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Originally Posted by davem
Ok. One thing that got me thinking is in the first draft of TH, where there is a clear reference to 'policemen on bicycles'. Now, this was removed, while the reference to an 'engine' was not. Why? Surely a reference to a policeman on a bicycle is less anachronistic than a reference to a railway engine.
However.....in the upcoming second volume of The History of the Hobbit we will finally get to read Tolkien's attempted re-write of TH in the style of LotR - will the 'engine' reference be left in?
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Only time will tell. However... what you mentioned about the reference is quite important for the "real train" image, since it supports what has been said here earlier. Mystery, mystery...
Also, I would like to point out once more, the original quote about express train does not come from the Hobbit, but from LotR itself - which I find quite important, on that matter.
Oh, and one side note. I hope no one is offended by me bringing this idea up, considering me a heretic spoiling the nice fantasy nature of ME with express trains or something like that. Though the idea itself might seem somewhat strange in ME, personally I find trains quite romantic (unless they are dirty and full of people and sprayed allover with graffiti) and prefer traveling with them above other means of transport in general - and probably also partially because of the fact that you can look at the scenery of the land you are moving through. And for me, having a sightseeing tour through ME on a train would surely be lovely experience, not at all ruining the Prof's world. (though still walking and "testing it on my own feet" will be even better)