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Description

Last week, I put up a poll asking what I should name this engine. And now the results are in and here's the new character. Enjoy

Bio: Ivan is a 2-10-0 Russian Decapod, built in 1917 by the American Locomotive Co., aka Alco, in Schenectady, NY. As his type name suggests, Ivan was originally meant to be delivered to Russia, and was even built to the Russian track gauge of 5 ft. But due to the Bolshevik Revolution happening at the time, he and many other members of his class were embargoed and converted to the universal standard gauge of 4 ft, 8 1/2 in. The 200 undelivered Russian Decapods were distributed by the USRA across various railroads in America, with Ivan in particular first going to the Seaboard Air Line Railroad in North Carolina. After retirement from the Gainesville Midland(a Seaboard subsidary) in 1965, Ivan was sold to a small shortline in Tennessee. The line's owner hoped that an engine as big as him would help turn things around financially for his struggling railroad. Unfortunately, only a few months into his new job, Ivan's tender derailed while running light on an old wooden bridge, and it(and the rest of him) tumbled down the hill into the forest below. He remained down there for years, because not long after the crash, the shortline declared bankruptcy and was torn up. But then one day, Ivan was discovered by a group of hikers camping out in the area. News of his discovery spread like wildfire, attracting the attention of scrap merchants and the Roseburg & Western. After a fierce debate between the two parties on who should buy Ivan, the R&W was the winner and brought him to the East Roseburg shops for its most extensive rebuild project to date(which mainly involved forging brand-new parts, including a new cab and tender). Ever since his rebuild, Ivan has been seen regularly working on the Hippdale Branch alongside Fletcher and Kira, though he is seen occasionally on the mainline in helper service, as well as the slow local freights and maintenance-of-way(MOW) trains.

Persona: Ivan is a mildly hard, somewhat boisterous, but still good hearted engine. His boisterous attitude is often a means to try to distract himself from the painful memories of the suffering and hardship he went through in the past. But on rare occasions, even that is not enough and the memories can drag Ivan down. Nevertheless, he is still thankful for the good home he's been given and the good friends that are willing to help him carry on.

On a side note, given that he was originally built to serve in Russia, Ivan has learned to speak with an excellent Russian accent over the years, possibly to compensate for the disappointment of never being delivered to the country.

Voice Actor: Viggo Mortensen

Whistle: Frisco 6-chime

Description

Last week, I put up a poll asking what I should name this engine. And now the results are in and here's the new character. Enjoy

Bio: Ivan is a 2-10-0 Russian Decapod, built in 1917 by the American Locomotive Co., aka Alco, in Schenectady, NY. As his type name suggests, Ivan was originally meant to be delivered to Russia, and was even built to the Russian track gauge of 5 ft. But due to the Bolshevik Revolution happening at the time, he and many other members of his class were embargoed and converted to the universal standard gauge of 4 ft, 8 1/2 in. The 200 undelivered Russian Decapods were distributed by the USRA across various railroads in America, with Ivan in particular first going to the Seaboard Air Line Railroad in North Carolina. After retirement from the Gainesville Midland(a Seaboard subsidary) in 1965, Ivan was sold to a small shortline in Tennessee. The line's owner hoped that an engine as big as him would help turn things around financially for his struggling railroad. Unfortunately, only a few months into his new job, Ivan's tender derailed while running light on an old wooden bridge, and it(and the rest of him) tumbled down the hill into the forest below. He remained down there for years, because not long after the crash, the shortline declared bankruptcy and was torn up. But then one day, Ivan was discovered by a group of hikers camping out in the area. News of his discovery spread like wildfire, attracting the attention of scrap merchants and the Roseburg & Western. After a fierce debate between the two parties on who should buy Ivan, the R&W was the winner and brought him to the East Roseburg shops for its most extensive rebuild project to date(which mainly involved forging brand-new parts, including a new cab and tender). Ever since his rebuild, Ivan has been seen regularly working on the Hippdale Branch alongside Fletcher and Kira, though he is seen occasionally on the mainline in helper service, as well as the slow local freights and maintenance-of-way(MOW) trains.

Persona: Ivan is a mildly hard, somewhat boisterous, but still good hearted engine. His boisterous attitude is often a means to try to distract himself from the painful memories of the suffering and hardship he went through in the past. But on rare occasions, even that is not enough and the memories can drag Ivan down. Nevertheless, he is still thankful for the good home he's been given and the good friends that are willing to help him carry on.

On a side note, given that he was originally built to serve in Russia, Ivan has learned to speak with an excellent Russian accent over the years, possibly to compensate for the disappointment of never being delivered to the country.

Voice Actor: Viggo Mortensen

Whistle: Frisco 6-chime