After a washout on the Sunday, I postponed my visit to the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway until Monday, and I am glad I did, the weather was much warmer, and a good thing too with the open carriages that were on offer. The railway was originally built in 1875 for transport of iron ore from…
I should first explain my absence from the Loco Yard. The past few months have been very busy. In May and the beginning of June, I had University exams, which have all been passed for next year. I then went to Florida for a few weeks, including a visit to the Wizarding World of Harry…
The North Norfolk Railway’s annual steam gala was held on the weekend of the 6th to the 8th March, and what a spectacular weekend it was. The visitors were LNER Class D49 Morayshire, which was visiting from Scotland, a 4-4-0 locomotive designed by Nigel Gresley, courtesy of the National Museum of Scotland and the Scottish Railway…
One of the worst kept secrets of steam locomotive colour schemes was discovered a long time before Harry Potter’s Hogwarts Castle (click here for more). It is a secret that many of a western persuasion would probably keep to themselves… The secret being that Great Western Railway locomotives painted red look very good.
If you ask a railway enthusiast to name a great locomotive works, you could get many replies. Doncaster, Derby, Swindon, Crewe, Eastleigh, St Rollox, Darlington, Brighton… a list could on and on. But these days things are different, most of the former works have declined, disappeared or evolved into a new use. However, there are…
No visit to the Bluebell Railway is complete without a peak inside the engine shed, which is home to the largest collection of locomotives of (UK) Southern origin. The Bluebell Line has another remarkable claim to fame to add to this – it has the largest collection of BR Standard Classes. Indeed, this collection is…
This beautifully finished locomotive is no stranger to this blog! All being well, the links to blog posts featuring this locomotive will appear automatically at the bottom of this post. 592 was built by the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SECR) in 1902 at Longhedge Works to a design by Chief Mechanical Engineer Harry Wainwright. …
This week’s model star is S&DJR 4F no 58, a regular runner in the Locoyard collection and recent stand-in for the broken-down Christmas Pannier tank engine. This model is an unusual member of a large class of locomotive’s, resplendent in Prussian blue. Let’s delve into the history of this prototype…
Completing the reviews of cheap Hornby 0-6-0 steam engines is today’s look at Hornby’s half-cab pannier tank. It’s been in the catalogue since 1980 but had a significant makeover in 2001 and as such is one of the more reasonable cheap models in the Hornby range. Without further ado, let’s have a look at this…
As many of you know, tonight is Children In Need and we are making a special mention of it to support the cause. As well as Children in Need, don’t forget that Devious Diesel and Thomas the Tank Engine are also tacking part in Locoyard’s Movember campaign and YOU can join in with this! Click…
Loco Yard 