steam trains

[sherryberry]

what type of steam train ran in England in 1880?

[dzug]

Just about every type you care to think of. All trains were steam - electric and diesel hadn't been invented. Maybe the odd horse-drawn line.

Is there a bit of the question missing?

[Narolines]

In which part of the country? On what type of line and on what kind of services? 1880 is right in the height of the railway age, and as dzug says, the general answer is "thousands of types". Give us a bit more to work on, please!

[Narolines]

By the way, the first electric railway opened in 1883, so there would actually have been experimental electric locos in existence in 1880, though not in revenue-earning service. Diesel was indeed a good few years off, though!

[sherryberry]

Thank you for your help. My friend is a Sound Editor on a new drama that is on TV over Christmas, Mr Polly, and she needed this info - thank you both. sorry if it was a bit vague question but I wasn't sure of the info that she wanted!

[Narolines]

Not a problem, sherryberry - but warn your friend she'll get grief from railway enthusiasts if she dubs the sound of, say, a 1930s 3-cylinder compound exhaust on to footage of, say,an 1870s 2-cylinder light tank. There are a lot of railway anoraks out there, you know! If I can be of any more specific help give me a shout.