#lner j72

I've talked about this before, but it's been awhile, so the original: Why Thomas is called an E2 is slightly inaccurate, so lets talk about it:

Ok so she was the last member of her batch, finished after the rest, and was shipped out to a yard before she was even properly steamed. She woke up in a yard and was set to work for the next three weeks. She is a North Eastern Railway E1 (LNER J72), but during the wars engines often wandered further afield, so while she saw ner engines, she saw other railways' engines too.

The day the ROD crew arrived, she shunted their train together, then was left on the front of the train as the men operating her, having heard the engine to collect the train was running late, went in the yard master's office to share drinks. The ROD crew arrived, unaware their engine had been delayed. They found their train as described, with a small 0-6-0 side tank on the front asleep (she'd been ran off her wheels keeping up with war traffic.) They were to collect an E2 class 0-6-0 sidetank engine. Now they had never seen an lbscr E2. They woke her, believing her to be the engine. Cassandra, having heard the E1 designation maybe once, and well E2 sounded right.

Cassandra rolled off happily with her first ever train. About 30 minutes later LBSCR 105 arrived...just as a German Zepplin unleashed its payload upon the yard. The yard master and the yard crew emerged to find a damaged and shaken (but thankfully alive) 105 staring in shock at the devastation. All that was left of the yard was metal shards and rubble. NER No.2203 was written off as a victim of the bombing, the bomb having made a direct impact on the spot the engine had been left sitting by the yard crew. No parts were found, but that was hardly a shock considering what was thought to have happened. 105 was sent back to Brighton for repairs. A new Atlantic of Raven design was given the number in honor of the lost engine...and that was the end of it. The youngest E1 was listed as killed in the line of duty before having met any of her siblings. The rest of the class, already 40 strong, mourned their youngest sibling.

Meanwhile the ROD train, carrying vital components for the Vicarstown Bridge arrived safely in Barrow in Furness. An exhausted but triumphant tank engine at the head. Now no one on Sodor, or in Barrow for that matter, knew both that She was meant to be an LBSCR E2 and what said class looked like. There was quite simply no reason to question her arrival. A train was scheduled to arrive with a new 0-6-0 sidetank, and it had. What would soon become the NWR sent word to the ROD that the train and its engine had arrived safely, and that was that. The LBSCR was surprised to learn the NWR had received their engine, but assumed that another railway had stepped-in to provide said engine. Quite simply no one had all the facts, and in the middle of the war no one had the time or desire to investigate any oddities that weren't causing issues.

Cassandra/Thomas quickly settled into life on the NWR permanent way trains, running all across the island repairing, building, and upgrading lines (and saving engines from the admiralty.)

Years went by, and the war came to a close. All but abandoned by the admiralty, the NWR struggled to its feet. The issue of Cassandra/Thomas's ownership was quite honestly forgotten in the mess. No one was screaming for their engine, so no one thought to question exactly who actually owned the little blue engine with the railway's number one on their side.

Finally 1921 rolled around, and with it the reign of Sir Topham Derek Hatt as Fat Controller. One of his first goals was sorting out the railways fleet, so he started with No.1...and immediately hit a brick wall. When contacted, the LBSCR revealed 105 had never made it to Sodor. Cassandra/Thomas wasn't LBSCR, much less an E2. Asking the engine was no help, as they had believed the same as the rest of the NWR. Discreet inquiries revealed that no missing engine from the war matched her description. It was realized the ROD had simply marked the NWR having received an E2 and investigated no further. Eager to avoid the audit, the LBSCR offered to sell "their" engine to the NWR for a nominal sum. The NWR, already into their first locomotive crisis, had no hesitation in accepting. Now by this time Cassandra was nearing her first overhaul, and it was decided to take the chance to obscure her origins. That was so that if her original owners ever came looking, they would be none the wiser. A curved front running board, false splashers (toolboxes), a new cab, bunker, extended sidetanks, and other modifications all drastically changed the engine's appearance.

The No.1 that left the works in early 1923 looked very different to the engine that had arrived in 1915, even if they were largely mechanically identical.

Thomas being an an LBSCR E2 is one of STH 1's tricks. An E2 numbered 105 was scheduled to arrive in June 1915, but in a wartime mix-up, a NER E1 arrived instead. The E2 was supposed to be driven to a NER goods yard to pick up a train containing parts needed to finish the Vicarstown bridge. While there the LBSCR crew would hand over the train to a ROD crew that would take the locomotive and consist to Barrow in Furness. A small shunter, a new NER E1 numbered 2203, worked the yard and had spent the afternoon shunting the consist together, and was left dozing as its crew went to gossip with the yard master. 105 was running late, as the class tended to oscillate at speed, and so had missed her path. The Rod crew arrived to find their train sitting on a siding with a small new 0-6-0t asleep napping at the head, unaware their engine was running late. The crew woke 2203, who confirmed that, yes this train was for Barrow and that it was an “E” class tank engine. Satisfied with its answers, the ROD crew reported to the station master that they had their locomotive and consist, and soon the train rolled out of the station, with the 2203 at the head happily singing about its first train. 105 would arrive nearly 30 minutes late, right as a German zeppelin, blown north of its intended target, dropped its payload on the yard. Miraculously, 105 and her crew survived the encounter, but she was too damaged to continue and was loaded on a flatbed to be taken back to Brighton for repairs. Meanwhile the NER and ROD crews surveyed the yard, and found the siding that 2203′s crew said they had left their engine on, had been directly hit. for dozens of yards there was nothing but twisted rubble and the remains of trucks. Both parties were forced to conclude the 2203 most likely had been hit directly, leaving no piece large enough to identify, and its number was given to a new C7 Atlantic. By this time 2203 was pulling triumphantly into yards in Barrow. The NWR’s CME ( furture TFC) had already been informed of the attack, immediately realized what had happed. Rather than risk losing the engine if he revealed the mix-up, STH sent word to the ROD that the consist had arrived safely. 2203′s was quickly put to work building the NWR’s mainline. He did such a good job he was soon given a new coat of blue paint, which “accidentally” covered up his old number lettering. In 1920 the NWR approached the LBSCR about purchasing the engine they had been sent during the war. The LBSCR knew the engine on Sodor wasn’t theirs, but were far more averse to the idea of their wartime records being audited than they were in figuring out who Hatt was really scheming, especially since it wasn't them! “E2 110″ was sold to the NWR for a nominal price and officially became NWR #1 Thomas. In 1923, Thomas emerged from his overhaul with a new shape, including extended side tanks, dipped front running board, an new smokebox saddle, and more. These change further muddled the locomotives identity as he now looked like a mini E2 .The NWR has claimed Thomas is an E2 ever since, and has the paperwork to prove it!