History Characters / TheBraveLocomotive

** He borrows from [[Literature/TheRailwaySeries Thomas The Tank Engine]] in being assigned to a small branch line all to his own (after he saves Samson and his train). His cab is British styled in that it's entirely steel (not a wooden box with a steel roof), has two rounded windows and contoured side walls as opposed to sliding square windows all around, and his whistle is mounted directly in the center of the cab just above his firebox. Linus pulls a small train that's as anthropomorphic as he is.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: The poor guy is left heartbroken when he accepts a job reassignment contract to work on Samson instead of Linus, and is mournfully seen in his house as he ponders his decision. While his wife tries to comfort him, Henry's first day on working on Samson is just him having tea with Von Kapital in the cab, visibly uncomfortable at his new job. Well, as Samson's automatic stoker means Henry doesn't have to shovel coal, there's not much for him to do during the passenger express run apart from drinking tea with his boss.

* DaddysGirl: She's never seen without being around her father.

A fat driver who enslaves an engine or whips them whenever they stop or go too slow.

* ArtisticLicensePhysics: While Linus tried to escape, the worker was strong enough to hold him back and didn't fall off the flatbed and get dragged.

* SlasherSmile: He uses this after whipping Linus a second time.

** He has a similar color scheme and {{Determinator}} attitude as [[Literature/TheLittleEngineThatCould Tillie]].

* JustTrainWrong: Linus should have easily dragged the fat slave driver off his lumber flatbed after intentionally uncoupling from it but is held back by human effort alone. Granted, Linus had been mistreated to the point where he barely had the strength to pull the lumber, but how did that slave driver not get dragged away?

* LaserGuidedKarma: After Linus got tired of the fat driver giving him a lot of abuse, the blue engine broke his chains that smack the FatBastard in the face causing him to fall into a sinister locomotive who takes him into the tunnel.

* MsFanservice: She is a very beautiful "Railroad Princess". While her period-correct outfit doesn't show much skin, it certainly emphasizes her curvy figure.

* MsFanservice: Just like Katrina Von Kapital, she's very beautiful and buxom.

* FaceOfAThug: He looks menacing enough, but he's genuinely grateful for Linus saving his skin back at the bridge, and didn't have any hard feelings towards replacing him in the first place.

* NotSoStoic: He keeps his cool all the way up until he nearly falls off the bridge, at which point he enters into a panic mode.

* VillainyFreeVillain: He doesn't commit any acts of evil ''per se'' so much as he just gets Linus demoted to lesser duties, and only looks evil because of how powerful he is. After the trestle incident, Samson proves he's no bad guy by working the logging lines to make up for damaging the structure, and shows nothing but gratitude to Linus for saving him.

[[folder:Scarlet [=McCloud=]]]
Henry's wife.

* MsFanservice: She is a very beautiful and pretty "Railroad Princess". While her period-correct outfit doesn't show much skin, it certainly emphasizes her curvy figure.

* MsFanservice: Just like Katrina Von Kapital, she's very beautiful and pretty.

%%* BrawnHilda: A very muscular and heavyset yet attractive young Scandinavian woman who has this build.

%%* MostCommonSuperpower: Because of and despite being a BrawnHilda, Scarlet's chest is pretty big.

* MsFanservice: She is a very beautiful and pretty "Railroad Princess".
* NiceGirl: Katrina is very kind, demure, sweet, and when the going gets tough, she helps Henry [=McCloud=] to power Linus enough to save Samson from falling off the trestle.

** The rods on his wheels are in the wrong order. In real life, the rods would be in this order: Side Rod, Main Rod, Eccenter Crank, and Eccenter Rod.

* MeaningfulName: He shares the name of the strong and mighty Samson of Biblical fame, which even a newspaper article points out. He also winds up in a position of weakness like Samson (though it's not due to the source of his strength; it's because of his weight), but unlike his namesake, lives to tell about it.

* BrawnHilda: A very muscular and heavyset yet attractive young scandinavian woman who has this build.

* MostCommonSuperpower: Because of and despite being a BrawnHilda, Scarlet's chest is pretty big.

* Most Common Superpower: Because of and despite being a BrawnHilda, Scarlet's chest is pretty big.

* JustTrainWrong: The short takes place in 1895, but Samson's wheel arrangement, the 4-8-4 "Northern" type, wasn't introduced until Northern Pacific and the American Locomotive Company constructed the first one in 1926.[[note]]Though there exists evidence that Norfolk and Western had designed plans for the arrangement a few years earlier, with claims that Germany had similar plans even earlier, though still far away from Samson's construction date.[[/note]] In all fairness, he is Von Kapital's SuperPrototype.

* NiceGirl: Katrina is very kind, demure, sweet, and when the going gets tough, she helps Henry McCloud to power Linus enough to save Samson from falling off the trestle.

* JustTrainWrong: The short takes place in 1895, but Samson's wheel arrangement, the 4-8-4 "Northern" type, wasn't introduced until Northern Pacific and the American Locomotive Company constructed the first one in 1927.[[note]]Though there exists evidence that Norfolk and Western had designed plans for the arrangement a few years earlier, with claims that Germany had similar plans even earlier, though still far away from Samson's construction date.[[/note]] In all fairness, he is Von Kapital's SuperPrototype.

[[/folder]]

* BackFromTheDead: He's shot in the steam dome (and presumably the safety valve), and suffers a boiler explosion when he narrowly rescues Samson and his train from certain doom, killing the little engine in the process. Fortunately, everyone at the railroad pieces him back together.

** He borrows from [[Literature/TheRailwaySeries Thomas The Tank Engine]] in being assigned to a small branch line all to his own (after he saves Samson and his train), his cab has two rounded windows and his whistle is mounted directly in the center of it, and he has a small train that's as anthropomorphic as he is.

* MadeASlave: After Samson arrives on the scene, Linus is assigned to work the logging lines, but his new bosses treat him as little more than a slave. They whip him to keep him from slacking off and have a gun ready to shoot him if he tries to run away.

* TrackTrouble: As Samson makes what turns out to be his final run over the Colonnaville Canyon trestle, his massive weight causes the structure to buckle under him. He gets stuck and can't back himself off the line, forcing Linus to rush down and rescue everyone. Linus is able to save Samson at the cost of his own life, though Samson ends up derailing off the main line while his tender and train remain on the rails.

* TheAce: Before Samson arrives, it's implied that he was the best engine that Von Kapital Railway had on roster.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: When he's reassigned to the logging lines, he comes upon a fleet of dead steam locomotives. The one at the end has his smokestack blown out, and apparently suffered a boiler explosion. Upon closer inspection, it looks just like Linus-- and that's exactly how Linus ends up after he saves Samson.

* MadeASlave: After Samson arrives on the scene, Linus is assigned to work the logging lines, but his new bosses treat him as little more than a slave. They whip him to keep him from slacking off, and have a gun ready to shoot him if he tries to run away.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: The poor guy is left heartbroken when he accepts a job reassignment contract to work on Samson instead of Linus, and is mournfully seen in his house as he ponders his decision. While his wife tries to comfort him, Henry's first day on working on Samson is just him having tea with Von Kapital in the cab, visibly uncomfortable at his new job. Well, as Samson's automatic stoker means Henry doesn't have to shovel coal, there's not much for him to do during the passenger express run apart from drink tea with his boss.

* BenevolentBoss: He doesn't look all that benevolent, but he does treat his employees quite well, and genuinely rewards Linus and Henry for their heroic actions. He was well-loved enough that after he dies at 96 years of age, a statue of him is built in his honor.

* RailroadBaron: A somewhat ruthless financier, but more reputable, honorable, and benevolent example of this trope than most, he envisions expanding his empire with the newest technology, but nonetheless treats his employees quite well.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Despite being a RailroadBaron, he's a far more gentlemanly example than the trope usually plays out. He allows Henry to keep his route by reassigning him to Samson rather than fire him, and he wholeheartedly rewards Linus and Henry for saving everyone from the broken trestle by rebuilding the destroyed locomotive and assigning him to his own branch line.

* HiddenDepths: At first, the short makes it seem like she's just a typical rich girl. But when the trestle collapses, she's just as quick to help Henry shovel coal into Linus's firebox to get him going, and personally helps rebuild the locomotive. A newspaper article also shows she's pushing for a more diverse hiring process (the fact that Von Kapital is raising her to run the business after he dies is indicative that both father and daughter are very progressive and far ahead of their era).
* LikeFatherUnlikeSon: {{Downplayed}}. She is the heiress to his railroad empire and has a keen eye for the business, but she's much more mechanically inclined that her daddy, and isn't afraid to get her hands dirty. The moment the opportunity comes for her to help save the day, she pitches in by shoveling coal at lightning speed to get Linus moving.

* BigEater: As a powerful locomotive, he consumes a fair amount of coal. Since it would be too costly (and undoubtedly laborious) to keeping shoveling the old-fashioned way, he's equipped with an automatic stoker.

* {{Foil}}: As far as trains go, Samson is the exact opposite of Linus in every way, being bigger, faster, more powerful, and being a far more intimidating-looking brute who handles the very same passenger run in a more efficient way than his predecessor. Ultimately, Linus is the one who has to save Samson from himself when the massive Northern Type's weight buckles a trestle underneath him and nearly sends the passenger liner plummeting to its doom.

* TrackTrouble: As Samson makes what turns out to be his final run over the Colonnaville Canyon trestle, his massive weight causes the structure to buckle under him. He gets stuck and can't back himself off the line, forcing Linus to rush down and rescue everyone. Linus is able to save Samson at the cost of his own life, though Samson ends up derailed off the main line while his tender and train remain on the rails.

* GoodSmokingEvilSmoking: Definitely evil, as he's a ruthless railroad owner that shoots any disobedient locomotives and smokes with a traditional cigarette.

* LeanAndMean: Tall, thin, and a slave driver who would shoot any locomotive that won't work his way.

* SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Every locomotive that was sent to his logging line is left as a rusting corpse, forced to work to death hauling heavy loads of logs under cruel slave drivers, given no care as to their maintenance or well-being. Anybody that tries to run off, he shoots them. When Linus dared to do so to rescue Samson's train, the Forestry Railway Owner manages to hit him clear in the steam dome and leads to a boiler explosion that kills Linus when he narrowly succeeds.

* BenevolentBoss: He doesn't look all that benevolent, but he does treat his employees quite well, and genuinely rewards Linus and Henry for their heroic actions. He was well-loved enough that after he dies at 92 years of age, a statue of him is built in his honor.

* OldMoney: He's described in a newspaper article as a financier who helped build his fortune through westward expansion thanks to his steadfast support for Lincoln during the Civil War.
* NiceGuy: Von Kapital may look like the typical RailroadBaron of his era, but he's very gentlemanly and honorable.

* FriendToAllLivingThings: Linus stops immediately upon seeing a turtle cross the tracks and lets it pass.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: The poor guy is left heartbroken when he accepts a job reassignment contract to work on Samson instead of Linus, and is mournfully seen in his house as he ponders his decision. While his wife tries to comfort him, Henry's first day on working on Samson is just him having tea with Von Kapital in the cab, visibly uncomfortable at his new job.

* UndyingLoyalty: He fully backed Lincoln during the Civil War, and remained steadfast to his convictions.

* HiddenDepths: At first, the short makes it seem like she's just a typical rich girl. But when the trestle collapses, she's just as quick to help Henry shovel coal into Linus's firebox to get him going, and personally helps rebuild the locomotive. A newspaper article also shows she's pushing for a more diverse hiring process.

* TheAce: Described as a product of the 1895 Worlds Fair, he instantly proves his mettle to the railway by transforming the entire town of Colonnaville from one station into an entire city within a day. And that pesky grade Linus had to chug over. ''Samson just barrels through the mountain and makes a tunnel out of it.''

* BigEater: As a powerful train, he consumes a fair amount of coal. Since it would be too costly (and undoubtedly laborious) to keeping shoveling the old-fashioned way, he's equipped with an automatic stoker.

* CoolTrain: He's a giant 4-8-4 who can clip through the Von Kapital Railway system like lightning, and singlehandedly transforms the entire town from a ghost locale into a bustling city overnight.

* JustTrainWrong: The short takes place in 1895, but Samson's wheel arrangement, the 4-8-4 "Northern" type, wasn't introduced until Northern Pacific and the American Locomotive Company constructed the first one in 1927.[[note]]Though there exists evidence that Norfolk and Western had designed plans for the arrangement a few years earlier, with claims that Germany had similar plans even earlier, though still far away from Samson's construction date.[[/note]]
* LightningBruiser: Not only is he massive, but he can move his way through the entire network in seconds, whereas it took Linus and Henry a day to reach the main station. {{Deconstructed}}, since Von Kapital forgot to upgrade the bridge and he winds up nearly falling off it when it breaks.
* MeaningfulName: He shares the name of the strong and mighty Samson of Biblical fame, which even a newspaper article points out. He also winds up in a position of weakness like Samson (though it's not due to the source of his strength; it's because of it), but unlike his namesake, lives to tell about it.

* ObliviouslyEvil: The turtle that Linus stopped for ends up getting barreled over by Samson, though the locomotive is so busy at work that he doesn't even notice the damage he caused.

The closet thing to an antagonist the short has, he's a ruthless slave driver who's sent locomotives to their deaths.

* KarmaHoudini: Despite his horrendous treatment of Linus and all the other locomotives on the logging line, he's never shown facing consequences for his actions. Though considering Samson volunteered to work those lines, and Samson looks like one tough customer, it doesn't seem like karma will avoid him for long.

** There's several steam locomotive corpses rotting in the woods, with the hint that this guy didn't exactly treat his engines well (or even bothered to put in for some basic maintenance).

[[folder:Mrs. [=McCloud=]]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Katrina Von Kapital]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Samson]]
A brutish 4-8-4 locomotive who's assigned to replace Linus on the run to Colonnaville.

* TheAce: Described as a product of the 1895 Worlds Fair, he instantly proves his mettle to the railway by transforming the entire town of Colonnaville from one station into an entire city within a day. And that pesky grade Linus had to chug over. ''Samson just barrels through the mountain and makes a tunnel out of it.''
* TheAtoner: To make up for destroying the original trestle, Samson volunteers to work the logging lines. It's mentioned he was very grateful that Linus saved him.
* TheBigGuy: The newest and most powerful locomotive on the Von Kapital Railway, and undoubtedly the biggest of them all.
* CoolTrain: He's a giant 4-8-4 who can clip through the Von Kapital Railway system like lightning, and singlehandedly transforms the entire town from a ghost locale into a bustling city overnight.
* FaceOfAThug: He looks menacing enough, but he's genuinely grateful for Linus saving his skin back at the bridge, and didn't have any hard feelings towards replacing him in the first place.
* GoodSmokingEvilSmoking: Not really so much evil as he just looks nasty, but he has an old-style cigar in his mouth until the bridge collapse. As shown in a picture, he needs ''an entire crew'' to light it for him.
* JustTrainWrong: The short takes place in 1895, but Samson's wheel arrangement, the 4-8-4 "Northern" type, wasn't introduced until Northern Pacific and the American Locomotive Company constructed the first one in 1927.[[note]]Though there exists evidence that Norfolk and Western had designed plans for the arrangement a few years earlier, with claims that Germany had similar plans even earlier, though still far away from Samson's construction date.[[/note]]
* LightningBruiser: Not only is he massive, but he can move his way through the entire network in seconds, whereas it took Linus and Henry a day to reach the main station. {{Deconstructed}}, since Von Kapital forgot to upgrade the bridge and he winds up nearly falling off it when it breaks.
* NotSoStoic: He keeps his cool all the way up until he nearly falls off the bridge, at which point he enters into a panic mode.

[[folder:The Forestry Railway Owner]]