Intercity Train Over Thames

Taken during our 1993 cruise along the Thames River. We hired a boat and went from nearly Oxford down to Hampton Court.

The photo does not quite do justice to what we saw. The train is an Intercity 125, meaning that it can run at 125 MPH. Our boat had just passed under the bridge at a maximum of 5 miles per hour. The bridge (the Maidenhead Bridge, I think) was designed and built for the railroad by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. It opened in 1839. At the same moment, in the sky (not visible) the Concorde SST was taking off from Heathrow Airport, heading for its cruising altitude flying faster than the speed of sound.

Quite the contrast!

Oh by the way, both the IC 125 and the SST are very loud!

These photos were scanned from prints (we apologize for the quality).