Stephen Mercade

Stephen Joesph Mercade (Pronounced Mer-cade) is the railways' signalman who operates from a small ground signal box at the junction besides the sheds.

About
Born in June 1995, Stephen Mercade was brought up on a farm on the outskirts of the town. He first joined the Motor Car Society in 2014 in hopes to find work. But within 5 minutes of being on site was kicked out for revealing to a co-worker about his interests in model railways. He shortly joined the Model Engineers Society and helped out with the construction of the railway's extension loop line. He was welcomed by everyone although young driver Casey didn't take a liking to him after hearing that he used to work at the MCS.

During the excavation of the trackbed, Stephen discovered a emerald green jewel which turned out to be one that his great grandfather was rumoured to have stolen from a museum in the town. The jewel held a hidden power which warped Stephen's mind and caused him to create an army of brainwashed soldiers. He is defeated by Casey and the jewel was soon destroyed, once he was able to gain control his mind long enough.

Recovered from his ordeal, Stephen was given a 2nd chance at working on the railway and is given the jb at working the loop line's signal box. The area is also fittingly named, 'Mercade Pass', for it was where Stephen was going to start tearing up the railway with his brainwashed army before Casey stopped him.

Family History
Stephen is one of the few characters who is involved with a criminal background. His family were known for being notorious thieves and con artists, one believed to have been great friends with one of the Great Train Robbers. It is unknown which member of the gang they were friends with.

One of Stephen's great grandfathers, Francis Mercade, is roumered to have stolen a mystical jewel that has hidden powers to those who possess it. He was killed during an air raid-raid when the locomotive his gang stole was struck by a crashing German plane along the seafront. His burnt body was found 200 yards away in land, believed to have crawled all the way from the wreckage.

When Stephen found the jewel, he was able to bring his great grandfather back to life. But found that he simply wanted to gain the power he never got the chance to use. Gaining his own personality again, Stephen was able to destroy the jewel and send his great grandfather back to the underworld.

Appearance
Stephen is 5ft 9inches tall. He has green eyes and his hair is jet black. He also bares a small moustache.

During his debut to the series Stephen wore casual clothing but since he became a member of the railway he is known for wearing the following clothing:
 * Grease top cap (With M.E.S. in gold letters)
 * White T-shirt
 * Navy blue waistcoat (With M.E.S. in gold stitching)
 * Dark grey jeans
 * Black boots

Trivia

 * Stephen is based on the character Buxton from the 1970's children's film, 'Dougal and the Blue Cat'
 * He is the only known person to hold the record for being a member of the MCS for a short period of time.
 * His surname is based on the car brand Mercedes. The pronunciation of the surname was inspired by the late Irish stand up comedian, Brendan Grace, who once pronounced Mercedes as 'Mer-kayd-ezz'
 * He lives with Casey as a lodger.