WARNING: HAZEL HYPERFIXATION LORE DUMP AHEAD
In 1938 the C&HR was approached with an unusual and unexpected offer. An previously little known locomotive works had built a new mainline express engine, and needed somewhere to test it. If the C&HR agreed to host the tests, they would have the right to buy the prototype for cost, and any further ones for a steep discount. This offfer came at an opportune moment for the C&HR. While the stated specifications for the locomotive were in excess of their normal needs, the lines sole Class 10 pacfic was due for overhaul, leaving the railway down a Heavy Express Engine.
The C&HR had their lawyers look over the contract, and finding nothing amiss, signed it. The locomotive would be tested on Chester and Holyhead metals while the class 10 underwent her overhual. At the end of the Class 10′s overhaul the C&HR would report their findings and have the opertunity to buy the Locomotive if they wished.
The Engine, named 'The Great Dragon' arrived on the C&H in early 1939. She was massive, towering over even the Class 10, barely fitting within the C&HR’s loading gauge. She resembled the GWR’s Palace class rebuilds of the LNER A1(Swindon Gordon), but with a larger boiler and cylinders. The mix of Doncastor and Swindon practices made for a unique, but striking engine. She was looked over by May Traction Works, with entusiastic permision from her builders, who were able to spot and correct minor flaws in the design. Entering testing in April 1939, she quickly proved a powerful and capable engine, if also a hungry one. For three months she was tested on the mainline, racing up and down with Expresses, mail trains, heavy freights, and anything else the C&HR could throw at her. Futher minor teething issues were identified and fixed, but the engine proved herself thoroughly as she effortlessly crushed any challenge set before her. For her power she proved efficent, but only the heaviest trains utalized her power in any meaningful way. Near the end of July, the Class 10 re-entered service from her overhaul, signaling the end of the tests for the Great Dragon. The C&HR reported favorably on the design, but lacked the workload to take advantage of such a beast. They began preparing the engine for the trip home...only to find the works had quietly filed for bankruptcy the month before. The debt collectors tried to claim the engine upon learning of its existence, only for the works former legal team to claim the C&HR now owned the engine The contract was re-examined, and a clause was found that stated in the event of bankruptcy, any works property on the C&HR would revert to their ownership. The C&HR had passed over the clause during their evaluation of the contract, as it possessed no negative effects for the railway. Despite the contract, the Debt collectors fought the works claim of C&HR ownership. The engine was 'grounded' at May Traction Works as the legal battle wore on, and the C&HR scrambled to find what to do with their potential new engine. when it was revealed the debtor collectorss planned to have the engine scrapped, the C&HR decided they would fight for their unexpected engine. The fate of 'The Great Dragon' would be suddenly decided in September, after having sat Forlorn in MTW for over a month. War was declared once again between Britain and Germany, and the C&HR needed every engine on deck. An hour had not passed from the declaration of war when May Traction Works received orders from the Chester and Holyhead, The Dragon was to be steamed at once, and anyone who tried to stop it would be charged with interfering with the railway's war effort. Minutes later a message was received from the Debt Collectors, for the good of the war effort, they were 'donating' the engine to the Chester and Holyhead. She stormed from the MTW sheds with Sparks from slipping wheels as she charged for the mainline, and home. Upon arrival on the C&HR, she was given the number 16 hastily painted on her cab side, and then sent charging forth to handle the wartime freight. Throughout the war 16 would make a name for herself as the C&HR's most powerful locomotive, rocketing ammunition, metal, and coal across the lines. She would be run on LNER, LMS and GWR metals during the war, who all reported favorably on her performance. Following the war she would return to May Traction Works for overhaul. She would receive dual exhausts, and would be primarily assigned to fish trains, and other heavy frieghts. While an unexpected and unplanned additon to the Fleet, she has more than earned her place in the years since her arrival.
