Duck is a Company Engine™ at heart, he's fiercly loyal to his builders/employers –– the general atmosphere of the GWR and it's branding (God's Wonderful Railway) makes me feel like it's the most fiercly "patriotic" of the Big Four railways. And that would've been his downfall had he never came to Sodor, because he probably would've just went along with Modernization with no fuss. "Well, that's the way things are! If our railway says it's the right thing, who am I to judge?"
I'd imagine Oliver was just like Duck at one point. Then the sixties came. The GWR was not really a thing anymore but that didn't make him feel any less betrayed. It was never the diesels, it was his own railway. I think there's a lot of potential in a Duck V. Oliver storyline that explores, y'know, Oliver's somewhat silent resentment towards Duck's constant praise of the GWR.
FutureRust’s The Bargain has a hard-hitting moment towards the end, where Oliver touches upon very nearly the same resentment!
I think it would be very interesting to be explored in more detail.
To be sure, Modernisation was a British Railways project, not a Great Western project. If Duck had any Feelings about Modernisation (and how could a steam engine not?), then any negative ones could be projected on B.R., while the good ol’ G.W. could keep its halo — "surely, if they still had a free hand, they’d do this better, and good loyal engines would not suffer unnecessarily" (says Duck, who probably also has the rose-colored glasses version of Swindon's history with the engines it absorbed from smaller railways up to and including Grouping).
That said, I’ve definitely kicked around similar thoughts! Again, it would be neat if someone explored this further. Even if I don’t think it’s Perfectly Canonical, it’s very interesting fic breeding grounds.
