WHICH IS WHY IT'S TOO SOON TO DESPAIR FOR THE MOTHER COUNTRY:

Royal christening for UK's newest steam engine (AP, 2/20/09)

The first new mainline steam locomotive to be built in Britain for nearly 50 years was christened Thursday by Prince Charles and his wife Camilla.

Steam and coal smoke swirled around the royals at the railway station in York, 190 miles (300 kilometers) north of London, where Charles formally named the engine Tornado in honor of the crews of Britain's Tornado fighter jets in the first Gulf War.

Britain — home of the world's first working railway steam locomotive — has long been a train-loving nation, and that was evident among the swarm of admirers at Thursday's ceremony.

No people which loves trains is beyond salvation.

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Posted by Orrin Judd at February 20, 2009 11:34 AM