Just a quick post tonight; showing a few photographs taken on the Isle of Wight Steam Railway last November. No locomotives were in steam, but I had the opportunity to have a good look at two of the railway’s locomotives; Ajax and Invincible. Invincible is a Hawthorn Leslie 0-4-0 saddle tank locomotive built for the…
After the recent deluge of GWR related articles; yesterdays visit to the Isle of Wight steam railway allows for a return to Southern articles! Being the former home of Mrs Locoyard; the Isle of Wight is a place we enjoy visiting when we can. It’s always great to catch up with friends and family on…
Following on from my previous post, this is one of the final of this series of memories and a fantastic one at that! One of my most fond steam memories from my younger years came from a visit to the West Somerset Railway when it was celebrating its 21st anniversary in March 1997. An incredible…
During last week’s visit to Didcot Railway Centre, British Standard 7MT 70000 Britannia was not the only locomotive in steam. On another demonstration line, pulling an auto-coach was GWR black liveried 8750 class pannier tank 3738. This locomotive was operated from “Didcot Halt”, a faithful recreation of a GWR branchline. A Great Western themed attraction would not be complete without…
Today’s post has taken inspiration from fellow Tweeter Nick Littlewood (@NickPLittlewood) who very regularly posts interesting exerts from publications, pictures, posters that are railway related. If you have an interest in railways, Nick is a fantastic person to follow on twitter! He manages to find a large range and quantity of interesting railway material to share. With this…
Following from yesterdays blog post on GWR locomotives to be found in Didcot Railway Centre is a close look at two special (though very different) steam locomotive. These are both examples that the engineering spirit of the Great Western Railway is still alive. We start with the magnificent 60xx King class 6023 King Edward II. This example of…
One simple reason for the steam enthusiast to want to visit the Great Western Society at Didcot Railway Centre is fairly simple – it houses the largest collection of GWR loco’s and rolling stock in Britain. Last Sunday’s blog post looked at the Didcot site and as promised we will now look inside the engine…
The London Brighton and South Coast Railway’s A1/A1X terrier is a popular locomotive class for Southern region modellers. Nicknamed terriers because of their small size; relative power and the locomotive’s terrier like bark; they were to be found in use from 1872 into late BR days. Their light weight made them indispensible on light branch lines, including…
Following from my previous post on BR standard 7MT 70000 Britannia, I had a very enjoyable flying visit to Didcot Railway Centre on Wednesday and wanted to write a quick guide to this fantastic site. Regarded as a “Mecca” for Great Western enthusiasts, the Great Western Society’s base at the Didcot Railway Centre comprises amongst other…
Continuing and finishing part 7 of my journey in becoming a steam enthusiast are a set of pictures of European locomotives taken at the Nene Valley Railway. This post follows from chapter 2 (British steam locomotives) and chapter 1 (Thomas the Tank Engine) on the Nene Valley Railway. To start the post we have the…
Loco Yard 