The British Engine is a genial, avuncular character who bumbles through the show. He arrives late and breaks down before he can enter the race. That is, if he ever turns up at all...
Personality[]
While only appearing for a short while during the show, the British Engine captures the quaint bumblings, questionable intelligence, and upper-class snobbery stereotypes given to the British upper class. A joke character fittingly made in a self-deprecating way by the mostly British development team.
Story[]
The British engine arrives late, and skates in backwards, laughing at his own mistake. He partners with Rocky 1 for the race (or Killerwatt in the Bochum version), however he is scrapped before he can compete, allowing Poppa to take his place. He is usually seen again for the finale.
The actor who plays the British engine spends most of the show as a member of Greaseball's gang or a track marshal.
Appearance[]
The London design was "British Racing Green" with yellow accents, with details of the union flag on his chest and the British Rail symbol incorporated into the costumes. John Napier's original design gives him a flying hat, a leather cap as seen on aviation pilots and early motorists, however in production the specific design references in his cap are somewhat lost under the details; the London costumes gave all the Nationals the same basic striped caps, and the Broadway costume added enough silver details to obscure the classic leather appearance of a flying hat.
The Broadway design, also used for the US/UK Tours, painted him silver, losing the reference to the specific shade of green. Broadway, Las Vegas and the tours made his colors look more like the APT than London. Otherwise the costume was accurate to the original design, a large, bulky, distinctive costume for a character with very little stage time.
Brexit's costume consists of a flat cap, a "UKIP" purple and gold tie with a white shirt collar, and elements of the original design in "British Racing Green". He is also the only National engine to appear in a deliberately dirty, broken down costume, typically British self-deprecating humour from the creative team. Bochum used a hybrid of London and Broadway racing masks with him being painted in what looks like GWR livery.
Gallery[]
History[]
Originally the British engine was the "City of Milton Keynes", an Advanced Passenger Train (APT) – an infamous prototype tilting train. Developed by the state-run British Rail and at great expense, only 3 APTs were ever built, 4 counting a gas turbine prototype. The train suffered mechanical problems and caused motion sickness, leading British Rail to withdraw it from service. Ironically, the APT's issues were largely solved and the train was reintroduced to Britain's railways 5 months after Starlight Express opened in the West End. By that time, however, the PR damage was done and the APT was a laughing stock. Also ironically, the APT's patents would be used to develop the successful Pendolino line of tilting trains. The Italian train in the 2017 London workshop is described as a Pendolino.[1][2]
He became the "Prince of Wales", the Royal Train when the Broadway production opened, providing a source of jokes at the expense of the British Royal family.
As a non-racing character he was not included in the Japan/Australia tours. He did not appear in the 1989 US Tour, but was reinstated for the 1993 Las Vegas production.
The British engine was added to the German production in 2018 as part of the 30th anniversary rewrites, named "Brexit". The costume design's gold and purple tie nods to British politician Nigel Farage, who, as leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) was instrumental in pushing for the Brexit referendum.
A British engine does not appear in the Wembley revival. As with the New London production, Control refers to them, but unlike that production, they never arrive.
The British engine's excuses for arriving late have varied depending on the production. They include:
- "staffing difficulties" (New London)
- "the wrong kind of weather" (UK Tour)
- "the royal family changing tracks" (Las Vegas)
- "hiding from the paparazzi" (Mexico) – this is a reference to Princess Diana's death 2 months before the show opened)
- "the wrong kind of leaves on the line" (Wembley revival)
Cast[]
London
City of Milton Keynes
| 1984 - 1986 | Raymond Hatfield |
| 1986 - 1987 | Geoffrey Abbott |
| 1987 - 1988 | Kevyn Waby |
| 1988- 1989 | unkown |
| 1989 - 1990 | unkown |
| 1990 - 1992 | Sean O'Sullivan |
Prince of Wales
| 1992 - 1993 | Matthew Cutts |
| 1993 - 1995 | Jason Capewell |
| 1995 - 1998 | Marvin Giles |
| 1998 - 1999 | Neil Dale |
| 1999 - 2000 | Neil Dale / Adrian Smith |
| 2000 - 2001 | Ben Clare |
| 2001 - 2002 | Martin Neely |
Broadway
| 1987 - 1989 | Sean McDermott |
Japan / Australia Tours
(Cut)
Bochum, Germany
| 2018 - 2019 | Anthony Cragg (As Brexit) |
| 2019 - 2020 | Jack Hinton |
| 2020 - 2021 | |
| 2021 - 2024 | Kevin Kohler |
| 2024 - 2025 | Ashley Williams |
US Tour 1989 - 1991
(Cut)
Las Vegas 1993 - 1997
| 1993 - 1994 | Steven Kent Dry |
| 1994 - | Mark Moschello |
| 1996 - 1997 | Sheldon Craig |
| 1997 - close | Tony Torres |
US Tour 2003 - 2004
| 2003 - 2004 | Jared Lee |
UK Tours 2004 - 2008
| 2004 - 2005 | Adam Floyd |
| 2006 - 2007 | Gareth Davis |
| 2007 - 2008 | Mark Hedges |
NZ Tour 2009
| 2009 | Robert Enari |
UK Tour 2012-2013
| 2012 - 2013 | Tristan Adams |
| Asia 2013 | David Allwood |
Fan Theories[]
See Here for Fan theories about The British Engine.