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Here's my boy's official ref sheet!!! I have written a ridiculous amount of lore about this metal man it is insane. I am working on a story with him and other characters I haven't introduced here. I am in the process of writing a Novella about an American Trench Loco as we speak. This bio is gonna be a long one, enjoy!

Schätzchen (can be shortened to Schatzi) is a German trench engine. He was built in 1915 so the world has been at war for his entire life. Built for war, immediately sent to war. His personality has been shaped by the soldiers around him. He is brave, strong, and proud (but not vain). He understands how important his work is and gives it his all. He can be stubborn and pop-offish around his crew but holds his tongue around strangers. He is very gullible and naïve which is occasionally taken advantage of by people in his unit. He is considered a fellow soldier by his crew and the other soldiers in his regiment, and they treat him as such.

Schatzi did not start off with a name. In this “universe” as you may call it, trench locomotives usually are never named. They are known solely by their numbers. They are machines made for war, and just like a soldier is known by the serial number on his dogtags, so are the engines known only by the number on their plates. They are seen as expendable and nothing more. If an engine has a name it is because they did something heroic enough to become loved and valued by their unit. In a similar way we only know the names of war heroes, we only know the names of engines brave enough to sacrifice themselves for their humans. The rest are lost to time.

Schatzi understands the fragility of human life and puts himself in harms way to see that lives are saved. He earns his name after saving his injured crew, and a very overloaded train of soldiers retreating from the front. He suffers severe damage in the process and is written off as scrap. However, his crew, who see him as their family, protest and get word out to everyone he saved on that train. It sets their entire sector of the front ablaze. The commander of the region is informed that his soldiers are threatening mutiny if this one trench locomotive is sent for scrap. So, instead of scrapping No. 1091 the engine is saved by the officer’s pen. Once they learn that their engine has been saved, the soldiers go to rescue him and in their jubilation scribble out “Unser Schatz” (Our Treasure) on his tank with chalk. He is repaired, and his crew lovingly paint Schätzchen on his tanks because he has and always will be their little treasure.

Afterwards, he is adored by everyone. He is accepted by the soldiers as “one of them” and is addressed accordingly. They play jokes on him and tease him just as they would a comrade. He even gets the nickname “Scheissechen” (which is like calling him little shit) when he is taking them back to the front. A lot of “tough love.”

He does any job asked of him. He carries munitions, supplies, and troops to the front but the job he holds in the highest regard is serving as an ambulance. Derailment was very common on Trench Railways. Schatzi is a fully articulated locomotive which gives him an advantage over other engines. He can handle tight corners with ease which enables him to keep up a good pace while rushing to and from the front lines. However, the track was still incredibly rough, and he does derail on occasion. His biggest fear is derailment while pulling ambulance wagons. He knows how precious time is to injured patients and blames himself if someone dies enroute.

Another advantage he has is the ability to “hide” his face. Some trench locomotives have adapted and developed ways of protecting their faces from shrapnel and debris. In a sense they can choose to "hide" their face and appear like a normal engine while still having all the functions of a "living engine." He can still see and speak while faceless which he occasionally uses to play tricks on people.

He prefers the company of humans over engines. Once he was accepted as a fellow comrade he took an interest in how humans live and interact with each other. He enjoys listening to them talk about their families and loved ones. He even learns popular war songs and gets to share rations and drink beer with his crew on occasion. The war has caused him to suffer in his own right but, regardless of how difficult things are, he carries on through adversity and remains strong. Lives are counting on him and as long as there is someone in need he will continue to give it his all.

Description

Here's my boy's official ref sheet!!! I have written a ridiculous amount of lore about this metal man it is insane. I am working on a story with him and other characters I haven't introduced here. I am in the process of writing a Novella about an American Trench Loco as we speak. This bio is gonna be a long one, enjoy!

Schätzchen (can be shortened to Schatzi) is a German trench engine. He was built in 1915 so the world has been at war for his entire life. Built for war, immediately sent to war. His personality has been shaped by the soldiers around him. He is brave, strong, and proud (but not vain). He understands how important his work is and gives it his all. He can be stubborn and pop-offish around his crew but holds his tongue around strangers. He is very gullible and naïve which is occasionally taken advantage of by people in his unit. He is considered a fellow soldier by his crew and the other soldiers in his regiment, and they treat him as such.

Schatzi did not start off with a name. In this “universe” as you may call it, trench locomotives usually are never named. They are known solely by their numbers. They are machines made for war, and just like a soldier is known by the serial number on his dogtags, so are the engines known only by the number on their plates. They are seen as expendable and nothing more. If an engine has a name it is because they did something heroic enough to become loved and valued by their unit. In a similar way we only know the names of war heroes, we only know the names of engines brave enough to sacrifice themselves for their humans. The rest are lost to time.

Schatzi understands the fragility of human life and puts himself in harms way to see that lives are saved. He earns his name after saving his injured crew, and a very overloaded train of soldiers retreating from the front. He suffers severe damage in the process and is written off as scrap. However, his crew, who see him as their family, protest and get word out to everyone he saved on that train. It sets their entire sector of the front ablaze. The commander of the region is informed that his soldiers are threatening mutiny if this one trench locomotive is sent for scrap. So, instead of scrapping No. 1091 the engine is saved by the officer’s pen. Once they learn that their engine has been saved, the soldiers go to rescue him and in their jubilation scribble out “Unser Schatz” (Our Treasure) on his tank with chalk. He is repaired, and his crew lovingly paint Schätzchen on his tanks because he has and always will be their little treasure.

Afterwards, he is adored by everyone. He is accepted by the soldiers as “one of them” and is addressed accordingly. They play jokes on him and tease him just as they would a comrade. He even gets the nickname “Scheissechen” (which is like calling him little shit) when he is taking them back to the front. A lot of “tough love.”

He does any job asked of him. He carries munitions, supplies, and troops to the front but the job he holds in the highest regard is serving as an ambulance. Derailment was very common on Trench Railways. Schatzi is a fully articulated locomotive which gives him an advantage over other engines. He can handle tight corners with ease which enables him to keep up a good pace while rushing to and from the front lines. However, the track was still incredibly rough, and he does derail on occasion. His biggest fear is derailment while pulling ambulance wagons. He knows how precious time is to injured patients and blames himself if someone dies enroute.

Another advantage he has is the ability to “hide” his face. Some trench locomotives have adapted and developed ways of protecting their faces from shrapnel and debris. In a sense they can choose to "hide" their face and appear like a normal engine while still having all the functions of a "living engine." He can still see and speak while faceless which he occasionally uses to play tricks on people.

He prefers the company of humans over engines. Once he was accepted as a fellow comrade he took an interest in how humans live and interact with each other. He enjoys listening to them talk about their families and loved ones. He even learns popular war songs and gets to share rations and drink beer with his crew on occasion. The war has caused him to suffer in his own right but, regardless of how difficult things are, he carries on through adversity and remains strong. Lives are counting on him and as long as there is someone in need he will continue to give it his all.