Diesel 15

Diesel 15 was born in a live chat Frank and I had while we were discussing the Numbered Diesels. I had recently read ERS Novel 1: The Life And Times Of Jim The Jinx over on SiF, and the book features heavily Garratt steam locomotives - one of them, The Devil, being an all-time favorite ERS character for me. While we were discussing the diesels in chat, I suddenly hit upon the idea of having a diesel Garratt. Garratts in real life are steam engines and steam engines only - built like normal steam engines but with that 'thing' at the front of them. The purpose of Garratts are to go around tight curves much easier than normal steam engines. So I brought up this idea, and Frank found it interesting. And that's how Diesel 15 became one of the twenty Numbered Diesels.

How did Diesel 15 come into existence canonically, you might ask? It's quite simple. Sir Alan Moore was a British gentleman who owned a fleet of Garratts on his own 'Garratt Railway'. He had the ingenious idea of adding a diesel Garratt to his team, and went to the only person smart enough to get the job done - Reginald Walkins of course! He paid Walkins £800,000 to get the job done, and Walkins of course succeeded.

Diesel 15 was, unlike most of the other Numbered Diesels, trusted without a driver right from the start. In fact, it was only during the first week that he needed one - then he was off on his own. Diesel 15 was a friendly engine even then, and did not think more highly of himself just because he was a unique, one-of-a-kind engine. Rather, he decided to make friends with the other engines, though at first, only one of them wanted anything to do with him. However, he soon proved himself to the others and made friends all around.

In Reginald Walkins and His Numbered Diesels, we learn that a flood caused damage to Diesel 15, that his parts outside of the APS were mended, but some years after the event he was retired to the railway's shed. He had worked on that railway for around twenty years, and that was the end of it.

But was it really? My original thought was a grand one for the little engine - but realized soon enough that it would take up too much space in 3WSR Novel 1: The Numbered Diesels, I book I had been writing. What to do then? Why, give him a whole novel to himself! I am, as of writing this, only on Part Three of said novel, The Life & Times of Diesel 15, and I have a total of eight scheduled, so we're not even halfway through his life yet! I hate to boast but honestly I think everyone will enjoy where it goes - but hey, that's just me.

Diesel 15 himself is by far one of, if not my very favorite character in The Game. True, he's seemingly insignificant, however I'm planning on rectifying that, as he has had, unlike many engines, a very full life. So stay tuned for what's coming up with him, and if you haven't read the novel yet I highly encourage you to do so.