Raymond

* **Class**: BR Class 47
* **Designer**: Brush Traction
* **Build date**: 1958
* **Configuration**: Co-Co
* **Arrived on the DR**: 1959

**Raymond** is a large diesel engine who lives on the Dark Railway.

## Bio

Raymond was built as the prototype for the Class 47s at Falcon Works in 1958. He was initially trialled on the Great Central Railway, but was prone to breaking down, even though his power was proven. He was modified and improved by Brush Traction over the year and was eventually reallocated to York, where he was first used on goods trains before being promoted to passenger trains. Raymond's lack of confidence led him to only speak to a few engines, which was not helped by the steam engines at York bullying him due to his reliability issues.

In 1959, things came to a head when an A4 Pacific, Sir Ralph Wedgwood, maliciously collided with Raymond, damaging his buffer beam. This was the final straw for Raymond, who proceeded to attack Sir Ralph, causing severe damage to both engines. They were both spoken to, and Raymond, who was still owned by Brush Traction at this point, was repaired. Although Raymond's trials had been successful in spite of the problems, British Railways declined to purchase him outright. Brush Traction turned to Mr. Dark, who agreed to purchase him and brought him to the Dark Railway.

Unfortunately, the first engine that Raymond met when arriving at the DR was Sir Eustace Missenden, who reminded him very much of Sir Ralph. Not wanting to be bullied again, Raymond tried to put on a tough exterior which made him unpopular at first. However, he soon mellowed out, and first befriended Brian. He was still prone to failures, often causing trouble for Mr. Dark. When Dave brought Leanne to the railway in 1960, Raymond was upset when Dave introduced him as an acquaintance rather than a friend. He was the first to discover Leanne's true intentions, but Dave refused to listen to him and left with her heading to Wales. After being given a confidence boost by Brian, the two engines followed them and rescued Dave just in time. When they returned home, Dave and Raymond had a heart to heart, which ended with the two becoming best friends.

In 1961, Raymond suffered a large engine failure while hauling an express, resulting in the replacement of his entire engine. When Theo and Otto unveiled their teleporter and time machine to the other engines, Raymond was one of the engines accidentally sent back in time to 1953. This was particularly difficult for him, as this was before his own construction or mass dieselisation, leading to a shortage of fuel and questionable looks from engines of the time at first. It was decided to pass Raymond off as an experimental prototype, and this resulted in a group of men seeing him and deciding to take photos to make plans for the construction of more of his prototype.

In 1965, Raymond was repainted blue, despite his objections. The following year 1966, he was captured by Leanne as part of her revenge plan against the Dark Railway, but he was saved thanks to the efforts of both Dave and 257 Squadron. In 1967, following the ban of steam engines from the mainline on the Southern region and subsequent complications with passengers reaching the connecting trains on time, Raymond was given permission to start hauling expresses on the mainline between Galen Junction and London. This quickly became tiring, and he was joined by an old friend from York who later became known as Turbo.

When the railway reopened in 1969, Raymond learned that his express runs were being discontinued due to being loss makers all around. To make up for this, Mr. Dark had him repainted back into green, much to his delight. In 1971, Raymond was assigned to haul the new late night fish train, "The Red Herring", though he found himself confused by strange events surrounding it in its first few weeks. After the diesels found themselves facing a slew of verbal abuse and vandalism from the general public in 1972, Raymond participated in a strike with the rest of the diesel fleet. He was sceptical upon learning that the line from Colhapper to Horton would be ripped up, though dismayed when it was actually done. Raymond was the first to realise that Zeke had purchased the trackbed of the old route to Barbourne, having remembered it's use on the Red Herring service.

## Persona

Originally lacking in confidence, Raymond put on a menacing image when he first arrived on the DR, but settled down to become a nice and hard working engine.

## Livery

Raymond is currently painted in British Railways two tone green with full yellow warning panels. He carries a nameplate with his name and the Dark Railway logo stylised into it. He previously wore British Railway corporate blue with full yellow warning panels, and the same green livery with smaller yellow warning panels.

## Basis

Raymond is based on the British Railways Class 47 Co-Co.

## Appearances

### The Dark Railway Series

Episodes:

* Series 1 - Pilots, The Party, The Shunter's Gamble (*does not speak*), Will and Won't, Dave's Dating Tips, Something's In the Air, The Beauty Overheard, The Betrayal, The Road to Radstock and Sir Eustace's Secret
* Series 2 - Dave's Reward, Dave and Dai, Colin and the Coaches (*cameo*), Hide and Seek, Goodbye, Dai, Eddie and Maxen (*mentioned*), Some Kind of Fuel and Taking Out the Trash
* Series 3 - The Return of Sir Eustace Missenden, Like a Sir (*cameo*), 257 Squadron, Tender Moments of Tender Engines, BR Blues, Football Shortfalls, Poor Leno (*mentioned*), Who Goes There? and Revenge of the Forgotten
* Series 4 - Traction Reaction, Cammer, Colin and Cows (*cameo*), Owen's Woes (*does not speak*), Tender Tantrum (*cameo*), The Big Bad Wolf, Turbo, Allan Does Galen (*does not speak*), Trucks (*mentioned*) and Instant Crush
* Series 5 - Abomination, Signal Lost, Haunted Hannah, Claim to Fame, Repulse and Make Love (*does not speak*)
* Series 6 - Ouverture, Trepid (*does not speak*), Fustercluck, Ed, Ed and Eddie, Plunk 'n Bang, Asphalt Assault, Burnin' and The Prime Time of your Life (*does not speak*)
* Series 7 - Futura, Smashing!, Braking Bad (*cameo*), The Road to Colhapper, Ey Up?, The Red Herring, Rollerskate Disco (*cameo*), What a Clarence! (*does not speak*) and The Man in Overalls (*mentioned*)
* Series 8 - One More Time, De la Trip, Face to Face, Short Circuit, Autumn and Outro (*cameo*)
* Series 9 - 9, Goose (*cameo*), Rock'n Roll, Rock Shock, Time Wasted, Extend Extra, Wipeout (*cameo*) and Pogo / Mere Anarchy
* Series 10 - 101 (*mentioned*), Tunnel Vision, The Road to Bellgrave, Coaled Weight, Dirty Colossus, Quack Attack and Barry the Steam Engine
* Series 11 - The Times (*does not speak*), Relations, Since Then (*mentioned*), Quatro, Further, Chord Memory and The Brickenkopf
* Series 12 - Ventura, Fresh (*mentioned*), Outrun, Shuffle, High Fidelity (*cameo*) and Eternal Feedback

Specials:

* The Bramley Engines
* Brian and the Bank Robbery
* Pogo (*cameo*)
* The Missing Christmas Presents
* 200 Subscribers
* Zombies!
* The Aspergers Flyer
* You Bang Snowploughs
* Pilots (remake)
* Phantoms Can't Hang (*does not speak*)

Films:

* Event Horizon

## Trivia

* Raymond is named after Dark DJ's grandfather, Raymond Dalton.
* Raymond's favourite job on the railway is snowploughing duties during the winter. Because of this, Mr Dark has, as of 1968, fitted Raymond with mini-poughs to assist him with this task.
* In the series, it is stated that Raymond was built in 1958, being labelled as a prototype of the Brush Type 4 (Later BR Class 47). However, the real class of locomotives were not constructed until 1962, and No 47527 (as No D1110) was not built until January 28th, 1967. The reason for this backstory is that, when the creator produced the first episode (set in 1960), he did not realise the history of the Class 47. Thus, an elaborate backstory (see Event Horizon) was created to explain his appearance.