ABSTRACT
In Edwardian England steam was the undisputed motive power for all railways except the Underground and certain suburban lines. While the tramcar had begun to cut into traffic on the latter, up to 1910 the steam locomotive was king. One of man’s most beneficent inventions, seemingly possessed of a life of its own, it earned great affection from its users. Characteristic, perhaps, of the times, little effort was made to lighten the labour or add to the comfort of the engine crews in the greater efficiency of their splendid machines. Finally, one must not overlook a curious branch of loco practice which had a vogue then, the rail motor. The passenger thus had the strange experience of seeing smoke emitted from the roof of the carriage and of hearing the scrape of the fireman’s shovel, and maybe the sound of escaping steam, from immediately beyond the end partition of the coach.
