Steam & Excursion > Some British Steam

My wife and I took the kids to England and Scotland in July.  Despite being small countries, they have a whole lot of interesting things to see and do, and I was able to find a few steam locos while we were there.

1 - My 11yo daughter is a big Harry Potter fan, and while in Scotland she wanted to see a train cross Glenfinnan Viaduct, which featured prominently in one of the movies.  That was a cross I could easily bear, so we hiked up there to watch, along with a huge crowd of 300+ people.  Unfortunately, between the weather and the crowd, the drone was grounded.  Here we see LMS "Black 5" #44871 rounding the stone viaduct; no flying cars anywhere in sight, but ithey probably would have been grounded by the low cloud ceiling anyway.  The engine used for shooting the movies is stuffed and mounted at the Warner Brothers Studio Tour at Leavesden, northwest of London.  Did I think to get a shot of it?  Haha, no.

2 - A few days later I had an opportunity to visit the National Railway Museum at York, where LNER's Mallard is a centerpiece.  She holds the world record for a steam locomotive at 126mph, which seems bonkers to me for a reciprocating engine.  Of course the mighty PRR claimed to have bested that at 127mph out on the flatlands on Indiana - but it was not sufficiently documented, and thus Mallard's record stands.

3 - Southern Railway Merchant Navy-class 4-6-2 Ellerman Lines is another exhibit at York; she's been sectioned to show her inner workings.  (Yes, the Brits also had a Southern Railway.)  Another SR engine was under steam outside, but I unfortunately only caught just enough of a glimpse out a small window to know it was SR 4-6-2 #34028, Eddystone; I later found out she led an excursion from York to London that afternoon.

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4 - Stephenson's original Rocket from 1829.  Prior to visiting York, I didn't know this even still existed.

5 - A double-ended Fairlie type, from the Welsh narrow gauge.  I would love to get to Wales one day, and see one of these run.

6 - And finally, a quick video of 44871 at Glenfinnan.

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The French National Railway Museum in Mulhouse also has a large steam locomotive sliced in two. It also features motion display of the drivers turning and electronic display of steam, fire and water as they were routed through the loco.

Thanks for sharing. Looks like the group in the video had a great time, despite the weather!

Victor Baird

Thanks for the post.  I liked the shots and the video.

The cutaway Merchant Navy made me wonder:
in the US, Type A and Type E superheaters were
both common. The SR  4-6-2 apparently has
the equivalent of a Type A, with four tubes in
each flue; did other countries ever use Type E,
with two tubes in each smaller flue?

West Highland line is an amazingly scenic way to see Scotland. Loved the museum as well.  

Summertime in Scotland! Great capture of iconic steam at an iconic Highlands locale!