A closer look
Naming a heavy-duty maintenance locomotive after a legendary 18th-century tragic actress is peak British humor. No. 12 'Sarah Siddons' was built in 1923 for the Metropolitan Railway and is miraculously still prowling the London Underground today. Originally designed to haul heavy passenger trains, this battery-electric beast now survives as a heritage workhorse. While modern, sterile trains frequently break down at the first sign of leaves on the line, this century-old iron slab just keeps hauling engineering carts through the dark.
