Buckfastleigh, South Devon Railway 2014

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…

Locomotives on Display at Sheffield Park 2014

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…

A Thumping Good Day Out!

A trip to the Watercress Line is always well worth it and this visit was no exception!  The railway has a large fleet of locomotives that is regularly supplemented by visitors.  What made this visit particularly special was of course the  Heritage DMU Thumper Unit 1125 (click here for more) celebrating ten years since withdrawal…

Bankside Miniature Railway

Steam railways can be found in all shapes and sizes, but this one is unique in the UK, I believe.  Brambridge Garden Centre, Hampshire is home to the UK’s only 8 1/4 inch miniature railway.  Services are hauled by a delightful tank engine named Carolyn that was built in 1924.

Think Big!

If a railway enthusiast claimed to have seen a streamlined coronation pacific, a parallel boiler Royal Scot and an unrebuilt Merchant Navy class in steam in 2014, you would be forgiven for thinking that they had gone a little crazy, or perhaps that this is an April Fools Day prank!  But it is possible, providing…