Hello everyone! As you surely know, Train Valley 2 (and its predecessor in the series, Train Valley) is a game inspired by the history of railroads, but not exactly a historical game. We have tried to capture the essence and spirit of every historical period and its iconic locomotives, but we have taken some artistic liberties in the process. However, we think that all our players here might be interested in taking a sneak peek behind the curtains and discovering the beautiful machines that inspired locomotives in Train Valley 2. Today we start a series of blog posts where we talk about the historical counterparts of the locomotives included in the game. Enjoy the ride!

1st Generation: the Golden Steam era (1850-1910)
We have called this first generation the Golden Steam era because these were the years of the expansion of the railroad. Although locomotives were invented decades before this period (and steam machines much earlier than that), the first railways were not built until the 20s. It took some time for enthusiastic engineers to crisscross the lands with their railroads, but eventually trains started moving around people and goods, changing the face of the world (literally and figuratively speaking) forever. By 1850 they had become not just a means of transportation, but a symbol of progress, science, change a promise of wealth and freedom for thousands of people who dreamed of jumping on one of these trains to start looking for a new life.

The Jupiter
The first locomotives we drew inspirations from comes from this era: the beautiful machine officially called Central Pacific Railroad #60, a 4-4-0 steam locomotive. But best known as the Jupiter, it became famous for being the first locomotive to meet at the Promontory Summit in Utah during the historical Golden Spike ceremony that celebrated the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad, which crossed the United States from East to West. As you can see below, it features 4 leading wheels and 4 driving wheels (thats what the 4-4-0 numbers stand for), and a magnificent modernist design that, for todays standards, makes it look almost fairytale-like. This locomotive was in service until 1901, when it was sadly scrapped the picture you can see below (taken from Wikimedia) comes from the replica in display at the Golden Spike National Historic Site.

(Photo from Wikipedia)

Our in-game counterpart is this little friend here. It keeps its toy-like aspect, like the mental picture that we all have when we think of old trains from the Wild West era. You can easily imagine outlaws trying to aboard it, right? Rest assured, you wont have to worry about robberies in Train Valley 2! Our first locomotive features the Jupiters characteristic big conic chimney and its frontal lantern, although the red pilot (cowcatcher) looks more like Jupiters sister engine, Leviathan., come to think of it, we dont have a special nickname for it Why dont you help us choose one? Leave us your suggestions in the comments section!



In the next post of this series we will talk about the second (1-2) and third (1-3) locomotives of the Golden Steam Era.
See you soon, friends!
Stay tuned! tv2conductor

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