This article is about Snowpiercer in the TV Series. You may be looking for Snowpiercer from the Movie.
...
Snowpiercer is a large train manufactured and run by Wilford Industries. It continually circles the globe with the remains of human civilization following the global freezing extinction event several years prior.
The train is comprised of "classes" towards the front of the train, with those without tickets at the back of the train — these are known as "Tailies".
In the TNT television series, the train is initially one-thousand-one carriages long and has been in operation for seven years.[1] As of the episode The Original Sinners, Snowpiercer has lost over 12 cars. 7 during the First Snowpiercer War, the Aquarium Car during the Season 2 finale, 4 during the events of The First Blow and part of Ag-Sec during the events of The Original Sinners.
History
Originally a one-thousand-and-one carriage train, Snowpiercer was envisioned by Joseph Wilford as a luxury train, taking passengers around the world in style, the Wilford Industries Global Express. This earned the train the nickname "Wilford's Dreamliner". When scientists tried to cool down the Earth to reverse global warming, Mr. Wilford foresaw that they will instead freeze Earth completely. He then converted Snowpiercer into a 1001-cars-long Ark, which is destined to continually circle the originally exotic railway around the Earth.
Snowpiercer departs Chicago.
However, according to Melanie Cavill, one of the engineers who designed Snowpiercer, the truth is she built the Engine and the train while Mr. Wilford was a fraud who "sold tickets." Mr. Wilford's true intention in building Snowpiercer was not to save humanity but to spend his remaining days in luxury. As a result, Melanie abandoned Mr. Wilford to die at boarding in Chicago while she assumed his identity to maintain order on the train.
"Around and around the Earth we circle. We can never stop."
Snowpiercer circles the globe 2.7 times a year, and every "revolution" is about 133 days. 6 years and 10 months after it left Chicago, Snowpiercer already made 18 revolutions and was about to begin its 19th in episode 994 Cars Long.
Its track length is 318,000 km, much more than the circumference of the Earth, as it travels across every continent, originally conceived as a tourist train that would visit hundreds of cities around the world.
According to the intro, Snowpiercer would visit, among other cities:
When the first season begins, the train just left Alaska and entered the mountainous region of the Yukon Territory in former Canada, moving south along the western coast of North America. This stretch of tracks becomes more and more unstable after each revolution, with avalanches occurring as the train approaches. A few days later, after crossing the Rocky Mountains, the train is seen zooming through the Grand Canyon in Arizona towards former Mexico. After her climbing the Sierra Madre, the train crossed Central America and the Andes mountains before reaching the frozen rainforests of the Amazon on her way back to Northern America at the end of her revolution.
In season two, Snowpiercer/Big Alice heads west across the test track, over the Rocky Mountains called Neckbreaker, back on to the Main line, heads west to the Himalaya roundabout, turns around, heads east and back over Neckbreaker, creates the Pirate train and then the Pirate train heads west over Neckbreaker (after first stoping at the Breslauer Weather Station).
In season three, Snowpiercer/Big Alice is in Northeast China, while the Pirate train is in North Korea. The pirate train then reconnects to Snowpiercer/Big Alice in a Rail yard, in China and heads west, to Southeast Asia, near Thailand, moving 3 cars from Big Alice out of the way, bypassing the Oceania Loop, to the Ottoman Spur, through a volcanic cloud and north to Hungary, to pick up Melanie Cavill, around the Black Sea, to Cairo, Egypt, drops Wilford off and then Big Alice with some of Ag-Sec, separates and heads for the Horn of Africa, while Snowpiercer stays on the main line.
Timeline of Major Events
Conflicts, particularly rebellions, were a common occurrence aboard Snowpiercer due to the drastic difference in treatment from that of Third Class and the Tailies.
The Year Two Rebellion occurred two years after Snowpiercer departed Chicago. According to Pike, the Jackboots managed to lock the rebels out of the rest of the subtrain, but the rebels were able to compromise the door hinges (locks) and managed to open them. While stopping Wilford's EMP weapon, Pike, Lights and Strong Boy were able to use this to throw it off of the train.
The Year Three Rebellion occurred three years after Snowpiercer departed Chicago. According to Andre Layton, the Tailies fought like an army but had no idea what was in each car as they proceeded uptrain, as they had never been that far. It is unknown how successful this revolt was or how far exactly they made it uptrain, but they seem to know about the battery cars and sanitation due to sanitation duties and previous revolts. During this revolution, the Tailies used fertilizer bombs created by Lights. Only the Tailie War Council knew of the existence of Lights' cookbook containing recipes for bombs and other such weapons.
Failed Insurrection
After Old Ivan hangs himself, Pike and several other Tailies lead a small insurrection, using the excuse of the dead body of Old Ivan to get the Jackboots to open the doors. The Tailies only made it one car, due to the jackboots responding to the situation quickly. The insurrection ended with Andre Layton talking down Pike and his fellow Tailies, with Pike as well as two other Tailies being put in the Drawers.
First Snowpiercer War
Following Pike's failed insurrection, Andre Layton began planning another one using his access as the new Train Detective to recruit others to their cause and gain access to other parts of the train. Layton was able to unite the Tailies and Third Class to overthrow Melanie Cavill's rule. The War exploded into a multifronted civil war when First Class's frustration with the disasters led to the discovery that Mr. Wilford was, in fact, a myth. Cavill was arrested and sentenced to death by lung of ice while the Jackboots, under the leadership of Commander Grey, Robert Folger and Lilah Folger worked to take full control of Snowpiercer for themselves.
The rebels, led by Layton infiltrated various sections of Snowpiercer for their weaknesses and managed to plant three of their own in the drawers to be resuscitated when the time was right while young Miles was in the Engine itself as an Engineer Apprentice. In this role, Miles helped to trigger the civil war by revealing the truth about Mr. Wilford's absence to LJ Folger. The Brakemen, under the command of Roche, chose to remain neutral and get out of the way of the rebel army when confronted with Layton and Bess Till, a Brakeman who had chosen to side with Layton fully.
The first battle of the War in the Nightcar turned into a stalemate with both sides taking heavy losses and being forced to retreat. Pike was removed from the Drawers by Commander Grey and the Folgers and suggested that with enough pressure, Layton would fold which came in the form of a threat that Grey and the Folgers would kill everyone if they didn't surrender. After learning that Zarah was pregnant with his baby, Layton decided to surrender.
The War came to a head when Melanie managed to escape execution with the help of the Notary, Jinju Seong and Javier De La Torre. Melanie then defected to Layton's side, knowing that the train wouldn't survive in the hands of the Folgers and believing that Layton might do a better job of leading the survivors of humanity than she ever did. Melanie presented the rebel army with a plan: as the Jackboot army was all in one place, separating part of the train would send them all to die in the Freeze. However, the plan required two safety switches to be flipped, one on each side of the separation, while Miles and Bennett Knox would handle the rest from the Engine. Melanie would be able to handle the switch downtrain while Layton agreed to go behind enemy lines in order to get the other switch. Martin Colvin, not wanting the Folgers to be in power, secretly supplied Miss Gillies with a gun which she managed to hide in the subtrain. Till then recruited Roche to help Layton get behind enemy lines by taking him to the Folgers under the guise of a surrender.
In the Classroom car, the Folgers held a ceremony where Layton officially surrendered to them before Roche, Grey and two Jackboots took him towards First to broadcast his surrender over the train's PA system. As they left, the Folgers made it clear to Grey that they were going to be in charge once the War was over. Once in the subtrain, Roche locked the door and confronted the Jackboots with the gun smuggled in by Miss Giles. At the same time, Melanie pulled the safety switch and Miles detached the rear half of the train from the seven cars. Seeing this, the Folgers realized that Third had never been the rebel army's target. In the subtrain, a fight broke out between Roche, Layton and the three Jackboots, but the two rebels were overpowered and Roche was knocked unconscious. Before Grey could execute Layton, the Last Australian arrived with Strong Boy and Z-Wreck whom he had rescued from the Drawers. The three overpowered Grey and his men, but Layton had them leave the Jackboots unconscious and flee with Roche uptrain for safety.
Emerging on the other side of the seven cars, Layton discovered that the last car in the seven held the revolution prisoners. Layton attempted to free his friends, but couldn't in time and was forced to abandon them to die with the Jackboot army. After Layton pulled the safety switch, Miles disconnected the seven cars and Bennett send them away onto a switch track, leaving the Folgers, minus LJ who had remained in First, Grey and the Jackboot army to freeze to death. Miles and Bennett then reconnected the rest of the train.
In the aftermath of the Jackboot defeat, Melanie officially handed over control of Snowpiercer to Andre Layton, ending the war. Melanie subsequently made a train wide announcement of the handover of power and Layton began planning for a new democratic government. Free of the Tail, the Tailies began running wild enjoying their new freedom with the Brakemen struggling to maintain some semblance of order. The War left 147 people dead in the detached section of the train, a number of others dead from the Nightcar battle and over a hundred wounded. Snowpiercer itself also suffered damage from the separation which left 37 Battery Cars offline even after the train was reconnected. The only known survivors on First's side were LJ Folger, Ruth Wardell and at least a dozen Jackboots who were in First when the Jackboot army was eliminated. After the fall of their leaders, the surviving Jackboots were no longer a problem and were disbanded by Layton.
The Tailies victory in the War and the overthrow of the old government was short-lived due to the arrival of Big Alice and the real Mr. Wilford shortly thereafter.
Snowpiercer—Big Alice War
“
It's gonna be a long, cold war.
”
— Layton at the beginning of the war
Shortly after the victory in the First Snowpiercer War, the supply train Big Alice arrived while Snowpiercer approached its starting point of Chicago. Believing that they desperately needed the supplies on Big Alice, Bennett Knox hid its arrival from Melanie Cavill who knew that the train likely contained the real Mr. Wilford who would want Snowpiercer back. Despite an attempt to outrun Big Alice, the other train latched onto Snowpiercer hacked into its systems and began bringing it to a stop. Melanie headed outside in an effort to break Wilford's control over Snowpiercer, but was thrown from the train when Wilford shut down its systems and brought it to a halt in the middle of Chicago.
Cutting into the tail of Snowpiercer, Alexandra "Alex" Cavill, Melanie's believed-dead daughter, emerged to demand Snowpiercer's surrender on Wilford's behalf. The passengers reluctantly provided Big Alice with a list of items demanded by Wilford while Melanie, after recovering from her fall, used a small axe to cut Wilford's uplink into Snowpiercer's systems, restoring system control to the Engine. However, Melanie had drained Snowpiercer's batteries too much trying to outrun Big Alice, meaning that Snowpiercer could never move on its own again. Melanie planted a bomb on the connecting mechanism of Big Alice and before boarding the other train, noticed that it was snowing outside despite the planet being too cold for snow.
Onboard Big Alice, Wilford demanded that Melanie surrender Snowpiercer to him, but she refused as it was now Andre Layton's train. On Snowpiercer, Layton had the rebel army set up a border in the Tail and reluctantly declared martial law. Layton authorized Ruth Wardell to work on diplomacy, but later led a failed incursion into Big Alice to rescue Melanie, capturing Kevin as a hostage. In retaliation, Wilford stopped the trains and attempted to disconnect from Snowpiercer, leave the passengers to die and then return to retrieve the train afterwards. However, the bomb that Melanie had planted earlier destroyed Big Alice's connecting mechanism as Wilford had overbuilt it, something that Melanie had warned him about before. As a result, Snowpiercer and Big Alice were left permanently connected. With no other choice, Wilford reluctantly started the trains moving again.
Wilford warned Melanie that even with the trains still linked, they could slow down and choke off Snowpiercer's power supply and ecosystems which Melanie pointed out will also negatively effect Big Alice. Wilford explained that Big Alice had been through some tough times and the crew was used to living below zero so they would survive, but Melanie is undeterred. On Snowpiercer, Layton and Roche interrogated Kevin using the promise of fresh food and learn from him that there was around a hundred people on Big Alice and that they were hungry, having no fresh food, just canned stuff. Wilford later traded Melanie for Kevin and subsequently compelled Kevin into committing suicide for betraying information about him.
At the same time, Bess Till, promoted to Train Detective by Layton, investigated an attack on Lights in which two of her fingers were brutally amputated with an axe. Till later realized that Lights' fingers were severed in such a way as to mimic the W for Wilford that Wilford and his supporters flashed as a salute. Till and Roche came to believe that the Breachmen, fiercely loyal to Wilford, were responsible. However, Bojan Boscovic insisted that he at least had nothing to do with it despite his loyalty to Wilford.
Upon her return to Snowpiercer, Melanie revealed her discovery, although Alex had destroyed her snow sample. Melanie believed that it meant that CW-7 was breaking up in the atmosphere and falling to Earth, meaning that the planet was warming and could potentially be recolonized in their lifetime rather than in a thousand years as all of their previous climate models had predicted. Javi launched a weather balloon into the upper atmosphere which proved that temperatures were rising. Needing supplies from Big Alice, Melanie and Layton invited Wilford to a scientific summit in First Class Dining where Melanie revealed to the population of both trains their discovery. Wilford's scientists, the Headwoods, confirmed that Melanie's theory was in fact possible and she proposed a plan to use a research station in the Rocky Mountains to study the climate change and hopefully find a place that they could recolonize. This would require Melanie going for a month to man the station and in exchange, Wilford agreed to cease hostilities between the two trains. As he left, Wilford called off Alex's planned assassination attempt on Layton.
After the summit, the two trains began negotiating and trading with Layton offering food in exchange for the much-needed supplies to repair Snowpiercer. After a harrowing journey on the stretch of track known as Neckbreaker, Melanie departed for the research station, having bonded somewhat with Alex and reassured her that if Alex chose, she had people on Snowpiercer that she could rely on. During this time, Wilford had the Headwoods work on lowering the temperature that Icy Bob could survive at, warning them to expect to have maybe half of the month to succeed in his request.
Three days after Melanie's departure, Wilford offered to have the Headwoods treat Snowpiercer's frostbite patients, of which there were 14, including Josie, the rest being from the failed incursion into Big Alice. Layton became suspicious of the nature of the offer due to Josie's condition and suspected that Wilford had someone passing him that information. Layton ultimately accepted the offer and in turn invited Wilford and some of his crew to a night out on Snowpiercer. However, Josie's condition was such that the Headwoods determined that she needed a more dedicated treatment on Big Alice which Josie accepted, both because it was her only chance of recovery and in the hopes of finding out some useful information while on the other train. Wilford, Sykes, Alex, Oiler Bob, Emilia and another passenger enjoyed a night out in the Nightcar while Wilford reconnected with Miss Audrey, his former paramour. Emilia bonded with Murray, both having previously believed themselves to be the last Australian while Alex and LJ Folger bonded. Snowpiercer launched the first of its weather balloons and after a tense moment when it reached the correct height, Melanie made contact, proving that she had in fact survived her journey to the research station. However, the crew lost contact with Melanie after launching the last balloon, leading to fears that she had perished.
As time went on, the situation on Snowpiercer began to spiral out of control due to the actions of Wilford loyalists. Things got worse when Miss Audrey defected completely to Wilford's side and the Breachmen, aside from Bojan Boscovic, were assassinated by Wilford loyalists which looked to the rest of the train like retaliation for the attack on Lights. At the same time, Layton had Terence assassinated by Pike for threatening Josie. Till managed to identify Eugenia as the murderer of Cherry Sherry and Pastor Logan as the mastermind behind the attacks, but Pastor Logan committed suicide after getting caught. People all throughout the train signaled to Wilford using red lanterns and Wilford had Icy Bob prepared.
On Wilford's orders, Icy Bob sabotaged Snowpiercer's port intakes, but the cold proved to be too much for even Icy Bob to survive unprotected. Healed of her injuries, Josie discovered that she had developed a cold resistance similar to Icy Bob as a result of the Headwoods treatment while rumors surfaced that the surviving Jackboots had rebuilt a command. After removing a railroad spike from the water intake, Boki realized that Wilford was in fact responsible for the events and switched sides completely to Layton. Due to damage to Snowpiercer's God module from the sabotage, Layton was forced to allow Wilford back onboard in order to fix the problem, but Melanie's modifications forced him to allow Wilford to orchestrate a manual restart of the Engine in order to fix the problem. With Snowpiercer now on Wilford's side, Layton lost control of the train and was arrested by the once again active Jackboots while Roche and his family were put into the Drawers on Big Alice.
After taking control of Snowpiercer, Wilford had a census performed which Alex, now completely disillusioned from Wilford, revealed was intended to help him cull the train's population in order to save on resources as Wilford had done with half of the crew on Big Alice following the Freeze. Wilford opened a carnival on Snowpiercer while Layton was forced to work in Compost on Big Alice and Josie's new abilities were tested by the Headwoods. Having learned that Snowpiercer had lost contact with Melanie, Wilford used it as an excuse not to go back for her. After Ruth refused to announce this to the trains, Wilford had her sent to Compost with Layton. However, Javi, now working under guard in Big Alice's Engine, received a radio message from Melanie that he hid from Wilford and managed to send a note letting Layton and Ruth know.
Working together, Layton and Ruth were able to kill their guard and escape and found Alex who directed them to a secret entrance into Big Alice's Engine. As Alex distracted Wilford, Layton and Ruth killed two Jackboots and helped Javi take control of the Engine and coordinate with Bennett to go back for Melanie. Bennett was able to overpower and capture Sykes while Layton and Ruth were smuggled back aboard Snowpiercer. However, LJ Folger saw through Alex's deception and warned Wilford. Wilford and the Jackboots managed to break into Big Alice's Engine and Javi was mauled by Jupiter. Wilford overpowered Bennett's efforts to stop the train, leaving Melanie behind at the side of the tracks. Wounding Wilford, Alex managed to escape to Snowpiercer through the subtrain.
Linking up with Layton and Boki, Alex proposed separating the first ten cars of Snowpiercer at The Aquarium, in effect creating a separate pirate train, in order to go after Melanie and her data and resist Wilford outside of his influence. Boki confirmed that Big Alice would be able to handle powering all of the remaining cars, but it would hobble Wilford while leaving Layton's crew with a smaller, faster train to evade him with. Having captured Miss Audrey, Layton decided to take her along as a hostage due to her importance to Wilford while Zarah chose to remain behind due to the danger to her and Layton's baby. Wilford sent Josie to breach Snowpiercer's Engine so that he could retake control of the train completely, but Bennett made radio contact with Josie and redirected her to the Aquarium. An attempt by Boki to disconnect the cars was interrupted by a Jackboot attack while Wilford realized what Layton was up to. On Bennett's orders, Josie breached the Aquarium, destroying the entire car and apparently killing Boki and the Jackboots still in the subtrain but separating the first ten cars of Snowpiercer from the rest of the train. However, Ruth was left behind after being delayed from reaching the others in time by Kevin and leaving Layton with Bennett, Josie, Till, Alex and the captive Audrey and Sykes as his crew.
The pirate train returned to the research station for Melanie, but Layton and Alex only found her drives containing Melanie's data and a letter explaining that Melanie had sacrificed the last of her power to protect the drives and their vital data while she walked out into the Freeze to die after running out of resources. Melanie's data revealed several warm areas around the globe and Layton ordered his new crew to go and get their people back.
Over the next six months, Layton and his crew searched for a habitable location without success, eventually finding a survivor, Asha, in a power plant in North Korea. Sykes became a member of the crew, claiming that she was simply doing her part as a prisoner of war, but showing a possible wavering loyalty to Wilford. It's also revealed that Martin Colvin had become an accidental stowaway on the pirate train. During this time, Big Alice and Snowpiercer became a "rolling gulag" under Wilford's rule, with First Class decommissioned for the time being and everyone forced to work. Due to Big Alice powering the two trains alone, the passengers were forced to live in freezing temperatures with low power. However, Wilford chose not to go through with a culling due to Layton having Miss Audrey as a hostage. In Layton's absence, a secret resistance against Wilford continued to operate, now under the leadership of Ruth Wardell who foiled a plot by Wilford to use an EMP weapon to disable the pirate train upon its return.
After detecting the detonation of the EMP weapon, the pirate train returned and lured Wilford's train into a game of cat and mouse in a railyard where the maze of tracks gave the smaller and nimbler pirate train the advantage. However, Wilford managed to damage the pirate train with a harpoon, forcing Alex and Bennett to disconnect the last four cars in order to prevent a derailment while Kevin captured several revolutionaries and tortured Strong Boy in the Night Car. After Wilford managed to avoid detection by going dark, an imprisoned Ruth had Pike set off Snowpiercer's fireworks from Hospitality as a signal, causing Wilford to make a run for it. However, Big Alice lacked the power to get out and was cut off by the pirate train and brought to a stop. After a failed attempt to negotiate Wilford's surrender, Wilford cut power to his train and threatened to let everyone freeze if they didn't reconnect. Bennett agreed and Wilford dispatched a Jackboot boarding party to retake the pirate train. However, Layton and Josie snuck off of the pirate train during the negotiations while Wilford was distracted with Miss Audrey and Bennett discreetly signaled Javi who secretly opened an airlock in Big Alice's Engine. As the pirate train came around from the other direction to reconnect, Josie created a distraction by pretending to breach Big Alice's Engine, giving Layton the chance to sneak aboard and overpower Wilford. Layton forced Wilford to call off the boarding party and publicly surrender the train to him. With both trains now under Layton's control, the pirate train reconnected, restoring full power to Big Alice and Snowpiercer. With Kevin having tortured Strong Boy to death, LJ Folger killed him for his crime so that she and Oz would be seen as being on the right side of the revolution in history.
Heading to New Eden
In the aftermath, Wilford was imprisoned aboard Big Alice, although he expressed confidence to Josie that Layton's leadership would eventually fail once again. Till and Doctor Pelton rescued Sam Roche and his family from the Drawers, but they discovered that Anne Roche had died at some point while locked up in them. Sykes, now trusted by Layton after her help on the pirate train, exiled Miss Audrey to Third Class and banned her from the Night Car on Layton's orders, stating that Miss Audrey had chosen the wrong side. Layton decided to hold a vote on going to the Horn of Africa which, according to Ruth, had possibly the worst stretch of track in the network. However, he had Asha lie that he had found her in New Eden to help get people to vote for going. With a nearly two-to-one vote in favor, Layton's council agreed with the plan and Snowpiercer and Big Alice set out for the Horn of Africa.
Wilford later enlists Alex's help with performing some calculations before revealing that he has created a map of the Pirate train's course and Big Alice's hunt for it. Wilford explains that about three months into the search, he had thought that he'd caught a break, a track switch signal near Marseilles that Big Alice had followed and found no sign of them. However, Alex points out that the Pirate train was on a different continent at the time which means it wasn't them. While Alex thinks that it could have been a malfunction, Wilford believes that it was Melanie and that she is still alive out there somewhere.
By checking out the power of various track switches, Bennett and Alex find a trail leading back to Neckbreaker where Melanie was last seen. The two theorize that Melanie could've reached a hanger on Neckbreaker and taken one of the automated vehicles stored there. However, they can't be sure that she's still alive as the vehicles are bare-bones and not equipped with supplies to support life. Snowpiercer is diverted to follow the course of Melanie's vehicle and, after passing through a toxic cloud of gas with Asha's sacrificing herself, Bennett and Alex pick up the vehicle's signal nearby. Melanie is eventually rescued
Three days after being rescued, Melanie awakens with Alex by her side. Melanie is happily reunited with her friends and especially Bennett. However, Melanie becomes concerned as she goes over the data on the Horn of Africa and consults with Wilford who reminds Melanie that the data doesn't support Layton's belief in New Eden and the track going there was unsafe eight years ago and will only have gotten worse over time. Layton dismisses Melanie's concerns and she observes the party as the trains pass the Pyramids of Giza. Returning to Hospitality, Melanie makes an announcement to the train, praising the unity that she has seen for the first time that was created by the dream of New Eden. However, Melanie betrays Layton and reveals the truth about his lie to the train. With the help of an enraged Javi, Melanie seizes First and the Engine, locking Layton and Bennett out.
As tensions rise with only twenty-four hours until the turn to the Horn of Africa, Melanie is confronted with the reality of her decisions and how far she is willing to go, especially with Alex angry at her and Ruth ultimately siding with Layton. Melanie makes a deal with Wilford, believing that a united front between their factions will force Layton to back down, but she remains uneasy with it. Layton later calls Melanie and together the two recognize that they no longer want the train to be ruled by fear or bloodshed which only plays right into Wilford's hands. Instead, Melanie pretends to accept Wilford's offer to use Liana to force Layton to surrender in order to lure him into a trap. Together, Melanie and Layton exile Wilford on the Track scaler with a supply of the suspension drug and stimulants, placing Wilford in the same position that Melanie was left in for six months.
Splitting in Two
Melanie and Layton subsequently make a joint announcement to the trains, offering everyone a choice: stay on Snowpiercer under Melanie or leave on Big Alice for New Eden. Melanie promises to no longer lead by fear but through science and truth. As everyone makes their choice, Bennett predicts that the train has a decade or two at most left and agrees to join Melanie when she promises to give him her all. The train was divided in Ag-Sec, Some cars of Snowpiercer went to New Eden with Big Alice. While Snowpiercer continue circling around the world in the main track.
Population and social structure
Snowpiercer provides shelter, heat and food to about 3,000 "sparks". It is, by design, a heterogeneous environment with well delimited social classes and several formal and informal professions, each a distinct group with its own levels of influence and expectations. Snowpiercer's social structure is organized in two main categories, based on both physical placement on Snowpiercer (from front to tail) and social status.
While they only represent about 30% of her occupants (about nine hundred people), about half of the length of the train is dedicated to First and Second Class Passengers. The second half of the train houses both technical and agriculture cars, Third Class and Tail-Section. The last few cars of the train once housed about 400 stowaways who boarded right before Snowpiercer left Chicago.
Ticketed Passengers
First Class Passengers
First Class Passengers are the few cosmopolites and privileged mega-rich guests who bought an exclusive one-way ticket from Wilford Industries or invested early in the project. Among them are the world's richest and most influential, some of whom were industrial tycoons responsible for global warming before the Freeze.
This select category of ticketed passengers had the highest social status aboard Snowpiercer :
They enjoyed a mostly limitless variety of daily calories and rare products such as alcohol.
They had access to most of the train sections without limitation.
They live up-train, close to the Engine Car, in spacious accommodations with luxurious amenities, and each family has its own double-decker carriage.
Some of them enjoy the company of their pets.
Some brought along their help, mostly armed bodyguards.
They also had unlimited reproductive rights.
Many First Class Passengers attempted to live as if there was no significant change in the world's environment.[1] A feature of that alienated lifestyle was their tendency to make complaints and demands to Hospitality, arguably in outright denial of how autocratic the governance of Snowpiercer ultimately was.[1]
Ironically enough, the First Class Dining Car can fit a bit more than 32 guests, which represents about 1% of Snowpiercer's population. The First Class population might yet be more important.
Notable First Class Passengers include:
Lilah Folger, a former lawyer, her husband Robert, daughter Lilah Jr and their bodyguard Erik Sotto. Aside from LJ, the Folgers were killed in the First Snowpiercer War. A year later, LJ choked to death.
Rajiv Sharma, Chairman of the First Class Committee, his wife, and son (and daughter?).
Members of a Scandinavian Royal Family.
Martin Colvin, his Cantonese husband York Lam, and their two sons Gavin and Murray. Martin was later an accidental stowaway on the Pirate train.
Early investor Eugenia. Executed for her role in the murders of the Breachmen.
Edith Gusterfeld (#1097).
The Schwartzes, a chic couple in their eighties who take cyanide the morning that the Tallies took the train. Mr. Schwartz was an international architect before the Freeze.
Andre Layton and Zarah Ferami who were moved to First Class by Ruth Wardell after Zarah got pregnant.
Stu Whiggins, who is forced to work as a Jackboot when First Class is temporarily decommissioned by Mr. Wilford. He spends most of time drinking in the Night Car.
In The Train Demanded Blood, Robert and Lilah Folger and 8 other First Class passengers are sent to their deaths when seven cars of the train are disconnected by Melanie, Layton, Bennett, and Miles.
Second Class Passengers
Second Class is for highly skilled and specialized workers, management, and their families.
This category had a medium social status aboard Snowpiercer :
They enjoyed a diverse yet fixed amount of daily calories (rations included dessert every night).
They had access to most of the train as part of their position.
They live middle train in spacious compartments with comfortable amenities. Family compartments might be bigger than single passenger compartments.
They might have either enjoyed free reproductive rights or have been subjected to a Baby Lottery.
Third Class is for low skillset workers and their families.
Thirdies were passengers with a well defined social role but not much privilege or authority as they did not pay for their tickets :
They enjoyed a limited amount of calories
They had limited access to the train outside of their work shift.
They live in smaller accommodation down-train. While some Third Class Passengers live in shared quarters in the Chains Car(s), it is implied it is not the case for all Third Class Passengers. Third Class compartments might be similar in size and equipment to the Engineers compartment in the Engine Car: a shared compartment for up to four passengers, equipped with a sink, a kitchenette and light furnitures. Bathroom amenities might be shared.
Their reproductive rights were limited to a Baby Lottery.
Notable Third Class Passengers include :
Zarah Ferami, Bartender. Moved to First Class by Ruth Wardell after getting pregnant.
Sean Wise, Agriculture Worker. Murdered by LJ and Eric Sotto.
Terence, Head Janitor. Assassinated by Pike on Layton's orders.
Nikki Genêt, Nightcar Worker. Murdered by Eric Sotto.
Pastor Logan, Pastor of the Tea Room. Committed suicide after being discovered as Wilford's spy.
Jackboots, Brakemen, Agriculture and Sanitation workers, Craftsmen, Janitors, Breachmen and Tunnelmen are all considered Third Class Passengers despite their essential role in maintaining Snowpiercer. The Train Rules however state that Third Class has the right to petition Wilford in labor disputes and matters of jurisprudence.
Lead Brakeman Sam Roche and daughter Carly share a couchette in the residential section in Third Class.
Stowaways
Tailies were apparently not an intentional part of Snowpiercer's society. Until the Civil War, they were not considered as passengers and were kept prisoners in the last few cars of the tail section. As such, they did not have any rights. They had no permission to visit other cars except on rare occasions, and when specifically given notarized authorization. According to Andre Layton, most hadn’t seen the sun since first boarding the train seven years before.
Group commitment among Tailies is strong, yet they were often tempted to find some way of entering a higher status group. The original Tailies were the survivors of a desperate group of stowaways who entered Snowpiercer by force of numbers after a violent conflict with the authorized passengers (mainly Jackboots). At some point, an uneasy understanding was reached, and once 400 people strong, the Tail Section had very limited rights and survived on rations given unilaterally by Snowpiercer's management, to considerable distress of all involved. Tailies are easily the most tightly knit of all four social classes aboard Snowpiercer, to the point of often decreeing their commitment to the tail as a whole and feeling duty-bound to the group even after years of distance and sparse contact.[2]
Class upgrade and social mobility
Third Class Passengers and Tail section survivors represent 70% of the once 3,000 souls onboard Snowpiercer (approximately 2,100 persons).
There was a small measure of social mobility in Snowpiercer. While the Tail Section was apparently given compulsory contraceptives, what few children existed among the Tailies were sometimes recruited for an apprenticeship when a position needed to be filled, in skilled or unskilled labor, which is implied to open access to at least Third Class. After the death of Electrical Engineer Di Marco, Miles was promoted to an Engineering apprenticeship in the Engine Car, after attending Miss Gillies' Class and tutoring lessons by Melanie Cavill. He and several other Tailie children had previously been selected to move up train in what is suggested to be a once somewhat routine occasion where talented Tailie children were given the chance of a better lifestyle in exchange for their skills. The fact that Miles, a Tailie, was given such personal attention even before the revolution suggests that at least with the children, the train's staff didn’t discriminate in cultivating their gifts.
Third Class Passengers once could apply to regular Fightnights which, while brutal, were nonetheless a means of progressing from Third to Second Class.
While once frowned upon by Thirdies, stable relationship between Third and Second Class passengers could lead to some sort of civil union and Class upgrade.
Under unknown circumstances, some Tailies have been able to move up train such as Zarah Ferami and Astrid. ---Astrid won an apprenticeship early in the journey. Zarah accepted an opening in the night car.
On rare occasions, Tailies had been known to be moved up train for special reasons: Old Ivan often recounted stories of a time when he was briefly brought forward to tune a piano, though he was later returned to the Tail. Andre Layton was offered a deal to become a Third Class passenger in exchange for his skills as a homicide detective, something that was lacking in the train's staff or other passengers.
Snowpiercer Crew
Several department heads.
The train is manned by a diverse crew, consisting of several departments and a strict hierarchy. Most originally worked for Wilford Industries before the freeze and were given either second or third class tickets.
Brechmen were Third Class crew members responsible for repairing any breach made to the hull of Snowpiercer. As such, their task was the most dangerous aboard, as they were exposed to both the deadly cold and the speed of the train. Breachman Bojan "Boki" Boscovic was the leader of the Breach Team. Known members of the Breachmen included Cherry Sherry. The Breachmen's uniform was their cold-proof grey EVA Suit.
Tunnelmen
Tunnelmen are Third Class crew members. Those mechanics are in charge of maintaining the various mechanical systems of the Sub-Train platform and making sure the cable car transportation system is up and running.[1]Known members of the Tunnelmen include Tunnelman Jakes Carter and Tunnelman Truck. The Tunnelmen's uniform is their dark grey jumpsuit.
This department is responsible for maintaining smooth relations between the Crew and Ticketed Passengers and between Ticketed Passengers of different Classes.
Human Resources, Legal Affairs and Archives Departement
The Notary seems to hold a unique power and status within the train, as any official action taken by a member of the Crew requires forms bearing Wilford Industries logo to be signed and notarized, as seen when Henry Klimpt was ordered to release Nikki Genêt from the Drawers. Among various clerical duties, she is most certainly responsible for the Removal Request for Andre Layton, and Apprenticeship Offers. She is also in charge of writing down the minutes of any Tribunal occurring onboard. She later oversees the executions of captured revolutionaries but appears to aid Jinju Seong and Javier De La Torre in rescuing Melanie from execution.
A member of the Archives dates Dr. Pelton.
A Quartermaster is in charge of supplies.
Security Department
Jackboots were the armed enforcement branch and security force of Snowpiercer, operating under the orders of Commander Nolan Grey. They wear a black padded jumpsuit and helmet. Firearms are prohibited inside the train to prevent any breach or damage to the hull. As such, they are usually armed with small handaxes, which they tend to use with savage bloodlust even when it is clear that there is no danger to themselves or others.[2] They guarded the boundaries between each Class and between the Tail section (C0999, C1000, C1001), patrolled the train, and maintained order during events such as Fight Night. Before Snowpiercer left the station, they were responsible for securing the boarding process and later fought against the people without tickets who boarded the Tail. Their Garrison is most likely located at the rear of the train, between the Tail section and the Sanitation section.
At the end of the revolution, most of the Jackboots are sent to their deaths when seven cars are disconnected from the train by Melanie Cavill, Andre Layton, Bennett Knox, and Miles. The surviving Jackboots are disbanded by Layton when he takes over, but they are restored when Wilford takes control of the train once again.
Brakemen perform various police duties within the train (Tail Section included), such as Train Rules enforcement, lower management, patrols, and status reporting, under the orders of Lead Brakeman Roche. They wear a deep blue uniform. They have jurisdiction over all Ticketed Passengers and Crew members to detect, arrest and interrogate a suspect should a crime be committed amongst Ticketed Passengers and Crew members alike. Many are former Wilford Industries Security, but there are many exceptions.[1] Their Garrison is most likely located at the rear of the train, within Third Class Quarters and close to Sanitation Section. Other known members of the Brakemen Department include Brakeman Fuller.
There were 15 Brakemen and over 160 Jackboots onboard. Unlike the Jackboots, the Brakemen generally remained neutral in the revolution aside from Till, stepping aside peacefully and according to Roche, trying to maintain peace in the chaos. Roche later joins the revolution and the Brakemen submitted to Andre Layton's authority in the aftermath, continuing their peacekeeping efforts.
AgSec Cars - Gardens
Agriculture Department
Agriculture workers are vital crew members as they are responsible for producing food and maintaining an extremely fragile closed ecosystem.
As Agriculture Officer, scientist Jinju Seong is the head of that department. She was mostly seen managing the First Class Aquarium and Sushi Bar.
Gardeners operate the numerous hydroponic Greenhouse Cars and farm several cycles of crops each year. They wear beige jumpsuits.
Stockbreeders are in charge of the various Livestock Cars (Cattle Car, Poultry Car, Pig Car, Goat Car, Sheep Car…) where bovines, poultry, caprices cultures are bred. Butchers are in charge of butchering animals and producing meat. They wear a leather apron.
Agriculture workers included Sean Wise and Butcher Silva before their deaths.
Food Processing, where the former Tailie Astrid works, might be in a subsection of Agriculture.
Medical Department
The medical personnel includes Dr. Pelton, in charge of the Third Class Clinic, and Dr. Klimpt, once in charge of The Drawers. Both later support Andre Layton's revolution, with Doctor Pelton treating injuries and hiding Layton and Josie Wellstead, while Klimpt helped The Last Australian to rescue prisoners from the Drawers.
Nurses are also part of the medical staff. It can be assumed that there are more Doctors and Surgeons on board.
Education Department
The Education Department is responsible for the education of children aboard the Snowpiercer, as there are specialized classrooms for Teachers aboard the train to use. One example is Primary Teacher, Mary Elizabeth Gillies.
Maintenance Department
They fix things and make sure the train is working.
Entertainment Department
The Nightcar staff was led by singer Miss Audrey. She was assisted by bartender Clay and former Tail section resident Zarah Ferami. Nikki Genêt worked in the Nightcar before she was accused of murder.
To be expanded.
Crafts Departement
PapermakerWalter Flemming (#3163) was an elderly Third Class passenger who was in charge of making paper for the train. Walter acts as one of the judges on LJ Folger's tribunal and later assisted Andre Layton's revolution. Captured during the revolution, he was executed with the Lung of Ice.
To be expanded.
Engineering
The Eternal Engine
Snowpiercer is powered by a perpetual-motion engine designed by Chief-Engineer Melanie Cavill and referred to as the The Eternal Engine, running on hydrogen gained from snow outside. Engineer Bennett Knox noted that, while the fuel is eternal, parts of the Engine are not and will eventually break and need replacement.
It appears to produce more power when traveling at greater speeds. A display in the Engine Car features kWh/km units. As the train slows, the energy produced decreases, as does the distance traveled per second, providing a "double whammy" effect of reducing power.
At the train's average speed of about 100 km/hour, each "unit" of power production gives 100 kW, and from an estimated typical power generation of 20 kWh/km, the train's total power production is normally 2 MW, enough for roughly 2,000 modern American homes. It seems to be enough to keep the train life support and communication systems working, load the Battery Cars, and make the First Class extra-amenities (sauna...) work.
Carriages dimensions
3D First Class type B Guest Carriage model by Alex Nice.Based on in-universe math, the average length of the cars is little over 16 meters or 52.5 feet. Based on the blueprint of the Brakeman's Garrison in the title credits of the series, however, a typical car is about only 40 feet long and 13 feet 6 inches wide (12.2m long and 4.1m wide). From external images of the train, the height of cars seems to vary between about 1.5 and 2 times the width (20-26 feet, or 6-8m tall) and would fit about two stories and a half.The Snowpiercer concept art by Alex Nice, which serves as a basis for the CGI model.Based on the concept art by Alex Nice, the train is even larger, being around 9 meters wide, 12 meters tall and 65 meters long per car (83 meters at the engine). This would make the 1001 car train exceed a length of 38 miles or 65.1 km. This is probably the closest to the actual dimensions since most cars have 2 levels, plus the Sub-Train and the wheel mechanisms underneath them. However, the scale used during the set is downscaled.
According to Wilford in Many Miles From Snowpiercer, the train is 10 miles long ("Three thousand souls stufffed into a ten miles steel tube"). This would put the average length of a carriage at 15.56m (10 miles = 16.09km, 16.09km = 16,090m, 16,090m/1034 carriages = 15.56m per carriage).
Utility Cars and the Sub-Train
Numerous Carriages are shown to be preceded by intermediary Utility and Battery Cars. Those cars are necessary to maintain life support systems (water, electricity, temperature, air quality...) all along the train. Battery Cars mainly house power banks to accumulate power as the train travels. At least 37 Battery Cars were offline after the civil war.
Each car has two Sub-Train platforms underneath its main deck. The platforms, only accessible from Utility and Battery Cars, is where the bogie motors help maintain the speed of the train. A cable car transportation system runs all along the tunnel of this platform and transports goods and people from section to section. Due to the borders between Third, Second, and First Class, the Sub-Train might actually be divided into three closed-loop subsystems for operating reasons (it is faster to operate small distance trips).
Train sections and design
Snowpiercer's 1001 cars are organized in different sections with their own unique features and design.
Front section / Engine Car (C0001)
The Engine Car has two levels. On the first level is a bio-locked[2] compartment, most likely containing the Engine. It is unknown how to enter the Engine, as it does not use Access Chip technology as other security measures aboard the train.
Directly above the Engine is the train Control Room. While the train has automatic controls[3], the Control room is usually manned by one pilot and one engineer during the day and a single pilot during the night. They have an unrestricted view and access to numerous control systems ranging from speed control to diagnostic panels that alert the pilot to potential issues ahead. The Control room also serves as an information hub for the entire train[4]. If the train detects a breach or mechanical malfunction, it will alert the Control room operators.
One of the systems that can be controlled from the Engine is separating sections of the train. However, this is a complicated step and requires two safety switches (J-Links) to be disabled, one on either side of the separation while the Engine has two switches as well that require two operators to work. The switches must have keys turned in them simultaneously to be activated and then the switches themselves must be flipped at the same time to initiate separation of each end of the disconnected section of the train.
Behind the Control Room stands the Engineers living quarters with four bunks, a bathroom, and a bunch of closets. This compartment was once occupied by Melanie Cavill and Miles.
First Class / C0002 > CXXX.
First Class is located right after the Engine Car (C0001). This section is the most luxurious of the train, designed with great taste, precious materials, large windows, and a sense of grandeur to accommodate its guests.
The Aquarium and Sushi Bar Car (C0011), known as the First Class Ocean, was one of the most awe-inspiring cars of the train. Most of the car was occupied by a large aquarium, crossed by an oval reinforced glass corridor. The aquarium was itself accessible from the second-floor and staff members were able to dive there with ease to farm seafood and fishes, providing a unique farm-to-table experience where sushi, sashimi, and rolls were made to order. Agriculture Officer Jinju Seong oversaw personally this car and its restaurant. During Layton's plot to take over the front section of Snowpiercer, Bennett tasks Josie to breach the glass roof of the Aquarium Car. This results in the whole ocean inside to freeze solid, killing all the aquatic life. The expansion of the water then make the whole car explode, effectively separating the front section of Snowpiercer from the rest of the train.
The Hospitality Car is where the Head of Hospitality and Voice of the Train had her office and made her public announcements twice a day.
The Dining Car has been designed as Wilford's personal Dining Room where he would entertain his guests and friends. The table layout can serve about 32 guests per service. It can also double as an assembly room, especially during Tribunal sessions and meetings of the First Class Committee.
As per the Folgers' and the Schwartzs' Quarters, First Class Guests live with their families in double-decked private Guest Carriages. The main deck consists in a public corridor for passengers to cross the car. From this corridor, at each side of the carriage, an entrance leads to the lobby of the Guest Carriage. In between those two lobbies is a living room equipped with a gas chimney, bookcases, and large windows. On one side of the carriage stands a closet room that can double as a bedroom for the help. On the other side, a flight of stairs leads upstairs where the guests' bedrooms and bathroom en suite are located.
Other First-Class amenities include a Sauna Car and a Bowling Alley Car.
Second Class / CXXXX > C0557
Second Class is located middle train behind First Class. While it is still unclear where it begins, as per blueprints used by the First Class in These Are His Revolutions, it is divided into four sections, and ends at the Night Car.
This section offers comfortable accommodation to its passengers. While materials remain elegant and windows large and numerous, the whole Second Class is designed to be more practical and cozy.
Second Class crew Quarters include Dr. Jinju Seong's and Dr. Pelton's compartments. Both are constituted by a large room with two windows, equipped with a desk and a bed, as well as pieces of furniture and decoration belonging to their occupant. The structure of the compartments hints at the fact that bathrooms might be shared (there is no door visible in the room). Official concept arts for Second Class Quarters describe them as "designed with efficiency in mind" and with a "modular floorplan". Besides, it is possible that families' Quarters are larger and include a bathroom.
Second Class has its own Clinic Car(s), equipped with a comfortable recovery room.
The twelve Drawers Cars (section 2.4, C0545-C0556) are located at the rear end of Second Class and house about 400 Drawers. They served as both an extrajudicial imprisonment and medical experiment facility. Should Snowpiercer society collapse or fail, the Drawers were to serve as a failsafe, where 400 pre-selected people would be put into suspended animation as the last resort to save humanity.
The Night Car (section 2.4, C0557) is the last car of Second Class. While Mr. Wilford merely saw it as a decadent Art Deco brothel, Singer Miss Audrey saw its potential as a place to grieve together for what was left behind. Besides offering events and concerts featuring a rotating troupe of award-winning singers, actors, musicians, dancers, and entertainers for passengers of all classes, it also provided individual therapy sessions to remember the time before the Freeze and come to accept what was lost. As such, the Night Car has been both compared to Switzerland (a neutral Car in the middle of the train) and a bridge between Classes.
Third Class / C0558 > C0997
Third Class comprises all of the remainder cars past the Night Car, down-train, and makes up for half of the train length. Most of the carriages are one-deckers. As per blueprints used by Commander Grey when he planned on gassing Third Class, it is divided into at least three sections:
Section 3.1 could be mainly residential
Section 3.2 could be mainly industrial and cargo
Agriculture is part of Third Class section 3.3
Third Class begins mid-train once with a Jackboot station and Border Checkpoint Car that can be closed to limit circulation up-train.
Residential Section (Third Class, section 3.1)
Third Class section 3.1 might be a residential section. While Third Class house a workforce of around 1,700 people, it offers very small accommodations to its passengers, with low-grade material and an industrial look. Individual space is a rarity in Third Class as most cars are either Agriculture Cars or industrial and cargo cars. Most residential compartments might be located mid-train. If cars mid-train still have windows, the further you go down-train, the fewer windows there are. Those shared compartments might be similar in design to the Engineers compartment in the Engine Car: small and efficient.
As all Third Class residents work in three shifts of 8 hours, the Mess Hall Car is open all-around the clock and switches from serving drinks to foods depending on the shift and time of day. So does the Market Car.
The Education section includes a series of Classroom Cars and Utility Cars. One of them was used by Primary Teacher Mary Elizabeth Gillies. The bright and colorful car was mostly comprised of about a dozen desks for the pupils and was decorated by the children's works. After Andre Layton's fake capitulation at the end of the civil war, that Classroom Car is used by the Folgers and Commander Grey for the signing of the official surrender act. The rebels used the opportunity that most of the Jackboot forces would be concentrated within seven cars around the Classroom Car to detach them from Snowpiercer, leaving the platoon, some First Class passengers and Rebels prisoners to freeze to death.
The Third Class Clinic (W-3.1-C0561-C0565) is led by Dr. Pelton, is part of a small Medical Section that might include other medical cars. During the civil war in Third, it acted as a field hospital and rebel camp.
Industrial and Storage Section (Third Class, section 3.2)
Third Class section 3.2 might include industrial, storage, and Cargo areas. It might be where Food Processing and Papermaking are located. It seems like some Cargo Cars have been emptied over time and repurposed by Third Class residents into a Market Car, selling drinks, food and craft products, and the Chains Cars where younger and more carefree Third Class residents live in a community setting.
This section might also house a series of Battery Cars, as it is stated that at the end of the civil war, at least 37 of them were out of service.
EVA Cars are dispatched all along the train. One of them (W-3.4-C0991) is located at the Tail. Another (W-3.1-C0570) is located midtrain.
Jackboots and Brakemen represented over 175 people. While it is known that they are Third Class residents, it is still unclear where in Third Class the Jackboot Garrison Car(s) is located, while it is hinted the Brakemen Garrison Car(s) is located between Sanitation and the Tail.
Agriculture Section (AG-SEC, Third Class, section 3.3)
Agriculture is one of the most essential parts of the train, both in size and importance, as its cultures and systems produce a variety of food and materials necessary for the survival of Snowpiercer crew and passengers, and might also serve to scrub carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and produce oxygen. Melanie Caville said to Layton that there are 131 cars "just like this one" while standing in a Greenhouse Car, but it is unknown if she was referring to the whole AG-SEC or only Greenhouse Cars. It is also unclear if Food Processing is part of it, and if all the AGSEC cars are located at the end of the train, between the Tail section and Third Class, or if the different cars are dispatched all along the train to secure the food provisions.
Greenhouse Cars are large one-decker cars whose roof is a dome made out of reinforced glass and where crops are farmed on regular cycles using hydroponics, natural and artificial lights:
Berries (14 cycles/year), including Chili peppers, Grapes, Cherries and Strawberries
Potatoes (7 cycles/year)
Cocoa (6 cycles/year)
Wheat (4 cycles/year)
Rice (3 cycles/year)
Sugarcane (2 cycles/year)
Cotton (2 cycles/year)
Lettuce, Carrots, Cucumbers and probably other vegetables
Floridian oranges, Apples, Mangos, Avocados, Bananas, Grapefruits, Olives and probably other fruits
Cattle Cars (Pig Cars, Goat Cars, Poultry Cars, Sheep Cars) are one-decker cars with large windows on one side where animals are bred for their meat, milk, eggs, skin, feathers, methane, and manure... Snowpiercer livestock includes pigs, goat, poultry and sheep. It used to include cows too but an avalanche in the Cascade mountains led to the Cattle Car to be breached and its entire livestock to instantly freeze to death and go extinct seven years after departure.
Aquaculture Cars produces a variety of food and products such as fish and seafood. The water enriched by fish wastes also produces a natural fertilizer used within the hydroponics system. The First Class Aquarium and Sushi Bar Car might have been a high-end version of Aquaculture Cars and was directly under the supervision of Agriculture Officer Dr. Jinju Seong.
This section also includes its own Water Reservoir as stated by Jinju Seong when discussing with Bennett Knox and Melanie Cavill about the consequences of the bovine extinction event. An old Apiary Car was closed down after the bee colony collapsed, three years before the revolution, resulting in bees going extinct. Refrigeration Cars are where the crops and food are conserved after farming and before being processed and dispatched.
AG-SEC systems are intricately intertwined and create an artificial yet fragile ecosystem within the train. After the extinction of bovine cultures, Chief Engineer Melanie Cavill had to think of another way to produce necessary methane the cows used to produce (goat farts). When Agriculture Officer Jinju Seong was tasked with devising a way for equal calories between classes, she angrily noted that lootings of AG-SEC Greenhouse Cars, Refrigeration Cars, and Aquaculture Cars at the end of the civil war led to crops destruction and food shortage.
Sanitation Section
Sanitation is a necessary yet despised section of the train, located between Agriculture and the Jackboots Garrison Car at the Tail. This section might play a key role in the train systems. The industrial and windowless Sanitation Cars are equipped with compost units that transform organic wastes (manures, corpses...) into fertilizer using bugs and worms. This section might also include greywater filtration and treatment systems.
Due to the strong smells, working in Sanitation is not very well considered among Ticketed Passengers, to such extent that a team of three Tail residents is tasked with daily 8-hours-long shifts there.
The Tail / C0998 > C1001
The Tail section of Snowpiercer, located at the very rear of the train, mostly includes Cargo Cars. When Snowpiercer left Chicago, that section was boarded by stowaways who overpowered the Jackboots protecting the train. They lived in the dark of the Tail for almost seven years.
A Bio-Security Car (C0998) supposedly existed within the Tail to prevent any contamination from one train to the other but was mostly used to prevent Tailie residents from infecting regular passengers. The Docking Car(C1001) had been designed to allow a supply train to board her in mid-voyage. At the end of that Car is a huge circular vault door that can be opened to allow supplies to be transferred from one train to the other.
Number of cars
The number of cars of Snowpiercer is told in the intro, it changes over time:
Episodes
Snowpiercer
Big Alice
Pirate Train
The rest of the cars
Pre-series
1001
43
1.1-1.9
40
1.9-1.10
994
1.10-2.10
1034
2.10-3.3
10
1023
3.3
6
3.3-3.10
1029
3.10
More than half
Less than half
Trivia
* The Graphic Novel Snowpiercer, is a normal sized train, with 1,001 cars.
Snowpiercer has observation domes on some cars.
The fortunes of First Class built the train and Eugenia had $400 million in early investor status.
First Class has artwork in the corridors of some of their cars.
First Class has jacuzzis.
Snowpiercer has its own black market, one of the most common drugs exchanged is Kronole.
Third Class keeps Snowpiercer running and touches every system on the train. They work seven days a week, three shifts a day to keep the bearings greased and the cold at bay. They draw straws to have children and die from preventable accidents and diseases that First Class (and possibly Second Class) get treatment for.
Most of Snowpiercer can be transversed by a Sub-Train that runs below the cars themselves and is not accessible to the Tail Section.[1]
Snowpiercer's crew can close the boundaries between the classes ("borders") during the night without any special measures or announcements, although they usually do not. This border closing temporarily cancels the otherwise free transit of Firsts among the various Train Sections. The Sub-Train can be blocked as well.[2]
It is possible for the crew to disconnect a section of cars from the Engine, though it is not easy to do. The Folgers, once complained that the Tail should be disconnected to get rid of the Tailies.
Snowpiercer has a car that is used to dump bodies out, near the Breachmen garrison. In Into the White, its referred to as the Cold Locker.
Snowpiercer has a Fire crew.
Snowpiercer has a Mental Car.
Snowpiercer has fireworks used for New Year’s Eve celebrations.
During the Torreta Canyon Crisis, a automated message was activated by Javier De La Torre that said twice "Warning, please brace. Emergency lockdown in effect." After the Crisis, a message said "All clear. Return to stations. All clear."
During the Engine Crisis, Bennett Knox said to the train "Snowpiercer, Snowpiercer, this is a level five emergency… All Departments report to stations. Crews one through eight to subtrain positions. This is a Manual Restart protocol. Restart. I repeat, Restart. Restart."
The HVAC system can handle concentrations of toxic volcanic gas. The air scrubbers can scrub away the toxins, but Hydrogen sulfide is corrosive, wich is also accounted for in the design, by sealing the envelope, sealing the vents. Exterior intakes can be closed manually, with a crowbar. The access hatch is in the filter rack and can only be entered without a EVA Suit. When encountered, the Engine tells the train, "We are heading into a hazardous environment. Code Yellow. Code Yellow. All non-essential workers, please return to your quarters and shelter in place."
Snowpiercer has a crane that comes out of the top of a cold lock, that is big enough for a Track scaler to fit in.
*There were 3,000+ passengers aboard at departure.[3]
Snowpiercer has 2,746 inhabitants as of A Single Trade. The decline in population mainly comes from the losses in the revolution[4]. There were over 6 billion people before the Freeze.
Third Class (±1700 souls) and Tail (±400 souls) make 70% of passengers on Snowpiercer.
Its mentioned that the other mega-rich attempted to survive by going into bunkers or uploading their consciousness, presumably into computer systems, while "Mr. Wilford dusted off his train set."[2]
Most passengers have an Access Chip to enter certain cars based on their job or class. However, it is impossible to chip out of the Tail even with a chip granting access to potentially the entire train.
Because guns could damage vital systems or cause a breach, virtually all guns were confiscated and thrown of the train. First Class Passengers had their guns taken, but their security were allowed to keep theirs.
Snowpiercer was engineered with portals by Wilford, to freeze people's arms of as punishment. However, they were a idle threat that he never expected to use.
*In the Year Three Rebellion the Tail revolted, but was blind at every door and was defeated, 62 were killed and 13 (including Old Ivan) lost an arm.
During the failed revolution, 14 rebels and at least 13 Jackboots were killed.
In These Are His Revolutions, Jackboot Jefferson in the Bio-Security Car is the first Jackboot to die in the revolution, when he is decapitated and his head is placed in a box in the Night Car.
In These Are His Revolutions, Big John in the Sub-Train, along with at least 17 Jackboots and Paterson in the Night Car, with at least 14 Jackboots, are killed during the revolution.
In The Train Demanded Blood, Doctor Pelton confirms the death of 37 Rebels during the Battle of the Night Car. She did not know how many up train.
In The Train Demanded Blood, 147 people (about 5% of the train population) were sent to die during the Classroom Car Surrender Ruse, when a undetermined section of seven Third Class cars were disconnected from the train by the Rebels and Engineers and sent onto the Fremont Junction. Casualties were from both sides of the civil war: 35 captured rebels held in a prison Car (among which included Clay, Santiago and Mr. Riggs), excluding at least 4 prisoners executed by Lung of Ice, including Walter Flemming. Lilah and Robert Folger, 7 other First Class Passengers and the Train Photographer in a Classroom Car. And 102 Jackboots (including Grey). A Sub-Train cart was possibly sacrificed as well.
The revolution cost the lives of at least 77 rebels, 10 first class passengers and over 138 Jackboots. 170 were injured.
Melanie states that she drained Snowpiercer’s batteries too much trying to escape from Wilford. As a result, the train could never move on it’s own again. However before the Pirate train was created, Bojan Boscovic said that Big Alice has enough juice for systems to survive. Which means Big Alice recharged the batteries, some point after the sabotage of the Engine and was powering Snowpiercer. However, without Snowpiercer’s engine, the energy it provided was only enough to support essential systems on the train. As a result, it was minus degrees inside the train and all resources were rationed. First Class was even decommissioned by Wilford to save energy.
Snowpiercer makes its own Aspirin but is out of morphine due to the number of injured from the Revolution.
The failed invasion of Big Alice cost at least 4 deaths on both sides (and around 9 Freeze victims). 20 were injured, 14 with frostbite (later healed with Goop).
Damage to the Sub-Train by Erik Sotto caused the Torreta Canyon Crisis.
Passengers would light red lanterns, in their windows, as a vigil for Wilford’s return.
Trying to go after Melanie Cavill and creating the Pirate train, came at the cost of the Aquarium.
Snowpiercer became a rolling gulag under Wilford’s control, chasing after the Pirate train.
Ruth Wardell became the leader of a resistance aboard Snowpiercer with Pike as her second. Kevin McMahon called them Laytonites. While John Osweiller called Wilford supporters, Wilfordites.
43 people of one or both trains died in their sleep because of the cold, without Snowpiercer’s Engine.
After Layton tells Asha she’s on Snowpiercer, she isn’t confused what that is and is surprised that it survived, which means the Wilford Industries Global Express was also known as Snowpiercer, before it was secretly turned into a ark.
The public address system was connected to Big Alice’s at some point, presumably after Wilford took control.
The longest Snowpiercer ever was, with Big Alice, was 1034 cars long. 7 cars were missing from Snowpiercer and 3 cars from Big Alice.
With the separation of 7 cars, the destruction of the Aquarium, the derailment of 4 cars and the separation of Big Alice and part of Ag-Sec, Snowpiercer has lost over 12 of it’s 1001 cars and is now less than 989 cars long.
Gallery
Exterior
Melanie in the Engine
Boarding in Chicago
The Engine
Departing Chicago
Departing Chicago
The Cockpit
Entering Yukon
Slope coming down
Avalanche closeup
Nearing the Torreta Canyon
Car C0140 separated
Car C0350 separated from Snowpiercer
The Engine
Plowing through snow approaching Chicago
Catching up
Preparing to Connect
Chicago
Comicbook Version of Snowpiercer and Big Alice connected
Melanie at the Docking Cars
Passing a lighthouse
Snowpiercer on Neckbreaker’s Berthoud Curve
A Viewing Observatory while crossing the Bering Strait Bridge
