Lexi

Lexi is a boisterous cab-forward engine who works at the Steelworks on the Mainland.

Personality
Lexi is an eager and excitable engine. She is proud of being experimental and 'cab-forward'- even though she is convinced this makes her an un-useful engine.

Lexi is upbeat, cheery and outgoing, and likes to experiment with how she presents herself, often trying out different voices and how she phrases her expressions just to see which one she thinks works best. Lexi is not always confident she gets things right, but she loves the excitement of anything new, is very sociable, and keen to explore new things.

Basis
Lexi is based on the North Pacific Coast Railroad Cab-Forward 4-4-0 No. 21 "Thomas-Stetson", a rebuild of NPCRR #5 which had been wrecked in 1897. An innovative engine built by Bill Thomas, it is considered the first cab-forward locomotive and was one of the first oil burners, as well as the first locomotive to use a marine boiler. The engine had insufficient adhesion weight and its oil burners were prone to damage due their proximity to its water tubes, and was unpopular with crews, its unusual appearance earning it the nickname "The Freak". #21 was scrapped in 1905.

Trivia

 * Lexi has received several modifications compared to her basis:
 * Lexi has been modified to accommodate a face, as a lamp would actually be where her face is. Her lamp has also been moved to her added footplate.
 * She has been modified for working on British railways with the addition of buffers and a screw-link coupling on her tender, as well as brake-pipes on her front and back.
 * She has been regauged from 3ft gauge to standard gauge.
 * Lexi seems to speaks with a Scottish accent and imitates many other dialects, despite being based on an American engine.
 * Lexi's tender wheels are actually reused from Marion's wheels, and her bell is reused from Belle's bell.
 * Lexi shares the same whistle sound as the Rainbow Sun and Carlos.