fear of being burnt to death, dismisses Big Mac's claim of ghosts exisiting, belittles Jimbo's mechanical faults, and only takes Kirke to a consoling session when Captain Star reminds him he's on thin ice.

Despite his self-absorbed and arrogant demeanour, Top Hat had proven himself on numerous occasions and could cope fairly well in an emergency, such as when he propped up Zebedee's steel load under a railway bridge to help Puffa get across, and when he used Lord Stinker to save Little Owl from a serious accident when the bridge collapsed. He also leads the charge to save O.J. from Burke and Blair. Despite the fact that he very rarely showed it, he cared deeply for the Star Fleet. He also cared for the rival Z-Stacks too, and sacrificed his life to save Zip from an enemy bomber.

## Technical Details

### Basis

Although Top Hat is based off the 1920 San Francisco fleet of tugs, he also bears a strong resemblance to New York Central Tugboat 13; built in 1887 in Camden, NJ, USA by John A. Dialogue & Sons. The tug was built for the New York Central Railroad to push car floats, carrying cars and other freight across the New York Harbor waterways. She had three engines: a 232 horsepower steam engine, and in the 1950's two general 6-110 diesel engines, they sit back-to-back, and drive a central Falk gearbox, which turns the propeller, and two new keel coolers from fernstrum were installed in a recessed hull box to cool them. In 1965, GM Diesel became Detroit Diesel Engine Division. Her hull is riveted and wrought iron based.

After 2002, it underwent extensive renovation at Garpo Marine in Tottenville, Staten Island. Two new keel coolers from Fernstrum were installed in a recessed box in the hull to cool the engines.

Efforts to restore the ship seemingly failed in the intervening years, and she was scrapped in 2017 in Tottenville.

### Livery

Top Hat is painted in the Star Fleet's corporate livery. This consists of a black hull, a yellow superstructure, white mast and an American flag-styled red, white and blue funnel. His name is painted on the sides of his bow in white and he has the number "4" on his funnel. He wears a black vintage top hat and a monocle.

## Trivia

* Because Top Hat's voice actor from *Salty's Lighthouse*, French Tickner passed away, the preferred voice actor for Top Hat is John Baddeley, who voiced him in the original *TUGS* series.
* Top Hat's worst nightmare is his guilt of losing his lost love, Zelda.