by philipmartin
Railroad Forums
Moderators: Komachi, David Benton
johnthefireman wrote:They have been cut up, except for a very small number of steam locomotives which remain for heritage, historical, tourist and educational purposes. Had you not noticed?Some people seem to be obsessed with this highly damaging technology. We are better off now that they have been phased out. They caused 150 years - more or less - of serious climate damage, unhealthy living for millions in cities and dirty transport.
philipmartin wrote:The" highly damaging technology" has had a lot to do with our present standard of living. If you are looking for people "obsessed" with steam locomotives, a rail fan forum is a good place to find them.But there were costs. Early deaths; chronic bronchitis and other lung diseases; dirty cities; climate change. All of these we ought to be diligent in trying to eliminate. There were benefits from an increase in transport but much contingent harm.
I am old enough to remember steam on the Great WesternGeorge, I'm also old enough to remember steam in Britain, as we have discussed in other threads on this forum, and I agree with you 100% on the unpleasant aspects of it, but to be honest I don't see what your post has to do with the earlier part of this conversation where you said "cut them up" and I pointed out to you that they have in fact already been cut up, apart from a handful which remain for specific purposes.
george matthews wrote:But there were costsYes, of course, as there are with most technologies. That's why we got rid of steam locomotives and, to use your words, cut them up. With all due respect, you're living in the past, George. What you are recommending was done decades ago. And Philip posting historical videos will not bring them back, just as videos of biplanes, clipper ships, horse-drawn canal boats, Wild West stagecoaches, the pony express, the Battle of Britain memorial flight, muskets, or any other parts of history will bring those back as part of daily life in the 21st century.
And a rail forum ought to be about modern railways, not history.Why? A rail forum ought to be about whatever its members want it to be about, as long as it is rail-related. If you notice, Railroad.Net is predominantly about modern railways, and forum-wide the number of posts on rail history is minimal - but much appreciated by those of us interested in rail history.