#🤔 constructing a sodor line on wartime budget and materials that could bear Gordonian hammerblow may have been thomas

[mean-scarlet-deceiver]

I love the idea that Nobby likes James; even sorta respects him! What about Nobby and Gordon? I bet Nobby isnt so impressed by bossy big blue babey Gord

Oop, started to respond and then saved this to drafts. And then I forgot about it. Sorry.

I didn't want to answer at once, though, because when I received this we were only about two-thirds of the way through Springtime, and I thought it would be better to talk about this after the story was over.

Because now you've had a chance to see Nobby bossing someone else around mercilessly — and then, on a dime, going into utter, catastrophizing meltdown the minute he himself suffers a mild indignity.

So I hope it makes sense when I say that Nobby and Gordon have some similarities!

Another is that Nobby actually was, in his youngest years, a similar sort of all-important savior-of-the-railway company flagship. His domain was much smaller than Gordon's, of course, but he had the same absolute primacy and pride. And much like the youngest Gordon it's really not that Nobby was a bad sort, but a fellow engine trying to make him see sense when he was on his high horse was just a fool's errand. (Nobby was a lot more respectful of human authority in those early years... which you may consider to make the situation better or worse, lol. He definitely had—and still has!—more of a temper than Gordon, though, and can be way pettier. The counterbalance is that he has higher ideals and a better ability to relate to other engines.)

A final thing they have in common is that they conceive of and hatch rather daring ideas. Leadership qualities run strong in them both.

Of course, none of this means that Nobby will recognize these similarities. Or that they will in any way dispose him to think kindly of the infant galloping sausage.

Hmm, I reserve the right for this to change as I write, but in general I just think Nobby doesn't at first take much notice of Gordon particularly (heresy, I know!). In the same era Gordon is arriving, so are several absurdly large new Sodor engines and to him they are all ill-mannered whelps.

He doesn't get as steamed up about any of them as much you might think, though, because they are fundamentally Not His Problem. His railway is undergoing Grouping at the time — he has bigger fish to fry. Anyway, if any of his lot were a fourth as rude as the Big Blue Bastards, he'd tear them to shreds, but that's because he knows they were taught better and he expects more from them. Nobby kind of regards Gordon in the at first as a sort of orphan. Not in the sense he pities him but that he kind of half despises him as a poorly brought-up urchin and half thinks it's a shame that no one did better by him.

Nobby has definitely at times told Edward, when Edward has the dubious fortune of bringing a train over the bridge, that he must really tell that Gresley to do this or not do that or to act in such-a-such way.

At which point you can imagine Edward just staring at him with weary disbelief. Nobby, you don't tell Gordon things... it's a waste of good steam.

Nobby thinks this is making excuses, lol. To his mind it's entirely Edward's responsibility to Coppernob all those lost boys into respectable engines. Put your frames into it, son.