Tonight we have a very special guest blog post from a steam engine – a very famous steam engine too!  W.P. Allen is in the poll to find the most famous steam locomotive (poll is now closed)  If you want to find out more, be sure to click on the links in the blog post.  The British Railway Stories can also be followed on twitter (click here), subscribed to the You Tube channel (click here) and I’d strongly advise bookmarking the blog (click here) and joining the Facebook Group (click here).  Without further ado, I’ll hand you over to W.P.Allen!

Hallo there! My name is W.P. Allen. “Allen” for short. I’m a member of the Peppercorn A1 class of steam locomotives, and I currently reside at Copley Hill shed in Leeds.

For the last six years, I have been a main character in a series of films for Children under the title “The British Railway Stories”. The original series of eighteen episodes came from humble beginnings, as a small time project made whilst at university, into a life’s work which has told our stories and histories in a most entertaining manner.

Since our debut in 2007, our films have been watched over seven million times, and in over forty countries worldwide.

You can watch mine and my friends original adventures through YouTube here.

In 2012, our author published his first children’s book, “Tale of the Unnamed Engine” based on some of our adventures and histories, and I was the main character. My good friend Stephen narrates the story to a young boy named Stanley, and my other close friend, Sir Ralph Wedgwood, acts as my nemesis. He is still somewhat disgruntled at the light he is portrayed in, but as I reminded him, that was what he was like back then!

The book tells the story of my first day at work, after I was built in 1948 as the first of forty nine Peppercorn A1 locomotives. I learned a lot about the running of a railway in that first day, and I will always be grateful to Geoffrey, and yes to Sir Ralph too, for the knowledge I gained from those experiences. This have stood me in good stead over the years.

The book is available as an eBook on the Amazon Kindle and on the Kobo eReaders, worldwide, and will soon be out in paperback for the first time.

I was never a famous locomotive when I was built, but I was much loved by my crews, and the family for whom I was named. The great grandson of William Philip Allen contacted my author recently to say how happy they all were that “his” locomotive had been commemorated in both his films and in the children’s book this way.

I wear my nameplates with pride, in the knowledge that we keep his memory, and our railway histories alive.

Thank you for reading, and vote for me as the most famous steam locomotive (note: poll is now closed).

Yours faithfully,

60114, W.P. Allen

Many thanks to W.P. Allen for this fantastic piece and the very best of luck to him in winning the vote!  Don’t forget, if you have a story, article or pictures that you would like to publish, you can do it here at Locoyard.com.  Please contact Locoyard if you do (click here!)