Appropriate Technologies

Wonderful story -- with all the snow and freezing weather hitting Europe, people trying to travel are getting hit hard. England has a large enough population density that railroads are a viable commuter option but a lot of these trains were shut down in the snow with people stranded on board. Guess who came to the rescue -- from the London Daily Mail:

All aboard the polar express: Steam locomotive takes home passengers stranded by snow-delayed modern trains
Passengers stranded when modern-day trains fell victim to the freezing weather have been rescued by the crew of a steam engine.

About 100 passengers climbed aboard the first mainline steam locomotive to be built in Britain for almost half a century at London Victoria when electric trains were delayed.

The 1940s technology used to power Tornado, a �3million Peppercorn class A1 Pacific, was able to withstand the snow and ice that brought much of the South East to a standstill on Monday night.

The locomotive's 'Cathedrals Express' service was offering festive trips in the region when staff on board heard about the stranded passengers.

The travellers were offered free seats and were dropped off at stations as it chuffed through Kent, said Mark Allatt, chairman of the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, the charity which built Tornado.

Mr Allatt said they were pleased to be able to help some of London's stranded commuters 'get home in style' and joked that rail operators could learn lessons from them. 'It's amusing because this engine is predominantly made up of 1940s' technology and we were able to keep running despite modern trains not being able to,' he said.

'If any of the rail operators would like to use this technology for themselves, we would be more than happy to build them an engine.'

The website for this group of Steam Fanatics is here: The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust

The A1 Steam Trust would like to wish visitors to this website a very Merry Cristmas and a Happy New Year. We would like to thank all of you who have supported Tornado during 2009, either travelling on the trains, donating to the Trust or just turning out at the lineside to witness history being made. This success has only been possible because an army of volunteers has worked extremely hard behind the scenes to make it happen and we would like to thank them all, from the board to the cleaners, the engineers and the sales team, the support crew and the train stewards and countless others whose work is often unseen by the public but ensures that we now have steam for the 21st Century!

In 1990 a group of people came together to share an extraordinary ambition - to construct a brand new Peppercorn A1 Pacific. After nineteen years of incredible effort that locomotive, No. 60163 Tornado, moved under it own power for the first time a year ago.

This website tells the story of Tornado's construction, an amazing tale of cooperation, skill and sheer hard graft which defied the critics who said it could never be done. The A1 Trust now has over 2000 regular supporters (covenantors) who have all played some part, small or large, in guaranteeing that we have steam on the main line in the 21st Century.

Wonderful! Hat tip to Bayou Renaissance Man for the link.