One-off paranormal characters

As 'The Midlander, the Series' progresses through the decades, **several paranormal characters, both locomotive and human**, appear and vanish after their first and only appearances. Many have reasons of making their return.

## No. 82018

### Designer

Robert Arthur Riddles

**No. 82018** was a BR Standard 3 tank locomotive that was scrapped in 1967. He/she reappears on the tenth anniversary of his/her class' demise in 1977, in the same "as withdrawn" state when scrapped.

### Bio

The history behind this locomotive is unclear but what is known is that he or she was built at Swindon in 1952, withdrawn from Nine Elms shed in 1966 and scrapped at Newport the same year.

### Personality

Since this character never appeared alive in The Series 1960s or speaks after his/her own death, this character's personality is unknown.

### Livery

As the apparition shows, No. 82018 is painted in British Railways (BR) Lined Black with Late Crests.

### Basis or real locomotive

No. 82018 is based off the real locomotive. It was one of 45 BR Standard 3 class 2-6-2T locomotives built by Swindon between 1952 and 1955. The design was built using a modified boiler of the GWR "Large Prairie" tanks(a series of 2-6-2Ts built to an unchanged design by the GWR since 1903) that the works is partly famous for (other than the 4-6-0s and pannier tanks). The class saw large amounts of use in the Western and Southern Regions of BR, but the class was replaced by multiple units on their services in all regions. Withdrawals began in 1964 and the final one withdrawn on July 1967, which that was No. 82019. It was left at the depot until is closure in 1968 and when offered for preservation but was scrapped at Cashmores that same year. However, one of the cancelled locomotives (No. 82045) is being built by the Severn Valley Railway is under construction as is expected to be completed by 2021 or 2022.

No. 82018 (the engine before No. 82019) was built in 1952 and scrapped after withdrawal in 1966.

### Trivia

No. 82018 uses the same ghost effect Shane Sowter as always used, putting two films on top of each other.

## Physical description

### Gender

Female

**The headless passenger**, known by many as the **"headless woman in Victorian clothes"**, is ghostly figure of a headless woman that appeared in the District Railway four-wheel coaches after restoration in the late-1970s. It relates to mysterious death of a young woman which was killed by a train hauling all three of the coaches.

### Bio

The bio of this woman is unknown, but it's known that in the 1870s, a young woman was run over by a District Railway suburban train outside London. No identify was ever found.

The first case of the headless woman was in May of 1978, when passengers reported seeing a the body of a woman in Victorian clothing, but with the head missing, leaving one of the railway's three restored District Railway coaches. Moorland Steam Railway Staff inspected the coaches for any smells of a rotting body or any signs that it was a joke by teens, but nothing was found. The second case was only ten days after the coaches returned to service, which the sighting of a headless woman in mid-Victorian dress was seen at Northrop station boarding a coach, which was noticed by the station master. Two months later, a reported sighting of a head of a woman was seen floating in the brake coach near the guard's compartment. The sightings started dying down in November that year when the figure was seen leaving one of the coaches at Gladsville station on one of the late trains. The last sighting was in December 31th, when the figure was seen with the head just one minute before the minute the MSR welcomed 1979. No sightings have been reported since.

### Basis

The headless female passenger is based on the classic tales of headless spirits and ghosts that haunt certain locations. Not many cases have headless ghosts as female, but they do exist. The passenger's figure appears to be inspired by one of the headless females from Australia, mostly that of Lucretia Dunkley (nee Davies).

She was convicted and hanged with Martin Beech following the murder of her husband, Henry Dunkley in 1842 at Berrima Prison (aka "Berrima Gaol" in most documents) and had her head sawn off to check for any defects that caused to commit murder, since scientists believed defects in the brain caused people to commit crimes, and found nothing wrong. Her skill is now held at the Australian Museum in Sydney while her headless ghost is seen wandering around Berrima looking for her head.

She could also be based upon urban legends about woman killed by trains who haunt sections of lines and stations like another Australian legend, this time based at Macquarie Fields Station southwest of Sydney towards Campbelltown.

### Trivia

The scenes of the headless passenger were said to be tricky to film, since they were live-action shots added into the filming featuring the coaches' models.

The change in temperature from by the headless woman is based on real life cases of ghosts making rooms cold.

## "Overland"

### Designer

United States Railroad Administration

**Overland** is the nickname given to a demonic phantom locomotive which takes the form of a USRA "Light Pacific" hauling a goods train. His intentions of existing appear to be unknown to both the five MSR locomotives visiting the US and those locomotives who work there.

### Bio

The history of this locomotive but the story, according to ATSF locomotives, was that there was a Light Pacific who was built just after WWI and bought by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (ATSF) around the same time. The locomotive was never known by name but because he normally hauled goods trains over the high reaches, he was nicknamed "Overland". In the early-1960s, Overland was damaged beyond repair when he was hauling a heavy goods train with a new GP30 diesel locomotive, which was lightly damaged, thanks to overspeeding down Cajon Pass. The diesel was repaired and returned to service but Overland was written off and scrapped, including the destroyed and damaged box cars.

Following the wreck, reports of a locomotive matching the engine nicknamed Overland with the destroyed rolling stock was seen on Cajon Pass puffing "blood red" steam after hours.

### Personality

Due to this engine being demonised, it appears that Overland is evil and try and have other locomotives suffer the same fate as him.

### Livery

Overland is painted in the standard ATSF steam livery with a graphite smokebox and his number on his tender and the words 'ATSF' in white on his cab.

### Basis or real locomotive

Overland is based on a real USRA Light Pacific. 81 (not counting copies) were built by Baldwin and ALCO from 1919 to 1920 with them being used on the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL), Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O) and Louisville & Nashville Railroad (L&N). Several copies of the design were built by ALCO in the 1920s for other railways across North America for fast passenger and freight service until replaced by diesel locomotives in the 1950s and 1960s. ACL No. 1504 is the only surviving original USRA Light Pacific and is on static display at Jacksonville, Florida.

### Trivia

Overland is named after a train set made by the manufacturer that made his model, Bachmann USA.

* Originally, he was going to be the Union Pacfic (UP) 4-8-4 supplied with that train set but was changed to a USRA Light Pacific because the 4-8-4 was poorly detailed.
* To help with the demonic effect, the model's headlights were changed from white to red.

Overland is the first and only ghost locomotive that has blood red steam effects. This refers to the fictional Clinchfield 311 4-8-2 being depicted with red steam being exhausted.

Despite the depiction, there has been no USRA Light Pacifics that worked for the ATSF wrecked at the Cajon Pass, or ever any steam locomotive derailing at Cajon Pass.

* Overland's wreck could have been based on the 1989 San Bernardino rail disaster when four locomotives and 69 hoppers were destroyed and six people were killed.

Overland becomes the first demonic locomotive that is already dead to be introduced into the series.

Overland has a hatred for diesel locomotives. This's a reference to Shane Sowter being a huge supporter for steam traction against modern motive power.

Overland was going to get cab shots filmed on Trainz: A New Era (T:ANE) but because of problems with lag, this was scrapped.

## Chopper tank

### Designer

Francis William Webb

The **Chopper tank** a phantom tank locomotive that was seen on the 70th anniversary of Blitz. This was a locomotive destroyed in 1940 when Northampsmith was bombed by the Luftwaffe in WWII. The design is an old design of locomotive that appears to be a pre-1900 class.

### Bio

Since this character has never been seen in the series, little is known about her apart from Hughes' knowledge from working with the engine in him on the line. According to the L&YR 28 class 0-6-0, she was a suburban tank that operated the line before being replaced following the Blitz attack on Northampsmith railway yards, which suffered the most amount in the attack. She was inside the second shed (back then, Northampsmith MPD was just two sheds built next to each other) and was hit directly. Her remains were scrapped at Crewe and was replaced by Fowler 2P 4-4-0, until it was replaced by Jinty in 1954.

Her ghost reappeared next to her former shedmate on the 70th anniversary of Northampsmith Blitz and was given an honour by the steam locomotives of the Moorland Steam Railway.

### Livery

As seen as a ghost, the unnamed Chopper is painted in LMS Unlined Black.

### Basis or real locomotive

The unnamed Chopper is based on a LNWR 4ft 6in tank locomotive. These were built by Crewe Works 1879 to 1898 and designed by Francis William Webb. In 1905, five of these 2-4-2Ts were rebuilt to the Whyte notation of the design they were based off, the 2234 class 2-4-0Ts (another F. W. Webb class), which these became known as "Chopper Tanks".

### Trivia

The unnamed Chopper has only one vocal and that is a loud, high-pitched scream.

Like Hughes, this locomotive is fitted with Joy valve gear.

## Megumin

### Aliases

"The teenage girl""The witch"

"The teenage witch"

"The Cursed One of Hackenbeck Tunnel"

## Physical description

### Eye color

Red

**Megumin** is a teenage woman from the medieval Sodor period that was burned on the stack for crimes of witchcraft outside what is now Hackenbeck Tunnel. Her ghost has been know to curse the place and scare both railway workers around the tunnel and locomotives operating the line to Ffarquhar.

### Bio

According to Sudrian historians, a young woman around the age of 14, which documents claim the woman's name was "Megumin", was burned alive by the people of medieval Maithwaite due to reports that she was practising witchcraft (illegal and punishable by death in medieval times) and admitted to practising witchcraft. As a result, she was sentenced to death to be burned outside of Maithwaite "on the foot of a hill". The exact date was left unrecorded and the site was soon dug by the North Western Railway Company (NWR) in 1918 as part of the former Tidmouth, Knapford and Elsbridge Light Railway's (TK&E) extension of the Elsbridge branch to Ffarquhar. The site in which she was burned at would become "Hackenbeck Tunnel".

During the tunnel's construction, reports of a phantom teenage girl around the age of 14 walking through walls and moving objects without touching them. NWR No. 9 "Guinevere" reported seeing the girl walk through her steel running board before feeling that she was in her cab. Further reports that there was a ghost haunting the Hackenbeck-Mathwaite tunnel site which caused delays to the opening of the extension. Further delays occurred when 45 people digging the tunnel were killed when it collapsed on them but further reports into the incident claim that "the witch" was seen with a huge grin on her face no soon after the tunnel collapsed. Dynamite has also been triggered by her since stick of dynamite have detonated and caused further delays during digging.

The tunnel was completed in 1920 and the line was finally opened in 1924 with the three remaining TK&E locomotives operating the line before the arrival of No. 1 'Thomas' in 1932. By the 1990s, it appeared her ghost hasn't moved on and continues to cause havoc to the NWR.

### Personality

It appears that Megumin is demonic since she caused delays and deaths (127 in total) during the construction of Hackenbeck Tunnel from 1918 to 1920 and nearly caused further deaths with railway staff and locomotives.

### Appearance

Megumin is the standard height for a 14-year-old girl with red eyes and black hair. She wears a red coat with a black and yellow cape, orange boots and a stereotypical black witch's hat. She also wears a back knee-high stocking on her left leg and a bandages of her right leg at the same height.

### Trivia

Megumin is based on the infamous anime character of the same name from the series 'Konosuba'. Like this universe, she too is a witch and is also at the age of 14. Unlike her parallel counterpart, she is never convicted of witchcraft due to KonoSuba being set in a fantasy world while 'The Midlander' is set in a more realistic world.

* The reason she was chosen was because of her eye colour being associated with demons and evil, since many paranormal demonic characters in the series are depicted with having red eyes.
* Megumin is the first pure anime character to appear in the series.

Megumin's death by burning is based on actual women convicted of witchcraft during medieval times, but is also based on the stereotype.

* Her death is even recreated in her only appearance, The Hackenbeck Witch.

Megumin speaks in both Middle English and Sudric (Sodor's other common language at the time).

Megumin's longer screentime appearances feature the themes 'Dopplerette' by Kevin MacLeod and 'Explosion', which serves mostly as Megumin's theme in Konosuba.

## Immingham

### Designer

John George Robinson

**Immingham** was a former railtour locomotive that was destroyed in an accident in the 1960s. He is known to given warnings to other locomotives to make sure they don't end up the same fate he did.

### Bio

Immingham was built by Beyer Peacock & Co. in 1906 for express services on the Great Central Railway (GCR). He became the only member of his class to officially carry a name and after surviving both World Wars, he was withdrawn in 1950 by British Railways and became the longest serving GCR 4-6-0. Instead of being scrapped, Immingham was bought privately from BR as an railtour locomotive to continue the Great Central legacy and was repainted into an early LNER livery.

Sadly, his excursion career and second chance of life was cut short in the 1960s when he derailed outside Leicester with an empty stock working of 12 coaches. He was crushed by his tender and the coaches when they slammed into him and killing him, his owner, and trainspotters by the lineside instantly. The wreckage of the coaches and his remains were taken away and scrapped in Yorkshire. Since the incident, reports of a LNER-liveried 4-6-0 with 12 coaches came in whenever a railtour passed by the site of his derailment.

Clyde was met by this engine at the preserved GCR (Leicester-Loughborough) during his visit in 2001 and was amazed by the engine's story, minus his death. When he woke up, Immingham had gone and was later shown a photograph of him during his days in the late-1950s hauling railtours.

### Livery

Immingham is painted in an early version of LNER Apple Green.

### Basis or real locomotive

Immingham is based on the real locomotive. It was one of 10 GCR class 8F 4-6-0s built by Beyer Peacock & Co. of Gorton, Manchester, and based on the two 8C 4-6-0s from December 1903-January 1904, only with smaller driving wheels. They were classified as B4 by the LNER and 5000 added to their GCR numbers. Between 1925 and 1928, all ten received superheated boilers but six were fitted with ten-inch and 21-inch cylinders, giving rise to the B4/1 and B4/2 subclasses. the class was retired by 1950 and all were scrapped.

No. 6097 'Immingham' was built in 1906 without a name and numbered '1089' in GCR days. It became infamous since it was the only member of the class to be named and was retired by BR in 1950 and scrapped while still carrying is final LNER number '1483'. It was the last GCR 4-6-0 in service when retired.

### Trivia

In reality, Immingham was scrapped in 1950 but is saved in this series. To solve this, Shane Sowter wrote his tragic backstory to show how preserved locomotives are also not safe from being scrapped despite being preserved and to keep with the fate of the real locomotive.

Immingham is the only member of his class to officially receive a name.

Immingham's photograph is an edited screenshot of a digital model of Immingham in LNER Green livery by created by Cam Scott of Darlington Works for Trainz: A New Era (T:ANE). The smoke was added with GIMP and the face was added on Microsoft Powerpoint with a face found online. The b&w effect is done with the 'Mercury' filter on Windows Photos.

* Shane Sowter was planning on using the Trainz model's cab views but because of problems with lag, this was scrapped, and because the model lacked a cab interior.
* The screenshot was on the route 'Kickstarter Country' on T:ANE, which is fictional but based off a location in the USA.

Immingham's model is modified from the tooling of a separate model which Shane Sowter did a school major project.

## Flying Dutchman

**Flying Dutchman** is name of a Dean Achilles Single who now is surrounded by an urban legend of the GWR, including a believed suicide.

### Bio

The locomotive that would become named 'Flying Dutchman' was built at Swindon in 1892 as a 2-2-2 until rebuilt into a 4-2-2 in 1894. Named after the winning racehorse of the 1849 Derby made him proud of his name but everyone else became suspicious of his name as it was shared with a famous ghost ship that infamous brought bad luck to anyone who saw it, making everyone fear that he was named after the ghost ship and brought bad luck to anyone who boarded his passenger trains. Things became so bad that he was last seen rolling off the dockyard at Devonport into the English Channel, never to be seen again. It's unclear why he did it but it's believed to be a case of suicide. After this, the name was rarely spoken.

### Livery

The Flying Dutchman appears to be painted in GWR 1900-1906 green livery.

### Trivia

The Flying Dutchman is named after a racehorse that won the 1849 Derby.

* He also shares his name with a famous ghost ship.

The Flying Dutchman could be the first and only character in the series that committed suicide.

## 2P No. 591

### Designer

Sir Henry Fowler KBE

**LMS 2P 4-4-0 No. 591** is a Fowler 2P built by the LMS. It and brother No. 639 were both written off in 1934 when they collided at Port Eglinton Junction near Cumberland Street station.

### Bio

No. 591 was built at Derby Works in 1928 as one of 138 LMS 2Ps based on the former Midland Railway (MR) 483 class from 1882. Much of his past is unknown but in 1934, he and his brother, No. 639 built in 1931 at Crewe Works, collided with each other at Port Eglinton Junction near Cumberland Street station in 1934. While both were still alive following the impact, both were written off and scrapped.

No. 591 appears to have stayed behind following his scrapping and was revived by one of Direct Rail Service's (DRS) diesel locomotives.

### Personality

LMS No. 591 appears to be a restless engine in death.

### Trivia

No. 591's model is a renumbered Hornby model.

## L&YR No. 661

### Designer

John Audley Frederick Aspinall

**L&YR No. 661** was a suburban tank locomotive that once worked for the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway. He was scrapped three weeks after he fell off a viaduct outside Penistone during WWI.

### Bio

Most of L&YR No. 661 is unknown but he was built at Horwich Works. On February 2nd 1916, No. 661 was running around to the other end of his train at Penistone and was resting on the viaduct before preparing to move when two of the arches gave way underneath him. He survived but because it was impossible back then to recover him in one piece, he was scrapped in situ for three weeks following the collapse, which his remains were loaded into wagons and taken to Horwich. Much like Grand Parade (I), a new No. 661 was built in his place and features some of the original's parts.

It appears that L&YR No. 661 didn't leave Penistone along with two other locomotives wrecked there because his ghost appears on the viaduct where he fell in 1916.

### Personality

L&YR No. 661 appears to be a restless engine in death.

### Livery

L&YR No. 661 is painted in L&YR Lined Black.

### Trivia

L&YR No. 661's model is a renumbered Bachmann model.

L&YR No. 661's fate is similar to SR No. 672 32 years later, which both fell into places where they couldn't be recovered and were scrapped on site.

## SR No. 672

### Designer

Dugald Drummond

**SR No. 672** is an old suburban tank engine that once worked for the Southern Railway. He was scrapped after falling down an elevator shaft in 1948 due to equipment failure.

### Bio

No. 672 was built in 1897 at Nine Elms works for the LSWR's outer London suburban services until pushed by electrification. Little is known about his life but it's known that he was shunting some wagons of coal on the Armstrong Lift for the Waterloo & City Line in April 1948. The some of the pawls didn't engage and caused the table to tip and caused him to be dragged into the elevator shaft with the wagons he was shunting. Since there was no way to recover him, No. 672 was scrapped in situ.

It appears SR No. 672 didn't leave Waterloo because his ghost appears before where the Armstrong Lift once was.

### Personality

SR No. 672 appears to be a restless engine in death.

### Livery

SR No. 672 is painted in Southern Railway Malachite Green.

### Basis or real locomotive

SR No. 672 is based off the real locomotive. It was one of 105 built by Eastleigh and Nine Elms by the LSWR with long and short framed versions from 1897 to 1911. They were designed to replace older Adams O2 class 0-4-4Ts on London suburban work until the network was electrified. Withdrawals of the class began early for two in 1937 and 1948 respectively as No. 126 was retired and No. 672 was scrapped following a accident with the Waterloo & City line lift. Official withdrawals took place from 1957 to 1964 and two have been preserved, including one that was preserved originally in the USA.

No. 672 was built in 1897 as one of the first M7s constructed at Nine Elms. It was involved in an incident with the Armstrong Lift in 1948 while transferring coal wagons onto the Waterloo & City Line and fell into the shaft with its four wagons. It couldn't be recovered and was scrapped on site.

### Trivia

SR No. 672's model is a renumbered Hornby model

Despite being in service after Nationalisation, No. 672 never got to carry his BR number.

SR No. 672's fate is similar to L&YR No. 661 32 years before, which both fell into places where they couldn't be recovered and were scrapped on site.