thank god i'm not the only one in this...
Look guys, as much i want to go on about this (i've been building up a stockpile of ammo for 17 years
) but there's no point in this. Britain has different railway practices than us, to the point that comparison is next to impossible. Britain is (comparitavely) a small nation on an island with relatively short hauls. the trains don't need to be a mile or more long. The cities are fairly close, and even the longest runs (i'll go out on a limb and say its the run from London to Glasgow, i don't know for sure) Can be made in pretty much a day. Remember the Night Mail?
In america, we are a failry large nation with far-spread cities and long distances to cover. Trains have to be long, so we can carry enough goods to cover the end costumers until the next train arrives. I'm sure if you did the math that even though the trains are longer and distances longer, the runs are doing relatively the same work.
This also affects the type or engines we both use. In britian, short hauls and easy grades (in comparison to mountain grades in america and elsewhere) didn't need anything bigger than a 4-6-2 for passenger work and a 2-8-0 for freight work. here 2-8-0s and 2-6-0s were branchline engines by the 1910's and 20's, in Britain they were still well suited for mainline work and continued in that form until the end of steam. 0-6-0s and 0-8-0s, here quickly relegated to yard work, worked mainline trains late in the game.
Again, the differences in distances between places affected our engines. We needed bigger steam locomotives and diesels, like 2-8-2s, 2-8-4s, 2-10-2s, Mallets, etc. and diesels like the DDA40X and the SD-45. Sure, they may not have the same stylish, swoopy curves of british designs, but here we didn't care so much about astethics as the engine being able to get her job done by herself. There's nothing wrong with streamlining, and i understand, with the railways being in such a public light, the need to make them stylish and flashy.
And i've never said i don't like steam from Britain. I love the Ivatt 2-6-0s, i love the 9Fs and 8Fs, the Royal Scots are beautiful, as are the Bullied West Country/Battle of Britain class 4-6-2s. and their are many american steam designs i dislike. search "GTW 4-8-2" on RR Pictures.net, and you'll see some american ugly.
I don't want to have fighting in here. I hate this rivaly that's been going on the forums recently. Maybe we can just agree to disagree.
Look guys, as much i want to go on about this (i've been building up a stockpile of ammo for 17 years
) but there's no point in this. Britain has different railway practices than us, to the point that comparison is next to impossible. Britain is (comparitavely) a small nation on an island with relatively short hauls. the trains don't need to be a mile or more long. The cities are fairly close, and even the longest runs (i'll go out on a limb and say its the run from London to Glasgow, i don't know for sure) Can be made in pretty much a day. Remember the Night Mail? In america, we are a failry large nation with far-spread cities and long distances to cover. Trains have to be long, so we can carry enough goods to cover the end costumers until the next train arrives. I'm sure if you did the math that even though the trains are longer and distances longer, the runs are doing relatively the same work.
This also affects the type or engines we both use. In britian, short hauls and easy grades (in comparison to mountain grades in america and elsewhere) didn't need anything bigger than a 4-6-2 for passenger work and a 2-8-0 for freight work. here 2-8-0s and 2-6-0s were branchline engines by the 1910's and 20's, in Britain they were still well suited for mainline work and continued in that form until the end of steam. 0-6-0s and 0-8-0s, here quickly relegated to yard work, worked mainline trains late in the game.
Again, the differences in distances between places affected our engines. We needed bigger steam locomotives and diesels, like 2-8-2s, 2-8-4s, 2-10-2s, Mallets, etc. and diesels like the DDA40X and the SD-45. Sure, they may not have the same stylish, swoopy curves of british designs, but here we didn't care so much about astethics as the engine being able to get her job done by herself. There's nothing wrong with streamlining, and i understand, with the railways being in such a public light, the need to make them stylish and flashy.
And i've never said i don't like steam from Britain. I love the Ivatt 2-6-0s, i love the 9Fs and 8Fs, the Royal Scots are beautiful, as are the Bullied West Country/Battle of Britain class 4-6-2s. and their are many american steam designs i dislike. search "GTW 4-8-2" on RR Pictures.net, and you'll see some american ugly.
I don't want to have fighting in here. I hate this rivaly that's been going on the forums recently. Maybe we can just agree to disagree.
