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…