Albert

"*Together with my colleagues, Albert and Winston, we ran a fast efficient operation.* "
— Edward, Non-Faceless Vehicles

## Character Information

### Works at:

Furness Railway (1891-1907) London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (1907-1922) Southern Railway (1923-1947) Southern Region of British Railways (1948-)

### Latest appearance:

Industry (flashback)

**Albert** is a red tank engine who worked on the Furness Railway with Edward and Winston.

## Biography

Albert worked on the Furness Railway as a shunter, mainly working around Dalton as the station pilot, as well as running a small branch line that was west of the yard that had a coal mine which provided cheap coal for the FR.

In 1907, Albert, along with Edward and Winston, were excited to learn that their railway would be merging with the Midland and Sodor and Mainland Railways, but hopes were dashed when a workman got injured, which resulted in a strike and the yard turning into a mess. The three engines argued over who was to blame and while Albert was shunting some trucks, a crate fell onto the tracks and derailed them. The derailed trucks also hit the legs of a crane, damaging them and the crane fell onto a fuel tank, causing it to explode. The Furness Railway's finances were crippled by this. Albert blamed himself for the closure, though Edward and Winston blamed themselves for pushing their friend as hard as they did. By October, the railway had to close. Fortunately, their manager had already arranged homes for them. Albert was sent to work on the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway, which would be merged into the Southern Railway in 1923.

During WWII, Albert volunteered as a shunter for Lowfell when one was needed. He told Molly and Flying Scotsman about how he had to help Charles with a long line of guns that was too much for the poor engine. Then, the three of them were taken by surprise by a Nazi blitz attack. Albert was going to follow the other two engines into a tunnel but detoured when the shed was set ablaze right next to a line of oil tankers and an office building with 40 people in it. Despite knowing it was reckless, Albert coupled up to the oil tankers, and his driver, Christopher Robin, uncoupled them from the rest of their train, encouraging Albert to go without him. While Albert made it away unscathed, falling debris from the roof saw Chris lose the use of legs. Albert and Chris basically became national heroes who inspired many across the country. This was the first time in a long time Edward had heard anything about Albert, making him very proud that Albert was still making a difference. To Toby and Skarloey, Edward described Albert as being similar to Thomas, meaning he either took praise in stride or boasted about it endlessly.

Albert was seemingly among the engines that The Fat Controller consulted when drafting his own proposals for Nationalisation.

## Livery

Albert is painted in the Furness Railway's Indian Red livery with black lining and the initials "FR" written in yellow and countershaded with blue on his side tanks.

## Basis

Albert was first built as an E1 class, an 'off the peg' Sharp, Stewart and Company 2-4-0 design. In 1891 seven of these engines were rebuilt as tank engines under the supervision of Locomotive Superintendent Richard Mason and reclassified J1. To suit branch line service the frames were extended to carry a coal bunker, supported by a pair of trailing radial wheels while their tenders were replaced with side tanks, that combined had a capacity of one thousand gallons. The class members were withdrawn between 1918-1924. None have been preserved.

## Appearances

### The Stories of Sodor

#### Stories of War

* Evacuation *(cameo)*
* Blitz

#### Season 3

* Management *(cameo)*
* Controller
* Industry

#### Sodor Shorts

* Siege (*does not speak)*
* Remake *(cameo)*