History WMG / TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks

* In order to hide his ties to the pointy-nosed Lokomo once he defected from them and joined Cole. It's the most grounded explanation why he wears a scarf throughout the game, and you can even see the stump beneath it where his nose should be.

Same temporally-ignorant troper as the above; alternate to that theory, none of the other games come after Spirit Tracks (as of yet). There are already trains and [[CaptainObvious train tracks]] -- who's to say that technology won't march on in that timeline? It doesn't make sense to go from having trains and steamboats to getting around the entire kingdom on foot and using rafts. Maybe there won't be anything added to that timeline, or maybe we'll see a {{Steampunk}} installment or a literal UrbanLegendOfZelda, eventually. (Doubtful, but hey, this is WMG).

** One of the endings features Link going ahead and becoming an engineer, though, [[CaptainObvious and that's after Malladus's defeat]]. So, in that ending at least, the tracks were still there...

* Sounds plausible enough, given their similar names, but the ore has the same aesthetic as the environment inside the Dark Realm. The Goron selling the ore even mentions that it's stronger than iron, hinting that the Demon Train and Byrne's gauntlet might be made of the stuff.

* It would explain how he's the only person who's able to see Zelda's spirit, and Byrne's past hints that the Lokomo people aren't all wizened old guardians by default. There could've been some of them who chose to live more normal lives in New Hyrule, and Link is descended from one of them. Anjean may even know or at least suspect this, which is why she sees fit to lend him artifacts such as the Spirit Train and the Lokomo Sword.

* It would explain how he's the only person who's able to see Zelda's spirit, and Byrne's past hints that the Lokomo people aren't all wizened old guardians by default.

* It would explain how he's the only person who's able to see Zelda's spirit, and Byrne's past hints that the Lokomo people aren't all wizened old guardians.

* Unused concept art has been released showing the design of an unused Lokomo, who would've represented the element of shadow. Not only does Byrne feature a much darker and more dour appearance than his elderly brethren, but he uses what resembles dark magic during his battle with Link and, like the other Lokomo, was responsible for an instrument that allows for exploration of the Dark Realm when used - it just wasn't the musical kind.

** ArtisticLicenseNuclearPhysics: It very well could be nuclear. Basically, nuclear reactors don't work that way. The reactor heats water in the primary loop (which is sealed and does not leave the reactor). Some designs don't even use water in the primary loop, but something like liquid sodium. The heat from the primary loop is used to heat a secondary loop, which is used to generate steam. Some designs don't even have the secondary loop generate steam, but have a tertiary loop that generates steam. So no, a nuclear reactor driving a steam turbine does not generate radioactive steam. The water being boiled to generate steam never comes into contact with the reactor core. Nuclear driven steam turbines are actually quite safe, and in fact this is how nuclear power works in real life. I don't know of it ever being implemented on a train in real life, but it's certainly possible, and it has been implemented in submarines. Given that this is a fantasy world though, probably better to go with AWizardDidIt, since the Spirit Train does not have a tender (a nuclear driven steam turbine would still need a constant supply of water to make steam with, and this means hauling a tender full of water). And even nuclear trains would not explain the Demon Train being able to fly.

** ArtisticLicenseNuclearPhysics: It very well could be nuclear. Basically, nuclear reactors don't work that way. The reactor heats water in the primary loop (which is sealed and does not leave the reactor). The heat from the primary loop is used to heat a secondary loop, which is used to generate steam. Some designs don't even have the secondary loop generate steam, but have a tertiary loop that generates steam. So no, a nuclear reactor driving a steam turbine does not generate radioactive steam. The water being boiled to generate steam never comes into contact with the reactor core. Nuclear driven steam turbines are actually quite safe, and in fact this is how nuclear power works in real life. I don't know of it ever being implemented on a train in real life, but it's certainly possible, and it has been implemented in submarines. Given that this is a fantasy world though, probably better to go with AWizardDidIt, since the Spirit Train does not have a tender (a nuclear driven steam turbine would still need a constant supply of water to make steam with, and this means hauling a tender full of water). And even nuclear trains would not explain the Demon Train being able to fly.

** ArtisticLicenseNuclearPhysics: It very well could be nuclear. Basically, nuclear reactors don't work that way. The reactor heats water in the primary loop (which is sealed and does not leave the reactor). The heat from the primary loop is used to heat a secondary loop, which is used to generate steam. Some designs don't even have the secondary loop generate steam, but have a tertiary loop that generates steam. So no, a nuclear reactor driving a steam turbine does not generate radioactive steam. The water being boiled to generate steam never comes into contact with the reactor core. Nuclear driven steam turbines are actually quite safe, and in fact this is how nuclear power works in real life. I don't know of it ever being implemented on a train in real life, but it certainly has in submarines.

** ArtisticLicenseNuclearPhysics: It very well could be nuclear. Basically, nuclear reactors don't work that way. The reactor heats water in the primary loop (which is sealed and does not leave the reactor). The heat from the primary loop is used to heat a secondary loop, which is used to generate steam. Some designs don't even have the secondary loop generate steam, but have a tertiary loop that generates steam. So no, a nuclear reactor driving a steam turbine does not generate radioactive steam. Nuclear driven steam turbines are actually quite safe, and in fact this is how nuclear power works in real life. I don't know of it ever being implemented on a train in real life, but it certainly has in submarines.