Warning! There are unmarked spoilers ahead!
The Engines
Rusty is the protagonist of the musical and resident underdog of the train-yard, trying to prove his worth to the Jerk Jock Greaseball, his One True Love Pearl, and just about everyone else.
- Butt-Monkey: Greaseball and his gang constantly beat him up and belittle him, the carriages are unconvinced that he could ever win, Pearl refuses his advances despite him fitting her criteria almost exactly, et cetera, et cetera.
- Declaration of Personal Independence: 'Call Me Rusty' is an entire song dedicated to this.
- Embarrassing First Name: He makes a point of this in 'Call Me Rusty'. Rusty's how he looks, and Rusty's his name, so people often tease him about it.
- God in Human Form: Rusty believes that the Starlight Express is a real, existing, all-powerful being rather than a metaphor, and even so, he completely accepts the realization that he himself is the Starlight Express.
- Meaningful Name: His name is Rusty because that's how he looks, being a steam engine and all.
- Nice Guy: Genuine and kind, and willing to throw the race if it means rescuing Pearl.
- The One Guy: Rusty often hangs around the coaches, causing this trope to occur when he's with them.
- Underdogs Never Lose: This was Double Subverted in the original version- Rusty raced the second heat and lost before breaking the rules to enter the final, which he then went on to win. All other productions play this trope straight.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: The 'Starlight Sequence' hands this to him in spades.
One half Elvis, one half Danny Zuko, this powerful diesel engine is loved and admired by everyone around. Despite his popularity and high status, he isn't afraid to cheat, and often resorts to plain violence to make sure Rusty knows his place. Competitive and physical by nature, he is the reigning champion of the international races, and that title is well-deserved from his speed alone.
- Cool Train: As per the opinion of Control, the coaches and most of the other rolling stock.
- Hair Metal: Most songs which he is a significant part of have this musical style, particularly 'Pumping Iron' and 'Rolling Stock'.
- Jerkass: This progresses throughout the course of the musical as he becomes more and more bent on one-upping Electra.
- Jerk Jock: Due to his immense strength, popularity, faithful gang of cronies and undeserved violence towards Rusty, he fits this entire trope to a T (or should I say, a G).
- Meaningful Name: Greaseball is a greaser.
- Smug Smiler: He's almost always doing this.
- The '50s and The '80s: Greaseball is the diesel-powered lovechild of these two eras, with both his musical and costume inspiration stemming from them.
- The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: His rivalry with Electra fits this.
Mysterious, impressive and powered by neither steam nor diesel, Electra is in an entire league of his own, and he knows it. He finds an instant rival in the arrogant, competitive Greaseball, and the two of them go head-to-head in the race in what is practically a bid to become the alpha male of the train-yard. Although he is independent by nature, Electra is rarely seen without his Components- the fiercely loyal group of trucks responsible for his upkeep- close by him.
- Ambiguous Gender: Although he's traditionally portrayed by a male actor, he has been portrayed by women (for example Josie Aiello in the 1987 album "Music and Songs from Starlight Express), and acts very ambiguously too- wearing colourful lipstick and makeup, flirting with characters of all genders, and generally being a very sexual and glamorous character. As well as referring to his bisexuality, 'AC/DC' could perhaps refer to his gender-fluid nature.
- Cool Train: Not only is Electra decked out with flashy, awesome gadgets, but everybody loves him. In fact, he's even referred to as 'cool' at the beginning of his song.
- Gender-Blender Name: If Electra is supposed to be male (see "Ambiguous Gender" above), his name is this since Electra is a female name.
- Meaningful Name: Electra is an electric train, so naturally his name fits that.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: In the planning stages, Electra's name was Elton, but when Jeffrey Daniels joined the project the character was rewritten as a caricature of him.
- Porn Stache: Believe it or not, Electra used to have one of these.
- Sissy Villain: To contrast with the overtly masculine Greaseball, Electra is this, except he's intended as more of a Sissy Rival.
- Twofer Token Minority: Electra fits this trope, as he is a bisexual character frequently played by black actors.
- Villainous Breakdown: His cut BSoD Song 'No Comeback' is an incredible example of this, as not only does he throw a massive temper tantrum that almost destroys the entire rail yard, but he throws it over coming second.
Momma serves as a mother figure to the trains, being the oldest and wisest engine around, but despite her age (and fuel source, for that matter) she's never lost her racing touch. Rusty is her faithful disciple, and Momma tries her best to teach the young steamer everything she knows, giving him encouragement, advice and a shoulder to cry on whenever he should need it (even when he doesn't want it). When Momma isn't racing, boasting about the advantages of steam power, or preaching her wisdom to Rusty and the freight trains, she sings some mean blues.
Momma existed as a male character, 'Poppa', until 2018.
- Gender Flip: The aforementioned change from 'Poppa'.
- Green Aesop: Momma's logic directly averts this, as she spends a significant part of 'Light At The End Of The Tunnel' talking about how steam power is more efficient than solar power, electricity and even nuclear fission, but doesn't seem to consider that steam engines require non-renewable, combustible fuels.
- Magical Negro: Momma is usually, but not always, played by a black actor. She also sings the blues, regularly gives out wisdom and advice, and breaks down after her first race (which allows Rusty to take her place).
- Meaningful Name: Momma is the trainyard's Team Mom, so she acts as everyone's 'momma'.
- Team Mom: Mostly to Rusty and the freight trucks, but she's a wise, responsible mother figure to the other trains too.
- This Is a Song: 'Momma's Blues.'The first line of the blues is always sung a second time... so by the time you get to the third line, you've had time to think of a rhyme!
The National Trains are the participants of the world championship that Starlight Express focuses on. They're a vast collection of the strongest, fastest, most impressive engines out there, a mish-mash of anthropomorphic stereotypes gathering together to compete.
As of 2018, the National Trains currently consist of Coco, the TGV Sud-Est (France); Espresso, the Rome-to-Milan Settebello (Italy); Ruhrgold, the ICE train (Germany); Turnov, the Trans-Siberian Express (Russia); Manga, the Shinkansen bullet train (Japan); Brexit, the royal train (Great Britain); and Greaseball, the Union Pacific engine (USA). Other than Greaseball, the nationals are fairly minor characters.
- Funny Foreigner: All of them. They're stereotyped to the nth degree for laughs.
- Husky Russkie: Turnov is a very Russian sort of man, fitting with the Funny Foreigner themes.
- Shout-Out: Brexit's name. Also, Manga was once known as 'Nintendo'.
- The Lad-ette: Coco.
- The Smurfette Principle: Coco, as the only girl in a group of seven engines.
The Coaches
Pearl is the new girl in town, a shiny new observation carriage who wants nothing more than to find her dream train, a steam engine who can woo her with a whistle. Luckily for her, Rusty fits both of those criteria, and is head-over-heels for her as a bonus- but unfortunately, she just doesn't think he's the one. Racing with Greaseball and Electra, however, only serves to further her indecision...
- Defrosting Ice Queen: Pearl is sometimes played as one of these.
- Karma Houdini: Despite being a generally sweet character, Pearl has notable moments in the show that can paint her as a bit of a Jerkass- telling Rusty he isn't good enough for her and refusing to race with him just because he isn't, note , her telling Dinah to "quit crying" and that it's "only fun" after she steals her boyfriend right in front of her face, et cetera. She gets absolutely no comeuppance for this, although she does express her guilt for how she treated Rusty in "Only He".
- Love Redeems: In "Only He", Pearl resolves to change her indecisive ways and be faithful to Rusty in the future.
- Princesses Prefer Pink: Pearl's entire design used to be pink, and she sometimes (but not always) had pink hair to match.
- Really Gets Around: In 'A Lotta Locomotion', a song rife with Double Entendres, this piece of dialogue plays out:Pearl: Ain't gonna smoke, ain't gonna drink.Carriages: What are you gonna do?Pearl: Whaddya think?
- Spotlight-Stealing Squad: Pearl is often a one-woman spotlight stealer in most post-1992 productions. Poor Rusty's status as a shy, undermined Butt-Monkey only serves to make this trope more prominent.
- Wrong Guy First: She does genuinely like Rusty, but chooses to race with the sleeker Elektra, then later Greasball, at first.
Greaseball's doting girlfriend and number one fan, Dinah is a faithful dining car who just wants to help. Even though she isn't too fond of his cheating (both the racing and relationship kind), his indifferent behaviour towards her and his occasional acts of violence, she truly does love and admire him, and is easily forgiving despite his actions.
- Chorus Girls: She was demoted to this status, along with the other coaches bar Pearl, in the U.K and second U.S tours.
- Meaningful Name: Played with. Dinah is a seemingly every-day name, but she's a dining car (her name sounds like the word diner).
- Fanservice with a Smile: Her modern costume designs border on this, as with most of the other coaches.
- Love Martyr: Her love and admiration of Greaseball, despite his actions towards her, makes her clearly one of these.
- The Ditz: Sweet, naive Dinah fits this trope perfectly.
Ashley is a confident, mature smoking car with a lot of independence. Despite being a literal train carriage and therefore unaffected, she clearly seems to understand the dangers of smoking, claiming that "if I don't give up I might choke or have a stroke". Being best friends with Pearl and the other coaches, she's almost always seen hanging around on-stage with them, gossiping and singing with the other three.
She was replaced by Belle (not to be confused with Memphis Belle) in 2018.
- Chorus Girls: She was demoted to this status, along with the other coaches bar Pearl, in the U.K and second U.S tours.
- Cool Big Sis: Mature and confident, Ashley fits this role in the Four-Girl Ensemble.
- Meaningful Name: Played with. Ashley is a seemingly every-day name, but she's a smoking car (the 'ash' in her name referring to the ash from a cigarette).
- Those Two Girls: Along with Buffy.
Buffy may seem to be a sweet, friendly buffet car at first glance, but she's far from innocent. Sarcastic and lewd, she's best friends with the other coaches, and hardly ever leaves their side.
She was replaced by Carrie in 2018.
- Chorus Girls: She was demoted to this status, along with the other coaches bar Pearl, in the U.K and second U.S tours.
- Good Bad Girl: Her many lewd references, contrasted with her sweet and optimistic personality, make her thus.
- Meaningful Name: Played with. Buffy is a seemingly every-day name, but she's a buffet car ('Buffy' being the closest name equivalent to the word 'buffet').
- The Lad-ette: She borders on this.
- Those Two Girls: Along with Ashley.
Memphis Belle is an old sleeping car who spends most of her time reminiscing about her lavish past, sleeping, and hanging around Momma and the freight cars. Following the original London and Broadway productions, she was cut from the show.
Not to be confused with Belle, a coach who was in introduced in 2018.
- Meaningful Name: Much more subtle than some of the other names in the musical. 'Belle' is a term for a beautiful woman, which is exactly what she was until she grew old and went out-of-service.
- Hooker with a Heart of Gold: She's implied to be one, explicitly referring to herself as 'a sleeper with a heart of gold' and making various sexual references in her song.
- Team Mom: To the coaches, before she was cut from the show.
Carrie is a coach who replaced Buffy in 2018.
- Meaningful Name: Played with. Carrie is a seemingly every-day name, but she's a train carriage ('Carrie' being the closest name equivalent to the word 'carriage').
- Those Two Girls: Along with Belle.
Belle is a coach who replaced Ashley in 2018. Her costume has retained elements of Ashley's costume, such as her patterned skirt.
Not to be confused with Memphis Belle, a former coach who has since been cut from the show.
- Cool Big Sis: Having replaced Ashley, Belle now fits this role in the Four-Girl Ensemble.
- Those Two Girls: Along with Carrie.
The Freight Trucks
The Rockies are a group of boxcars with a lot of personality, all of them being strong, opinionated and independent, just like their namesake. They're hardly ever seen apart, as they play an important part of the freight train as a trio, and provided most of the more impressive on-stage rollerskating tricks before the Trax were introduced.
They were replaced by the Hip Hoppers in 2003, but as of 2018, they have been re-introduced to the show.
- Crapsack World: In 'Right Place Right Time', the Rockies comment on the fact that cheating and underhanded tactics are so commonplace that Rusty shouldn't even bother to get his own back, as he will no doubt lose yet again.
- Meaningful Name: As well as being a Shout-Out to the Rocky films, their names serve a meaningful purpose- they're boxcars that carry freight, most likely rocks.
- Shout-Out: The Rockies are named Rocky, Rocky II, Rocky III and Rocky IV, as a shout-out to the popular boxing films. To fit this theme, their costumes vaguely resemble boxing outfits, and they're often seen sparring with each other for fun.
- In productions with both Turnov the Russian train and Rocky IV, expect Turnov to say at one point "I must brake you."
The Hip Hoppers are three box cars with a love for rap, hip hop and- as evident from their costume design- primary colours. They're notably more optimistic than the Rockies, their generally positive and excitable nature most prominent in the third version of 'The Rap'.
They replaced the Rockies in 2003, but as of 2018, the Rockies have been re-introduced.
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": They're literally hip hoppers.
- Totally Radical: Their entire characterisation is based around this.
- Shout-Out: In some productions, one of the Hip Hoppers has 'ALW' on their shirt as a reference to Andrew Lloyd Webber, the creator of Starlight Express.
Flat-Top is a brick truck with a fierce temper and equally fierce attitude. Despite seeming to get along well with the other freight trucks (especially Dustin), he is a member of Greaseball's gang and seems to dislike steam engines just as much as the diesel train does.
- Jerkass: He often takes out his anger on other people, shouting at others for no apparent reason and just being generally rude.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: All the same, he does show a soft side, such as when Momma's boiler goes cold. He also returns Rusty his helmet after Greaseball's gang beats him up.
- Meaningful Name: He's called Flat-Top because, as a personified brick truck, he wears bricks on his head and therefore literally has a flat top.
Dustin is a big hopper (not to be confused with the sort of 'hoppers' that the Hip Hoppers are) with a big heart and a small brain. He loves transporting rocks- or, as he insists they're called, aggregates- as part of the freight train, but perhaps even more so, he loves listening to Momma sing and playing along on his harmonica.
- Underdogs Never Lose: Although he cannot race on his own without being coupled to an engine, he manages to win both races he takes part in, despite his cumbersome weight and build.
Caboose is the freight train's, well, caboose. He always seems friendly and helpful, but underneath his energetic facade lie dangerous motives you wouldn't expect.
Originally known as C.B, Caboose was cut from the London production in 1992 due to new plot and musical developments made to the show. However, he remains a pivotal character in all other productions, despite his role being shortened significantly in Las Vegas.
In 2018, his character design and personality was changed significantly, changing from someone who crashes people for entertainment to someone who crashes people for money, charging people a fee for his services. Due to this, this profile is sectioned based on the version of Caboose the tropes focus on.
- GENERAL (this information applies to all versions of Caboose):
- Adaptation Name Change: In the original London show, his name was C.B, acting as both as a Shout-Out to C.B radios and a shortened version of the word 'caboose'. Since that name was scrapped, his name has varied from production to production, with some calling him Caboose and some calling him (the) Red Caboose.
- Affably Evil: C.B. is genuinely friendly, jovial, clever, witty, and is just as likely to shake your hand and be your friend as he is to murder you on the spot.
- Ax-Crazy: Caboose is not exactly a stable person, as someone who absolutely loves his hobby of crashing trains and will happily regale others with tales of it.
- Card-Carrying Villain: In no incarnation is C.B. anything but proud of his crimes, happily admitting to being a villain and a particularly tricky one to boot.
- Demoted to Extra: After the London and Broadway productions, where he was the main villain, he's lucky to even be just that, as some productions delete his character completely.
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": In the productions where he's known as 'Caboose' or 'Red Caboose', because he's literally a red caboose.
- Evil Laugh: No matter whether it's during 'C.B', 'Mein Spiel' or 'Wide Smile, High Style', no proper performance of his song (or, indeed, the whole musical) would be complete without an incredibly evil laugh. He's practically Laughing Mad. An exception is the Bochum version in 2018, where there is no evil laugh.
- Evil Is Hammy: Although he keeps his villainous side mostly under wraps until the start of Act II, he really lets loose once it's revealed. In the 2018 Bochum version, however, he plays this trope straight.
- Karma Houdini: Despite the many, many crashes he's caused, he hardly ever gets any proper comeuppance, apart from the disadvantage of being slightly wrecked in the crash with Greaseball and Electra.
- Monster Clown: His makeup can evoke this, with bright red cheeks and a dot on his nose.
- Pet the Dog: C.B. genuinely comforts Dinah in "There's Me," with no hint of his typical villainy.
- Psycho for Hire: Even though the 2018 changes mean he's now in it for the money, he's in theory one of these, due to the absolute pleasure he gets from tricking, belitting, and hurting Rusty on Greaseball's orders. Even so, when told to remember whose side he's on, he states:I'm on mine.
- Red and Black and Evil All Over: He's a red caboose after all, usually with black stripes and other dark accents.
- Slasher Smile: Absolutely. The vast majority of the actors who play him have this perfected, although some settle for a Psychotic Smirk instead.
- Spell My Name with a "The": In some productions (for example, the Broadway productions), he's sometimes called- and refers to himself as- the Red Caboose.
- Villain Song: Greaseball and Electra have their own boastful numbers, but neither are truly villain material. Caboose's, however, details his violent behaviour, even going as far as to list off some significant train disasters of recent history (e.g the Great Train Robbery and the wreck of Old 97) and suggest they were all down to him.
- C.B (as originated by Michael Staniforth in 1984):
- Meaningful Name: As well as being a shortened version of the word 'caboose', his original name- C.B- refers to C.B radios, the slang of which he used throughout the original musical.10-4, smokey bear, I could be anywhere!
- Porn Stache: Michael Staniforth, the actor who originated Caboose, sported one of these to fit with the early trucker-influenced design. However, the 'stache was removed when his costume design changed.
- Meaningful Name: As well as being a shortened version of the word 'caboose', his original name- C.B- refers to C.B radios, the slang of which he used throughout the original musical.
- RED CABOOSE (as originated by Barry K. Bernal in 1987)
- Beware the Nice Ones: He's the perfect definition of this trope, with his tin soldier-inspired costume design, Tenor Boy voice, and kind facade.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He's friendly and helpful, and so everyone believes him to be a good, kind-hearted person who keeps his promises. Boy, are they wrong.
- Villain with Good Publicity: This is exactly why Electra/Greaseball is so surprised when Caboose proclaims he'll wipe out Greaseball/Rusty (depending on production), and why he's able to get away with most of the things he does in the first place. As one version of 'Wide Smile, High Style' puts it:Caboose: I've made up my mind to get you the lead! I'll wipe out Greaseball!Electra: You, Mr. Clean?Caboose: Uh-huh, I'm a mean machine!
- NEW CABOOSE (as originated by Daniel Ellison in 2018):
- Hired Guns: Engines who aren't opposed to the idea of cheating pay him to crash other contestants.
- Only in It for the Money: His entire character is based around this, demanding his 'usual fee' before he carries out any dirty deeds. 'Wide Smile, High Style' only serves to emphasise this trope further.Every time a train ends up in the ditch, this small truck makes a buck- ain't that rich?
Other Characters
The human overseer of the trains, Control is the mastermind behind the races. Although things don't always go according to his plans- and he can get quite angry when they don't, to say the least- he has a passion for trains, and loves all his toys, especially Greaseball.
Depending on the production, Control's mother is also heard at the beginning, chiding her son to put the trains away and go to bed already.
- Ambiguous Gender: Although Control is a young boy, he is almost always voiced by a woman, and because Control rarely ever appears on stage at all, it is often hard for the audience to tell which gender he is, though toy trains are seen as traditionally more popular with young male children. Due to Control's small role as a commentator, it hardly matters if Control is a boy or a girl.
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": All the trains know him as Control because he orders them around, but his real, most likely very ordinary name is never revealed.
- Forgotten Framing Device: At the very beginning of the show, Control can be heard playing with his trains late at night, commentating a race. Depending on the production, the story's premise is either that the events are Control's dream (because he fell asleep while playing with the trains), or Control's game (because he is staying up past his bedtime to play with the trains). After this, the fact that he's a child playing with his toy trains is never brought up again, even though he is regularly heard ordering the trains around.
- Meaningful Name: He's known as Control because he controls the trains.
- Rail Enthusiast: Definitely. For a kid, he knows a whole lot of professional terms, can quickly identify the make and nationality of his trains, and commentates all the fictional races he creates. As well as this, the premise of the entire musical involves him either staying up late to play with his toy trains, or dreaming about them- both of these scenarios serving as clear indicators that Control isn't just some casual train fan.
- The Voice: Control is very rarely a physical part of the production. He's usually just a disembodied voice in the sky, and even if he is played on-stage, the trains aren't able to see him.
Despite Electra's independent nature, he needs constant maintenance and care in order to maintain his status as The Ace, with this care being provided by his Components- a posse of faithful, flashy electric trucks, each designed with a unique purpose in order to serve him.
The Components include Wrench (the Repair Truck), Volta (the Freezer Truck), Joule (the Dynamite Truck) and Killerwatt (the Security Truck). Former Components that were cut from the show include Krupp (the Armament Truck) and Purse (the Money Truck).
- Ambiguous Gender: Whether Wrench is male or female depends on the casting- although the character was usually female in London, the Bochum production in Germany has had both genders play Wrench significantly.
- Camp Gay: When he's given notable characterisation, Purse is usually played this way.
- Emotionless Girl: Compared to the more optimistic coaches, Joule, Volta and Wrench especially can come across as this.
- Meaningful Name: Wrench refers to the tool used in repairs, Purse refers to the accessory commonly used to hold money, and Volta, Joule and Killerwatt refer to measurements of electricity (volts, joules and kilowatts, respectively).
- Paid Harem: Wrench and Joule, although all the Components could fit into this trope, especially since Electra is bisexual.
- Praetorian Guard: All the Components serve Electra this way.
The Starlight Express is a mythical engine told of in legend. Belief in the Starlight Express ultimately inspires Rusty (and Dustin) to compete in the final race, despite it never really being seen on-stage; although by tradition Momma's actor sings for the Starlight Express, and sometimes comes on-stage to sing as the character, Momma is not the Starlight Express itself.
- Crystal Dragon Jesus: It's basically the train version of God.
- God in Human Form: Rusty, at the crux of the musical, comes to the realisation that he himself is the Starlight Express, and can do anything if he just believes in himself.
- The Voice: In some productions, an actor sings for the Starlight Express from backstage rather than being stood behind Rusty onstage.
