u/Realistic-Bid9464

With how many posts I’ve seen here asking about people’s favorite locomotives, as well as discussions about more well-known extinct types, I wanted to do something a little different: what are some of your favorite extinct locomotives or multiple units that aren’t particularly popular? So no T1s or E2s.

My personal favorite is the JR East E351 series, which was retired in 2018. All examples were eventually scrapped, with none surviving into preservation. I like them because of their raised cabs that taper down, just like a certain aircraft.

The Saab 1073 was proposed in the late 1960s as a short to medium range narrow-body airliner with a capacity of 80-87 passengers, intended for the feederline market, prioritizing quicker passenger boarding and turnaround efficiency. The aircraft had a hump and elevated cockpit section to accomodate the swing-nose mechanism which replaced conventional doors.

Would be operated from smaller airports in cities (think London City Airport).

I know I discussed this aircraft before on this subreddit but It has been a while since I talked about it and some of my own opinions on it have changed/shifted a bit.

I recently came across a forum post arguing that the headlights in Disney/Pixar’s Cars should have been used as the characters’ eyes instead of the windshield eyes seen in the movies. Now look, I can understand why some people think that approach could work for cars, since many cars have headlights positioned close together on the front end.

The problem is that the Cars universe doesn’t only include just the cars, it also features trains, boats, and aircraft. If the 'headlights = eyes' idea were applied consistently across every vehicle type in those movies, a lot of the character designs would end up looking awkward or even disturbing.

Aircraft are probably the best example of this issue. On most commercial planes, including the Boeing 747 (my personal favorite) the landing lights are located on the wings rather than near the cockpit. That would effectively place the character’s eyes out on the wings, which would look far more creepy than expressive or endearing, especially with how far apart they are. Windshield eyes are really the only practical option for planes if the goal is to make them feel friendly and emotionally readable.

As a kid, I could somewhat tolerate cars with headlight eyes, but if I had seen something like a jumbo jet with eyes positioned on its wings, it probably would have looked disturbing rather than appealing. Not every vehicle has headlights placed in a way that naturally resembles a face, which is likely why the filmmakers most likely chose windshield eyes as the go-to choice.