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Description
The Character

Allen is one of A.H Peppercorn's A1 pacific locomotives, specifically, he is in real life British Railway's number 60114, W.P Allen. Allen is one of the youngest members of Copley Hill's locomotive stud: he was built in 1948, as the unnamed, apple green, 60114. In the series, Allen pulls “The Fair Maid” passenger express regularly as his day job. Young, cocky, but well meaning, Allen wears the British Railways Express Passenger Blue livery with pride

The Real Engine

60114 was built in 1948, entering traffic in the August of that year. It was allocated to several sheds throughout its career, including Copley Hill (56C), Grantham (35B) and Doncaster (36A). It was finally withdrawn in the December of 1964. No members of the Peppercorn A1 class were preserved, but the 50th member of the class – 60163 Tornado, has been built by the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, and is currently in operation.

The Inspiration

The inspiration for Allen came from a chance conversation between the series creator and a close friend. Allen was originally to be named Arthur (after A.H Peppercorn), and was to be of class A2 – the model used was a Bachmann A1 pacific, at which point it was suggested to use Allen, rather than Arthur – and make Arthur a separate locomotive that could provide a contrast between the two outwardly similar, but inwardly different classes. Thus, after a few trailers as “Arthur”, Allen was born!

Description
The Character

Allen is one of A.H Peppercorn's A1 pacific locomotives, specifically, he is in real life British Railway's number 60114, W.P Allen. Allen is one of the youngest members of Copley Hill's locomotive stud: he was built in 1948, as the unnamed, apple green, 60114. In the series, Allen pulls “The Fair Maid” passenger express regularly as his day job. Young, cocky, but well meaning, Allen wears the British Railways Express Passenger Blue livery with pride

The Real Engine

60114 was built in 1948, entering traffic in the August of that year. It was allocated to several sheds throughout its career, including Copley Hill (56C), Grantham (35B) and Doncaster (36A). It was finally withdrawn in the December of 1964. No members of the Peppercorn A1 class were preserved, but the 50th member of the class – 60163 Tornado, has been built by the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, and is currently in operation.

The Inspiration

The inspiration for Allen came from a chance conversation between the series creator and a close friend. Allen was originally to be named Arthur (after A.H Peppercorn), and was to be of class A2 – the model used was a Bachmann A1 pacific, at which point it was suggested to use Allen, rather than Arthur – and make Arthur a separate locomotive that could provide a contrast between the two outwardly similar, but inwardly different classes. Thus, after a few trailers as “Arthur”, Allen was born!