West Somerset Railway 21st Gala March 1997; My Journey in becoming a Steam Enthusiast, Part 7 Chapter 2

Continuing from last Saturday’s post is the final chapter of part 7 in my journey in becoming a steam enthusiast.  I hope all locoyard followers will enjoy these photographs! Todays post begins in Minehead and then follows 43xx Class 7325 and Castle Class 7029 Clun Castle double-heading to Bishops Lydeard. Post thread continues – click…

My Journey in becoming a Steam Enthusiast, Part 6 – The Watercress Line (1997)

1997 was a significant year for the Watercress Line, as it marked it’s 20th anniversary as a preserved railway.  My father and I visited the line twice that year.  The line’s impressive home fleet was supplemented by some very special visitors.  Continuing from last week’s post, here are a selection of photographs of the Watercress…

My Journey in becoming a Steam Enthusiast, Part 6 – The Watercress Line (up to and including 1996)

Regular readers of this blog will no doubt be very familiar with the Watercress Line!  It is a railway I visit regularly now, but when growing up one that I visited relatively infrequently.  However, these early visits nevertheless were regular and enjoyable enough to go a long way in sowing the seeds of becoming a steam enthusiast! Going back…

My Journey in becoming a Steam Enthusiast, Part 1 – the Kent and East Sussex Railway

Todays post is the first part of a series of reflections and experiences of my journey of becoming interested in real and model steam trains.  Not being old enough to have experienced steam trains running on day-to-day services, my early experiences of steam trains were as a result of having a father interested in steam…