More snow

As Britain shivers in unseasonally early snowfall, I offer further evidence to support my contention that snow and trains are natural bedfellows:

The photographs here are not mine, but the work of talented artists who've been braving the bitterly cold winds to bring us these joys.

Action shots where the speed of the train lifts a cloud of powdered snow can be very effective -- a faint echo of the dynamism that trailing clouds of smoke added to photographs of steam engines at speed.

While heavily pregnant dark skies provide a good contrast to the blinding white snow, sunshine on trains in the snow is a particularly lovely effect.

Some of this snowfall has obviously been quite heavy.

Although it appears that Kent, in the extreme south-east, was among the most badly affected areas.

Let's finish with a couple of shots showing the icy conditions through which many trains have been run.

Personally, when my train is battling through snow -- especially where there may be drifting -- I feel much more comfortable behind an immensely heavy locomotive rather than in a modern, lightweight multiple unit.

Anyway, here's a delightful British Transport Film showing how British Railways overcame conditions in the Great Freeze of 1962/3. Best watched in high def and at full screen.



That was, of course, the Oscar-nominated film Snow by the great Geoffrey Jones.