Goose

Goose
Number: 5405 Class: GWR 5400 Class Designer: Charles Collett Build date: 1931 Configuration: 0-6-0PT Arrived on the DR: 1975 Voice Actor: Reilly Cornwall

Goose is a tank engine owned by Mr. Chairman who lives on the Dark Railway.

Bio

Goose was built in December 1931 at Swindon Works. In his working life he operated on the Brentwell branch in Cornwall. In 1959 he was familiar with both Eddie and Maxen and had a nasty run-in with the former. Following withdrawal, he was purchased by the mayor of Brentwell and put on display in the town. After some years there, he wanted to work again and was sold to the Dark Railway Preservation Society, moving to the DR in 1975.

Goose was initially purchased to operate autotrain shuttles to Soma. However, he quickly grew bored of this duty and asked to do something else. When Mr. Chairman refused, adamant that his sole duty was passenger trains, Goose was left furious and ranted continuously about Chairman. He eventually gave Chairman an ultimatum: let him do other work or he would become less cooperative, daring him to try and sell him on. This tension peaked when Goose blocked the entrance to the DRPS shed in protest, trapping the others inside. He was eventually removed and laid up in the maintenace bay, where he was left feeling unrepentant. After being threatened with sale for use as a static exhibit or a stationary boiler, he begrudgingly agreed to return to work. He felt guilty after learning that Mr. B had become a runaway as a result of gearbox damage caused by his protest and was shocked to discover that the viaduct to Soma had collapsed as a result. However, he quickly became delighted as he realised that Mr. Chairman would now have no choice but to allow him to do other duties with the line to Soma now severed.

Goose became boastful when he learned he would be running his own special shuttles to the Soma mining museum as well as along the railway's new extension. He was less impressed with helping the DRPS and railway staff inspect Colhapper Tunnel. He was initially planned to pull the opening train to the new station at Lake, but after speaking with Theo and Otto about it he arranged for them to do it instead to give them a chance to be in the spotlight. When Eddie returned to traffic, Mr. Chairman asked Goose to persuade Eddie to help the DRPS. Unfortunately, both engines remembered each other and Eddie refused to listen to Goose. Mr. Chairman threatened to take away Goose's jobs if he failed, causing Goose to become desperate. Eddie eventually agreed to help after Goose explained the situation and apologised, but warned it would be on his own terms. Eddie even admitted that they could be friends one day, so long as Goose proved he had genuinely changed. After Leno returned to the railway, Goose agreed to share the shuttles to Soma with him. Goose continued trying to build bridges with Eddie, and began to bring him round to the idea he had changed.

In 1978, the DRPS was suffering from severe financial difficulties. After Mr. B was withdrawn from service to save money, Goose was blamed by Andy for their situation and he vowed to work twice as hard to help them through it. His determination to help the society drove him to exhaustion, and after going 4 straight days without rest or maintenance, this culminated in him breaking a cylinder and bending his valve gear while on a shuttle to Soma. With the society having no money to repair him, he was laid up in their shed with Mr. B, devastated that he had let the society down. After several months confined to the society's shed at Galen Junction, Goose was brought up to Merecombe to say goodbye to and make amends with Andy before he left the railway. The society had disbanded by this point, leaving his future uncertain. He was afraid of having to leave the railway and was desperate to stay. After Eddie spoke to Mr. Chairman about it, Goose learned that he and his autocoaches had in fact been privately purchased by Mr. Chairman himself. He allowed Goose to stay on the railway. With repairs to his cylinder and valve gear unable to be carried out at the time, he was temporarily put on display in the museum.

In 1980, when Rick was revealed to the engines for the first time, Goose was surprisingly angry with him. He blamed the new engine for being the reason that he and the others were stuck in the museum unable to work and for Andy's departure. He soon relented and apologised after the others jumped to Rick's defence, but continued to lament being in the museum. Eventually later in the year Goose was moved into Caracus Smash Ltd to have his valve gear repaired and his cylinder replaced alongside an overhaul. Towards the end of 1980 Goose's valve gear has been completely replaced alongside the fitment of a replacement cylinder.

Persona

Goose is a very fussy and stubborn engine, preferring to do a variety of work as opposed to being stuck with just one job. He is also holds a disdain for certain authority figures who dismiss the feelings of engines, believing that anyone who blindly obeys orders are just caught under their thumb. When he is able to do a variety of work, he is much more cooperative and friendly, though his bluntness remains a constant.

Livery

Goose is currently painted in plain Great Western Railway green with GWR painted on his tanks.

Basis

Goose is based on a Great Western Railway 5400 Class 0-6-0 pannier tank.

Appearances

The Dark Railway Series

Episodes:

• Series 9 - 9 (not named), Goose, Rock'n Roll, Rock Shock (does not speak), Time Wasted, Extend Extra, Wipeout (cameo) and Shapeshifter (cameo)
• Series 10 - Welcome to the Tunnel, Body Angels, The Road to Bellgrave, Coaled Weight (mentioned), Dirty Colossus (does not speak), Quack Attack, Buckin' Hell (not named; mentioned) and Barry the Steam Engine (does not speak)
• Series 11 - The Times, Since Then, Quatro, Puppets, Further (not named; mentioned), Sundowner (mentioned), Chord Memory and The Brickenkopf
• Series 12 - Fresh, Night Beats (cameo), What To Do (does not speak), Shuffle (cameo), High Fidelity (mentioned) and Eternal Feedback (does not speak)

Ed & Sid

• 2021 - Chairman and Goose

Trivia

• In the episode '9', his number was 5404 instead of 5405. This was corrected in the next episode. 
• Goose has a habit of making duck noises whenever he talks, often breaking in loud quacking barks like a duck or a goose would make. Reilly Cornwall was cast in the role partly due to his ability to make these noises, which were incorporated into the character following his casting.
• When Goose was originally conceived as a character, he was planned to be a 5700 Class pannier tank, numbered 7777. However, following the release of the Victory Works Pannier Tank pack, Dark DJ chose to reinvent him as a 5400 in order to have a more unique engine in the series.
• The engine carrying Goose's number was withdrawn from service in October 1957 and was cut up 2 months later.