Trains in the U.K.

We had been tremendously impressed with the efficiency of the train service in Great Britain, so we were surprised to find this steam engine still in service. The last steam engine in the U.S. had been retired from regular service several years.

Another surprise came when we saw the wide variety of sizes of rail cars. These cars are more the size of a truck trailer in the U.S. There were larger freight cars, and the passenger cars were comparable to the sizes in the U.S., but we were sometimes amused by the tiny freight cars.

We may have been amused by the freight cars, but we were very pleased with the passenger service. We could get to London in four hours, a straight-line distance of 200 miles. By contrast, it took about eight hours to drive it. The situation in the U.S. is just about the opposite: if it takes you four hours by car, it will probably take you eight hours by train, if you can get a train.