Steam FTW
Perhaps this isn't such a strange idea...

Over the years, I've come across a very interesting urban folk-tale. It surfaces from time to time and then vanishes again, but I will recount the basics here for your delictation and delight..

Back in the 1950's when the last steam trains were being replaced by diesel/electric models, a fairly sizeable number of steam train engines mysteriously vanished from the breakers yard manifests. Now, they probably just made a massic cock-up of the paperwork, but every so often someone pops up to state that what *really* happened was that the government had carefully stored the missing trains away in an underground railway station (supposedly somewhere called 'Box Tunnel').

The thinking, and the idea, is relatively clear. At the time, the western powers were concerned about the idea of a nuclear war, and if such a thing occured then steam trains could keep the basic transport infrastructure running!

Plausible, perhaps, perhaps not, but I do like to imagine that someone, somewhere, is maintaining a pristine collection of original steam engines...
(EffinDoubt is breaking glass on, Wed 5 Nov 2008, 13:42, 3 replies)

hear that?
It's the sound of dozens of trainspotters groaning in self-loathing as they realise that they want there to be a nuclear war.
(apeloverage committed the vile act of onanism on, Wed 5 Nov 2008, 14:34, closed)

This was on R4
apparently there was a plan to do this, as steam trains would not be affected by an EMP pulse. The soviet union had hundreds of stem trains for this perpouse . The plan was scrapped at the last minute due to costs, the numerical discrepancy that caused trains to vanish was a typo.

The Idea that the steam trains were kept suffers a blow when it is realized that all the water towers and coal stores along the British rail network were taken down at the same time the steam engines were scrapped.
( willenium Fist bump for verification, Wed 5 Nov 2008, 15:28, closed)

trains
The Strategic Steam Reserve was the proper name for this plan. Google turns up a load of interesting/wacko theories.
(dave likes cheese, Wed 5 Nov 2008, 21:40, closed)