Gordon/RWS

**Gordon** is a large tender engine owned by the North Western Railway. He works on the main line and originally pulled the *Wild 'nor Wester*, the railway's express passenger service.

## Biography

Gordon was built at Doncaster Works in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England sometime around 1922 as an experiment for Sir Nigel Gresley's Pacific Class. Inevitably there were faults that needed correction, so Gordon was kept "hush hush" and, apart from test runs, was never put into regular traffic or given a GNR number. He was used experimentally until all defects had been cured and the first batch of Pacifics had appeared in 1922/23, by which point he was no longer needed. In 1923, Gordon was sold to the North Western Railway, along with a spare boiler and firebox.

Gordon was arrogant and enjoyed boasting about his importance. Like the other big engines, Gordon looked down on the little engines, and enjoyed teasing Edward most of all. One day, Gordon was assigned to a goods train, only to get stuck on the hill between Wellsworth and Maron. Edward helped Gordon over the hill, but was never thanked by him. Later on, Gordon's safety valve burst while he was pulling the express, which had to be taken by Edward and Henry.

After Thomas left the yard to work on the Ffarquhar branch line, Gordon, along with James and Henry, began complaining, as he now had to fetch his own trains. Following several mishaps, one of which involved Gordon having to pull his train backwards, Gordon proposed that they all go on strike, only pulling their trains if another engine fetched them. Although Edward tried to help, Gordon and the other engines began behaving rudely around him. After purchasing Percy, the Fat Controller shut Gordon, Henry and James up in the shed.

In 1939, Gordon was sent to Crewe Works to undergo an extensive overhaul. His conjugated valve gear had been causing immense trouble, so he was rebuilt with a new 2 cylinder chassis of the Fat Controller's own design. Other changes that were added include a smoother running plate and Stanier underframes and cylinders, effectively making him a Gresley/Stanier hybrid.

In 2011, Gordon was retired from express services after Pip and Emma were bought by the North Western Railway and was reassigned to local passenger trains.

## Technical Details

### Basis

Gordon is based on a fictitious experimental build of the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) Gresley Class A1 "Pacific". Being an experimental locomotive, Gordon never saw regular service and was only used for tests. Once when the first batch of Pacifics appeared in 1922, Gordon would have most likely been reclassified "A1/1", the "/1" indicating that he is slightly different from the rest of the class.

Gordon's present form is of particular interest. Everything above the running plate is of Gresley design, but everything below it is of Stanier's. This is because of an extensive overhaul he received at Crewe Works in 1939, owing to various problems in his previous state. Other modifications include a smoother running plate, Stanier underframes, cylinders and valve gear and a Fowler tender.

### Livery

Gordon is painted in NWR sky blue with red lining. His number is painted on the sides of his tender in yellow and red, and his cab windows are outlined in yellow. Before coming to Sodor, Gordon was painted in GNR apple green.

## Trivia

* Gordon was named after a rude boy who lived on the Awdry family's street when Christopher was a child.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 RWS: *The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways*
2. ↑ RWS: *The Three Railway Engines*