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…

Holiday in Devon!

A quick blog update tonight and a sneak preview of articles to come!  I am currently enjoying a short break in Devon and have managed a wondeful ride on the South Devon railway with my wife yesterday and even squeezed in a quick visit to Staverton today.  A full write-up of these visits will be given; hopefully…

My Journey in becoming a Steam Enthusiast, Part 5 – 60103 Flying Scotsman at the Paignton and Dartmouth Railway

It probably didn’t take long to guess that after my previous blog post on the influence that the South Devon Railway had in my journey in becoming a steam enthusiast that the next would be on the Paignton and Dartmouth steam railway.  Hopefully the presence of a brunswick green A3 class pacific wasn’t quite as predictable! Ever…

British Railways fab four!

From left to right BR standard 7MT 70004 William Shakespeare, rebuilt Merchant Navy 350027 Port Line, BR standard 9F 92220 Evening Star and rebuilt Westcountry Pacific 34026 Yes Tor make up a British Railway brunswick green fab-four line-up at Locoyard today. Tomorrow’s post will be continuing my story at another preserved railway from my childhood,…

South Devon Railway – pictures taken in 2010

As promised in yesterdays post, here are a few pictures taken at a visit to Buckfastleigh in 2010.  That day, pannier tank 57xx 5786 was shunting stock around the yard. Meanwhile the beautiful (in my humble opinion) and only surving Collett Goods class 2251 0-6-0 number 3205 ran services. Meanwhile, a few other locomotives were…

My Journey in becoming a Steam Enthusiast, Part 4 – When the Dart Valley became the South Devon Railway

In previous posts I have often mentioned that although my model locomotive focus is mainly Southern, I have interests in all regions.  This is particularly true when it comes to the Great Western Railway! Having family who live in Devon, visits to what was once called the Dart Valley Railway were fairly regular, as were…

Hornby BR Standard 7MT Britannia Class Review

Class: BR Standard 7MT Use: Express Passenger Regions: Mainly Eastern and Western, with some North Eastern and Scottish with Southern examples used for Golden Arrow and Bournemouth Belle duties only. Era: 1951-1967 Preserved examples: 70000 Britannia – Crewe Heritage Centre (working on Mainline tours) 70013 Oliver Cromwell – National Collection (working on Mainline tours) Manufacturer: Hornby Model Reviewed: Hornby R3096…