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SleeperAgent1 β Gordon's Alive!
#gnr #gordon #awdry #railwayseries
Published: 2016-08-03 22:06:58 +0000 UTC; Views: 18196; Favourites: 211; Downloads: 24
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The galloping sausage is fast asleep, having not yet experienced his future passion of pulling the express.
I would've loved to see stuff like this more about the various engines, and see how they got to where/how they are on Sodor.
Gordon was always my favorite, least out of the tender engines (Also really like Edward and Douglas to name a few others). Can't be too hard on him, regardless if also his fault or not, as the other 2 main tender engines all had their moments of vanity, selfishness, and letting the express or whatever else go to their funnels.
Keep being posh Gordon, we love you for it, but remember... any work is good work for an engine, that includes freight cars.
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Is this an image of Gordon prior to him being on Sodor? Because I think this is where he was manufactured...
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Yep it's Gordon (Great Northern) nearly completed at Doncaster Works. I do need to redo this one though as his running plate needs smoothing out and he shouldn't actually have his rectangular buffers just yet.
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I was wondering what you meant by "Alive". Man, now I'm thinking about some mad scientist going "It's ALIVE!" in the background...
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Flash Gordon reference primarily but yeah also the infamous Frankenstein callout 
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Yeah, makes sense...
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He lives!!!Β Β
Although I have always wondered how engines end up having faces and their own personas etc. One of the many mysteries in the TTTE world XD
I've seen all kind of things simply from magic, to someone saying engine bodies are like human bodies, only with the insides of their boilers and they need a certain smokebox. I do always wonder how this would work.
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I subscribe to the theory that it is a magical coincidence and quite rare.
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From Doncaster Green to NWR Blue, Gordon's has always been and still will be...
a boastful twat.
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But he's our boastful twat 
Think how bad Henry and James would of become without the NWR's pride and joy to keep them in check
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You mean the pride that caused them to strike, made James agree with him on the no shunting bull, and basically spread his boastfulness to James?
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That's the one, who else would be bolshy enough to dictate terms to the Fat Controller?
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That's...actually a good point!
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I am curious as to how an engine in Awdry RWS canon comes to life and if they gain a face after they are first steamed, or if the designer has a face in mind. Do they already have personalities when they are first built? Are they able to speak at first, or do they learn how to communicate with people like when a child learns a language? Do they builders say "Welcome to the world, new engine." when they finish building one?Β
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Simple
or
Β
My personal explanation is that the engines and certain vehicles are not actually sentient outside the anthropomorphised stories, merely that is how The Thin Clergyman retells past events that occurred on Sodor's railways in place of human error (for the most part).
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Sometimes it's really tiring to be such a large and splendid engine... one does have to keep up appearances so.
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That was funny. I get the reference
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I have I feeling I might redo the face when I get around to doing this again for the sake of correcting the running plate and cab but 'Awakening the Sleeping Giant' will be a good title for it as I want to use an unawake one for another photo I have in mind (once I re-find the bloody mag I saw it inΒ Β ).Β Β Β
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Cool! This must have been in January 1922. But that's just a guess of when he entered traffic on the Great Northern. My guess to be exact.
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That's probably a fair stab. I must confess with Henry (I) in the mix as well I'm having a lot of trouble working out pre-Sodor Gordon when combined with Earth Prime research but next time I do an edit like this i'll be aiming to give him a strait running plate and an Ivatt style cab (somehow Β ).
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Sounds like it'll be a good project.
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AyeΒ Β I really need to redo this one as I really like the photo but the thought of trying to alter his valve gear is rather off-putting, one of these days Β Β
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This is just fascinating to look at. The editing is top notch, I love how clean you've made the face look. It almost looks real. I feel like if I wasn't pre-disposed not to believe in locomotives with faces, I would think this was real. Excellent editing!
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Hah well photorealistic was my goalΒ Β A fair amount of my earlier stuff is a bit ropey now as I didn't know as many tricks as I do now but still the quality of the source material is crucial for how good the edit can be. Anyway thanks, i'm quite happy with how this turned out, though I might have to return to doing the running plate at some point to turn it into a proper Gordon.....the valve gear would be something of a challenge though.
Umm speaking of problems I could do for a second opinion actually as my E2X edit is finally ready to go to Pixelmator for recolouring and fine tuning but i'm having trouble picking a face form my final short list, which one do ya reckon best suits?
Β i1340.photobucket.com/albums/oβ¦
Ps I you click on the magnifying glass icon you can see it in a larger screen mode.
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Yes, I couldn't help but think that a flatter running board would make it better! Then again, his most recent running board is the result of a rebuild in 1935, so I suppose you'd need to find the happy medium between standard A1 and modern Gordon. Four boiler bands would also be a good idea. Most people depict him as having five but he is the prototype, which could very well explain why he has four in all of his appearances. As for the Thomas edit, very nice work, I'd go with the second one with the open mouthed smile; it screams Thomas to me and seems to fit the best. Good luck with it!
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Superb editing once again. It's such a lucky coincidence there happened to be an A3(?) with square buffers. Was the face the same one from the first two scenes in "Off The Rails"? I mean did you edit the face that was facing forwards or slightly left to look more left than it was in the original scene?
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Hi Cyborg and thanks. The engine is Great Northern in an almost completed state (the photo was taken on the 24th of March, 1922). I managed to edit out his nameplate through a bit of pre-planning on Word and though a bit tricky managed to alter the buffers with just warp type manipulations in Pixelmator late on. I'm quite happy with the execution but unfortunately I made this before I made a proper stab with the research. I'm still in two minds about whether the 'A0' paper's 1915ish date for Gordon is the right path to go down as RBTL directly mentions he was built in 1922 but I concede his iconic running plate should of been there prior to his 1939 rebuild so if I do have another attempt at Gordon I will be giving him a non A1 style underneath (on a detailed pic like this the valve gear will be a real pain in the bum though 
Also very good eye considering it was mirrored and edited but yes the face I used was from 'Off the Rails' 
ttte.wikia.com/wiki/Off_the_Raβ¦
I haven't really done any editing for a while now as i've mostly been throwing my spare time in prototype research but i'm hoping I might find one or two new bits about the Pacific preliminaries at the NRM next week (haven't been to York before so I don't know how well I will manage with the archives, as unfortunately I only have the 1 day that they are open while I am there and i've got quite a lot of things i'm hoping to find).
Anywho that aside I'm planning to Awdryfy some other engines before returning to Gordon but i've definitely got a few A1 images waiting in the wings to be edited
Cheers
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You're welcome, it's amazing what you go through to make these edits.
At least you managed to get to the Railway Museum at all. Though I've been to York, I've never managed to get to the museum.
Just a couple'o questions, have you been to the miniature railway at Scarborough?
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Why thank you kindly Β Β Some face slap edits are pretty easy as i've got the hang of things through practice and experimentation but some others really do take a fair bit of time to carefully alter (its going to be tricky but i've recently acquired a good pic of No.32106 that i'm just starting to try and make into an E2X Β ).
I live in south Wales and as far as the UK is concerned at least i've never made further east than London. York will become the furtherest north i've been as Blackpool is about as far as i've been in that particular direction, though I do plan to visit the R&ER at some point, maybe combine it with the Isle of Man or at least Barrow-in-Furness.
I've just had a quick look at the miniature Scarborough locos online as I thought Katie and Sian might of beenΒ amongst them but I was thinking of the Fairborn Railway it seems. Anyway i've not seen the 311mm gauge locos before but they look an interesting bunch-I particularly like this top photo of them grouped together, looks like a nice Awdryeque book scene.Β
www.davesrailpics.bravehost.coβ¦
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They are indeed.Β Β
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Originally said: I'm the greatest just watch me fly by
My version: I'm the greatest just watch me sleep in
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The Legendary LNER Gresley A0 Prototype...still living after all these years.
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Thanks Kane and CurtisΒ Β
I'm currently putting together one of my little research projects as prior I've always skimmed around the origins of Henry and Gordon's Mk1 forms. Anyway between what i've put together so far, combined with the second thesis paper from PegnseanΒ
www.pegnsean.net/~railwayserieβ¦
i've come around to the notion that Gordon should have the earlier flowing style on his running plate. I'm not sure if it will be practical/easy to tweak this particular photo but I'll give it a go for the next picture I have in mind.
BTW is it possible to replace an upload on DA? By that I mean can I swap the original for an improved edit or would I have to scrap and replace, which would loose all the replies?
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No not as such, you would be able to find it in the NRM archives I imagine but this Great Northern photo can also be found in the odd GNR/LNER/Gresley publication ( i've been expanding my library recently to assist with a PM but also to work out some origin details of Henry and Gordon in their Mk1 forms ).
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Slowly the workmen lowered the slumbering giant on to smooth metal rails. The big engine was painted in a grey undercoat that would soon be replaced by a bright green like all other engines on the LNER. A proud distinguished man watched from a catwalk as the first engine of his new thoroughbred express locomotives came to rest at last on his home metals of Doncaster with a clang that filled the workshops.
A nearby J50 tank engine pushed a boxy tender up behinde the engine with great care. He had been careless before and was still called names by a Atlantic he had helped in the works before. The little engine who everyone called "Nigel" had no intentions of a repeated offense to a even larger engine.
As he carefully shunted the tender up to the big engine he felt his buffers push in and he stopped immediately.
"Well done lad!" came the gentle voice of one of the workmen. "You got the coupling lined up perfectly. You've really got the pattern down now." He chuckled. He had been there the day the old Atlantic had taken a problem with him and always tried to cheer up the little engine.
Nigel was about to reply when a faint yawn was heard.
"Ah." Came a deep voice. "I see you gents have a more gentle way to wake a engine. It is much better than a torch to the buffers" The voice said sleepily.
"By the way whos that back there with you? May I meet my fellow engine?" The voice called back. "It's not everyday a honor like a tender is give to you after all. I'd like to speak with such a engine." a note of pride came with every word.
Nigel slowly ran to the points while the workmen attached the tender to the big engine's cab couplings. As he pulled alongside the grey engine he felt very humble. Most tender engines looked down on small tank engines always going on about how they should get their trains to the station and then run along so the passengers wouldn't have to look at such a dirty engine.
"Shunting was dirty work." Nigel thought. "I can't help it if my paint is dusty. I put your trains together and you all call me names. You wouldn't have your passengers without me bringing you your coaches."
As Nigel stopped next to the new engine he couldn't help mumbling "Rotten old ungrateful tea kettles." Nigel's face went red and his mouth dropped as he realized he had just said that out loud right next to the new engine.
"U-u-u-uh" Nigel stammered. "I'm-m-m so-o-o."
"Not to worry my little friend. I know you weren't calling me that." The big engine cut in. "After all we only just met." he smiled and gave Nigel a wink.
Nigel let out a sigh.
"I'm very sorry. I was just surprised to have a big engine want to talk to me." He said as faint clouds of steam came from his drain cocks. "Most of the time I'm told to get out of sight by them." he said sadly. The big engine raised a eyebrow at this.
"Well thats not proper." He grunted. "I know that tender engines shouldn't shunt. Too much of a waste of steam we could use on our journey. But to treat a fellow engine like they are too dirty to be seen with it's-it's Disgraceful!"
"Quite right." Came a distinguished voice. "I do hope you'll show the others how to have some manners."
Nigel jumped and a nervous look came over his face. The big engine however had a very confused look on his face as he looked at the man. He noticed he was carrying a large blue roll of paper under his arm.
"Forgive my impertinence sir." The big engine said with a air of grace. "But I have seen you everywhere in the workshop since I first opened my eyes but this is the first time I have gotten a chance to ask. Who are you sir?"
The man smiled. This was just the kind of temperment he had hoped for in his new engines. Nigel on the other hand was outright shocked. He knew who this man was and in his wildest dreams he would never have spoken to him in such a way. Nigel had a great deal of respect and was a timid engine at heart always worrying he had said something wrong.
"That is a very fair question my dear engine." He said proudly. "I'm sorry I haven't introduced myself to you yet. But the responsibility I have been entrusted with is of great import. Not leaving me much time most days."
The man removed his hat and bowed to the Engine. "My name is Sir Nigel Gresley. Cheif engineer here at Doncaster." As he stood back at attention he pointed to the big engine. "I am also the man who drew up your designs."
Untucking the blue roll from under his arm he proceeded to unroll it. There on the blue paper drawinn in white was the blue print for the big engine.
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Would've been something to see/hear a gentler Gordon, with or without him later letting praise, fame, and what not go to his smokebox.
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