Rachelle

**Rachelle** (she prefers Rachel for short) is an express engine who runs passenger services between Sodor and the Trethicke Union.

## Rachelle (a.k.a. Rachel)

### Home

North Eastern Railway (1922)London & North Eastern Railway (1923, 1925-1937)

Rail Transport LLC (1944-current)

North Western Railway (1923-1925, 2014-current)

## Biographical information

### Affliliation

EdwardHenry

Gordon

James

Percy

Remembrance

Alfred

Roderick

Adam

### Relatives

Rose ScarletGordon

Toby

Alfred

Roderick

Spencer

Flying Scotsman

Tornado

Enterprise

Solario

## Biography

Rachelle was among the very few of her class to be drawn and built. She was brought to the Island of Sodor to pull fast passenger trains, sometimes even the Wild Nor’ Wester’. But her tenure on the railway wasn’t all glamour and praise; she was often berated by Alfred and Roderick for being female, especially one who pulled important trains. In fact, the two engines were so jealous of her that they hatched a plan to sabotage her next run. Unfortunately, it worked all too well. Rachel was hijacked by a man posing as her fireman’s apprentice, and became a runaway in the process; this ended in a nasty collision with Roderick’s “runaway” goods. Roderick and Alfred were consequently sold back to the North Eastern region in disgrace. Rachel unfortunately had to join them, as Sir Topham Hatt I hadn’t enough money to repair her at the time.

Rachel was eventually repaired, and spent the next decade working on the North Eastern. She was temporarily brought back to Sodor though in the early 1930’s to pull the Big Express while Gordon, James and Henry were on strike and shut up in their sheds; she reconnected with Edward, and had even befriended Percy. However, she would run into trouble once again. Her class was withdrawn starting in 1936, but she lasted one more year before being withdrawn herself. Having heard of her sister’s rescue from scrap, Rachel was determined to escape the cutter’s torch herself. She and her crew made a plan to run away from the North Eastern region and return to Sodor where she could claim sanctuary.

They started off for Sodor the night before she was to be condemned for scrap. All went well, until her crew thought it best to put her on a hidden-away siding for the night. Her frame and wheels were too large for the siding’s rails to handle, and they buckled under her weight. Rachel’s driver and fireman tried to think of a way to get help re-railing her without getting caught, but when they left, they never returned. Hence, she was left alone in the forest for many years. She was eventually found though, and feared this would be the end for her. Luckily, a little known railway known as Rail Transport discovered her, and were keen to purchase her for Express runs. Once they’d taken her to the Trethicke Union, Rachel underwent a full restoration and began pulling Express trains after her overhaul was complete; she even reunited with her sister, Rose Scarlet, who was also a member of Rail Transport’s fleet.

Rachel was glad to secure a home in the Trethicke Union, but she never stopped dreaming of returning to Sodor. She always boasted that she would someday return there, but her friends never believed that would ever happen, not even her sister. But one day, just as she was beginning to lose hope, she was discovered by Kris Topham Hatt while double-heading a railtour with Roderick.

Everyone gave Rachel a warm welcome when she returned to Sodor, except James; he believed that he should be the Island’s only big red engine, and saw her as a threat to his position. Rachel didn’t take kindly to his ego, and made a plan to have him double-head the Express with her so she could teach him humility. Her plan was to pretend to break down at the foot of Gordon’s Hill, leave him to pull her *and* the train by himself, and struggle up the gradient until he stuck there. The plan worked, true, but James ended up bursting his safety valve when he tried to move both the Express by himself, forgetting about his poor climbing skills. When Miss Hatt found out that she caused James’ accident, she punished the big red engine by banning her from passenger duties until he’d been mended.

## Personality

Rachel is a grand and adventurous engine with a desire to keep up her appearance, except she doesn’t belittle older or smaller engines. She can, however, be impatient at times, even going as far as getting annoyed when others slip up around her, and is also somewhat naive. Rachel has great ambitions, but she often struggles to achieve her goals in life due to her overconfidence and belittlement from some of her male colleagues. Sometimes, she even wonders about her own self-worth and worries about being retired.

## Basis

Rachel is based on an LNER Raven 4-6-2 A2 class, with an auxiliary tender for travelling greater distances. Her sister Rose Scarlet is also of that class.

## Livery

Rachel is painted NWR Red with royal blue stripes, and the number 30 painted on her main tender, and the NWR initials on her auxiliary tender.

## Voice Actor

* Michelle Hurtado
* TheCluelessWolf *(originally)*
* MaddGirlz Artz *(original replacement)*

## Appearances

* Season 1 - Stephenson and the Valleyfields Flyer *(cameo)*, Rachelle the High Speed Engine, A Tale of Two Red Engines, Hobos, The Volunteer *(mentioned)*

## Trivia

* Rachel was inspired by the unnamed red engine seen in the first illustration of *The Three Railway Engines.*