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…
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 promised when we looked at posters, railwayana and other details (click here for more) at Buckfastleigh, this is the report looking at a site visit to Buckfastleigh on the South Devon Railway, that include photographs of 1366 class pannier tank 1369 in steam, as well as other locomotives, both steam and diesel..
For the first time in a few weeks, it is time for a model review! This time, the subject is Bachmann’s 56xx 0-6-2T, which proves to be a big hit on Locoyard…
The standard 0-6-0 chassis with type 7 motor has for some time been used in a lot of Hornby model locomotives! The list of models below may not be 100% complete, but covers some of the major types where it is used. Hornby models using the Type 7 0-6-0 chassis:
Following on from my previous post, this is one of the final of this series of memories and a fantastic one at that! One of my most fond steam memories from my younger years came from a visit to the West Somerset Railway when it was celebrating its 21st anniversary in March 1997. An incredible…
During last week’s visit to Didcot Railway Centre, British Standard 7MT 70000 Britannia was not the only locomotive in steam. On another demonstration line, pulling an auto-coach was GWR black liveried 8750 class pannier tank 3738. This locomotive was operated from “Didcot Halt”, a faithful recreation of a GWR branchline. A Great Western themed attraction would not be complete without…
As can be seen by the number of posts published in the past few days, a visit to the South Devon Railway is an experience not to be missed. The beautiful route, the attractions nearby, the loco yard, the model railways all make it a very special place. Todays post looks at the two locomotives…
Following from the previous post is a continuation of the journey along the South Devon Railway from Staverton to Totnes Littlehempston. We start with the very picturesque rural branchline station of Staverton. Staverton is a smal rural atation with a short platform, so if you wish to get off, make sure you are in a correct carriage (usually the first two…
Loco Yard 