Snowpiercer

Snowpiercer is a large, one-thousand-one carriage train manufactured and run by Wilford Industries. It continually circles the globe with the remains of human civilisation following the global freezing extinction event seven years prior.^[1]

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". Snowpiercer comprises in total of 1,001 cars.

History

Social structure

Snowpiercer is, by design, a heterogeneous environment with well delimited social classes and several formal and informal professions.

The most significant classification is based on both physical placement on Snowpiercer and social status, and consists of four distinct groups with significantly divergent levels of influence and expectations.

Firsts are the elite group, either out of buying that place from Wilford Industries before Snowpiercer was inaugurated or by virtue of being a crew member with a certain level of authority.
Seconds have no significant authority over Snowpiercer, but have higher privileges than the Thirdies and Tailies.
Thirdies are passengers with a well defined social role but not much privilege or authority. They do not have legal rights comparable to those of Firsts or Seconds, but have space, food and reproductive rights that the Tailies lack.^[1] Janitors and Ag-Sec workers are Thirds.^[2]
- However, Janitors are often joined by a limited number of Tailies, who are still required to sleep and live in the Tail Section. They are scouted by Jackboots while in transit between train sections.^[3]
- Thirdies who live in The Chains seem to be unusually friendly towards Tailies.^[1]
Tailies are apparently not an intentional part of Snowpiercer's society. They inhabit the tail section of the train, on what were originally cargo cars, have no permission to visit other cars except in rare occasions and when specifically given that permission. Group commitment among tailies is strong, yet they are often tempted to find some way of entering a higher status group. The original tailies were the survivors of a desperate group of unauthorized passengers 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 currently the Tail Section has very limited rights and survives on rations given unilaterally by Snorpiercer's management, to considerable distress of all involved.

It is strongly implied that Firsts inhabit the train cars closer to the locomotive and that Seconds and Thirds come in order, with Tailies at the Tail Section.

Social traits, trends and perceptions of Snowpiercer

Firsts are allowed travel to the Third Class, but many choose not to, in part out of a belief that it is a more violent environment.^[1] That belief is sometimes dismissed by Hospitality as "track talk",^[1] but seems to be justified.^[2]
Many Firsts attempt to live as if there was no significant change in the world's environment, to the point of talking about Scandinavian Royals as a part of present reality.^[1]
- A feature of that alienated lifestyle is the tendency to make complaints and demands to Hospitality, arguably in outright denial of how autocratic the governance of Snowpiercer ultimately is.^[1]
Tailies are easily the most tighly knit of all four social classes abord 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.^[3]
There is a small measure of social mobility in Snowpiercer. While the Tail Section is apparently given compulsory contraceptives, what few children exist among the Tailies are sometimes recruited for apprenticeship, which is implied to open access to at least Third Class. Thirdies can apply to regular Fightnights which, while brutal, are nonetheless a means of progressing from Third to Second Class.

Snowpierce Professions

During the series, several specific groups, mainly of a roughly professional nature, are named or described.

Jackboots are the armed enforcement branch of Snorpiercer. 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.^[3]
Brakemen perform various management duties along the train (Tail Section included), such as general overseeing, and status reporting. Many are former Wilford Industries Security, but there are many exceptions.^[1]
Hospitality, a subgroup of the Firsts, provides general announcements of policy and gauges the needs and general status of the passengers down to Third class and, more rarely, Tail Section.
Ag-Sec is the Agricultural and livestock sector, and a subgroup of the Thirdies.^[1]
Tunnelmen maintain the tram system that connects most of Snowpiercer from below.^[1]

Train structure

Based on the blueprint of the Brakeman's Garrison in the title credits, a typical car is about 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).

Snowpiercer circles the globe 2.7 times a year, or once every 133 days. 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 which would visit hundreds of cities around the world.

Snowpiercer is powered by a Perpetual Motion engine (referred to as the engine eternal). It is not clear how this works, but it appears to draw more power when travelling at greater speeds.

Carriages

0001. The Engines
0002. The Control Room
0003. Cybernetic Implant Workshop
0004. The Sky Lounge
0005. Theather Car
0025. 1st Class Quarters
0165. 1st Class Dining
0166. Botanical Café
0167. The Chimney Bar
0168. Train No.
0187. The Aquarium/Sushi Bar
0188. The Gallery
0189. The Thermae
0190. 1st Class Gymnasium
0191. The Aviary
0192. Stargazing
0193. Lantern Room
0194. Beach
0195. Ice Rink
0196. Lena Hall
0197. Train No.
0198. Train No.
0199. Train No.
0217. 2nd Class Quarters
0218. Cyber-Dream Skyview Car
0408. 2nd Class Media Car

0409. Library
0410. Spa Car
0411. Petting Zoo
0412. The Cat Cafe
0413. Dojo
0414. Train No.
0415. Train No.
0416. Train No.
0429. Classroom
0430. The Play Pen
0440. Japanese Temple Car
0445. Steampunk Room
0465. Train No.
0475. Mess Hall
0491. Night Car
0668. Wilford Marketplace
0722. The Caboose Diner
0723. Diner Bar
0727. The Greenhouse
0838. Livestock Car
0980. The Market
0981. The Chains
0982. Arena Car
0983. Terrarium Car
0992. Soundcar
0993. Spook House

Trivia

There are 131 agricultural carriages growing food for Snowpiercer.
There are 3,000+ passengers aboard.^[4]
Third Class and Tail make 70% of passengers in Snowpiercer.
Third Class has noodles.^[1]
Snowpiercer has its own black market, one of the most common drugs exchanged is Kronole.
Snowpiercer is ran by the elite, comprised of Melanie Cavill, Bennett Knox and Jinju Seong — it is also hinted that Ruth Wardell is privy to Snowpiercer's management.
Most of Snowpiercer can be transversed by a tram system 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 tram system can be blocked as well.^[5]
Its mentioned that other people attempted to survive by going into bunkers or uploading their consciousness, presumably into computer systems, while "Mr. Wilford dusted off his train set."^[5]