The End Of Steam

[poliphilo]

I was watching a documentary about the end of the steam era last night. It was on; I had nothing better to do. And I rather like steam trains- not passionately, but with a steady affection. I think they're among the most beautiful things we've ever invented.

Here are some stray facts.

1. Britain held onto its stream trains long after most of Europe had abandoned them. That's because our rail network was less smashed up by the war and- money being short- we made do with what we had.

2. We were still building steam engines in the 60s- lots of them- right up to the moment that the decision was made to go diesel.

3. Most of the reconditioned steam trains still in use or on display come from a single dump in Barry. The owner of the dump held off dismantling his engines because he had other work in hand- and then found it was more rewarding to sell them to sentimentalists. Also he was a bit of a sentimentalist himself.

4. The wildlife artist David Shepherd is a steam enthusiast and owns several engines.

5. The romance of steam was rarely felt by the men in the cab. It was dirty, back-breaking, ill-paid work. Most railwaymen (except for those who lost their jobs) were very happy to switch over to diesel and electric.  

Comments

[glitzfrau.livejournal.com]

I was walking along Greengate last year when a heritage steam train chuffed over the bridge above. I can honestly say that my first thought was 'What is that filthy, noisy environmental disaster messing up the urban environment?'. And only second came 'Oh, it's a steam train, they're supposed to be romantic'. I'm from the generation that never knew steam, though I was brought up on my father's steam train nostalgia, and I was slightly surprised at how utterly revolted I was when confronted with one. Even the clunkiest diesel Pacer is quieter and cleaner.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

What can I say? All that lovely billowing steam, those frantically working parts, that panting and whistling- those things were alive!

[michaleen.livejournal.com]

There was a steam line still operating near the town where I was born, when I was a child, in the '60s. I was never a train or steam enthusiast, but loved riding. At eight, getting covered in soot and cinders was fun.

[ooxc.livejournal.com]

There's also the fact that, while many people's health improved by the disappearance of steam, others suffer as much, or more, from diesel fumes -

[lblanchard.livejournal.com]

Two things.

Thing the first: My great-grandmother and all her siblings grew up close to the Reading Railroad main line here in Philadelphia, surrounded by coal-fired factories (including the Baldwin Locomotive Works, the U.S.'s preeminent locomotive manufacturer for decades) and heating with coal. They lived into their eighties and nineties. Good genes, perhaps, or otherwise healthy habits, but still...

Thing the second: The late George Awdry, brother of the Rev. William Awdry of Thomas the Tank Engine fame and first historian of the Richard III Society, once remarked "All people who are right-thinking about Richard III are also right-thinking about steam." Possibly the most profound thing ever said about Ricardians, and indeed there is a lot of crossover.

[heleninwales.livejournal.com]

Indeed. It's ironic that getting rid of steam engines and introducing smokeless zones banished obvious pollution but introduced invisible stealth pollution in the form of emissions from diesel and petrol engines.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I have memories of the steam era. They don't count for much because steam trains were everyday items and it was only after they'd gone that I started thinking about how handsome they were.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I hadn't thought of that.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I love the smell of burning coal. It's outlawed round here, but people break the rules. Once in a while I'll get a whiff and it takes me right back to my childhood.

I like steam and I like Richard too- so, yes, it works!

[sovay]

I was watching a documentary about the end of the steam era last night.

I hope the music was by Dave Goulder.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Erm... I'm not sure. They used a lot of archive material. The only song I remember was one of Johnny Cash's