Johnson

**Johnson the Midland Goods Engine** is one of the deuteragonists of the Seventyverse, and the nineteenth engine on the North Western Railway. However, he, Lauren and Julie were the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth engines purchased for the North Western Railway in the series.

## Backstory

Johnson, along with Nicole, Katie, Julie and Lauren, was brought to the North Western Railway during a motive power crisis, although their stay on the railway was far longer than any of them anticipated.

Johnson, along with Julie and Lauren, were later purchased by Sir Bertram Topham Hatt, while Nicole and Katie went to the Rolling Hills Railway.

## Kirk Ronan Crew

### Julie

In *North Western Origins*, Johnson was very off-putted by Julie's hyperactive tendencies. Thankfully, as Julie has matured due to her time at the coal mines, their relationship has improved. That doesn't stop Julie from teasing Johnson when his temper is rallied up though. However, Johnson understands Julie is a sensitive soul and will get angry at those who take advantage of that.

### Lauren

Lauren and Johnson probably have the most stable relationship that Johnson has with the Midi quintet. Of course, Lauren's rebellious does get Johnson annoyed from time to time, and she also teases him with nicknames of 'John' and 'Johnny'.

### Audrey, Hilary and Mark

Johnson called the old coaches 'glorified livestock wagons' and they in return called him an 'oversized pillar-box'. Suffice to say, the four of them did not get along, and Johnson ended up bumping them off the track.

## Other relationships

### James

Johnson and James are so similar and different at the same time. Johnson couldn't understand James' hate for trucks, while James couldn't understand why Johnson preferred goods to passengers. Things got worse when James chose to be painted red after his crash. The two argued so much it resulted in blue paint splattering all over them. However, upon hearing James chose red paint to honour Glynn's legacy, Johnson found a new burst of respect for the lighter red engine.

### Katie

Johnson easily gets annoyed due to Katie's scatter-brained tendencies. However, he does know she takes her work seriously and appreciates that. The duo still remain in touch after Katie's transfer to the Rolling Hills.

### Nicole

Nicole and Johnson were like the 'parental' figures of the Midi quintet and were quite close. When Nicole decided to transfer to the Rolling Hills Railway, Johnson took that very hard. It was easy to assume Johnson had lost his friend too quickly, but some suspect that he may have felt something deeper with the Midi Spinner.

## Personality

Johnson is a bit of a grumpy boy, with an odd preference for trucks over passengers. With four girls and him being the only male in his group of Midis, it can be hard to blame him for feeling a bit left out.

## Concept plans and divergences

* Johnson is the red engine who tried to push Henry out of his tunnel in *The Sad Story of Henry*. However, his basis is the Midland Railway Johnson 0-6-0, hence his namesake.
* The rivalry between Johnson and James is based on when Awdry tried to make James the engine who tried to push Henry out of the tunnel, but realised there was some continuity errors involved.
* In an alternate universe where James never arrived on Sodor, Johnson actually replaced Percy as the Number 6 for the North Western Railway, while Percy got the Number 5.
* Johnson's old number was MR 3815/LMS 23815/BR 58114. The '15' is a nod to when the locomotive crisis would have taken place, 1915.

## Technical Details

### Basis

Johnson's basis is the Midland Railway Johnson 0-6-0 tender engine, hence his name. 935 were built between 1875-1908 (Johnson was built in 1908), but despite serving as late as 1964, none were preserved (Johnson's real life counterpart was withdrawn on the 6th of September, 1958 and scrapped May 1959). However, one Midland 3835 (No. 3924) and three LMS 4Fs (Nos. 4027, 4123 and 4422) have survived into preservation, being direct descendants to the Johnson goods engines.

### Livery

Johnson is painted in the standard Midland Railway red livery with his NWR number (19) on his sides.

## Trivia

* The preferred voice actor for Johnson is Lewis Macleod, the voice behind Mr. Stubborn in *The Mr. Men Show*. Keith Wickham, Teresa Gallagher, Steven Kynman, Tim Whitnall and Rob Rackstraw also did voicework for the show.