Good evening,

Wednesday was the first Dorset Coast Express of the season which ran from London Victoria to Weymouth and was hauled by Tangmere. For the last couple of years I traditionally photograph the first one of the season at Eastleigh on the way to work on 35005. However this year I was going to miss it as I won a competition on twitter to go see the Railway Children stage show at London’s Kings Cross theatre. It was on the way home from the show I noticed some steam enthusiasts walking around Waterloo. It was then I discovered that Tangmere was actually coming to Waterloo rather than Victoria on the return leg. So a quick walk over to platform 16 and a couple of minutes later a “green dragon” arrived.

Just time a few quick photos were taken before I had to make my way to catch my train home, it was a brief encounter but seeing a mainline steam when you were not expecting one is a great surprise.

Thanks for reading.