MountainMan Wrote:

MasonJar Wrote:A notable example of steam in sci-fi would be the time-travelling flying train from Back to the Future III. Although I cannot remember when it appeared whether a Mr Fusion unit was powering it...

Andrew

The real question is...why an old fashioned train? I imagine it would stand out in the future, or pretty much anywhere else, for that matter.

Well, he was a time machine builder, not a vehicle builder, besides (to paraphrase):

Doc Brown Wrote:The way I see it, if you're gonna build a time machine ... why not do it with some style?

Andrew

Quote: Doc Brown wrote:The way I see it, if you're gonna build a time machine ... why not do it with some style?

If I were a time traveler, I would be concerned with blending in rather than standing out.

Well, he did build it in 1885, so he had to use what was on hand. Building a time machine in 1985, he used, naturally, a Delorean.

--Randy

How many places can you go in an 1800's steam locomotive and not be immediately conspicuous?

It was a great movie gimmick, but hardly practical in a real world sense. Same thing for the DeLorean.

The first rule of time travel is not to call attention to yourself and get locked up for any number of reasons, including suspected insanity because no one believes you. Remember how conspicuous Fox was in the first film, and that was just his clothing.