#i do NOT mean thid to be accusatory or anything

[phopollo]

In the StEx cannon, it is (heavily) implied that coaches are less than locomotives and are, throughout the show, treated poorly and often ignored.

I was wondering if this was the case in your cartoon AU and if it is then why would there be parent-built coaches?

There is so much to unpack about this question and I've already spent over an hour starting to type a response and then changing my mind about what to say or include and deleting it. I think i am just going to be blunt here

The coaches were initially written and coded to be women. In the 80s. The story follows 3 competitive engines, who were initially written and coded to be men. In the 80s. Even though we've now included men into the coaches, and all gender into the engines who the stories follow, that coding still haunts the narrative. The separation of groups has now started to feel more like races rather than genders

I know you didn't mean any harm, this probably slipped your mind completely. But with that context, let's rephrase what you've asked in more human terms;

Interpreting the coaches as women--

"Women are (implied) to be less than men. Throughout the show they're treated poorly and ignored. Will that be included? If so, why would anyone want to have a daughter?"

Or, interpreting things with races, and let's say the coaches are poc and the engines are white--

"POC are (implied) to be less than white people. Throughout the show they're treated poorly and ignored. Will that be included? If so, why would anyone want to have a child who's a POC?"

Do you..... kind of see where this question may not sit well?