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DW Steam Train-- Mummy on the Orient Express

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Minor Doctor Who spoilers follow...

When the Doctor Who episode Mummy on the Orient Express came out last week, a few diehard Doctor Who/train fans noticed with interest that the locomotive used for the exterior scenes was the same locomotive seen extremely briefly in the earlier episode The Wedding of River Song.  Because I once posted a reference illustration of that very locomotive (as seen here: atticus-w.deviantart.com/art/S… ), I decided to revisit that concept and draw the locomotive once again, using the much clearer images available from the more recent episode to make a far more accurate reference.


A few notes regarding the TV locomotive model and my drawings of it:

-The 3D model seen in “Mummy” seems to have been updated slightly (or perhaps even finished) since it was last used in “Wedding.”  Most notably, the locomotive now appears to have a definitive 4-6-2 wheel arrangement (interestingly, this is the same “suggested” arrangement I gave the locomotive in my previous reference picture) while the locomotive seen in “Wedding” had no carrying wheels at all, simply sporting six large drive wheels and a lot of overhanging space.  The locomotive in “Mummy” also now sports a second set of cylinders under the fuel bunker, perhaps to “fill in” the large amount of empty space visible under the rear of the engine during its “Wedding” use.

-The locomotive has a different paint scheme in “Mummy” than it did in “Wedding,” sporting a more refined and elegant look befitting the Orient Express.

-Although I didn’t draw it this time, the locomotive in “Mummy” once again brings along its LNER-style four-axle tender, although without the “LNER” lettering that it sported in “Wedding.”

-Thanks to the better views of the locomotive available in “Mummy,” it seems clear now that the locomotive is based on a Prussian BR Class 74 Tenderlok.  The Class 74 is a smaller locomotive than that seen in Doctor Who and only features a 2-6-0 wheel arrangement, meaning that the artists in charge of the TV train lengthened the boiler behind the smokebox and slid the cab and tanks backwards along with it, adding a prominent splasher over the lead drive wheels in the process.  The size of the drive wheels also seems to have been increased and the stack and domes lowered, turning the engine into an attractive passenger type.

-Although nearly all of the elaborate piping featured on the Doctor Who locomotive matches that found on the Class 74, there are some “mistakes,” notably regarding the dry pipes.  Not only do they not line up with the locomotive’s cylinders as they should, but the right-hand dry pipe is connected to the piping used for the real engine’s air compressor, a device absent on the TV engine altogether.  (The main part of the water pump on the left-hand side is missing as well.)  The machinery around the locomotive’s crossheads is also entirely nonsensical.  (It is interesting to remember that the “Mummy” locomotive was a futuristic steam locomotive replica, after all... (and for that matter, the “Wedding” locomotive may well have also been a space locomotive pulled from its own era thanks to that episode’s time collapse!).)

-Finally, although the reference picture above is far more precise than my previous version, there still may be some mistakes.  In particular, the sides of the cab and the cab handrails are a bit unclear, as is some of the plumbing towards the back of the boiler on the right-hand side.  Although I looked at pictures of Class 74 locomotives to help me “figure out” some details on the Doctor Who engine, I resisted adding details to my drawing unless it seemed that the Doctor Who engine actually used them.  The one exception I made to this rule regards the supports holding up the water heater— the best I can say about these supports is that the Doctor Who locomotive -might- have them, and that my drawing looks far better with them than without them.


And so, there you have it— a week-and-a-half after Mummy on the Orient Express aired, my role as resident Doctor Who Train Historian in bringing this new reference to you is complete— for now.  (I still might go back and update this reference by drawing that tender again.)  Also, although I cite a modified Class 74 as this locomotive’s prototype, if you have your own theory, I would be happy to know it!  Although my conclusion isn’t made without a lot of research, I would certainly be foolish to claim familiarity with every European steam locomotive class, and perhaps a better match does exist out there somewhere for this very curious machine. ^^

(Oh, and as obvious as this should be, I do not guarantee the accuracy of this illustration-- I do not work for the BBC and everything I have drawn and written is my own personal, non-professional/official analysis of the subject.)



Doctor Who, this locomotive design, and everything related © the BBC
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drawing425's avatar
Can I use this image as a reference to draw a Sprite version of the locomotives?