Hawk, Aye!

'''"Hawk, Aye!" 'is the third episode of The British Railway Series: The End of the LNER''.

Plot
The London & North Eastern and Great Western Railways have always been great competitors, but after Sir Ralph's failure in the previous episode, the Foreman is forced to bring in an engine from the Western Region to do the shunting whilst the others fill in for Sir Ralph whilst he is being repaired.

On the day that he arrives, he comes to greet the Foreman, and introduces himself as Hawksworth, or "Hawk" for short. Whilst the Foreman is impressed with his work, Allen is slightly puzzled, as Hawk doesn't shunt the trucks the way Stephen does, and he doesn't talk much either. Stephen just tells him that some engines like to carry on with their work instead of talking to the others. Allen still remains dubious.

That evening, Hawk is listening to the engines talking, but he doesn't understand if they are talking about football or engines. When he asks them, Allen tells him that they are talking about both, as some members of one of the LNER engine classes were named after football teams. Hawk asks if Swindon is one of the teams, and is hurt when the others start laughing. As Allen and Stephen attempt to sooth his feelings, the conversation changes to being about the LNER and GWR. When Allen claims that they are no longer either company, Stephen tells him that they can still feel like they are. Hawk stays silent for the rest of the evening, thinking about Swindon.

On Tuesday morning, Hawk is arranging a special train of vans. Herbert usually pulls this train, but since he is taking Sir Ralph's stopping passenger train, Stephen has to take it. Unfortunately, the goods manager orders Hawk to put extra vans onto the already heavy train, as he has forgotten that Herbert isn't pulling it. At first, Stephen is able to pull the train easily, as the first part of the journey is on a downward slope, but when he reaches the hill, he starts to slip, and eventually comes to a standstill. Whilst the Guard goes to get help, Stephen is reversed back down the hill. At first, he is worried that he will stall again, but his driver tells him that a banker is coming to help them.

A little while later, Hawk comes to the rescue. He apologises for the mix-up, and then proceeds to help Stephen back up the hill.

That evening, at the yard, Allen admits that Hawk isn't too bad, but Stephen is too tired to say anything, and falls asleep immediately. Allen then begins to talk to Hawk, and soon they are chatting away about Swindon as good friends, both from different regions, but both British.

Characters

 * Allen
 * Stephen
 * Herbert
 * Hawk
 * The Foreman
 * Sir Ralph (does not speak)
 * Nigel (cameo; original face)
 * Gulliver (cameo)
 * A GWR King Class (cameo)
 * Scott (cameo)
 * Gadwall (mentioned)
 * Duck (mentioned)

Trivia

 * Nigel is seen wearing his original face in this episode.
 * This episode was the first to mention Sir Ralph's backstory, which was later revealed in The Legacy of Gadwall.
 * Hawk had mentioned about his friend, Montague/Duck, which was a Thomas & Friends reference. This marks the first and only reference to the Thomas & Friends series made in the British Railway Stories.
 * Stock footage from Veto a V2! is used.

Goofs

 * When Herbert passes the camera with his stopping train, a stuffed white tiger can be seen in the background.
 * In the intro the flashback picture is wrong. Because the flashback is meant to be in the 1930s era with apple Green liveries and teak coaches. Scott in one shot can be seen in 1968 condition - two tenders and the "Pegler" version of the Apple Green Livery.
 * Nigel and Sir Ralph is seen wearing their old circular faces in one shot.
 * Reversed shots were used in the episode.
 * Like the previous two episodes, different parts of the room where the episode was filmed can be seen throughout the episode.
 * A Hornby powerplug can be seen when Stephen is waiting at the level crossing for Allen to pass.
 * Scott can also be seen in 1960's condition, with brunswick green paint, a double chimney and smoke deflectors, even though this episode is set in 1950.
 * Stephen passes the background as a ghost in a few shots.
 * When Stephen arrives at the Hill the camera is tilted.
 * Even though Stephen went back down the hill, in the next scene he is still in the same place.