#hydra the hydrogen tanker

[phopollo]

what are the backstories for the fuel trucks like in the cartooniverse? (im especially curious about hydras)

Oh i looooove talking about everyone backstories-- sorry this took so long to reapond to, I wanted to find a post for context, but I can't find it, so!

Context 1 (pardon old art and designs);

Context 2;

While most of the main cast were extremely young, there was something akin to a recession, as well as a HUUUUGE shift in power and whatnot, and not every station recovered from it

So!! With that-- backstories!

(Bit of a long one, sorry akdbsj)

Porter

Porter was factory built (the only one of our main freight gang who was) and sent to work at Station 24 (where our story is set) immediately, under the impression he would be the only fuel truck there. Upon arrival, he was surprised to find Lumber there, just not working on account of being too young and small, along with Rusty and Dinah. (Not like, super young though, Dinah was applying for clearance to race at the time & all 3 of them were cleared to start working within 2 years) All of whom IMMEDIATELY decided that this is their big brother now, he didnt have a choice in the matter. But, Momma saw the way he responded to and interacted with the kids, and thought he was really immature, so she made him wait a few months to start working. In that time, he ended up maturing quite a bit just trying to keep the others out of trouble, allowing him to finally begin working

Hydra

Hydra was built and raised by an electric engine who, like Hydra, is extremely concerned about the environment. But with hydrogen being such a new fuel source and being so unstable, he spent a lot of his childhood in and out of the repair shed-- more time in when he was younger. When he was about 15 or so, his dad & him went for a long term visit to station 24 on account of having better repair trucks with better information on hydrogen as a fuel source, where they then proceeded to find a new main repair truck for Hysda. Eventually, it just seemed more reasonable for Hydra to stay at Station 24 closer to hus doctor rather than having to travel back and forth. He was only cleared to start consistently working about 2 years before the start of the story. Even though he's in much more stable condition now, it still seems most reasonable to keep him near his doctor. Bonus Babydra & hydrogen father doodles I've made in the past;

Lumber

All things considered, Lumber had a relatively normal childhood. He was fortunate enough that he didn't really know there were problems with his station in the aftermath of the pretty much recession until shortly before he started hearing whispers that his starion was being shut down, which happened when he was roughly 12-13. When it happened, Lumber's family were all sent to different stations, landing Lumber at Station 24, where Momma took him in and where he's been since. (He keeps in contact with his family though, dw)

Slick

Slick was built into a family of livestock trucks who didn't work on the rails, but helped provide more agricultural goods to train society. Initially, Slick was not built to carry oil, she was built with the intention to be a milk tanker and work more directly with her family and continue in the business. But to make a long story short, there had been several incidents involving factories mass producing oil tankers made with extremely poor quality parts, causing a lot of breakdowns and scrappings, causing oil tankers to eaen a bad rep, and making more reputable factories not want the association. As a result, there was a bit of a (good quality) oil tanker shortage, leading to something almost akin to a draft going out to draft tankers who hadn't started working yet to become oil tankers-- and this included Slick, who at the time her family received it, technically wasn't even finished being built. Due to the shortage, Slick began working on the rails extremely early-- 2 years earlier than usual youngest rolling stock can start working early. When more and more stations started feeling the delayed affects of the recession and shutting down, the little business Slick's family ran did too, as many of the stations they received business from shut down. So similarly to Lumber, Slick ended up getting transferred to station 24 at 14-15, while the rest of her family got split up to find work at other stations. (She has no idea where they ended up and has no kept in contact.) Shes been here since. Bonus again, but this time the doodles of Slick's family, who are absolutely meant to feel reminiscent of the other freight + Rusty;

HOO

Sorry if that all got a little disjointed, the adhd was acting up BAD trying to write this all

[intergalacticsodatab]

silly lil guy :))

★ STEX DRAWING CHALLENGE! ★

Draw your favourite starlight express character dressed in your IRL favourite clothes!!! Even if the character doesn't have your style (which makes it even more interesting!!! )

[ratsvalley]

tassita and hydra being cuties 👉🏻👈🏻

drawing tass’s hair is not for the weak.

[orangesand-lemons-234]

posted this on the clock app but i think tumblr might like it too

[blazewoodss]

HELLO STEX TUMBLR!!!!

Have you ever been sitting there, thinking about those wonderful trains we all love so much, and then thought ‘hm, I wonder how much the four 2024 London revival freight trucks would weigh as actual train cars theoretically’?

Well boy oh boy do I have the document for you!

I have spent a little bit of time (10+ hours) pulling together a Google doc with a bunch of “research” that I’ve done into what I think the four revival trucks (Porter, Lumber, Slick, and Hydra) would weigh potentially as actual rolling stock! I’d say it was for fun but idk if it actually remained fun working on it close to the end.

Regardless, for anyone interested in reading over it all, it has been linked!

For anyone not interested in reading and is just willing to trust my math and web browsing and decisions, here is a screenshot of the final conclusion page listing the possible tare weight and total weight at max load!

Please read over the lengthy disclaimer page though if possible, I do make a bunch of important notes there that you should consider!!

Thank you for hearing me out, I hope this information is somewhat useful for you all :)

[m1dgemodge]

The text killed me omg HELP I love this video

Family Roadtrips

[m1dgemodge]

Momma’s face when she finds the freights after Slick tried to dye everyone’s hair with oil.

[dinahthediningcarr]

Spot the difference (SUPER HARD 😨)

[keyhasarrived]

Quidrogen brainrot so strong it's not a matter of if it's a matter of when I write fanfic for them

[camthecleric]

Could you draw Rusty getting in a fight with Hydrogen in court over custody of their newborn child named Lucy Stardust?

I almost drew Joule eating a taco watching this, but I forgot lol

[rowansro]

I think Hydra needs to be stuck in a gluetrap

Uhhhhhh

[dowzergon]

Alright here it is the Hydra picture finally finished! By the way whoever sent the demons that were whispering “cake him up like moth man” good effort, but you lost the battle I drew him like the reference I was using instead XD

[ratsvalley]

Whiteboard late night doodles

Possibly an idea for Carrot where Pearl breaks up with Rusty, and without someone to depend on Rusty heads to the next best thing. His best friend. (TRAIN REBOUND TRAIN REBOUND ALERT ALERT)

Also Dustin’s there??? Hi lil guy!

These probably won’t be canon to carrot but a little angst never hurt, right?

[pixelatedsticks]

Blind hydra gifting porter what he thought was a super cool rock but it’s just the most plain rock in existence :3

It’s totally cool guys, trust.

[bobastar1117]

Hydra Down!!

[poetryfromnowhere]

You know, I like most productions of Starlight Express. The only rule of thumb I really have for wether or not I think it’s any good, is wether I would kiss at least one important character in it. With the OLC it’s good because I would passionately make out with any character. With the 2024 revival it’s good because I would wine and dine the hell out of Hydra. I would love to be in a room with most versions of Electra.

I’m not picky, is what I’m trying to say.