The Little Train That Wouldn't

To protest Prime Minister Tony Blair's threat to attack Iraq, two U.K. train drivers refused in January to move a freight train carrying ammunition destined for British forces deployed in the Persian Gulf. The drivers declined to operate the train between Glasgow and the Glen Douglas military base on the west coast of Scotland, Europe's largest NATO weapons store. Trade unions supporting workers who refuse to handle weapons could risk legal action and possible fines for contempt of court. This was the first British anti-war industrial action by workers in decades.