Audie

**Audie** is a USATC S100 (SR USA) class 0-6-0T that lives on the Moorland Steam Railway. He's the only locomotive to be built by the United States to be preserved on the whole railway.

## Bio

Audie was built in 1942 by Vulcan Iron Works for work with the United States Army Transportation Corps (USATC) and to serve with the locomotives of ally country, Great Britain. Audie saw that almost all British shunting tanks (because he was American, he first called "switchers") had inside cylinders and were bigger than he was. Part of his wartime service is reflected in a music video and after WWII ended, he was sold with fourteen others of his class to the Southern Railway (UK, not to be confused by the Southern Railway in the USA) and was renumbered from 1971 to 68. Audie spent all of his final SR days at Southampton Docks and found it joyful. Audie did have problems fitting in with his classmates and the British tank engines (LSWR B4 0-4-0T, LB&SCR E1 and E2 0-6-0Ts), mostly due to their "odd, underpowered designs not fit for service".

In 1948, Audie's number had '30000' add to it following the Nationalisation of British Railways that year. Just a day before he turned ten years old, he started to think about his actions to the engines he's been working with since arriving in the UK back in WWII. At this time, a member of the classes he despised for their design (LB&SCR E2 0-6-0T No. 32109) befriended the "Yank Tank" and Audie developed a trust to the 36-year-old WWI veteran (LB&SCR No. 109 was built in 1916, during WWI). Audie found himself also getting on with the rest of the E2 class, along with the class they were built to replace (Stroudly E1 0-6-0T). Audie was withdrawn from Southampton in 1964 and was left in Eastleigh yards for only one year when purchased by the Moorland Steam Railway but was restored by Eastleigh so he can reach Northampsmith under his own steam but being a USA, got lost and broke down in the Eastern Region.

Audie was shunted to Northampsmith by a Thompson B1 from that region (Stanford) after he got lost and didn't make a great first impression on many MSR locomotives that the railway had at the time.

## Basis or real locomotive

   Audie is based off the real locomotive. It was one of fifteen former USATC S100 0-6-0Ts built in the United States of America, but designed to work on the very strict British loading gauge, sold to the Southern Railway in 1946 to replace the aging B4, D1 and E1 tanks from before WWI. Withdrawals of these locomotives began in 1962 and they served until the end of Southern Steam in 1967, which four have been preserved.

No. 30068 was built at the Vuclan Iron Works in 1943 as USATC No. 1971 and sold to the SR in 1947. It was withdrawn in 1964 and scrapped at Eastleigh.

## Trivia

Audie's name refers to Audie Murphy, the most decorated American soldier of World War Two (WWII).

* The reason the USA class was chosen was because Audie Murphy was short in height, and the USA class was the smallest American steam locomotive in the UK at the time.

Audie's theme is the 'US Field Artillery March', a classic American military march written when the US entered WWI in 1917.

Audie's model is a Bachmann/Model Rail OO gauge USA class, but renumbered. This was because a model of 30068 isn't available, so a model of No. 30067 was purchased and renumbered. He also has a USATC liveried model which has also been renumbered to match the real locomotive.

Audie's late arrival is a reference to the Americans entering WWI and WWII. The USA entered both World Wars late (WWI: 1917, WWII: 1941).

Audie is the first locomotive to blackmail another character, which his target was Stovold.

Thanks to his American origins, Audie has an American (Northern) accent.

Audie is the least focused locomotive during story writing, possibly because of Shane Sowter not liking American locomotive.

Audie is the second ex-Southern locomotive owned by the MSR introduced into the series but the third in terms of purchase.

Audie's name means 'noble strength' and comes from Old English.