Lexi

**Alexandria "Lexi" the Cab Forward Engine** is one of the deuteragonists of the Seventyverse, and the thirty-ninth engine on the North Western Railway. However, they, Hurricane and Merlin were the thirty-second, thirty-third and thirty-fourth engines purchased for the North Western Railway.

## Backstory

Maeve, Lexi and Placido were loaned to the Bigg City Dock Railway to help with the grain deliveries. During that, they befriended the engines and the tugs.

Lexi worked in the steelworks with a few other engines: Theo, Hurricane, Frankie, Amanda (nee Warrington/Sixteen), Dennis, and Norman. Despite their hard work, Lexi and Theo found themselves being teased by Frankie due to their designs. Fed up with this disrespect, the two left the Steelworks in search of a new home where they would be respected for their work instead of being criticized for their appearances.

## Relationships

### Theo

The duo have a strong sibling-like bond from their days at the Steelworks due to how they were both unusually and unique. Eventually, when Theo decided to run away to get away from Frankie's rude remarks, Lexi willingly left with him, and the duo found a new home with Merlin. Eventually, when the trio, alongside Hurricane are purchased for the North Western Railway, Lexi is ecstatic to stay alongside their best friend, and receives a few visits from Theo at the Steamworks.

### Merlin

Lexi, alongside Theo, found a new home in an abandoned Goods Yard which housed Merlin. As he was also an experimental engine, he welcomed the two with opened buffers. Throughout the time they spent together, Lexi saw Merlin as a trusting father figure.

### Hurricane

As a former co-worker at the steelworks, Hurricane tried to make Lexi and Theo feel special by complimenting them on their work, and being quick to defend them from Frankie's taunting. However, this wasn't enough to convince the experimental duo to quit. Hurricane felt devastated to lose two good friends this way, and Lexi also felt bad for leaving Hurricane behind. Thankfully, in the end, they made amends when Hurricane, alongside Lexi and Merlin, were sold to the North Western Railway while Theo was sold to the Steamworks on Sodor.

### Frankie

When Frankie first joined the steelworks team, Lexi was among the engines who gave her a warm welcome. Despite this, however, Frankie found fun in teasing Lexi for the way they were designed, ignoring the fact they they were a hard worker. Eventually, this teasing drove Lexi into leaving with Theo. Upon returning to assist in rescuing James and Henry, Lexi calls Frankie out for her harsh behavior, blaming *her* for their choice of leaving the Steelworks.

### Amanda/Warrington/Sixteen

Lexi got on quite well with Sixteen, admiring her for her rebellious nature against Frankie. Lexi also tried coming up with a few girls names for Sixteen, but none of them lasted for longer than a few days because they didn't fit her. Well, they fit her better than 'Warrington', at least. Lexi bid Amanda a fond farewell when she went to her new home.

### Dennis and Norman

Despite Dennis' constant need for naps and Norman's grumpy attitude, Lexi enjoyed both diesels' company. They unfortunately got a great shock: when Dennis and Norman were due to head to Sodor, Norman got into an incident where he saved his brother and died. Lexi was devastated to losing two good friends, but hoped Dennis would be okay in his new home.

## Personality

Lexi is upbeat, cheery and outgoing, and likes to experiment with how to present themselves, often trying out different voices and how they phrase their expressions just to see which one they think works best. Because their name is unisex, many often argue on their precise gender, despite the engine's *clearly* female-like features. Though it’s heavily implied that Lexi IS fully female, yet chooses to let others guess for fun.

## Technical Details

### Basis

Lexi is based on the North Pacific Coast Railroad (NPCRR) Cab-Forward 4-4-0 No. 21 "Thomas-Stetson", a rebuild of NPCRR #5 which had been wrecked in 1897. An innovative engine built by Bill Thomas, it is considered the first cab-forward engine and was one of the first oil burners, as well as the first engine to use a marine boiler. The engine had insufficient adhesion weight and its oil burners were prone to damage due to their proximity to its water tubes, and it was unpopular with crews, and its unusual appearance earned it the nickname "The Freak". #21 was scrapped in 1905.

In the Canon Divergent AU, Lexi is still a cab forward engine, but of a modified Midland Railway 2501 Class, numbered 2222. This engine was built in 1899, withdrawn in 1913, and scrapped presumably in the same year.

### Livery

Lexi is painted light turquoise with a gold cowcatcher. Their front windows have gold lining, and Their side windows have copper lining. They have brass nameplates on the sides of their cab and their number (39) is painted on their rear oil tank in white.

## Differences from the episodes

* Lexi is apparently non-binary in the Seventyverse, while being full female in the TV Series.
* Lexi doesn't join the NWR in the actual special - instead stays at the Steelworks - while they does join the NWR the rewritten special.
* Lexi doesn't have a number in the series. In this series, their old number is 22 and their NWR number is 39.

## Trivia

* SodorMatchMaker and Railfanbronymedia both have conflicting ideas on how they feel about the Lexi/Theo relationship. SMM wants Theo and Lexi to be romantically involved, but RFBM insists they are just in a sibling relationship. TobyandMavisforever is neutral and doesn't mind which direction that is taken.