Steam Trains

Isn't this a great picture? What's not to love about a great big steam engine storming up the tracks belching out great clouds of steam? Great isn't it!

I reckon this train is running from Fort William to Mallaig, a journey I went on some years ago. Wonderful experience hanging out the window attempting to take pictures. Not so wonderful taking the bits of soot out of the eye mind you! Once that stuff gets into your hair it hangs about for days. Enjoyable however. There was nothing but a little fishing harbour at journeys end, and a great view of Skye and other islands. Great place when the sun shines.

The steam train was one of the great events of the nineteenth century, changing indeed shaping, the face of the United Kingdom! The engineers like Stephenson had no problems wit demolishing castles at places like Newcastle and Berwick. They were in the way so were removed! Bridges and viaducts were built and cuttings and high banks were made by pick and shovel and hard, hard graft, mostly fuelled by beer as the water was often unhealthy! Admittedly many dug into the earth and buried themselves alive, or fell of viaducts and killed themselves, over 90 I believe died building the Forth Bridge alone. Health and Safety today is run by little corporals with small willies, in the nineteenth century such folks were also left in the foundations of the line! We have much to learn I think.... Gangs of Navvies roamed the land, scaring the locals, working for their favoured engineers. Stephenson, Brunel or Peto laid out the line and hired the men to bring the plans to life, Peto in particular was popular with his men, paying them weekly, not cheating them regarding food supplies, and giving them water and oats instead of beer, but they loved him nevertheless.

Life was altered by the train. Fresh food was brought quickly to town centres from the farms, seeds brought from all parts of the world escaped from botanic gardens and caught up in train wheels travelled the length of the land, people took advantage of the new day holidays to reach the coast bringing places like Blackpool into existence, clocks which were set at local time were synchronised business flourished in the days 'Britain (the racists called it England) was the workshop of the world.' We would be a different world if the train had not been developed. The engineers went world wide taking their navvies with them. Argentina had the railway built for free, but the railway was given the land alongside, so towns were developed and the masses of cattle transported creating wealth for many. Now it is possible to find many called, O'Higgins or even Pedro Manuel McCallister playing football in many parts of South America,a game brought along with the railways. Argentina herself is a very 'British' Latin American land - as if I would know from here! The railway changed the world however the much more effective diesel and electric trains will never have the romance and affection a thundering, whistling steam engine creates in those who come across them today. How I miss them!