Argus

**Argus** is a ROD 2-8-0 that was sold to the GWR as a 3000 class following WWI that is owned by the Moorland Steam Railway. He was formerly part of the British Strategic Steam Reserve but was gifted to the MSR by the government following the loss of a 2251.

## Bio

Argus was built after WWI at the North British Locomotive Company (NBL) in Glasgow, Scotland, for the Railway Operating Division (ROD) and played a small role clearing up France from WWI. Less than a year later, he was sold to the Great Western Railway (GWR) and renumbered from '2020' to '3013' and reclassified as a 3000 class.

In 1949, Argus was withdrawn by British Railways (BR) but the British Government weren't finished with him so kept him as part of the British Strategic Steam Reserve in case a nuclear war breaks out. In 1967, he and the rest of the Strategic Steam Reserve locomotives took up base at Gladsville dockyard and assisted in saving resident locomotive Andy, the oldest brother of one of his fellow reserve engines, from being scrapped by some BR diesel locomotives. Following the incident and the loss of their 2251 class (Active), the government congratulated the fleet and management of the MSR and were surprised to see that his documents were left behind, which turned out that Argus was gifted as a reward and taken out of reserve duties. The government thought it was "a better option than selling him for scrap".

Argus was returned to service in the 1980s when the railway's main heavy freight locomotives, Capulet and Raven, were withdrawn due to a failed steam pipe and an expired boiler ticket respectively and proved to be a hard worker for a large engine his age. In 1989, he was cosmetically modified back to his "as built" condition in his BR Black livery with a fictional number of '63921' painted on his cab. In 1994, Argus was placed into storage following a burst cylinder on the Rozelle extension with a goods train outside Holden Bank Tunnel and was put on static display when the Northampsmith Railway Museum was opened, still wearing his fictional BR number.

In 2015, Argus was restored to operational condition in his original ROD black with his original number on his tender and cab, just in time for the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII in 1945 and the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain in 1940. In 2018, at age 99, Argus was part of a parade of military locomotives, former and current, arranged by his original owners the British government to celebrate the railway's involvement during the First World War onwards, explaining his absence from the railway for a whole year. In 2019, Argus celebrated 100 years since his completion in Scotland and was given the honour to haul a heavy goods train with a Class 66 diesel to his birthplace of Glasgow. As a result, Argus became the first steam locomotive since the 1968 to haul an official goods train on the mainline, albeit with diesel assistance.

## Livery

When introduced and in his fictional O4 guise, Argus was painted in BR Unlined Black with Early Emblems.

When restored in 2015, Argus was painted in ROD black with the letters 'ROD' and his number '2020' painted in large white writing on his tender. He also has his number plated on the cabsides like a Great Western engine.

## Basis or real locomotive

Argus is based off the real locomotive. These were built as copies of the Great Central Railway (GCR) Robinson 8K 2-8-0 from 1911 and 521 were built from 1917 to 1918. After WWI, they were sold off to railways across the UK and overseas with them being recalled into the War Department during WWII. The last British ROD was withdrawn in 1966, the Middle East in 1961 and the final Australian ROD (J & A Brown No. 23, ex-ROD No. 2004) in 1973. Three have been preserved in Australia with none preserved in either the UK or the Middle East.

GWR No. 3013 was built in 1919 by the NBL and was sold to the GWR in the 1920s. It was withdrawn from service and scrapped in 1949.

## Trivia

Argus's ROD number is both a reference and a joke. It refers to when 'The Midlander' began production and to the 2019-2020 COVID-19 Pandemic, which slowed down production that year.

* The number was used on an ROD 2-8-0 seen in a Dark DJ Productions live stream on YouTube.

Argus's face masks appear to be based on Thomas's Season 3 face masks.

Argus is the first character to get a physical change of appearance on screen. The second being Gilbert from the Dentin Moor Narrow Gauge Railway.

* The change was for the Bachmann O4 to be used from The Series 1980s to The Series 1990s and later the ROD 2-8-0 for The Series 2010s.

Argus is named after the first purpose-built aircraft carrier built by the Royal Navy (really converted from an Italian liner under construction), HMS Argus (I49) from 1918.

* This is a theme with the Strategic Steam Reserve characters since they're all named after warships of the Royal Navy from the First World War.

Argus uses three Bachmann Branchline models, an ex-GWR 3000 class, a GCR 8K (LNER O4) and a ROD 2-8-0.

Argus is the only member of the MSR's fleet that has hauled a heavy goods train on the mainline since his introduction and in the 21st Century.

Argus has an Australian accent, despite working the UK his entire life. This's a reference to the three preserved ROD 2-8-0s in NSW, Australia.

Argus's short-lived cylinder pains are a reference to when Shane Sowter had a sore knee for a whole week in 2019.