#<- painting of one assume it’s the LNER

[theflyingkipper]

“Early Bird”

April 7, 2022 (16”x20”, acrylic on canvas)

[stories-of-the-nrm]

Humanized Engine Designs

Thanks to @jayde-jots submission here's a master post about how I imagine each of these engines would look like as humans. I'll plan on updating this as more characters are introduced. Unless specifically asked this is just for NRM engines (with the exceptions of Gordon and his scrapped siblings). I know that AI art isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I use it for the sake of giving my readers an idea of what these characters look like. If anyone has their own art they want to share by all means share it, I'd love to see it.

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General Rules

Every engine with a face can turn into a human, although every engine has a different opinion on how they use that ability. Some of them like Scott absolutely loves it. Other engines like Mallard absolutely hate their human form and only leave their engine if absolutely necessary.

An engine's human form is based on not only the build of their engine, but also their activity levels and how much human food they eat. It's entirely possible for an engine's human form to gain or lose weight if any of those 3 things are changed.

Their human forms never age as their face is based on the engine's general personality. They do however change if enough of the engine's parts are removed. For example if an engine has no wheels, they won't be able to have legs in their human form. Scratched up paint will appear on their human form as well.

If an engine gets hurt as a human they can always heal in their engine. However, their pain tolerance as a human is significantly higher (which makes it an appealing option for any mechanical servicing as it reduces the area of the pain.)

The Flying Scotsman (Scott)

As stated in a previous post, Scott looks very similar to Elvis Presley. His height is a consistent 6' 8". The smallest he's ever been was WWII as that was before he started eating human food and it was his most active period in his service history.

As you can see the one of the left is about 300 lbs but super muscular. This is how he looked from his first instance as a human all the way up until after WWII when he was modified into an A3. The one on the right is how he looks around the time of his overhaul. Decades of eating human food and being inactive caused him to weigh as much as 400 lbs (hence why it's necessary for multiple humans to help him move if he's ill). He's still strong but it's obvious his muscles aren't defined like they used to be.

Gordon (NWR #4)

Gordon for all intents and purposes is Scott's older brother. He was the prototype for the A1 but he's still technically the same class as Scott since he too was modified into an A3. He's also 6' 8" like Scott but weight wise he's actually smaller. Gordon doesn't eat human food nearly to the degree Scott does. Gordon, while his express train line is significantly shorter than Scott's ever was, has remained fully serviceable well into the 2000s.

In Gordon's case, his human form is basically consistent. He never regularly left his engine until after WWII, so his human form has remained the same. A fully serviceable engine is the equivalent of an athlete so despite his age, Gordon is still his original weight of 300 lbs. Even after he was taken off of his express duties, Gordon still pulls regular passenger trains, meaning his weight hasn't changed.

LNER A4 Mallard (Mallard)

Mallard is an interesting engine. Depsite his model actually weighing more than Scott, I actually see his human form as smaller. Mallard's design specifically had these things called "valances" or side skirting which is how he became streamlined to begin with. Since this is something you can actually remove, I would assume that would be enough to make him weigh less than Scott. Like Scott and Gordon, Mallard would be 6' 8".

As you can see, he's quite slim and athletic despite his inactivity. I would say in his peak, Mallard was about 220 lbs. He's known as the fastest steam engine ever and had to consistently travel hundreds of miles over 90 mph and even up to 100 mph. That would keep him in very good shape. Even after his withdrawal and long periods of inactivity Mallard would still weigh at the most 250 lbs. He doesn't eat human food and hasn't had as many major overhauls compared to Scott and Gordon.

GNR A1 Great Northern (Great Northern)

Originally the first of the A1s, Great Northern was built to be the same size as the rest of his class. Therefore like Gordon and Scott he would be 6' 8". In 1945 he was withdrawn to be rebuilt into an LNER Thompson Class A1/1. Because of his rebuild he would actually grow to be about 6' 9".

Given his services in WWII, he would've been 300 lbs like Gordon. He took great pride in his service and only left his engine once to have his picture taken in what he called his dress uniform. He was the highest performing engine of his new class which would keep his weight consistent with his base human weight. Despite efforts to preserve him, a badly worn cylinder resulted in his withdrawal and eventual scrapping in 1962. In the NRM universe, Scott honors his immediate oldest brother by keeping said picture in his wallet. Gordon also honored his successor by wearing his dress uniform when he pulled the Queen's train.

LNER Class A4 Sir Nigel Gresley (Nigel)

The 100th official Gresley Pacific ever built. He's the same height as Mallard as they have the exact same design. His livery changed numerous times, even after WWII and decided to grow out a mustache to honor his creator.

He's one of the only preserved engines still in operation. Therefore unlike Mallard, Nigel is still about 230 lbs. Since it isn't a full workload compared to his early days, he did gain some weight. He only eats human food on special occasions such as his name sake's birthday, and the anniversary of his 1959 excursion where he reached 112 mph (the postwar speed record for a steam engine).

[mystarsignisno]

Song analysis - Karma (AJR) and Scott

For @londonflowerboy, who brought this to my attention Hope you enjoy a nice dose of Angst (TM)

--- I’ve been so good I’ve been helpful and friendly I’ve been so good Why am I feeling empty? I’ve been so good I’ve been so good this year - Scott has been actively trying to be a better person for some time, but often you can't see the effect it has when you're the one enacting the change: that is, that Scott objectively has been a better person, but it doesn't make him feel fulfilled. I’ve been so good But it’s still getting harder I’ve been so good Where the hell is the karma? I’ve been so good I’ve been so good this year - this lack of fulfillment has been wearing away at his motivation, and now he's struggling. He's looking for things to indicate improvement and to motivate himself, but isn't finding anything. Why Are you asking me why? My days and nights are filled with disappointment - Compared to the glory days of the LNER, current life must be a bit of a let down. I suppose preservation was very much viewed through rose tinted glass, made out to be better than one could expect. Fine Oh, no everything’s fine I’m not sure why I booked today’s appointment - However, Scott is lucky in that he's been preserved, and in working order. Therefore a lot of engines would say that Scott's life is, in fact, perfectly fine and he has nothing to complain about. Scott is possibly internalizing this attitude. I’ve been so good I’ve been helpful and friendly I’ve been so good Why am I feeling empty? I’ve been so good I’ve been so good this year And I’ve been so good But it’s still getting harder I’ve been so good Where the hell is the karma? I’ve been so good I’ve been so good this year - See above, but all these questions Scott keeps asking himself don't seem to have satisfactory answers. If you keep coming up with one answer, surely it must be the right one...? What Am I normal or not? Am I crazier than other patients? - Perhaps a little dig at his celebrity status, that Scott hasn't been normal for a long time and never will be truly 'normal' ever again Right I’ve done everything right So where’s the karma doc I’ve lost my patience - He doesn't see any sort of positive return on his efforts to be a better person and he's running out of motivation and energy: if there's not going to be any real change, why bother striving to be more? ‘Cause I’ve been so good I’ve been working my ass off I’ve been so good Still I’m lonely and stressed out I’ve been so good I’ve been so good this year - Scott has been trying to 'pull his weight', taking excursion trains and generally trying to do his best for the museum. However, he's still one of only 2 A1/a3s (assuming Gordon does not absolutely insist on his A0 classification), and is still quite lonely. And I’ve been so good But it’s still getting harder I’ve been so good Where the hell is the karma? I’ve been so good I’ve been so good this year - With no visible benefit and flagging motivation, Scott's about to give up. Why try if does no good? (Ah ah ah ah) (x6) I’ve been so good this year (x2) Time I know we’re out of time But what if sad thoughts come and I can’t stop it? - Struggling with one's own thoughts is a common experience, but for someone like Scott who assumably spends extended periods without support (this is laid out a bit like a therapy session and getting a Gresley to therapy is like getting James to skip out on a new coat of paint), he's worrying about his ability to cope Bye I don’t wanna say bye If only I could keep you in my pocket - Feelings of fear at the thought of leaving one of the (probably only) parts of his support network willing to sit and listen to him To give me Some diagnosis of why I’m so hollow Please give me instructions I promise I’ll follow - Scott is absolutely desperate and seeking ways to feel better (even if it means following instructions, which he rarely would do normally) I tripped on my ankle and fractured my elbow But doesn’t that mean that the tour’s gonna sell, though? - Self deprecation. Like a great number of comedians, Scott tries to offset his pain by highlighting any positive he can find: even if it's correlation not causation I try to explain the good faith that’s been wasted But after an hour it sounds like complaining - Scott hates trying to explain how he feels because it ends up feeling so selfish that he can't rationalise it to himself, even if it's unhealthy to bottle up his feelings Wait, don’t go away, can I lie here forever? You say that I’m better, why don’t I feel better? - Even if people tell him he's doing better, he'd have trouble believing anything he can't see. He would much rather stay somewhere he can read the people around him easier and be absolutely sure he isn't messing up The universe works in mysterious ways But I’m starting to think it ain’t working for me Doctor, should I be good, should I be good this year? - More questioning. What Scott really needs is some direction, a reason to do things so that he can just follow a plan set out for him. To be on track, so to speak.