Why does steam still fascinate

[paganwolf]

Just thinking, and this is not just to do with Trainz, but with Model railways and to a degree, full size ones, why does steam still fascinate?
Ok, lets take a hypothetical 10 year old boy at the time of the IT57 "fifteen guinea special (11 August 1968, the last scheduled steam-hauled train on British Rail)), that bright young lad would be a 53 year old man now, so quite a few people out there would remember the end of steam on British Rail agreed?

Lets wind the clock back to the last LMS (or any other of the 'Big-Four, (I just use LMS as I'm an East Midlands lad and was born 100 yards away from Kirkby in Ashfield shed!), British Railways came into existence as the business name of the Railway executive of the British Transport Commission (BTC) on 1 January 1948 when it took over the assets of the Big Four so lets fly our ten year old boy back to then, this means he would be a sprightly 73 year old man now, again still possible for a few people to remember,

Now this is where it gets fun, the big four came into being under the grouping of 1923, so to see a brace of Midland Railway 3f's lumbering out of Kirkby in Ashfield, our ten year old lad would be now be 98, ok, still folks out there..

So what is this to do with?

Well, look in the DLS, or a model railway show, or any of the model railway magazines out there and look at the amount of young kids who build steam railways, I was just wondering why when all they have are photos and if they're lucky, film of their favourite railway / station but never saw them working as it were.

To a degree, this includes me, I was brought up in the 70's so remember the blue and silver coaches and blue loco's with the double arrow logo but can't remember steam but am still building my station / shed in steam days,

I can't be the only one, your thoughts as to why steam still fascinates...

 

[fran1]

It's not just steam now but also the then hated diesel+ electric replacements which still draw me to the line at the end of my garden.
I remember the mid 50's-early 60's and the constant stream (in summer) of specials going to Blackpool + Morecambe mixed in with regular traffic, mind boggling compared to what dross goes past today (I've not moved house).
A freightliner with 2x 86's has just passed.

 

[UP5521]

for me,even though I was too young to see them operate firsthand,it is the sound,their appearance,speed,power which is why I prefer steam over diesel!

 

[leeferr]

Some of it must be the romance of nostalgia, but steam locos are just beasts. They take on a living persona with each having it's own personality. They didn't call steam loco drivers 'engineers' for no reason. It took real skill and a complete understanding of their monsters. Every little sound, hiss and twitch meant something to them. They were their pride. That was their loco. Personally, I just can't get excited about a diesel. They just look like boxes to me with absolutely no personality at all.

Mike

 

[BobCass]

leefer: I have to agree on your thinking, I love Steam..I think the young people back then could really set and Dream about the Throttle, Whistle Moan..It meant something to them..There was a lot more to Railroading then..:wave:

 

[Euphod]

There's always nostalgia for times and machinery we aren't familiar with, whether it be older cars, or airplanes or toaster ovens.

Okay, not so much with the toaster ovens, but we are fortunate that we don't have to deal with the daily PITA routines that others have in the past, and we forget how difficult some of these machines were to operate.

 

[UP5521]

to go along with my previous post,it makes people write songs about them!

 

[leeferr]

Great thought. I haven't heard many songs about and SD40-2

Mike

 

[SuperFudd]

Then again, try standing next to an SD40 as it goes from idle to full acceleration pulling a mile long frieght.
Still, I prefer a UP Chalenger (steam).

:udrool:

 

[leeferr]

Then again, try standing next to an SD40 as it goes from idle to full acceleration pulling a mile long frieght.
Still, I prefer a UP Chalenger (steam).

:udrool:

Just a bunch of noise. Not much music to it compared to some massive compound cylinders doing their thing.

 

[martinvk]

Nostalgia, both real and imagined for those who were never there is probably a major reason. It was also an age when most things were simpler and easier to understand. A steam engine is mechanical engine and there is a direct visual understanding of how it works. From heating water in the boiler, generating steam that expands in the cylinders causing the pistons to push and pull on the drive rods that turns the wheels. All of the parts that made it move were out in the open and easy to understand.

It is not so obvious what causes a diesel-electric or a pure electric locomotive to move. Press a button or pull a lever and the wheels turn. Ask most people to explain how an electric motor really works or the difference between AC and DC motors and you'll get a blank stare.

This of course has nothing to do with how efficient they were to operate, how much time and labor was needed to maintain or the working conditions in the cab. None of this is simulated so doesn't enter into the equation.

 

[davesnow]

steam. . . . [yawn]

Sorry, but I just don't have the same fascination with steam as a lot of RR fans.

I prefer diesels, but that's just me.

Cheers and diesel fumes!

Dave Snow

 

[Driver_Col]

Interesting thread! I lived through BR steam and through the transition to diesel and loved both. They are both awesome in size...... and impact when moving off with their respective sounds. The interest in steam from those born after their replacement by diesel and/or electric I can only assume is an attempt to experience an era they missed.

I heard an interesting explanation as to why (at least in UK) so many boys/men loved steam. The "Industrial Revolution" created a number of impressive machines however, you had to live on the coast to see the huge steam ships. You had to work in a mill to see the massive spinning machines ....... but almost everybody lived within reach of a railway line!

Oh ........... I never liked DMU's, or Railcars!

Regards to all. Colin.:wave:

 

[Euphod]

diesel fumes

I love the smell of diesel, especially on a cool fall morning. I guess it's because I used to drive a truck when I lived on the west coast, but there's something bracing about that smell...

 

[kws4000]

Excellant points thus far.

I read in Trains Mag (somwhere, dunno when) that one person put the restoration of a steam locomotive to operating condition is a "metaphor for triumph over death". Take it how you will.

Captains always refer to their ship in the feminiene sense. So do railraoders. It's like a girlfirend or wife that doesn't complain or nag as much, but will still kill ya if you guff up. Not to mention, some railroaders were payed based on loco weight. So, just like with women, the real weight is much a secret, more or less.

Another point: several thousand tons galloping along at 60 per, under your total control. An aeroplane can cruise at 600, but what personality does it have? An autopilot. A ship can slug it out with 200,000 tons, but crawls like a snail and you can't take it to national conventions everywhere. And they're hard to show off when they have to be making money.

An automobile can top out at 200, but can only pull 2-3 tons max. Limited interior, but little temperment. More or less cookie-cutter that the Joe Schmoe down the street can buy anywhere.

Part of the alure of steam is that you can show it off, let eveyone know you're coming, and then take everyone for a ride. No one really likes airline travel anymore, and the personal freedom of the auto is taken for granted.

It's also harder to base a movie on a plane, or in a car, or on a big boat. Ok, Titanic worked, I guess, but The General and The Train were better by far!

Me? I guess I like steam: a teenage anomoly in a world of petrol and perfume for my age bracket.

 

[leeferr]

steam. . . . [yawn]

Sorry, but I just don't have the same fascination with steam as a lot of RR fans.

I prefer diesels, but that's just me.

Cheers and diesel fumes!

Dave Snow

Each to his own and there's no problem with that. Some people like vanilla ice cream while others like chocolate. Doesn't matter, they're both ice cream. Diesels or Steam, doesn't really matter...they're both railroading.

Mike

 

[cascaderailroad]

A steam locomotive is as close as man will ever come to creating life itself ... as it is a living, fire breathing, groundshaking, working monster of a creation.

My Dawg absalootly hatz steam locomotives: http://www.policek9magazine.net/images/stories/Departments/K9Tails/k9tails1209_2.jpg

 

[peghorse]

There's always nostalgia for times and machinery we aren't familiar with, whether it be older cars, or airplanes or toaster ovens.

Okay, not so much with the toaster ovens....

Euphod I'm a batchelor and If my funky new age whiz bang digital toaster oven had bewbs man... I'd marry it tomorrow! :udrool:

 

[Enkidoh]

Leefer basically summed it best for me - a steam locomotive is more than just a machine - it is a living, breathing monster on rails. Plus, all their moving parts are visible - not concealed under colourful panels like the 'infernal combustion engine'.

And, let's face it, even if you prefer diesels or some other form of propulsion, say the word 'train' to most people and I can almost guarantee you they will immediately think of a steam locomotive - it is the very icon of railways.

 

[Steamdemon]

Because the age of steam was a great one. I mean, You can't see the engine running on a diesel (ok, maybe the early British Railways, DR, DB and RENFE shunters, they had driving rods!) Whilst a steam engine IS the engine. You can see the driving rods and pistons and valves working hard, and even hear them. And I find a whistle more graceful than a horn that sounds like a fart.