Age of Steam
August 3rd, 2009
I suppose I’m something of a rail fan. I came by it naturally. My father built boilers and my grandfather was a coal miner in Scotland. Somehow, I’ve missed the great age of steam, which is yet another reason I like to time travel via fiction. I make sure that Barker and Llewelyn travel by train in every adventure, and research which railway lines they take. My reference shelves are full of timestables and books on steam locomotives, and when I travel I prefer as much as possible that it be by rail.
A steam engine is almost a living thing. No two are alike. It must be coaxed awake and built up into a full head of steam before it will go. It is temperamental. It is impractical; not an economic method of travel at all, given the price of coal. And yet even those who find trains to be archaic will admit to a thrill the first time they are pulled behind a steam train. As for the millions of us with coal in our veins, there is no better way to travel. Give me a Brighton Terrier over a Corvette any day.
Cheerio,
Will
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