The steam locomotive and the Gearhead car, y'all

Howdy, even though I mostly write about cars, lately I've been posting more about colossal trucks from both the USA and the rest of the world. These vehicles are so massive that even a regular rally driver would struggle to handle these tremendously huge machines. And for the gearblog, it's not just about the pure Wild West cowboy and redneck culture; it's also about celebrating the unique Norwegian rural originals. These beasts are practically too big for the narrow Norwegian roads as well. Despite all that, there's nothing quite like a badass truck!

On another note, I must say that the industry and this car hobby are facing significant challenges due to climate change and ridiculously high gasoline and diesel prices. Personally, I sincerely hope we're heading towards an electrification of the vehicle fleet, given the crisis we're facing. Ironically, I want to witness the end of the same gasoline-powered cars that I'm also deeply interested in. But before fossil-fueled vehicles end up on the scrap heap of history, I want this blog to document a car culture and cool car models before they become retired fossil veterans.

And that brings my thoughts to steam locomotives, which nobody uses anymore except for museum railways. The railway was also electrified at some point in Norway, happening between the 50s and 70s. Speaking of modern times and changes in the vehicle fleet, those V8 and V16 engines from the past, one could say that old steam locomotives, steamboats and etc. are outdated in terms of technology and safety requirements.

Someone I knew once told me that even if a sailing ship has sailed the seven seas for 300 years, with everything replaced, it's still the same ship. So here's my hope that it will become trendy in the future to convert old modified cars into zero-emission vehicles. Just imagine how fun it would be to see a Lada Niva with dice in the rearview mirror in the year 3000, cruising on renewable energy! After all, gear heads are all about fixing things, so why not? The only thing is that it might take some time for the technology to make it possible to convert all sorts of old cars to electric power.

In the meantime, we might have to embrace being a so-called Snuffy Smith. For those who don't know, he was a comic book character and a rural original from the Wild West in America, living a tough life, often with one too many drams and lots of junk on his farm. In other words, be a Snuffy Smith, have a dram, and let the modified cars stay on the farm until they can finally be converted to electric power!

Now, many folks argue that a car just isn't the same without V6S, V8S, and especially V10, V12, and V16 engines. But hey, a big part of the design is still intact, and the car will look just as badass with the exhaust pipes and all. Personally, I'm mostly interested in the car's design.

And if you're still longing for the smell of gasoline, you can always visit my modified car blog and use it as a historical reference or as eye candy!











The Norwegian steam boat Skibladner is the worlds oldest steam boat that is still in traffic to this day. It is sailing on the lake Mjøsa in the summertime. 

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