#ITS TRYING TO BE A STEAM LOCOMOTIVE BUT IT DOESN'T RUN ON STEAM

[the-lord-of-the-things]

becoming a Train Guy™️was a curse because its made me deeply aware of how deeply Fucked this train is

[whirligig-girl]

Railroader doesn't allow you to customize the liveries of steam engines yet... but if it did, this is how i'd like to run my three engines.

Anyway... sentient locomotives are probably technically employees of the railroad rather than equipment, right? In railroader, the self-driving feature of the engines results in the engine getting a paycheck. So here's some excerpts from their job interviews. (they're not very good at job interviews)

interviewer: "Tell me about yourself." Trinity: "I'm a G-16 Mogul built 1906 by Baldwin with a two-six-oh wheel arrangement and a tractive effort of sixteen thousand pounds. I weigh eighty two thousand pounds and have a factor of adhesion of, ohh, four point five, four point six. Clayton: "I consider myself something of an academic. Of course an engine can't go to school, but I try to keep an eye out for the latest happenings in the world of science and technology. Faith: "I was built for speed and power, so despite these little wheels I am a pacific, and like any pacific, I can do passenger trains just fine. But I have no problem with freight either.

interviewer: "Where do you see yourself in five years?" Trinity: "Switching cars n' hauling freight." Clayton: "Oh god. Have you even seen the way things are going in this country? I mean, it could be worse, I could live in england, but in five years I wouldn't be surprised if I've been… erm, uh, i mean, I have every INTENT on making it past seventy, maybe even beyond. And I don't just mean as a museum piece." Faith: "I don't know. I seem to find my way all around the country these days. Things used to be so predictable, but now, it's just shuffling from one job to another. I try my best, but things keep going wrong…

interviewer: "What are your strengths?" Trinity: "Haven't we been through this? I told you my tractive effort is 16 thousand pounds. And yes, that IS plenty enough. I do NOT struggle to output that tractive effort. Clayton: "I'd say my best strength is my adaptability. I was built for express runs on the west coast, but here I am 60 years later hauling mostly freight on the shortline. I enjoy the intellectual stimulation of shunting just as much as the wind buffeting my face on a good long passenger journey." Faith: "Well you know. I'd probably say my best strength is my strength. Speed is nice, but power is what really gets you out of trouble."

interviewer: "Describe your work style." Trinity: "Well, you first. Describe your rule book. I go by the book whenever I can. And I will push the book to its limits to get things done efficiently, but I will do it by the book." Clayton: "I don't like to rush myself. Once I'm on the mainline I can make up for lost time, but I try to be sure to take care and be methodical with how I work in the yard." Faith: "How does the rhyme go? Safety first and tonnage last? That's the kind of thing management likes to hear right?"

interviewer: "what motivates you?" Trinity: "What a dumb question what do you mean what motivates me. If I have fire in my firebox and a good head of steam I'm going to need to put that steam somewhere. I don't need 'motivation' to work. I just do it." Clayton: "if i do not find a way to make myself useful my tender will run dry and my boiler will freeze and i will be left to rot on a siding somewhere. Haha. I love the current economic system we all live under sooo much!" (interviewer: [writes "marxist ten-wheeler" in notes.]) Faith: "I guess deep down I just want someone to be proud of me? I want someone to look at me go by and think 'wow! she's doing such a good job.' and then I want them to tell me that I'm doing a good job. Please."

interviewer: "Are you a team player?" Trinity: "What, you mean like, am I a multiple unit?" Clayton: "Yes. I think I bring out the best in everyone I work with." Faith: "Well, sometimes it's hard to get to know the other engines, and sometimes I think they don't like me very much. But I'll pull any train even if it has another engine on it too, if that's what you mean?"

interviewer: "Are you willing to work overtime?" Trinity: "The question is, do you have a crew willing to crew me overtime. That's usually the thing that holds me back." Clayton: "Hahaa… yeahh… totally…" Faith: [long pause.] "i do work… over… time… like the job doesn't get done instantly. It. You know it uh. It takes… time… So I do it over… time…"

interviewer: "What are your salary expectations?" Trinity: "Just the coal and water is fine." Clayton: "Well I'm a locomotive with about 60 years of experience so I expect to be paid an engineer's wage of $25 per day." Faith: "I expect a… salary… and know what that is…"

interviewer: "how do you handle stress?" Trinity: "Are you. Asking about my frames. Do I look like a damn twig to you? I can handle tension and compression just fine." Clayton: "Well popping my safety valve usually helps but I have other coping skills like counting the ties and rocking my reverser back and forth." Faith: "I usually just repress it and pretend everything is fine. I'm really good with passengers."

interviewer: "What is your dream job?" Trinity: "shortline railroad locomotive. I love my job." Clayton: "Movie star. The glamor, the recognition, the celebrities, oh it would be so thrilling!" Faith: "Well as long as it's not repetitive logging trips day in and day out, anything works for me."

interviewer: "Why do you want this job?" Trinity: "Your railroad has lots of industries still connected to it, and I think it would be fun." Clayton: "I feel like we've already been over this. If I don't have a job I will rust and decay." Faith: "Hoping for a source of stability finally, and the Class Is don't have that anymore."

interviwer: "Why should we hire you?" Trinity: "Because you'll be hard pressed to find a locomotive with a better work ethic." Clayton: "Because you'll want an adaptable, intelligent, experienced locomotive who can get herself out of trouble better than these new engines can." Faith: "Because I am truly the best of both worlds."

[1863-project]

If you were making that list, what would you consider the seven wonders of the railroad world?

Hm, putting me on the spot here!

I mentioned Horseshoe Curve in Altoona, PA for a reason.

Horseshoe Curve was completed in 1854. The purpose of it was to reduce the grade trains had to climb up through the mountains and avoid the much more time-consuming route of the Allegheny Portage Railroad. Today, there's a visitor center in the middle of the Curve, and railfans go there to watch trains go by and picnic outside.

As mentioned in the previous post, Tehachapi Loop is also impressive and I'd give it a spot - it legitimately looks like something out of someone's model train layout.

From above this doesn't even look real. But it's real!

I've seen some people put the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway in West Bengal on their lists, and I'd agree with them. It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site for a reason. It's narrow gauge, climbs up through the mountains, and is popular with tourists - and although it has some diesels it also still uses steam. Look at how cute this locomotive is.

Another UNESCO World Heritage Site for consideration is the Forth Bridge, in Scotland:

It's a cantilever railway bridge and was the longest cantilever bridge span in the world at the time of its opening, a title it held between 1890 and 1919. It's still the second longest today. In 2016 Scotland voted it as their greatest man-made wonder, an impressive feat in a country stereotyped as being chock full of civil and mechanical engineers.

For reaching incredible heights in the 19th century, look no further than the Ferrovías Central in Peru.

Designed by a Polish political exile named Ernest Malinowski, it was built in the 1870s and still operates today. What was known as the Callao, Lima & Oroya Railway at the time of its opening is still the second highest railroad in the world today, only being surpassed by the Qinghai-Tibet Railway over 100 years later.

It would be silly not to include the Trans-Siberian Railroad on this list - in terms of sheer scope, this thing is massive.

It's the longest railway line in the world. Nothing else even comes remotely close. Trips along it can take weeks depending on the speed the trains are running.

Lastly, for a more modern entry, I'd propose the Channel Tunnel linking England and France - at its lowest point, it's 246 feet below sea level. In terms of a modern feat of engineering, this one is definitely up there. It was completed the year I turned five, and it was a big deal even over here in the US.

Of course, the fun of this is coming up with your own! And I had to think pretty hard about this because I was trying to do it without using any locomotives, which would have been a cop-out!

Here are a few links to people having this debate online, in case you want to read more - 1, 2, 3, 4

[neutrallyobsessed]

òwô what's this?? some info dumping bout my ttte stand user au?

....or stand au, cause the humanized versions are the stands but that's besides the point buT YEAHHH not everything is complete, but that's the fun about it, i just want you to read some of my thought process and maybe you can help me fill some blanks x3

General Info About The Stands:

The locomotives and other vehicles are alive! i don't know why (yet?), so moving on. All of them can manifest a human form called Stand, they are shaped like that because engines always think on what could be the most useful. Engines and Stands co-exist so we can have double the blorbos! Two of Them™ :D! They work togheter and are either a good moral compass that helps their desicion making for what would be best or enablers agents of chaos, it depends of the mood, circumstances, if they've been bothered by another engine, etc.

Stands may look human but they're definitely not humans. The grey skin is the first giveaway; then there's the fact that they can hover, basically float like a couple of cms off the air and be (almost) as fast (also strong) as their locomotive counterparts so they can follow them as they steam along the railway~. Tho they usually just sit on the boiler, another thing a human couldn't do, plus they control their tangibility at will, so waist-down can be tangible to sit on top of the train while leaving the rest of the body untangible thus unnaffected by the wind caused by the high speeds.

I'm not thinking too deeply about their digestive systems but they can eat pretty much everything... as long as it can be easily destroyed by fire. So apart from being able to consume their fuel by mouth they can enjoy "human food" if they so desire. Among... other things.

I haven't decided on distance ranges but they do differ depending on the type of ability or lack thereof

「STAND MASTER」: Thomas

「STAND NAME」: Ride The Blue Limbo

Ability: Shadow Travelling. He can enter a shadow and come out of a different one. He's invisible and bidimensional during the travelling but one can see the movement around, like if he is going through a path with rocks you'd see the rocks moving, just not who is moving them.

「STAND MASTER」: Edward

He doesn't have an ability besides the human form, but some people say that its a lack of aging. Will expand on the character sheet coming this millenium A

「STAND MASTER」: Henry

「STAND NAME」: Niwashi King

Ability: Botanokinesis. Can creat and manipulate fertile soil and the plants that can grow out of it, including concrete. The speed on which the grow depends on the final size (ie. grass grows in an instant but a tree could only spark a small branch look in a minute).

「STAND MASTER」: Gordon

「STAND NAME」:

Ability: Fast Travelling. It kinda looks like teleportation, with the way he stands in one place and then he is 100mts away but it is just running/hovering really fast 'cause it can be caught on camera.

「STAND MASTER」: James

「STAND NAME」:

Ability: Red Glitter. He can produce glitter out of his hands which not only makes him sparkle and look even more dashing as he goes by but also can be a great distraction weapon. Imagine getting that shit in your eyes. Terrible! It dissapears after 30 mins.

「STAND MASTER」: Percy

「STAND NAME」: Fly Away

Ability: Flying. xd.

「STAND MASTER」: Toby

「STAND NAME」: Caramell (yes THAT Caramell xd)

Ability: Much like a cat, he can fit his body in very small things, as long as his head fits. Very flexible the old champ

「STAND MASTER」: Donald/Douglas

「STAND NAME」: [name of vinyl record] Side A/B

Ability: Foresight/Hindsight. Whoever is the funni one has the foresight of 10 seconds, so it's usually used like this. The sane one has the hindsight ability which is mostly him saying "you shouldn't have done that" ............ i don't know which is which i am a dissapointment to this fandom i'll try to do better ówò

「STAND MASTER」: Oliver

「STAND NAME」: Mr. Worldwide

Ability: Multilanguage understanding. Another fact of locomotives and stands is that since they don't have ears, spoken communication is done by feeling vibrations and lip-reading. So Oliver's ability consists in being able to understand the lip movements and vibrations of all other languages

「STAND MASTER」: Emily

「STAND NAME」: Plastic Beach

Ability: Circular Saws she can summon at will replacing her hands or feet. They have a radius of her forearms.

「STAND MASTER」: Nia

「STAND NAME」: Asheru MEGALOPOLIS PATROL HELL YEAH SOUL'D OUT IS FINALLY HERE GREATEST REFERENCE OF ALL TIME EVERYTHING CONNECTS OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ability: Creating chairs (one at a time) or any sitting furniture she can lift. They can be used for anything she wants, but they are usually used as throwing weapons

____

aaaand that's all i have for the moment. like,, i do have some other design for other characters but when it comes to their abilties, that's about it, anyways thanks for reading and i'll be listening to your song recs (and they better be good because i am extremely picky and super annoying about music, i love and hate everything at the same time, you could say im a neutral extremist :v)