In Adeline the Phantom Engine, I included this flashback shot to the events of the story Ghost Train. Some viewers noticed the maroon engine in the background, which I included to set up a future storyline.
On reflection, I have realised that this storyline will not work, and so have decided to drop it. However, I’ll explain it here, so this shot and this mysterious engine doesn’t stay as a loose end.
Now, you’re probably thinking this engine looks a lot like Henry, mk 1. That’s because he is Henry mk 1, although not in the form we know him. There’s been speculation in the fandom that there are actually two Henries, one who went to Crewe following the events of The Flying Kipper, and the Black Five who returned. Based on this, I came up with my own take on the theory. Namely, that there were three Henries.
Mk 1 is the one we know from Sodor the Early Years, with a 4-6-0 wheel arrangement and a too-small firebox. As his design was modified from a GNR C1, the third set of driving wheels poking up into the firebox meant the space for the fire was too small for the amount of water in his boiler. Hence, the illness we see in his early days.
Mk 2 is the one who came back from Crewe, rebuilt into a Black 5. This is the one who’s running on the North-West Railway to the present day. In previous posts, I’ve said that it’s my head-canon that an engine’s soul is concentrated in their smokebox, but permeates all of them. As such, if the smokebox is transplanted or 75% (or more) of the engine is reused, then they’ll awake as the same engine (https://www.deviantart.com/wildnorwester/journal/Sentience-and-the-Thomas-Characters-886530665). So what if both happened?
This was my starting point. The idea was that after Henry’s smokebox had been transplanted and reworked to fit on a Black Five, the rest of his mark 1 shape would have been left at Crewe, shoved aside on a siding somewhere and forgotten. This rebuild happened in 1935. Four years later, in 1939, the Second World War breaks out.
All of the UK’s railways are mobilised for the war effort. Industries spring up, and every locomotive is needed. At Crewe works, the workmen remember this strange ex-GNR build locomotive they have sitting on a siding. All it needs is a new smokebox and it would be ready to go into service. Further examination shows that the firebox needs to be expanded. So he’s rebuilt with a bigger firebox, and a 4-6-2 wheel arrangement. A new smokebox (riveted, not welded), is added.
When steamed up, this engine wakes up as Henry. He’s confused about why there’s a five-year gap, and that he’s not going back to Sodor. Given an LMS number, he’s put into service on wartime traffic. He does well, and his work helps with the war effort. We’ll call this Henry Mk 1.5, for now.
Eventually, Henry 1.5’s duties do take him to Sodor, where he comes face-to-face with himself, seemingly. Both engines get into an argument over who is the real Henry. James soon gets fed up with their bickering, and points out that neither of them are. Henry 1.5 has a 5-year gap in his life, and isn’t the original Henry design – his riveted smokebox and trailing wheels are proof of that. Henry 2 isn’t either. He may have returned from Crewe to the NWR, but he’s a completely different design.
This still doesn’t settle the question, though. Both Henries bicker about it. One day, they’re assigned to double-head a troop train. This isn’t an accident. The Fat Controller is also getting tired of it, and is hoping that them working together will resolve it.
While they’re out on the main line, there’s an air raid. With the Luftwaffe overhead, both Henries decide to stop in the tunnel that bears their name, to use it as an air raid shelter. This shows them how alike they both are, and they settle their argument.
Remembering what James said, Henry 1.5 concedes that Henry 2 should stay on Sodor, as he continued his life there. They then agree that both being named Henry is too confusing. As such, Henry 1.5 takes the name Alan, after their first driver. Alan soon leaves Sodor, but comes back to visit from time to time. During dieselisation, he makes it into preservation, where he remains to this day. His owners have a standing arrangement with the Fat Controller, whereby the North-West Railway can call on his services when needed.
(And yes, I will admit this was partially inspired by the Star Trek:TNG episode Second Chances.)
Now, that is what I had planned. However, I realised that it wouldn’t work, at least, not in a series like Sodor the Modern Years. There were several reasons for this:
1) It pokes at the ‘man behind the curtain’, so to speak. The basic concept for the Railway Series was that it was the UK Railways, but the trains had faces. That’s something we accept as part of the stories. But when you start asking how it works, then that suspension of disbelief gets called into question. As such, I realised it was a topic best left untouched.
2) Plot holes would be raised. Namely, if Alan had been around since WW2, why hadn’t we seen him previously? Especially when the NWR needed another engine. Every STEY and STMY episode with a visiting engine could have had this plot hole applied to it.
3) It would preclude any more original characters on the mainline. Rather than introducing someone like, say, Glenn the Quiet Engine (BR Class 20), it would just raise the question of “why didn’t they just buy Alan?”
So, there you go. That’s the plotline I had planned, but decided against afterwards.
Alan's model has now been released on the 'What If?' Engines section of this website.
