#the last train to durango

[thebandcampdiaries]

El Mystery Kren presents: “The Last Train to Durango.”

It’s more than just an album: It’s a poetic travel journey with a multi-cultural soundtrack!

Kristin, the Austrian singer and songwriter behind El Mystery Kren, has traveled far and wide, gathering stories and sounds from each place she visited. This led her to develop a stunningly diverse sound, which encompasses her love for many different styles of music. She brought a new creative project to life: “El Mystery Kren,” and she recently announced a highly anticipated debut album titled “The Last Train to Durango.” This collection of songs is truly stunning, and it serves as a great calling card for Kristin, not to mention being a perfect introduction to her project.

“Kren” actually means “horseradish,” a zesty and playful ingredient which can actually add a sharp kick to any dish! Still, the name is kind of a play on words, because “Kren” also sounds a little bit like “tren” in Spanish and “train” in English. This playful link between languages gives a hint of how Kristin’s music brings together different traditions, reflecting her passion for traveling and immersing herself in many different cultures.

This takes us right to her album, “The Last Train to Durango,” - A kaleidoscopic piece of music that draws listeners into a world where Austria meets Mexico and even Memphis in the United States. Much like a train takes passengers across to multiple stops, it feels like this album is all about allowing different destinations to converge. As people hop on and off trains, so do many different influences on this record, reflecting Kristin’s storied life. She actually lived and traveled through Mexico for a time, pretty far from home! There, she had the opportunity to explore not only cities but also gorgeous natural landmarks, such as deserts, mountain ranges, and more. While on the road, she always carried a notebook with her, which allowed the artist to immortalize ideas for songs as she watched murals come to life on walls or as she stood by dusty roads. Anytime something inspired her, she was ready with her trusty notebook and a pen, jotting her thoughts down and seeding the spark for what would become a truly personal and passionate album. Because the songs come from Kristin’s personal journey, each track on the album holds echoes of these wanderings and reveals a spirit of curiosity that runs through her work from the moment you hit that play button!

For those who might not be familiar with the reference in the title, Durango is a state in Mexico that is known for its rough terrain, old silver mines, and tales of outlaws. It’s got a true “Old West” vibe to it, and it is also home to many famous historical figures, such as Pancho Villa, who could be found roaming through the Sierra Madre mountains. Kristin’s music captures that sense of open spaces and hidden corners, all while still remembering her Austrian roots. This is quite important because it really makes her music stand out on a more personal level.

Musically, fans of artists as diverse as Hank Williams, Tom Waits, and Bob Dylan will undoubtedly connect with Kristin’s music and songwriting style. However, even fans of modern indie-folk acts such as Francis Moon or Bright Eyes should give this one a go! Because of her unique connection to Mexico, Kristin was also inspired by artists such as Chavela Vargas. In addition, she is always eager to blend languages: the album features snippets of Spanish, Austrian German, and English, all converging into a playful melting pot with a very special twist. This blend reflects the life of a traveler who shifts among different languages without fully settling into just one. It’s a completely different kind of music, but in a way, the combination of different languages is somewhat reminiscent of the core concept that inspires artists such as Manu Chao or Gogol Bordello: it’s all about allowing different folk styles and cultures to contaminate each other in a very beautiful way…because not all contaminations are a bad thing! As the saying goes, you want your food prep area clean and your culture as contaminated as possible! Variety is where the magic happens, and it seems that Kristin understood this lesson perfectly, down to naming her project with such a nod at different languages within. A recurring theme throughout “The Last Train to Durango” is the desire to keep moving forward. The opening song, “Oaxaca Blues,” offers bright acoustic guitar tones and sultry vocals, at times reminiscing of 70s folk-pop icons such as Fleetwood Mac or Tom Petty. In some songs, Kristin sings about missing a companion who promised to join her on the journey. In others, she meets an “abuelito” who offers her some strong Mezcal (definitely not the kind you’ll find in a supermarket in Europe!) and tells tales of places far from any tourist map - this is where the best adventures happen after all! There is also a cowboy figure who appears in more than one track, showing somewhat of a thread that binds the songs on the album together. He carries books by authors like Roberto Bolaño or Charles Bukowski, yet he might not show up when expected, being sort of a “wild card” through the narrative of the songs. The track “Cowboy Song” is a perfect example of this. These characters drift in and out of the music, creating a sense of waiting and wondering. On songs like “Ghost Town / Pueblo Fantasma” Kristin shifts expectations, building amazing layers of harmonies and exploring different sounds such as saxophones and more.

Despite its Western imagery, the album also includes moments that feel closer to the streets of Vienna than to the mountains of Durango. Instruments such as accordions or even some jazz influences might be reminiscent of European cafés, and Austrian German lyrics here are a reminder of the artist’s origins. Kristin loves to call this mix “Austriacana,” a playful twist on Americana, showing off her roots prominently.

Ultimately, “The Last Train to Durango” also explores the idea of memory and how we leave traces behind when we move on. Kristin’s songs suggest that even the most subtle moments—an exchange in a bar, a glance across a train platform—can leave a mark and often actually do, even if we might not immediately realize it. People might go their own way, but memories and melodies survive with the passing of time, especially if you capture them in songs. This concept is one of the key markers that hold the album together, reminding listeners that each person we meet becomes part of our story, even if we never see them again. Each interaction can be important, and it can help us grow. Speaking from personal experience as an author, I can certainly relate to this: I still remember being on a train from Vienna to Paris and getting lost in conversation with a stranger for hours and hours, only to never meet them or hear from them again.

It’s the beauty of being a true traveling soul like Kristin. Even those connections that aren’t meant to last will still have a lasting mark if your heart and mind are open. Because of such a universal message, this album has touched me as a listener and will definitely connect with people from all walks of life: you don’t need to cross the Mexican deserts to genuinely connect with these songs! It’s a universally appealing album with something for everyone. Back to the music, the album features a variety of instruments. You might hear a pedal steel guitar, which does indeed lend an old-time country feel to the album, followed by the bright notes of a trumpet that spark images of a Mexican mariachi band. Banjo, accordion, and sometimes a gentle electric guitar also join in, highlighting Kristin’s love of blues and rock as well. The music can be dreamy as if caught between waking and sleeping, but it never loses its sense of direction. It keeps moving, like a train pushing onward, even if the destination remains out of sight. Some songs (for example, “Amor en el Desierto”) will make you feel like you just traveled back in time and tune in to a 1950s AM radio station. Others, such as “Wappler,” will make you feel like you just entered a saloon and put a coin in a jukebox!

Overall, this album is a fantastic experience, and it’s rare for artists to be able to depict a sense of journey to such a high level degree of involvement and immersion! Hit play, and let El Mystery Kren take you on “The Last Train To Durango” and beyond!

[mozart-in-a-gokart]

My Thoughts On How TUA Season 4 Should Have Ended

Read it like a script outline maybe? Idk I never took screenwriting?

Way more detail below the cut:

Im so sorry if this whole thing comes across as very fan fictiony towards the end. I did my best.

::Here are some refreshers for some of the concepts I touch on at the beginning and where my logic comes from::

Note: I may have spelled Luther as Luthor throughout this and I realized this only after I was just about to post this so… bear with me.. thank you.

So we learned these things previously:

Season 1

Viktor was the trigger for the big world ending apocalypse

Season 2

Viktor was the trigger for the 3rd world war that ended the whole world

Season 3

Viktor has the ability to transfer marigold .We learned that from the whole storyline with Harlan in season 3.

Viktor had the ability to stop Allison from resetting the universe but chose-not to at the very end of the season.

Edited Addition: The Kugalblitz itself was the result of a grandfather paradox involving the umbrellas in the sparrow timeline. (I.E. You go back in time, you kill your grandfather, therefore you have no way of existing later.). Their parents were dead so the universe couldn’t handle these extra variables that shouldn’t and theoretically couldn’t have existed, so it collapsed in on itself.

Season 4

When the universe is reset all of the October 1st kids seem to exist because Lila also exists in the reset universe (we don’t see the sparrows unfortunately so this is a toss up but for the purposes of this I assume they exist we just never saw them.)

Edited to clarify a point: Lila’s parents are still alive in this timeline, meaning she was born to two parents with no marigold. This further backs up the idea that the same must be true for the rest of the Hargreeves siblings because if it wasn’t, one of two things would have had to have occurred. One: The marigold would have had to have been released. However, If it had the umbrellas would all have been born with their abilities, which they did not have at the end of season 3 in the new universe. Two: Another Kugelblitz would have occurred because they wouldn’t have parents and therefore would have had no explanation for existing in the new universe, causing yet another cascade failure.

Abigail has this insane amount of guilt that comes from creating both the Marigold and Durango.

The show seems to establish that in Abigail and his marriage, Reginald is the one who considers the children expendable and always has. Abigail seemed to care about them quite a bit (at least until the last episode)

Abigail manages at the last second to convince Reginald to die with her and let the cleanse happen because it’s THEIR FAULT all this is happening, not the umbrellas

When Lila and Allison’s family get on the train they do in fact transfer over and are inserted into the “correct” and “one true” timeline. They are essentially rewritten by the universe to allow them to exist there.

With all these things in mind this is what I think should have happened

Abigail should still have managed to convince Reginald that this was all their fault but it should have happened earlier in the episode.

Abigail should have put an emphasis on the fact that it isn’t the umbrellas fault at all and that they have a right to exist. That it’s the least they can do is try and help them figure a way out of this after everything they have been put through both in Abigail’s name, and by Reginald himself.

Reginald finally grows as a person, accepts this, and they both go with Viktor on the crusade to save Ben.

While on the journey Abigail learns about Viktors ability to transfer Marigold from one person to another and she LATCHES onto this.

Abigail and Reginald have a discussion about a plan that involves transferring the Marigold to both of them of Viktor can’t manage to convince Ben.

(Maybe there’s a scene similar to season 2 where Viktor talks with sparrow Ben in his mind. Sparrow Ben ends up making the point that they have to let him go. HES NOT THEIR BEN. He NEVER has been. They have to let him go. Let him do this selfish thing. He misses HIS family. His SPARROWS. Let him die.)

This is a good end IMO for sparrow Ben because he isn’t out Ben. We’ve all been talking about Ben being Ben for so long we forget this Ben is literally A DIFFERENT PERSON. He sees the umbrellas as his family’s murderers. It’s tragic but, I can’t see this Ben ever truly growing to love the umbrellas the way he seemed to with the sparrows

With that Obviously the plan to stop the cleanse by convincing Ben falls apart. Plan A never works.

They all would congregate back at the dilapidated Hargreeves mansion.

They all still talk about options and Five still says that the only way to end this once and for all is by destroying all of the marigold (Instead of being all defeated about it I think he should be angry and wired when he’s talking about it. I hate this drowned kitten looking guy. Where’s my embodiment of the it’s always sunny Pepe Silva Meme)

While they all argue about trying to use the subway to save themselves and Five doesn’t think it will work Reginald steps forward and tells them all to be silent.

They all force of habit stop and stare at him.

He says that he and his wife may have a way to save them all.

Klaus, Luther, Diego, and Five are all against letting him talk

Lila, Allison and Viktor are willing to let him talk what harm could he do now at the end.

He asks Five about the subway and if he’s right that you leave it at the exact moment in time you entered. Five agrees as far as he knows that’s correct.

Reginald and Abigail ask Five to blink all of them there, right now so they have a bit more time to explain.

Five says no not until they tell everyone what’s going on. He’s had enough running around and beating around the bush. Reginald explains things now.

Reginald does.

He explains that their bodies in this particular universe were not made originally of marigold. They were just born here. So theoretically, if they no longer had Marigold in their system. The Umbrellas themselves won’t need to be erased. They could attempt to escape with their family.

Luther points out that they don’t know how to extract the marigold.

Viktor reminds them that he can transfer it but he doesn’t know how good he is at it. Plus he needs to transfer it somewhere. He can’t just release it.

Reg : “That is correct. You would need to transfer the marigold to another vessel. It won’t work if it’s not in something living.”

Diego: “What’re you saying?”

Five: “He’s saying one of us has to stay behind Diego.”

Allison: “So what? You’re asking one of us to volunteer? To choose to be erased?”

Everyone starts up angrily shouting at Reginald who is interrupted by Abigail.

Abigail: “None of you would stay behind.”

Five: “Elaborate?”

Abigail: “Five you blink everyone to the subway. While we’re there Viktor transfers all of the marigold from all of you to Reginald and myself. All of you board the train. We will stay behind.”

Everyone is silent and staring

Klaus: “you’re cool with this Dad?”

Reginald: “I am not your father young man. I am Not your Reginald Hargreeves. I am however, a Reginald who knows how to respect hard work, which you all seem to have been doing for a great many years trying to stop exactly this thing from occurring. I understand that my wife and I helped set this in motion and I am nothing if not accountable.”

Luther: “wow… “

Abigail: “Let us do this?”

Lila is immediate in her agreement

Five doesn’t like the idea of this but it’s all they’ve got.

They all start teleporting as the Bennifer Cleanse beast starts shattering the windows to the house

We watch time seem to slowdown because the creature understands that the marigold isn’t “in this dimension anymore” it doesn’t know where to look.

We watch a subway staircase form in the center of the room and see tendrils of the Flesh Creature winding around it but never down in it because it doesn’t have a way into the subway. (You have to blink there)

We have a moment where the Umbrellas link hands in a circle and glow (like we do every season. It’s tradition)

We go around the circle through each of the umbrellas faces and watch the marigold pulled from them slowly. And transferred into Reginald and Abigail who are standing in the center we see it leave them and they all collapse

Viktor still has a little bit left in him and says he doesn’t have the strength to transfer it

Everyone looks defeated at that

Diego and Lila while they’re looking at one another

Allison and Klaus are hugging one another

Luther and Five collapse on the bench

Viktor says it’s alright. That he’s gonna stay. He’s gonna choose to stay and be part of the solution this time. He owes it to them for ending the world three separate times (He’s gonna choose to save everything and not cause it)

They all hug him at the door to the train and say “goodbye”

Five is keeping the train door open by standing in front of them

Klaus hugs Viktor and thanks them for being the only normal one of the bunch and keeping them down to earth

Klaus: and hey! Don’t sell yourself short! That third time wasn’t really YOUR fault. Allison was the one who—

Allison shoves Klaus out of the way and into the train.

Allison and Viktor hug the longest out of everyone.

Allison: “I’m gonna miss you so much.”

Luthor picks Viktor up and spins them around : “I’m sorry for not being a better brother. You deserved more.”

Viktor: “ make it up to me by finding Sloane in the next world and naming your first born Viktor.”

Luther is laughing and nodding boarding the train

Diego shakes Viktor’s hand and apologizes for blaming them for so much in previous years. “I was really closed off and I should have been better. I love you brother.”

Viktor: I love you too Diego”

Diego’s holding back tears as he boards.

Five is the last to say good bye

The two are just staring at one another quietly

Five: “You know… I never thanked you…”

Viktor: “For what?”

Five: Not giving up on me the first time

Viktor is confused

Five: “When I disappeared years and years ago. When I came back pogo told me about the Sandwiches and the lights and everything. I know it’s too late, but I’d be remiss if I never said it. So, thank you. For not giving up on me.”

Viktor smiles at him.

Viktor: “I guess I should say the same.”

Five cocks his head

Viktor: “You never gave up on us. Every single time the world was ending. You never gave up on saving us. You drove yourself insane trying to save us all and we never thanked you.”

Five scoffs

Five: “Guess we’re both thankless assholes…”

Viktor: “Nah”

Viktor shakes their head and pulls five in for a hug

Viktor: “Thank you for everything Max.”

Five slowly hugs them back

Five: “Don’t call me that”

Viktor pulls back

Viktor: I’m sacrificing myself for your asses. I can call you whatever I want.”

Five steps back

Five: “Goodbye Viktor”

They give all wave at Viktor as the doors start to close

Suddenly an umbrella Lodges itself in the doorframe and everyone including the audience is shocked

Abigail has stopped the doors from closing

Viktor whips around to see Reginald right behind him

Reginald: “Must I do everything around here.”

Reginald, now with marigold and Lila’s abilities of Mirroring, mirrors Viktors ability and removes the last of the marigold from him before pushing Viktor through the doors and onto the train.

Abigail lets go and the train doors close leaving all of the Umbrellas and extended family shaken

Abigail waves at them as the train starts pulling away and we see Reginald tip his cap to them

Reginald: Farewell Children of the Umbrella Academy.

Abigail: You were Extraordinary.

The train pulls away and we see Reginald and Abigail take each other by the arm and walk towards the exit of the subway

The camera is frozen in place and we watch them ascend the stairs. We hear the scream of the The Cleanse Creature echo the the subway stars start shaking

Tiles crack and light starts flashing from the stairway the ceiling begins to cave in and we transition to the umbrellas on the train

Viktors been helped up and they’re all dazed and confused just waiting for “it” to “happen” whatever “it” is

We get a similar scene to the original scene where they’re letting the cleanse consume them

During this scene is when Five explains that they will all likely forget one another. Because their parents are in all different parts of the country. They will have never met. It’s a hard reset.

This makes all of them sad (OBVIOUSLY) so we get the same cleanse conversation as more of a we don’t know if we will ever see each other again and if we don’t I just wanna say this to you all kind of conversation

We still end it with Klaus saying “You know, I just wanna say I love you guys… but you are all assholes.”

Everyone laughs and as they’re laughing music swells

We get a cut of the subway flashing colors because the reset is happening

We get flashes of color washing over each of them with the various scenes of them from previous seasons and those timelines disappearing

We flash through them in order of number

Luthor

Diego

Allison

Klaus

Five

Lila (as six instead of Ben roll with me I promise I have a reason)

And Viktor

The final flash is a long shot of all of them smiling in the train car and the camera zooms down it and into the same wormhole at the end that leads to the “real” timeline

We cut to black

There’s beats of silence (yes multiple)

The audience is thinking “Are we ending it here? Is it gonna be ambiguous? Are we about to see credits?

No.

Slowly a stereo fades into view we’re staring at it

Someone walks in front of it wearing a very familiar jean coat

We hear the stereo button click and The song “I Think We’re Alone Now” starts playing

We watch Viktor pull a woman who looks very much like sissy into their arms and they start to dance laughing loudly. There’s a pure white violin in the corner that looks like it’s been used so often and so long but so lovingly. We zoom out the window out the window and see this is on a farm somewhere we focus on the windmill wheel turning

It transitions to the wheel of a beat up old car arriving at the park. We watch Lila and Diego’s kids stumble out of the car holding skate boards and bubble wands. They’re older than they were. Lila shakes her fist at them from the passenger window. She’s shouting at them. You can hear her shouting be careful! And then shouting more in Punjabi

We don’t see who’s in the drivers seat but we zoom in on Lila’s fist and it transitions to another fist. This one gripping a paper and shaking it as it moves across a classroom towards the front.

We follow the page as it’s placed on a desk then pan up to a figure in a suit writing complex equations clearly having something to do with physics or rocket ships in chalk across a board

On the desk is a nameplate that comes into view only when the figure turns around to address the room and we see very clearly it’s an adult Five. The nameplate reads Maximillian Murphy PHD.

He’s addressing the class and telling them to get their assignments in by Monday if they want input before the final assessment. Mrs. Murphy will take them from you if you have them now. He gestures to the woman who set the paper down on his desk in the transition who comes around the desk and sits on it. She’s wearing a polka dot blouse. He’s finally found a real Delores.

The two smile at one another and we pan up to the ceiling and zoom in on a vent grating which transitions to the front grill of a bus

We see muddy shoes scramble up the steps and cut to the inside of the bus. We see the figure only from the back as they scramble down the middle of the bus clutching a rucksack wearing very old fashioned Amish clothes. We only see them from the front when finally fall into a seat next to a guy reading a book wearing dog tags who looks like he’s just getting back from deployment somewhere

We watch Klaus turn and greet Dave in the modern day and hear them have the same conversation we heard on the bus in Vietnam on this bus in the middle of nowhere USA

We transition from Klaus laughing here to a time a bit in the future. Klaus laughing wearing clothes more like him and pulling Dave down a street past a shop window full of movie memorabilia we hear him saying something about wanting a good view of the take off. Trust him just come this way’

We zoom in on a script that transitions to one that lands on a coffee table. We watch Ray pick it up and Allison settle herself on a chair near by. We watch and hear them talk about this new pilot for this new show And how “it’s a good one I can feel it” “okay. Let’s do this then.” In the background we can see acting awards on a shelf. Alison isn’t just a commercial actress. She has been in things and is good at it. Claire comes barreling down the stairs and jumps between them on the couch. “Wheres the remote! It’s starting!”

We see Allison and Ray lean in forgetting the scripts

We pan across the room and it all melts away into a car radio

We see a hand turn it up and we hear it talking about the first launch nasa’s funded on a while. Space stuff.

We follow the figure who turned up the radio as they lean out of the car and gesture wildly as Lila and the kids to come over here quickly!

You see all of them start sprinting to the car to listen.

We watch through the front windshield of the van Lila climb in and kiss Diego. The kids all pile in and stare at the radio in Awe.

We get a shot of Diego turning up the radio dile which transitions to a gloved hand adjusting diles on what is clearly the console of a rocket ship. We pan up and it’s LUTHOR. Space boy ready for take off

We hear the the count down of a take off start over the last portion of “I think we’re alone now” by Tiffany

The screen gets smaller until Luthor is in a neat box in the middle of the screen as we count down characters are added to the screen in their own boxes all tuning in to watch this launch

Ten - Sloan with a little girl on her lap pointing at the tv from the couch in a house that is so clearly hers and Luthors. She’s mouthing wave bye to daddy! It’s your daddy! Bye space boy!

Nine - Dot, Herb, the handler, and someone with a gold fish print Hawaiian shirt (AJ for sure), dressed to the nines are sitting in a backyard with a radio on listening and laughing

Eight - hazel and Agnes turn up the volume of a Tv at a doughnut shop they both clearly own. Hazel is behind the counter and Agnes’s waiting tables. The few tables seated have people we recognize there. Cha cha. Eudora and Detective Beaman.

Seven - Viktor and Sissy watching the tv over their living room couch

Six - Grace stopping with a baby carriage at a store front filled with tvs. Her baby on her hip pointing at the tv mouthing the the word rocket to the baby who giggles

Five - Five, His Wife and a bunch of other professors or huddled around an old tv in a lab in a physics building. one of the scientists is holding an open notebook with sketches of the comic characters in it. It’s Gabriel Bá. You can see him mouthing “come on come on!”

Four - Klaus and Dave sitting on a blanket on a hill near the nasa bad along with a ton of other people on blankets pointing and holding binoculars. Gerard way and his wife are among them.

Three - Allison, Ray, and Claire all leaning in to watch eagerly

Two - Diego Lila and all their kids leaning in to hear

One - every box but the ones with the Umbrellas go black.

It’s a close up of all of their eyes. They all read as excited. Looking up towards the future. “the beating of our hearts is the only sound”

All those squares go black on some tambourine beats

Houston we have liftoff.

Credits roll.

END CREDITS SCENE.

A close up of Ben’s eyes. We zoom out. We’re back on that train in Korea. We see him frown a second as he realizes something. He puts the book down a second. He looks out the window. Looks at his phone. There are text messages that read “dude where are you? We’re watching the launch without you!. How’d you miss this?!”

You see him realize.

In Korean “Motherfu—“

We cut to black again and cut him off.

The End

Is it cheesy? Maybe? But you know I think we deserve a little cheesy.

[aryburn-trains]

Woman on back of D&RGW San Juan passenger train in Chama. Although the drumhead says "Shavano," it is actually the "San Juan." The "San Juan" drumhead for parlor car "Durango" was destroyed during a snowslide and wreck on Phantom Curve in February 1948. The "Shavano" passenger train's last run was November 23, 1940. Taken by Kirkland, Wallace April 1950

[crispy0nion]

takes a deep breath. ik it hasn't even been a day but we need to talk about the umbrella academy season 4. obviously spoilers ahead. and a long, long fucking post full of complaints.

this season got me shinji chairing so hard. what the fuck. six episodes that last barely an hour each and all for THAT ending? don't get me wrong, the ending itself is... not the worst possible outcome, ig, but like. plot holes so big i can fit five's ego in there and still have spare space.

yeah, let's start from there. what the fuck was that? a half-assed five/lila romance was the last thing we needed. call me a hater, tell me i don't know how to appreciate complex stories, idc. that sucked ass. not only is it creepy in so many ways, but it also brought absolutely NOTHING to the story. "oh but if that didn't happen then five wouldn't have accidentally wandered into the station's coffee shop and met himself" I DON'T GIVE A SHIT!!!! IT COULD'VE HAPPENED IN SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS!!!!!! AND FIVE KNOWS BETTER THAN TO THROW HANDS WITH HIS BROTHER OVER A GIRL WHILE THE REST OF THEIR SIBLINGS ARE FIGHTING THE DAMN BLOB OF DEATH!!!

moving on ig. i don't like how allison's past actions seemed to be simply forgotten. i know they acknowledge it a couple times and that it's been six years, but lord almighty she assaulted luther, got him killed, and betrayed her entire family for a father that never cared about any of them. i don't think i could forgive that so easily (i'm looking at you klaus).

about the plot holes. first off, i would've appreciated even just a slight explanation of what the fuck reginald and abigail are? are they aliens? are they robots? are they alien robots? also, side note, what the fuck did reginald even do to grace atp? did he create a robot in the image of a human lady or did he turn the human lady into a robot???? and back to abigail for a moment: ?????????? and also the obsidian hotel????? AMERICA EXPLAIN. EXPLAIN

more plot holes: the solution to the cleanse problem. five said that the only way to fix the timelines is to let the cleanse happen, aka absorb them, so that the marigold inside them is destroyed since that's what split the timelines, no? and they made a big deal out of lila leaving because they needed all of the marigold holders to partake in this. except that YOU EIGHT IDIOTS ARE NOT ALL THE OCTOBER 1ST KIDS IN THE WORLD. THERE'S MORE, THAT WAS LIKE 43 WOMEN WHO GAVE BIRTH YOU DUMB FUCKING CUNTS. WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER 35 KIDS. uhm. sorry about that. moving on.

did not like how jennifer's character was treated at all. no time to develop, no time to get us to know her. straight to the blob of death without even explaining what was going on. how did the durango end up in her body? who even created that anyways? how did she end up in a damn fucking giant squid? why was she talking about the cleanse? what the fuck? listen im sure the comics explain this and ik this show is supposed to be a bit... confusing and nonsensical, but this is info you can't just leave out. feels like lazy writing.

and how the fuck did the cleanse cult even know that this nonesense that a kid coming out of a squid was blabbering about was connected to them having dreams of other timelines? how the fuck did jean and gene know? what?

yk what, im also gonna throw in some more personal points of view in here. i did not understand a single thing about the timeline/universe/whatever they ended up in at the end of s3. is it a new universe? if so, why is everything the same and WHY is the timeline still fucked? and where's the academy in this timeline? does it not exist? why? why and how is abigail still alive? was she even dead in s1, on the moon? or was that a cryo capsule? if so, why keep her there?

and there's more folks! why did the timeline train not stop at lila and five's stop? that was random and never explained, and feels like lazy writing, again. or like an excuse to get a specific two people to mingle just to create an unnecessary and unwanted love triangle? perchance?

lastly, how can claire and lila and diego's children still exist if their parents were erased from existence? and since they still exist but their parents never did, how does it work? do lila's parents just look after these random kids? without reason? wouldn't not having existing parents at all create legal problems?

overall, i have a lot of issues with this season. it feels extremely rushed, and honestly quite boring in comparison to the other three. and the lack of explanations makes it so hard to enjoy because i'm busy being confused. im not so mad about the ending, i kinda saw it coming (my choice was between they all die or they get stuck in a loop), and I don't think it's necessarily a bad ending for a story like this one. i am a bit sad, yes, and i will miss these characters and regret the fact that they didn't get the lives they deserved, but i think it's an ok ending. not the best, but ok. but the rest of the season? ass. yet another show absolutely ruined by netflix's inability to see past money and actually produce a good ending instead of rushing things. peace ✌️

[al-mayriti]

i just spent more than an hour doing this first-division world map quiz in jetpunk and these are my results:

i scored 609/3795 so 16%. i'm actually very embarrassed cause i had multiple brain farts and i couldn't remember some very very easy ones (don't worry i WILL talk about them). but first of all, the most embarrassing one of all. i missed la rioja 💀💀💀

i'll talk more about my cagadas (and not cagadas) after the read more cause it could get lengthy lol

first of all, I'M SO SORRY ALL OF LATAM 😭😭😭😭

let's start with mexico... when i tell you i wrote 'california del sur' like dozens of times and was genuinely shocked it wasn't counting it like correct like the quiz was bugged or something lol. i will never forget it's baja california and not del sur i promise. there's also so many of these i should've got: campeche, durango, cuanajuato, méxico, puebla, querétaro, quitana roo, san luis potosí, sinaloa, and veracruz AT LEAST.

for argentina, chubut gave me so much trouble... like i knew i knew it but my brain just wouldn't told me. and as you can see, i didn't got it 😔. also i hate that if i had guessed la rioja i would've gotten 2 points en fin.

i have no idea why the netherlands were like this... i was so ready to name the provinces i actually know quite a few of them

i know it's the easiest to get, but i got all belgium :)

also all pakistan :)

brazil 😔😔😔 i should've gotten bahia, espírito santo, goiás, and rio grande do norte & do sul...

i can't believe i missed new brunswick in all US + canada

so so sorry portugal :( i should've gotten bragança, évora, leiria, santarém, setúbal, viana do castelo and vila real

i'm not putting the china one cause it's too large but when i tell you i wrote like 20 times heilongjiang cause i knew it and where it was but did not. write it correctly. at any point.

i'm also not putting russia for obvious reasons but i had so many brain farts with it. i can't believe i missed chukotka, amur, irkutsk, ivanovo, magadan, murmansk, nizhny novgorod, novgorod, samara, smolensk, volgograd, vologda, voronezh, yaroslavl, adyghea, buryatia, ingushetia, karelia (this one gave me so much trouble yall), tuva, udmurtia, khabarovsk, and primorsky, all of them i perfectly knew :/

i knew all four of these but only kosrae came to mind rip me i guess

france gave me SO MUCH TROUBLE i kept coming back to those two last regions in mainland france and i could just not remember their names. the worst thing is at one point i wrote 'val de seine'... so close 😔

germany and italy humbled me so much. i thought i was gonna know every single division and i did horribly lol

i might've not gotten all of the divisions in my country correct but at least i got all greece (not counting mount athos) :)

I WROTE JIJU INSTEAD OF JEJU 😭😭😭😭 also for the life of me i could not remember train to busan

india is also a long one but it gave me sooo much trouble i couldn't remember ANY. en fin, i should've gotten AT LEAST arunachal pradesh, manipur, mizhoram, tripura and uttar pradesh.

i don't know what's worse, that i almost got all israel or that i forgot tel aviv 💀💀

en fin. that's all. maybe i'll try again some other time.

[alphareleasemedia]

Daily Drabbles for 11/21/24 - 11/25/24

11/21/24 Milly helped herself to another cookie. There were baked goods of all kinds on the table, from pies, to cakes, to pastries, yet Milly couldn't stop herself from coming back to the chocolate chip cookies over and over again. In her defense they were the best chocolate chip cookies she had ever had. Milly had never been much for cakes, she always found them too dry. And she wasn't the biggest fan of fruit, there were only a few she could tolerate, and even less she liked baked into various kinds of desserts. Chocolate chip cookies were simply the best.

11/22/24 Nate held very still. There was an excited dog doing zoomies around his feet and he was holding a plate full of food in one hand and a drink in another. One wrong move and it would all come crashing down. Which would only make the dog even more excited. Durango had gotten it in his head that whenever someone was eating chicken some of it would go to him. Nate had never done anything to encourage this belief, but Aubrey couldn't help herself. As soon as Durango got excited she just had to give him a piece of chicken.

11/23/24 Oscar drummed his fingers on the table as he stared out the window at the passing scenery. He'd gotten tired of the loud chatter back in the compartment and had moved to the dining car to be by himself, but now he was just bored. There were a few other people in the dining car, but thankfully they were keeping quiet, only talking in hushed tones. The sun had finally climbed above the horizon, but the lights in the train were still on. Oscar's face reflected back at him as he stared out the window, his expression dull and vacant.

11/24/24 Pipa swiveled her straw around in her cup to pick up the last bits of her chocolate milkshake. Siri had taken the lid off of her strawberry milkshake and had tilted the cup back to dump the rest of her shake in her mouth. Pipa pulled the lid off her own shake to check if she missed anything, but the cup was empty. Pipa sucked on the end of her straw to get the very last drops of her shake. Siri slammed her empty cup on the table and belched loudly. She had a pink milkshake mustache above her lip.

11/25/24 Quinn scooped up a handful of snow and packed it together tightly into a ball. Darren was busily rolling up the base for a snowman and completely oblivious to what Quinn was doing. She quietly stalked forward towards Darren as he got the large ball of snow situated how he wanted it. When she was a few feet from him Quinn stopped and waited, holding her arm at the ready to throw the second that Darren turned around. He took his time, but finally he did stand up straight and spin around. Quinn's snowball hit him square in the face.

[afeelgoodblog]

#061 - The Best News of Last Week - October 31, 2022

🎃 — Happy Halloween! Let’s read some good news to start the week!

1. A New Climate Reality Is Coming Into View — in just 5 years humanity has cut expected warming almost in half

Nice to see balance coming in on this stuff. The situation is *not good*, but the reporting and social focus until now has been “…and therefore you are doomed.” This causes apathy, just like when people say “all politicians are the same” when they are very clearly not.

We need to focus both on how bad things are, but also the solutions for how we get through this. They exist, and we can have them. It’s going to be a life-long fight, especially once you realize that certain people make a lot more money if you think you’re doomed.

2. Germany plans to legalise recreational cannabis

Germany’s coalition government has agreed on a plan to legalise recreational cannabis use among adults.

Possession of up to 30g (1oz) for personal use would be allowed. Licensed shops and pharmacies would sell it.

3. Hundreds of rare birds rescued from island cut off by Hurricane Ian

Volunteers helped transport the flock from a bird sanctuary to a temporary new home, where they’ll stay until bridge access can be restored to Pine Island.

The birds have been relying on food donated by wildlife officials since Hurricane Ian hit, but the supply of fruit, peanuts and other edibles would soon be hard to come by because of the downed bridge and the scarcity of gasoline on the island. In the hours before the storm, the sanctuary owners herded their flock of birds and packed them into their home to shield them from the ferocity of the elements.

4. A train passenger saw a woman waving for help. It was a hiker who’d been missing.

An injured hiker near Silverton, Colo., was rescued earlier this month after a train passenger spotted her from the window. She was frantically waving on the other side of a river, having just spent two days trapped in the wilderness with a broken leg.

The rider alerted the crew of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge diesel engine №461, according to the San Juan County Office of Emergency Management. They then notified the train inspector, Delton Henry, who was in a motor car behind them.

5. Same-sex marriage is now legal in all of Mexico’s states

Lawmakers in the state of Tamaulipas voted Wednesday night to legalize same-sex marriages, becoming the last of Mexico’s 32 states to authorize such unions.

The measure to amend the state’s Civil Code passed with 23 votes in favor, 12 against and two abstentions, setting off cheers of “Yes, we can!” from supporters of the change.

6. North Expedition finds cache of cameras on remote Yukon glacier, 85 years after mountaineer left them behind

A DeVry “lunchbox” camera left behind on Mount Lucania in 1937. An expedition team recently uncovered the camera along with other artifacts stashed by legendary mountaineer Bradford Washburn 85 years ago

The team recovered a portion of Washburn’s cherished aerial F-8 camera — a format he would later become known for worldwide — as well as two motion picture cameras and old climbing gear, tents and cooking items. (That included part of a T-bone steak, Post noted — “They were eating pretty well out there, it appeared.”)

“It was just the full array of gear from what they were using in the 1930s,” said Post, a professional skier and mountain explorer.

7. Ray of joy: Nasa captures image of the sun ‘smiling’

That’s it for this week. If you liked this post you can support this newsletter with a small kofi donation:

Buy me a coffee ❤️

[seat-safety-switch]

Subways. Just what are they, really? In public schools, we teach our children that they’re the same thing as trains, only underground. And that might be good enough for kids. Then those kids grow up, and take a subway of their own. Were they prepared for what lay ahead of them on that fateful first journey, the one that transformed them into a subway rider?

I’ve been living underground for the last twenty years. Ever since they built a couple apartments underneath this shopping mall, I haven’t had any urge to ascend the stairs and touch the scorching Daystar with my supple flesh. In the morning, the subway takes me to my job, which is in a data centre, several floors underground. At night, my silver suitor whisks me away to one of the finest restaurants populating the underground shopping district. It’s been a good life, until it wasn’t.

Some asshole managed to drive a Dodge Durango into one of the ground-level tunnels, slip past all the “DON’T FUCKING DRIVE HERE” signs, and ram head-on into a passing train, blocking the tunnel with the ensuing carnage. There was a lot of rumble about this among my fellow undergrounders. Was it a terrorist attack? Some kind of performance-art statement about how the automobile had supplanted trains? Or just a dude who was too drunk to notice he was scabbing for the railway? In any event, it isolated the Work Station from the Home Station. Just one hop. Two measly city blocks is all I’d have to cross before I could descend below again.

I waited until nightfall for the sun to descend, and then slipped above. It was horrible: the clanging, the flashing, the voices. So many voices. And so many not-trains. I nearly hyperventilated from panic, and had to focus on a passing city bus in order to regain some sense of normalcy. I was lucky that time, but I knew I’d have to quit my job. There was no way I could make it happen during the morning rush; I would just find a job going in the other direction. I liked that station better, anyway. Their trains didn’t smell as much like urine.

[guerrerense]

There's Someone In My Head, But It's Not Me... por William Diehl Por Flickr: In an alternate universe, the 1973 'Silverton Train' ran by the Denver and Rio Grande Western ran year round. Meaning that snow shots like this underneath the Needle Mountains were possible. It Didn't... Instead, the D&RGW pulled the plug when the snows were to come, and nothing ran past November in the last two decades of Rio Grande ownership. Thanks to Russell Heerdt and the rest of the staff at the Durango and Silverton, for a few weeks in 2022 and 2023 we've been able to recreate the past and see a past that never existed. This Photo Available at My Website

[whumpster-fire]

There's a massive gap between the rear drive wheel and the front ones

(from another reblog chain):

having looked both of those up they don't have quite as large of a gap between the wheels (and also both look much nicer) #like that gap is practically the size of an entire wheel

A gap practically the size of an entire wheel between the front and rear drivers does exist in real life. I think I might know what locomotive class they were referencing when they designed this, and if it's what I think it is then funnily enough funky wheel spacing might be the only thing about its proportions they got right! That looks like a really bad attempt at pixel-art-ing a Denver & Rio Grande T-12. Measuring it in an art program, the spacing between the middle and rear driver axles in the second image below is almost exactly twice the driver diameter (64-65 pixels between axles, 32-33 for the driver diameter), and the screenshot of the Stardew Valley train is also twice the driver diameter (133 pixels between axles, 66 pixels driver diameter). It looks wonky but that's probably because of other stuff is out of proportion, like the cab being too long or the drivers being too big compared to the loco.

Below: Denver & Rio Grande locomotives 167 and 169. 169 is still around, as is its sibling 168, I'm using old photos because of the angles and because they show large spark arrestors which they no longer have. Note that there are photos online of 169 on display with the spark arrestor installed and the main rods removed. If they were referencing those photos for Stardew Valley that could explain the missing main rods, although the middle driver not being attached to the coupling rod is just bizarre. The Valve Gear is not missing because this class has inside valve gear, 168 can be seen running without externally visible valve gear here.

If I'm right about the basis though, this is a narrow-gauge (3ft) loco from the 1880s and is comparatively old and weak by the standards of what's actually pulling trains on present-day heritage lines of that gauge using steam. Like, the White Pass & Yukon, the East Broad Top, the Durango & Silverton, and the Cumbres and Toltec all use the same gauge, and their main workhorse locomotives have more than twice the tractive effort of the T-12s. Aside from the missing tender that might be too much train for that loco.

It's a steam train that travels through some rather long tunnels. How long? We don't know, but since the railroad doesn't appear anywhere else on the map they've gotta be long (if you don't know why this is a problem, you try breathing in smoke inside a tunnel for several minutes)

This isn't necessarily a dealbreaker, the Moffat Tunnel had steam trains running through it for decades after it was built and it's like 6 miles long. That tunnel also has pretty heavy duty ventilation and it takes like half an hour to clear the exhaust fumes from diesel-powered trains before another train can use the tunnel. Although that doesn't necessarily mean it's healthy or that modern safety regulations would allow running a coal-fired train through it.

I suggest that the coal for the train is taken from the last coal carrying wagon on the train, by a crew member climbing back and forth with a plastic shopping bag he fills with coal. It makes just as much sense as the rest of it!

With that spark arrestor the locomotive is probably wood fired IIRC, but otherwise yeah.

A very long complaint about the trains in Stardew Valley

So there is this indie farming game called Stardew Valley that you may have heard of (although knowledge of the game is not essential to understand this post), and there is a railroad with the occasional train in it. The point of the train is that it sometimes drops items (not especially rare ones either), but that's not what this is about. You see, I have many problems with the train from a rail enthusiast perspective rather than a gameplay one (although it could use some improvement in that regard as well) so I'm here to complain about those instead.

Anyway, intro over, time to rant about this stupid train.

So, first of all, let's start by taking a look at the railroad (this image is from the wiki, and shows the station):

Looks mostly normal, right? Sure, there might not be any station buildings –just a platform and a shelter– but this is a small rural town, so that's not too surprising. And it is a little odd how the spacing between the sleepers/ties is inconsistent, but maybe it's just old. Not to mention, there isn't any ballast or track bed, but that does sometimes happen on less-used rural lines. However, if we zoom and enhance, we discover several problems that, once spotted, will bother you forever.

Firstly, if we look at the level crossing sign (the actual crossing is just to the left, out of the image, but it's not important right now) we can see that the image is clearly one of an electric train, with a pantograph more or less the only feature visible (other than the window) at this scale. But when we look at the tracks, do we see any overhead wires? No, we don't, and later on we will discover that it gets worse in regards to what sort of traction is used (no, not battery electric, it's not that bad). Of course, while promising us electric trains and then immediately disappointing us through a lack of wires (and a subsequent lack of electric trains) is not a good look, it isn't too bad – after all, some level crossing signs in real life promise steam trains and then fail to deliver as well. But the problems with the Stardew Valley Railroad (or SVRR, if you will) go beyond misleading signage, as we will see.

Second, if we look at the tracks themselves, we notice something unusual going on: the rails appear to have had nails driven through them to attach them to the sleepers/ties, which would make the ride much more bumpy, and if the heads of the nails were worn through by the trains, then the rails could easily be knocked out of alignment. This is why rails are attached at the sides, so that the surface for trains to travel on is smooth and the trains do not wear away the things connecting the rails to the sleepers/ties (and therefore disconnect the rails from the track).

While this might seem bad, it's the sort of thing you would expect from someone who isn't a train enthusiast and has only rudimentary experience sticking things together (perhaps the occasional piece of IKEA furniture). The thing is, once the train shows up, it somehow gets even worse.

Before we get to the epitome of this mess that is the train locomotive, we must first look at the train carriages themselves, of which there are two basic types (by appearance, anyways; there are ): passenger cars and hopper cars.

Now, there are several things wrong in this image, but we'll go over them car by car, so as to not overwhelm the reader.

First, all but one of the cars in this image are hopper cars, of which one is not covered. We'll start with that one: it seems to be filled with cupboards of some sort, which is quite frankly baffling; as furniture would never be transported in aggregate hoppers (The SVRR aren't british rail, though they may be taking inspiration from them). This is a problem with several of the open hopper cars (although none of them are visible in this image), as these hopper cars can drop items for the player, and the contents can be seen from outside. Some of these items, such as coal, stone, iron ore, and copper ore are normal things to put in hopper cars (although the stone drops from hopper cars carrying bricks, which is a whole different can of worms we won't go into), but some items – such as wood – would never be transported in a hopper car (it makes no sense, hopper cars are for loose material, wood goes on a flatcar).

Now moving on to the covered hoppers, there isn't anything really wrong with these, as they appear to be perfectly normal modern hopper cars. Except for when they have livestock inside. (see here, again) HOWEVER, as we will see in the next paragraph (stop reading ahead, learn some patience) this modern appearance is itself a problem.

We're in the next paragraph now (aren't you glad you waited?) and we're going to talk about the passenger cars. First of all, the passenger cars have open platforms at both ends, and generally resemble earlier North American passenger cars, where passengers would leave through doors at the ends of the carriage and disembark from an open vestibule. However, the passenger cars also have side doors, which is very strange, and don't really fit with the style of the car. Next, we have something to consider: these passenger cars appear to be modeled after earlier North American passenger cars, what with their wooden appearance and open vestibules (side doors notwithstanding); but the freight cars appear to be modern hopper cars. Not only that, but the hopper cars and passenger cars are often found ON THE SAME TRAIN, which is a safety nightmare, especially for wooden carriages. If that train derails, those passenger cars will be turned to splinters (and the passengers into tomato sauce) by heavy hopper cars filled with lumber, gold ore, and cabinets. There do also seem to be venetian blinds over one of the windows, although that's not really much of a problem compared to everything else.

You may have noticed that up to this point, there is one part of the train that we have avoided mentioning (except for a passing reference to it not being electric), and that's the locomotive. In case you hadn't figured it out. Why? Well, I'm saving the best for last, and by best I mean worst.

So, without any more nonsense, here's the absolute travesty that is the SVRR locomotive!

This locomotive – a 4-6-0 steam engine – just keeps getting worse the longer you look at it, especially if you know anything about trains (which I do).

There's a lot to unpack here, so for this we'll be using bullet points to keep things concise:

There's a massive gap between the rear drive wheel and the front ones

The middle drive wheel is not attached to the coupling rod

The coupling rod is only connected to the wheels, not to the piston (how is it moving?!)

The leading wheels are incredibly small (WHY?!)

The leading wheels are stuck to a large metal box that I can only assume is meant to be a bogie (what else could it be?) that has very little clearance with the track

There is no coal tender or attached coal bunker (where is the fuel?!)

There's some sort of pipe sticking out of the cab (what is it for? is it a radio antenna?)

What's that box at the front? Is that where the side rods are meant to connect to the pistons? Because they aren't, so it could be a transformer box or a cabinet for all I know.

It's a steam train pulling modern hopper cars (the passenger cars do fit with steam trains though), and in a setting which has the internet, robots, buses, electricity (very anachronistic, especially since it doesn't seem to be a heritage railroad)

It's a steam train that travels through some rather long tunnels. How long? We don't know, but since the railroad doesn't appear anywhere else on the map they've gotta be long (if you don't know why this is a problem, you try breathing in smoke inside a tunnel for several minutes)

And more! Why don't you try to find something else that's wrong with the locomotive so I don't go insane?

One thing that annoys me specifically is that it's a steam train, rather than electric. This would normally be forgivable since steam trains are very iconic and good-looking, but this rather ugly locomotive looks like someone with a limited knowledge of trains attempting to draw a steam train entirely from memory. I would not advise attempting this even if you do know a thing or two about trains, since steam trains are rather complicated creatures. If you don't have a reference of some sort, you should stick to drawing electrics and diesels; since those have far fewer complicated external mechanisms to be messed up in such a spectacular fashion. Of course, since the internet exists, finding a reference should be easy. Should be.

Indeed, the complete shambles that is the entire Stardew Valley Railroad seems to be summed up by the locomotive: a railroad drawn apparently from memory by someone who isn't familiar enough with trains to pull it off convincingly. Of course, this is from the guy who brought us the famous Grandpa's Bed, so I'm not that surprised.

Anyway, this concludes my rant about the train in Stardew Valley. Fortunately, the train is fairly out of the way, and not that important in gameplay, so you don't regularly encounter it while playing the game. If the train actually looked good and made sense, I'd probably complain about how rarely you get to see it, but in its current state, it's fine that it doesn't show up that often.

[aryburn-trains]

The D&RGW San Juan train at Cumbres, Colorado (MP 330.6 - Elevation 10,015'). Although the drumhead says "Shavano," it is actually the "San Juan." The "San Juan" drumhead for parlor car "Durango" was destroyed during a snowslide and wreck on Phantom Curve in February 1948. The "Shavano" passenger train's last run was November 23, 1940. Taken by Kirkland, Wallace April 1949

[theflyingkipper]

tell me everything about your interpretations of real life locomotives

i just think they're neat

hello I am so sorry for making you wait months for an answer on this, I hope this is good!!

So I do have some locomotives from real life as part of my headcanons for TTTE characters (for example, Onslaught, Glory, and Greyhound are part of my D10 lore- and in my headcanon Diesel 10 is warship D810 “Cockade”)

But there are a few that don’t exactly relate to TTTE. I’ll be talking specifically about how I characterize them, with some links to past artwork I’ve done and any other informative links

Santa Fe 2926 (or “Santi”)

(2926 is the only one I’ve given a name that’s different from its running number so far, since shes the only one ive officially made into an OC)

Santi had a very short working life when she was still in service, and spent decades as a static display in a park. Oddly enough, shes not so grouchy as most display engines tend to become. I like to think she was in limbo for the most part while on display, kind of like Duke being buried in the shed. (Or like Captain America getting frozen for 75 years) When she woke up during the beginning of her restoration in the early 2000s, she was unaware of how much time had passed- which was very disorienting. Fortunately she’s had the restoration team catch her up on the last 60 years of human history.

Santi as of writing this post hasn’t been on any excursions yet as far as I know, and is still cooped up in the yard. I think she keeps an audio log of how she’s slowly going crazy in there.

“Day 325 - the restoration team fixed my whistle! Its a shame I have no one of my own kind to scream at with it!”

I think Santi and R&N 2102 are pen pals. preserved 4-8-4 besties for life ❤️🚂

they narrate what they want written out loud to their engineers, they both sign off with 0000-00000000-0000, their shared wheel arrangement in text.

~

Denver and Rio Grande K36s

(I want to give them names, and they’d probably all start with the same letter)

9 out of 10 of the K36s are preserved, the 5th one got scrapped. In reality, the group is split across the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad and the Durango & Silverton, but for the sake of this interpretation they’re all together

I found out about the K36s through a video by History in the Dark, he has a series of videos of “10 of the best trains ever”. I cant find the exact episode :(

Imagine the Dieseasel but there’s NINE of bill and ben instead of two. Though they aren’t as mischievous, they’re definitely just as irritating. They’re sort of a strange hive mind of little engines, akin to Ariel’s sisters in the Little Mermaid. Any time something spectacular happens on their railway, they find some way to spiritually communicate the happening to dear #485, their sibling who fell in a turntable and had to be scrapped- her damage was too severe. Though 485 was very much like the rest of them, she sort of becomes their saint- who they leave offerings of coal and water for in her old shed berth like its a medieval icon. Any time one of them misbehaves, one of their siblings is sure to tell them that 485 would be ashamed and she is not smiling on them right now.

Although this strays from their real life history quite a bit (and their gauge, which is 3ft), I think it would be hilarious if Thomas met them in a RWS-ified BWBA. He comes to their little railway and they all go front over wheels about their strange visitor. I also think the dynamic between them would be interesting, since the K36s are 9 out of their original 10, and Thomas is 1 out of the original 10 E2s. However, It’d probably take a while to get to that point in conversation with how supremely creeped out Thomas is by the K36s slightly cultish practices

Also, they’d probably chase him out of their little railway with pitchforks and acetylene torches if he brought up anything about turntables. They’re a bit of a touchy subject .

~

NKP 765

the 765 isn’t hard to find videos of XD Since shes the pride of the Nickel Plate Road and not converted to burn oil like lots of other large preserved engines, she takes pride in her unique status. I like to think she has the attitude of a great aunt or grandma with a gritty sense of humor and a laugh that could shake the walls. She does get puffed up in the smokebox, though, and has a hard time admitting she’s wrong. She has a bit of a parental relationship with the diesels on her railway, some of whom call her “granny”, and other endearments relating to her age.

~

New Zealand V Class

in a very different vein than everyone else, the V class all met the absolutely horrifying fate of being BURIED IN MUD

in my interpretation of them, The V Class have all become eldritch horror abominations, and local engines have kept their ghost stories alive and well. (usually taking the form of wayward vengeful spectres that like to make themselves known in uncomfortable places)

I had an idea where the V class emerges as one giant metal monster festooned with river sediment and garbage and terrorizes the locals but I don’t know enough about New Zealand or its railways to make an effective story.

[airmanisr]

Recreating the Rio Grande Southern in 2021 by Jeff Terry Via Flickr: On August 31, 2021, the legendary Rio Grande Southern Railroad was brought back to life (if only for a day). Built in 1891 by Otto Mears, the original RGS was located in Colorado’s southwest corner and ran between Durango and Ridgway via Lizard Head Pass, hauling coal, silver ore, and other goods from the mining communities of Telluride and Rico. The RGS was profitable for only a few years before a silver panic crippled its finances, but nevertheless it managed to stay in business, struggling through two world wars before running its last train in 1951. Following this, its 3-foot-gauge rails were taken up. Rio Grande Southern No. 20, an 1899 Schenectady Ten-Wheeler, is one of four RGS steam locomotives still in existence. It was preserved by the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club in 1952 when the RGS was abandoned and over the years was cosmetically restored for display, first in Alamosa and later at the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden. After fifty years sitting cold, No. 20 was transported to the Strasburg Rail Road in Strasburg, Penn., for a top-to-bottom restoration beginning in 2006 that took 12 long years to compete. The restoration was spearheaded by a donation from the Moedinger family of Pennsylvania, who put up $400,000 for the effort. After additional fundraising, No. 20 finally steamed again around the loop track at the Colorado Railroad Museum in 2020. While a 3/4th mile loop is nice for a short train ride, Jeff Taylor and others at CRRM desired take No. 20 to a railroad where it could really stretch its legs. That opportunity came in 2021. For No. 20’s first major outing since restoration the museum took the 4-6-0 to the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad at Antonito, Colorado. Its visit coincided with the Victorian Iron Horse Roundup, held in in celebration of the C&TS’s 50th anniversary, which featured four locomotives built before 1900. The trip with No. 20 on August 31 was sponsored by TRAINS Magazine, with editor Jim Wrinn and video producer Kevin Gilliam coordinating the event for photographers. The event was dubbed “Sunset on the Rio Grande Southern.” Tickets for the event went fast, despite it costing nearly $900. The primary goal of “Sunset on the Rio Grande Southern” was to recreate an RGS trip that the late William Moedinger photographed in 1941, with the brakeman riding the pilot beam to watch for landslides. The first half of the consist matched the train that Moedinger photographed that day, which was featured on the cover of TRAINS in February 1942. William Moedinger’s son Linn was the person that did much of the restoration work on No. 20 during its time in Pennsylvania. Denver & Rio Grande Western 2-8-2 No. 463, owned by the C&TS, was re-lettered as long-scrapped Rio Grande Southern No. 455 for the trip, and doubleheaded with No. 20. Thanks to decades of hard work by the Friend of the C&TS, the Cumbres & Toltec was able to provide a long string of authentic narrow-gauge equipment with an authentic RGS short caboose bringing up the markers. The scenery on the C&TS between Antonito and Osier is similar to the territory the RGS ran in. The charter was an incredible experience and recreated scenes that hadn’t been seen since the 1940s. Was it worth the money? I’ll let you be the judge of that, but for me it certainly was. A big thanks is due Jim Wrinn and Kevin Gilliam, plus the men and women of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic for making it all possible.

[southotheborder]

Dolores del Río

“Take care of your inner beauty, your spiritual beauty, and that will reflect in your face.”

When revolutionary forces attacked Durango, her mother pulled her out of bed, hid her in a big basket, and then rushed her to the railroad station to catch the last train for Mexico City just ahead of the arrival of the revolutionaries. As she described it, “We fled early in the morning with the other important people of Durango, because at the shout ‘Here comes Pancho Villa!’ everyone ran.

When del Río arrived back in Mexico City in 1942, she found herself in the center of a flourishing artistic renaissance. “[I had to] leave stardom to convert myself into an actress and I could only do that in Mexico,” she recalled, per Hall.

(Vanity Fair 2021)

🔸 an inspiration for my character Ximena (aka Xochítl) in Siembra: A Sequel to Narcos

[introvertguide]

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948); AFI #38

The next Huston and Bogart collaboration that we reviewed was the infamous tale of greed and betrayal, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948). It was a film that was two decades in the making due to a world war, varying contractual obligations, and poor conditions due to location filming. It is debated that this was Bogart's best performance since it was a step away from the roles that had made him famous, but it did not earn him an Oscar nomination. The film did get four nominations and ended up winning Best Writing and Best Directing for John Huston as well as Best Supporting Actor for Walter Huston, John's dad. This was the only time that a father-son combo won Oscars for a film together. There are a lot of interesting firsts involved with this film, but I want to spoil it first for anyone who hasn't seen it. By the way...

SPOILER WARNING!!! THIS IS AN ANALYSIS, SO I AM GOING TO SPOIL EVERYTHING ABOUT THE MOVIE AND THEN EVERYTHING ABOUT THE PRODUCTION!!! IF YOU WANT TO SEE THE FILM COLD AND GET THE FULL EXPERIENCE, WATCH IT FIRST BEFORE READING ANY FURTHER!!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!

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In 1925, in the Mexican town of Tampico, Fred C. Dobbs (Humphrey Bogart) is wandering around and begging for change. He keeps asking the same man in white (John Huston) for money until the man tells him no more handouts. Dobbs continues to beg and runs into another vagrant named Bob Curtin (Tim Holt). The two seem to have an understanding, but money is tight and they separate to look for job leads. Dobbs finds a man in an alley named Pat McCormick (Barton MacLane) and the latter asks the former if he wants a job. Dobbs agrees and goes to a raft and finds Curtin will also be working on this job. They are working as roughnecks to help construct oil rigs for $8 a day. When the project is completed and they return to Tampico, McCormick skips out without paying the men.

The two vagrants encounter an old man named Howard (Walter Huston) in a flophouse. The loquacious and penniless ex-miner talks to them about gold prospecting and the perils of striking it rich. Dobbs and Curtin run into McCormick at a cantina, and after a bar fight, collect their back wages. When Dobbs hits a small jackpot in the lottery, he, Curtin and Howard have enough money to buy the supplies they need to go prospecting in the interior.

Departing Tampico by train, the three help to repulse a bandit attack led by "Gold Hat" (Alfonso Bedoya). North of Durango, the trio head into the remote Sierra Madre mountains. Howard proves to be the hardiest and most knowledgeable of the three. After several days of arduous travel, Howard spots gold that the others had passed by.

The men toil under harsh conditions and amass a fortune in placer gold. But as the gold piles up, Dobbs becomes increasingly distrustful of the other two. The men agree to divide the gold dust immediately and hide their shares. At one point, Curtin sees a Gila monster crawl under a rock and it turns out that this was where Dobbs had hid his share. Curtin warns Dobbs, but Dobbs just assumes that Curtin is trying to steal another share of the gold. It is apparent that Dobbs is being driven insane by the greed for gold, just as Howard had predicted.

Curtin, while on a resupply trip to Durango, is spotted making purchases by a Texan named Cody (Bruce Bennett). Cody secretly follows Curtain back to the encampment. When he confronts the three men, they lie about what they are doing there, but he is not fooled. He boldly proposes to join their outfit and share in any future takings. Howard, Curtin and Dobbs talk it over and vote to kill him. As they announce their verdict, pistols in hand, Gold Hat and his bandits arrive. They claim to be Federales. After a tense parley, a gunfight ensues, and Cody is killed. A genuine troop of Federales suddenly appears and pursues Gold Hat and his gang. The three prospectors examine Cody's personal effects. A letter from a loving wife reveals that he was trying to provide for his family.

Howard is called away to assist local villagers with a seriously ill little boy. When the boy recovers, the next day, the villagers insist that Howard return with them to be honored. Howard leaves his goods with Dobbs and Curtin and says he will meet them later. Dobbs and Curtin constantly argue, until one night Dobbs shoots Curtin and takes all the gold. However, Curtin is not dead; he manages to crawl away and hide during the night.

Finding Curtin gone, Dobbs flees, but is ambushed at a waterhole by Gold Hat and his men. They first toy with him, then kill him (it is implied that Dobbs is beheaded with a machete). The bandits mistake the bags of gold dust for sand and dump the treasure, taking only the burros and supplies. The gold is scattered by the strong wind. Meanwhile, Curtin is discovered by indios and taken to Howard's village, where he recovers.

Gold Hat's gang tries to sell the stolen burros in town, but a child recognizes the brands on them (and Dobbs' clothes, which the bandits are wearing) and reports them to the authorities. The bandits are captured and summarily executed by the Federales.

Howard and Curtin return to Durango in a dust storm and reclaim their pack animals, only to find the empty bags. At first shaken by the loss, first Howard, then Curtin, grasp the immense irony of their circumstances, and they burst into laughter. Howard decides to return to the village to accept an offer of a permanent home and a position of honor, while Curtin sells their recovered property to return to the United States, where he will seek out Cody's widow. As Curtin leaves, the camera pans down to a cactus as he rides past. Lying next to it is a bag of gold, still full.

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This film was a major change of pace for Bogart, making it very difficult to advertise. An actor who is generally the hero turns out to be a villain that shoots his partner and then is unceremoniously beheaded by a bandit is not what audiences expected or even wanted. Using Bogart's star power and reputation for being a good guy romantic lead to attract audiences and then doing his character dirty like he was done is the 40s version of clickbait. And yet the film was moderately successful with audiences and earned four Academy Award nominations. Where this trick to the audience is apparent is the lack of even a nomination for Bogart despite it being one of his finest acting roles.

I watched the movie a couple of times over the last few days and that included commentary from the guy who wrote the biography of Bogart, a Mr. Eric Lax. It was extremely informative and was actually very different from the IMDB trivia page. I am going to trust the official biographer on this one, so some of the following information that is presented as fact is second hand from the movie commentary.

There were two father-son teams on the set of this particular film. The first is was of course the director, John Huston, and his father who played the part of Howard, Walter Huston. The other was actually the other nice guy, Curtin, who was played by Tim Holt, and the old man who warned the two that Pat McCormick was lying to them, played by Jack Holt. John Huston was actually in the film playing the American in the white suit, which made this film the only one with two father-son duos with speaking roles in a single film.

The Huston family has a couple of other notable film accomplishments. John Huston directed his father to an Academy Award and also directed his daughter, Angelica Huston, to a Best Supporting Actress award in Prizzi's Honor (1985). On both occasions, the elder Huston in the film died very soon after working with their child. Walter died a year after his role in Sierra Madre and John died less then two years after Prizzi's Honor. I felt a little sad about that at first, but then it is nice that a parent can work with their child doing what they do best at the end of their life.

Apparently the filming was very difficult and took its toll on the actors and crew. There was a joke about the old man, Howard, being a tough old goat, and that comes from the local crew outpacing the location scouts when Huston first went down to Mexico to look for places to film. The filming took place during the rainy season so there were many delays. The irony was that there was lots of gusting wind except on the day that they needed it and there was lots of rain and flooding except on the day when Dobbs finds the little collection of water.

A rather silly note (or at least I thought so) was that one of the big pushes to get the film done was that Humphrey Bogart wanted to participate in a boat race. He had his boat, the Santana, that he had been practicing with around Catalina when pre-production was halted due to John Huston joining the military during WW2. Bogart wanted to take part in the Honolulu Yacht Race in which he had participated in the past. Bogart's wife, Lauren Bacall, said that the yacht was the only thing that she ever felt jealous of. The constant complaining by Bogart about the time caused one of the only fights he had with John Huston. The director purportedly grabbed Bogart by the nose and twisted until Bogart shut up. It was not brought up again and Bogart missed his race.

One actor that made a surprising cameo in the film was the little boy that sold Dobbs the winning lottery ticket. The part was played by a very young Robert Blake (freaking Beretta) who was a child film star. He had played the role of Mickey in Our Gang short films for almost a decade by the time he was in Sierra Madre. I was surprised to also find out that Blake had almost 80 acting credits before his small part in this film. By the way, he does not have a Mexican accent. Sadly, I think that Blake is now most famous for being accused of hiring somebody to kill his wife. Not a great legacy.

My family commented on the look of Bogart and how weirdly greasy his hair looked. His hair looked pretty weird throughout the film, as a matter of fact. According to Eric Lax, Bogart was taking hormone shots in an attempt to get Bacall pregnant and had lost a lot of his hair. All of those funny looking haircuts were toupees. The one used when Dobbs got a haircut was most notable, especially since you can since Bogart's actual hair at the back.

A final fun fact was the death of Dobbs being a strangely cut machete strike that was hidden by the backside of a donkey was not the original depiction. There was an actual fake head rolling down to the water that was cut out of the film. Bogart famously kept the head and was very disappointed when the scene was cut out of the film. That would have been pretty gory for the time, but Huston knew it would not get past the sensors and he wanted the film to get distributed. Oh well.

So does the film belong on the AFI 100? Of course. For similar reasons as The Maltese Falcon. This was one of the best works produced by one of the best director/writer and lead actor combos of all time. It is an amazing story that doesn't end how one would expect from a movie of the time. It is classic and innovative at the same time. Would I recommend it? Absolutely. It is a fine film that tells the story of what greed can do to an otherwise good person. It is also very clean to the point that I would recommend it to any age group.