This Was cutting edge technology 150 years ago http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p011w92v/the-rainhill-story-stephensons-rocket
I couldn't get the site correctly, BUT----I love steam trains. All that exposed machinery churning--the noise of the steam escaping--chuff-chuff-chuff-chuff-chuff as it flies along. The noises they make when stopped--chunk--chunk--psssst-chunk-chunk. Wonderful stuff. I rode from Hanford, Cal to the Bay area on one in 43 or 44. Frankly, I don;t see why that guy was so crazy about that diesel engined train.
I always wanted to have sex on a train. Private car, of course. Bottle of wine. Rollin' down the tracks all night long. *sigh* I'd also like to take one of those mystery train rides where you have to solve a 'whodoneit' before the train gets back to the station. (I'll be in my bunk.. Firefly reference)
I had zero appreciation for trains until I rode my first bullet train through the Austrian Alps. Whenever I told a European that the US has primitive railways and no high-speed rails, their minds are always blown. However, there are some scenic and gorgeous AMtrack railway lines in the US though. The commute from Portland to Klamath Falls is breathtaking.
I didn't even know I liked trains until a few years ago when I was in a flea market. I walked past a big, framed print of this one train and I was just mesmerized. Really, more like in love! I would have bought the picture if it hadn't been $200. It was very similar to this pic but the train was a little more ominous looking and there wasn't a guy in the pic with it.
Did you guys see this train thread in RT a few weeks ago? http://www.hipforums.com/forum/topic/470155-does-this-guy-like-trains/ I posted three pics in there from Google. My husband has always liked trains, and he's indoctrinated me somewhat. I especially like the models. I make use of Amtrak sometimes, when their schedule works for me.
A few years back there was a fella that took a torch & chopped up a large truck and after messing with the drive train (no pun intended) and body he had it converted over to look almost like a locomotive and he used it in a tour business. I would LOVE to have the train!
As far as I know the earliest steam locomotive wasn't Stevenson's Rocket (1829), but the loco designed by Richard Trevithick at Coalbrookdale, Shropshire, in c.1804. This is a reconstruction: The loco was put to the test on 21 February 1804. it carried 10 tons of iron, 5 wagons and 70 men from Merthyr Tydfil to Penydaren, a distance of just under 10 miles in 4 hours and 5 minutes, an average speed of approximately 2.4 mph.
