Turnov is the Trans-Siberian Railway Express from Russia.
Personality[]
He is a hard-working, hard-drinking, hard-fighting mean machine. His uncompromising attitude matches that of Wrench the Repair Truck, making them a well-matched team in the original London production.
Tickovers: Turnov the Russian Engine pretends to take shots of vodka as well as dropping down into a Russian gopak dance move squatting and interchangeably kicking his legs forwards and back.
Story[]
In the original production, Turnov raced with Wrench in Heat 3, losing to Poppa and Dustin.
On Broadway he races with the Red Caboose.
Turnov and his double raced with Caboose and Ashley in their respective races.
Turnov races with Caboose in Heat 1 of the German Production, later shows having Greaseball call Caboose's name as if to prompt him to crash the Russian very early on in the race.
A small transaction from Greaseball to Caboose is shown before Caboose races with Turnov, with the intent to show Turnov not being able to win the race from the start.
Appearance[]
Gallery[]
Role[]
| Bochum 2020 | TURNOV
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History[]
When Starlight Express opened on Broadway in 1987, political subtext was incorporated into the show, pairing Turnov with Caboose. The Cold War was still in the air, with "The Russians" as the enemy. The Red Caboose, an antagonist of the show, races with the Russian. This potentially echoes the "red scare"/"red threat" notions in response to those in allegiance to the red Soviet flag, which Turnov wears on his chest.
Turnov's twin in the Japan/Australia tour was initially simply "Turnov 2", but later was named "Vladimir".
The 2018 Bochum Update introduced Turnov as "Putin's shooting star"; following the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, in February 2022 the line was re-written to be "Hashtag Oligarch" (oligarch meaning a rich business leader with strong political influence). Similarly, in Bochum megamixes prior to 2022 Turnov can be seen waving the Russian flag with the other national engines, while in megamixes during and after 2022 Turnov stood still and does not wave his flag while the other nationals continue to wave theirs.
In May of 2025, Turnov waved the "international flag" that is woven in Coda Freight, marking a time he waves a flag in 3 years. Afterwards, he went back to standing still with his folded up flag.
Cast[]
London
| 1984 - 1985 | Bobby Collins |
| 1985 - 1986 | Marek Kurpiel |
| 1986 - 1987 | Stephen Le Roche |
| 1987 - 1988 | Robert Northwood / Erick Rainey |
| 1988 - 1989 | ? |
| 1989 - 1990 | ? |
| 1990 - 1994 | Paul Whitaker |
| 1994 - 1995 | Craig Cameron |
| 1995 - 1996 | Dennis Silkwood |
| 1996 - 1997 | Simon David Trout |
| 1997 - 1998 | Adrian Smith |
| 1998 - 1999 | Chris Bennett |
| 1999 - 2000 | Dustin Dubreuil |
| 2000 - 2001 | Mark Hedges |
| 2001 - 2002 | Mark Oxtoby |
Broadway
| 1987 - 1988 | William Christopher Frey |
| 1988 - 1989 | Ron DeVito |
Japan / Australia Tours
| 1987 | Turnov 1 | Allen Hidalgo |
| Turnov 2 | Terry Murphy | |
| 1990 | Turnov | Ikuo Hirata |
| Vladimir | Nobuhiko Sato |
Bochum, Germany
| 1988 - 1989 | Hansgeorg Gantert |
| 1989 - 1990 | Simon Harrison-Scott / Eddie Burton |
| 1990 - 1991 | Eric Freese |
| 1991 - 1992 | Eric Freese / Steven M Schultz |
| 1992 - 1993 | Gary Albers |
| 1993 - 1994 | Chris Andrew Mellon |
| 1994 - 1995 | Ernest Marchain |
| 1995 - 1996 | Ken Romero |
| 1996 - 1997 | Eric Paul Thompson |
| 1997 - 1998 | Ryan Wolfson |
| 1998 - 1999 | Stephan Monzel |
| 1999 - 2004 | Robert Jakeman |
| 2004 - 2006 | Vladimir Hub |
| 2006 - 2007 | Alexander Lee Burgos |
| 2007 - 2008 | Ramon Visser |
| 2008 - 2009 | Harvey James |
| 2009 - 2011 | Chris Southgate |
| 2011 - 2012 | Adam Sheffield |
| 2012 - 2014 | Karl Seal |
| 2014 - 2015 | Richard Leavey |
| 2015 - 2016 | Joseph Connor |
| 2016 - 2017 | Feargal Quinn |
| 2017 - 2018 | Dan Partridge |
| 2018 - 2019 | Luke Dowling |
| 2019 - 2020 | Jayred Lempriere |
| 2020 - 2021 | |
| 2021 - 2022 | Kristian Jacobs |
| 2022 - 2023 | Jay Le Marrec |
| 2023 - 2025 | Benjamin Van Eelen |
| 05/2024 - 08/2024 | AJ Parsons (temp) |
| 2025 - 2026 | Joshua Gibbons / Zen Blythe |
US Tour 1989 - 1991
| 1989 - 1991 | Steven Kent Dry |
Las Vegas 1993 - 1997
| 1993 - 1994 | Jacob Brent |
| 1994 - 1995 | Steven Kent Dry |
| 1995 - 1996 | ? |
| 1996 - 1997 | Tony Cordell |
| 1997 - close | Ron McKay |
US Tour 2003 - 2004
| 2003 - 2004 | Brandon Warner / Graham Harvey |
UK Tours 2004 - 2008
| 2004 - 2005 | Chris Thatcher |
| 2006 - 2007 | James Marin |
| 2007 - 2008 | Mark Willshire |
NZ Tour 2009
| 2009 | Olaf John |
UK Tour 2012-2013
| 2012 - 2013 | Andy Barke |
| Asia 2013 | Chris Southgate |
Fan Theories[]
See Here for Fan theories about Turnov.