Bigger, faster, more modern: that is what transport planners want, whether they are talking about airports in south-east England or a new railway connecting London with Leeds and Manchester. But the British-especially British boys and men-beg to differ. The mode of transport that is really popular these days is small, slow and old. Britain has fully 108 steam railways; the highest concentrations are in north Wales and the Midlands. In 2011 they carried 7.1m passengers-25% more than four years earlier. Passenger trips on boring ordinary railways went up by 20% in the same period. Some heritage railways are little more than a few men in overalls tinkering with locomotives. But most are semi-professional, backed by trusts and staffed by volunteers. Some 18,500 people volunteer on steam railways, and the number is rising.
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