Photo-a-Day  (Friday, 26th February, 2016)

That is what you call " picture perfect"

I'm sure this is why we will never make true Europeans !
Long live steam !!

What a great sight, if your wondering what the little bridge was for, it was used for farm tractors and equipment from one field to the other.

Two for the price of one! Can't help thinking they look quite 'toy-like'! I love the way the steam billows above!

photo full of nostalgia for steam trains. In reality steam engines must have been dirty and dusty has well as wet and windy to work on.

Great pic!!
Thanks for that info Garry. Very considerate of the engineers. I suppose this was constructed after consultations with the farmers/landowners!

Fantastic photograph Dave thank you for giving us permission to use it in our poster case, and thank you for all your support with our art work

Vb; On viewing this, I immediately thought of toy trains.
Dave; Grand photo. Would Morrisons be behind this section of track?
I`ll miss Morrisons in the Galleries when they close at the beginning of April.

Helen of Troy - Don't quite get your point Much of Europe had steam well beyond the UK. Last in France, Spain and Germany 1975, Italy 1976, and are still running on one line in Poland.

PeterP, the Flying Scotsman drivers were being interviewed on the BBC News yesterday and their faces were blackened with coal dust, so yes a dirty, dusty job, and quite hot too I'd imagine.

Also for cows or sheep to go through too Garry.

I just wondered if folk on the European Continent love steam engines of days gone by as much as we seem to here in Britain...just a thought.

Yes fair comment Cyril.
Helen of Troy, we love Steam and find it hard to let go, we here in Britain invented the steam locomotive in 1804 by Richard Trevithick (and it wasn't the Rocket, that came later) Britain had the Best designers,and the best engineers in the world. The Flying Scotsman and Mallard to name just two. Can anyone name a famous steam loco from another country has famous has the two engines I've mentioned.

You only need to Google for pics of steam engines HoT, and you'll find dozens of them still steaming sur le continong.
I've just been editing an item on an 1869 Birkenhead-built Brassey engine preserved in Rumania - you can see and hear it here: https://youtu.be/NrVFE6YOSQ0
You'll also find preserved narrow gauge steam railways dotted about all over France - they're as nostalgic as we are.

Helen. The Germans certainly are and I can well recommend a visit to the Harz mountains where there is a network of steam railways still running. Technically its narrow gauge but the engines are about the same size as the ones in this photo.

The Swiss Transport Museum, Lucerne, opened in July 1959 is Switzerland's most popular museum.

https://www.verkehrshaus.ch/en/museum/rail-transport/steam-locomotive-show

Good one Dave.

Went on the Cumbrian tour behind Galatea when last in Wigan (2013), sadly she disgraced herself by only being able to manage 18mph up Shap, steam leaking out all over the place, Mind you it was a solo effort with about 13 carriages behind. Looks in better fettle in this pic though.

I started work in 1957 at Horwich Loco Works as an apprentice Boilermaker.They were still building new steam engines then and repairing old ones till 1968.As a boilermaker apprentice I learned my trade on these monsters firstly Riveting then Boiler and Firebox repairs,Plating, Oxy Acetylene Burning and then Welding which I did for the rest of my working life.Happy days of Wooden ships and Iron Men

Only 18 mph?