Alex

Alex is a old engine

Bio
Alex was built in the second batch of 2000 Tanks, and originally numbered 2040. Known to be rough riding, when the NWR needed locos during WWI, the Midland Railway quickly offered Alex’s services – much to the objections of Alex at the time! After the war was over the NWR did offer Alex back to his home railway, to which the MR declined – hence, he was taken into the stocklist (after a reimbursement to the MR). He continued to display rough riding qualities, and was quickly transferred to a branch line (Kirk Ronan).

However, after Stanier found that adding side pads and “through spring” controlling arrangements significantly improved the running of his classmate, the Fat Director quickly went about organising an identical alteration to Alex. Alex’s classmates were scrapped by the LMS shortly after his bogie conversion, and when he was exposed to this fact by the newly-arrived Douglas several decades later he developed a paranoid tendency to believe that they would “come to finish the job” and dispose of him to remove all of the “Flatirons” from existence.

It was also during this era that a feud erupted between Alex and Gwen, after Alex framed Gwen for an accidental still of paraffin at the docks, with tensions lasting for over half-a-century before Alex admitted fault. Although the two engines aren’t close, they are no longer at each others’ throats as constantly. After Simon was transferred to the Kirk Ronan Branch in the 1970's, Alex was originally hostile towards him; due to their shared Midland origins he was convinced that Simon had been sent to finally dispose of him. However, Simon eventually won the large tank engine over, and the two grew to like each other.

More recently, Alex saw the uprising and, due to an accident he himself caused, subsequent disbanding of a local environmentalist group. An incident which saw a pair of railway enthusiasts steal his nameplate saw Alex have a severe fit of paranoia, believing that a plot to see him scrapped had been enacted. Alex still suffers from Panic Attacks and bouts of paranoia, but he is a dedicated worker and will do anything to help a friend (provided he doesn’t think that the friend is out to scrap him at the time!).

Personality
Alex was loaned from Midland Railway during World War I to assist the NWR’s critically low locomotive stocklist, and assisted with passenger workings while the stronger engines carried out the trains directly involve in the war effort. He has always been a difficult engine to run and run with - made paranoid for his survival and that everyone is out to get him since the 60's, he lives a quiet life on the Kirk Ronan branch, running his renowned passenger service alongside Simon's goods work and Gwen as the Kirk Ronan shunter (not that he cares much for the latter!). And though he's hard to get along with, you'd be doing a disservice to criticise his work ethic on the branch.

Trivia

 * Alex has name Alexander.