January 07, 2010

Snow and the Steam Locomotive

It's snowing lots of places. One of those places is England, where a few inches have led to near-hysteria in the press and much considering of What Does It All Mean About Civilization?

The writer of the article above (which you should read), not only recaps the great New York City blizzard of 1988 but links to a great video from the snowy British winter of 1963.

Steam locomotives are not very efficient mechanically, but a little snow does not bother them, unlike some of their replacements.

1 comment:

Smart Dogs said...

I spent part of my childhood on the very snowy northern tip of the Straits of Mackinac. Back then, the steam-powered ferry Chief Wawatam carried freight and passenger trains across the straits. She broke ice in the winter too.