Welcome to the Fan Theories page. This page is for the community-generated theories, ideas, and speculation around "Starlight Express". None of these ideas are explicity "True" - that is to say, confirmed canon by the creative team behind the show, these are Fans' opinions and ideas.
Please feel free to add your own theories, with as much reasoning behind your thoughts as you can.
Rules
- Do not delete other people's theories - everyone is entitled to their opinion, there is no right or wrong.
- Please do not include ships, almost every character in the show could create an interesting dynamic with every other character. We do not need a long list of every possible combination.
Ashley[]
Belle[]
Also Known As:
- Memphis Belle
Belle the Bar Car[]
Also Known As:
- Brandi
- Barbara
Bobo[]
The British Engine Milton Keynes / Prince of Wales / Brexit[]
Buffy[]
Caboose[]
Also Known As:
- CB (original London version)
- Canoose (Caboose-New, 2018 version)
- BV (Brake Van, 2018 version)
- Vic (Brake Van, 2018 Version)
The puns flow thick and fast with Caboose, particularly with the homonyms of "Brake" and "Break". Is he intending to slow down his race partner, or damage him? The audience can't tell.
In the original version of "C.B."/"Wide Smile, High Style", C.B. mentions, "State police, they don't suspect I got Old 97 wrecked." This is a reference to the Wreck of Old 97. In 1903 an American mail train had been speeding along and could not brake in time and crashed. However, mail trains were a type of passenger service and would not have had a caboose. It is also said that "When they robbed the great train, I collected", a reference to the Great Train Robbery of 1963, when an overnight London-Glasgow mail train on British Rail's west coast main line was robbed. However, this was also a mail train, which yet again did not use Cabooses (or in this case "Brake vans").
Conductors on freight trains stayed in the caboose and were considered the "brains" of the trains. As a result cabooses were known as "brain boxes". Engineers naturally were in the locomotive, which was known as a "hog", and so the engineers were called "hoggers" or "hogheads", implying that they were not as intelligent. Caboose is portrayed as being the most intelligent in the show, able to dupe over three different engines.
Cabooses can whistle. This was important for the conductor to signal to the engineer if a truck was uncoupled or some other problem. However, there were some difficulties as sometimes whistles were misunderstood (which could be dangerous). The caboose lost its whistle with the advent of two-way radios. A caboose whistle can be heard here: [1]
Carrie the Luggage Van[]
The name "Carrie" while an obvious pun in relation to her occupation as a Luggage Van, is also a potentially unnoticed nod towards the use of special luggage cars used to transport set and scenery for Broadway and other theatre shows[1]. The 'theatrical' cars were typically given names such as Romeo and Juliet, "Carrie" potentially referencing the 1988 musical Carrie, which debuted the same year as Starlight Express' German production. While a nice idea, is however very unlikely.
Coco[]
Control[]
Dinah[]
Dustin[]
Duvay[]
Electra[]
Also Known As:
- Elok
- Elektra (2018 version)
- Eledtra (2018 Version)
Skin-head Punk
John Partridge's Electra was bald - possibly this was drawing on inspiration from British youth cultures of the 1960s and 1970s, very familiar to the creative team - where "Greasers" and "Skin-heads" were great rivals. Obviously Greaseball represents the Greasers with his leather, studs, Rock'n'Roll style. But perhaps John Partridge's Electra was aiming at representing the heavy-booted anarchic "Skin-heads", rather than the futuristic Electro-pop style of the character's original conception.
Engine of Control's Future
Complex theory involving gender and sexuality - the gender-fluid, bisexual contender from "the future" could represent Control's pre-pubescent understanding of adult sexuality, contrasting Greaseball representing the present with dating, kisses, cheating - focusing on the emotional drama not physical attraction, and Poppa representing the past - a child's view on relationships being focused on family and friendship, not any element of desire.
Flat-Top[]
Flat-Top is potentially based on a real piece of railway rolling stock. Flat-Top's original lettering and numbering in the original London production is "GW 41948", which is the same number as a Crocodile F Well Wagon used on the Great Western Railway. These were used to carry heavy loads, and were also referred to as "Boiler Trucks" and "Trollies". The specific wagon that Flat-Top shares a number with was scrapped, however some have been preserved, including wagon number 41934 is preserved at the Didcot Railway Centre. [2]
After the 1992 London revisions, Flat-Top's number changed from 41948 to 68419. This number did belong to a Great Western piece of rolling stock, however this was a 'Toad' Brake Van, not a flat-wagon.[3]
Gang[]
The German Engine Weltschaft / Ruhrgold[]
Greaseball[]
Greaseball is the only engine with exposed inner workings (eg. his silver arms) this is further compounded by seeing that ever other engine besides him has wheels on their forearms which he does not have until he has his "race pack" is put on, which every other engine already has (including Rusty). This suggests that his arms during normal operation look like his black/yellow colored arms. The concept art also adds credibility to this as he has not been drawn with silver arms for concept art, as far as we know.
Greaseball is called 'Turbo' in the Mexican production considering that the term is can be used pejoratively to refer to people of Spanish, Portugese, Greek, Italian, Mediterranean, or Latin American descent.
Hip Hoppers[]
The Japanese Engine Hashamoto / Nintendo / Manga[]
In all of the nationals, Hashamoto was the first national to get a place when Starlight Express was re-written in Broadway, Japan/Australia Tours.
Hashamoto's crashing during the first race in London/German productions can be a subtle hint, specifially criticism, commentary to the Japanese being overexerting (or plain reckless behavior), their efforts during World War II (which lead to Japan's defeat), and its post war efforts, considering that the Japanese people were known for over-working themselves to death (Karoshi) during the "Golden Age" of Japan.
Hashamoto pairing up with Caboose can also be a subtle hint on how Japan "betrayed" the US during the inter-war years. Furthermore, he was seen giving 'high-fives' to Caboose after crashing Rusty in the Japan/Australia tour.
Hashamoto pairing up with Krupp in the 1992 version can also be another commentary of the Japan-Germany relationship in World War II. Also, Hashamoto crashing while Krupp laughs can be a sign that Germany would've betrayed Japan even if the Axis Powers managed to win the war.
In the Las Vegas Production, It is possible that he paired up with Volta because of her 'Geisha' look.
Hashamoto's winning in the second race and getting knocked out in the 'Uphill Final' in the Broadway, US Tour 1989 and Las Vegas can be a reference to Japan's progress in the Pacific War.
Joule[]
ALW proudly stated that he wanted to make the Show "less sexual". But why didn't he remove Joule? Wheels on her Tits? Sexual Movements? Idk really, or he could've just made her less sexual in general...
Killerwatt[]
Krupp[]
Marshals / Trax[]
Pearl[]
- Opal (2018 Version)
Poppa / Mama[]
Purse[]
Rockies[]
Rusty[]
Rusty's number is 0503. This number was worn by a real locomotive, Deutsche ReichsBahn Class 01 0503. This is a German 4-6-2 steam locomotive. Unfortunately, this particular BR 01 was not preserved, however a total of 17 are still preserved.
Alternatively, there is Kansas City Southern No. 503, a class 500 4-6-0 steam locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1920 for the Louisiana & Arkansas Railroad. Despite being lettered as a Kansas City Southern locomotive, it did not work on that railroad. The locomotive looks similar to Rusty as it is small, has the same number and would have been possibly used for switching.
No. 503 is now preseved, displayed in Bryan Park, Port Arthur, Texas.
Sleepers[]
The Starlight Express[]
Is he real, or is it just a fantasy that Poppa told Rusty? Well, we all know Poppa sings to Rusty during "Starlight Sequence", so does that mean he isn't actually real? We will probably never know...
Turnov[]
Volta[]
Also Known As:
- Voltar (2018 version)
- Zero (2018 version)
Wrench[]
In the Bochum and Broadway productions, Wrench is shown to be a crane car. Like refrigerator cars, cranes are diesel-powered. Understandably, Electra would still include a repair truck in his train.
Crane cars are sometimes known as "big hooks" by railroaders.
Other Nationals[]
Other Characters[]
- ↑ "The American Railroad Passenger Car" by John H. White, Jr. Two Volumes (1978) by Johns Hopkins University Press.
- ↑ https://didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk/article.php/223/no-41934-crocodile-f-bogie-well-wagon
- ↑ https://didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk/article.php/231/no-68684-toad