The British Connection: My Journey in becoming a Steam Enthusiast, Part 7 (chapter 2)

Following my previous post about the official Thomas the Tank engine on the Nene Valley Railway, I wanted to share a few more pictures taken.  The railway was and still is home to some European locomotives that make the collection very unique in the UK (to be found in the next post in this series,…

Hornby Unrebuilt West Country / Battle of Britain class review

Class: Original (unrebuilt) West Country / Battle of Britain class Use: Express Passenger and Express Goods Region: Southern Era: 1945-1967 Preserved examples: 34007 21C107 Wadebridge – Mid Hants Railway – operational 34023 21C123 Blackmoor Vale/Blackmore Vale – Bluebell Railway (as-built, Coat of Arms added in preservation) – Static Display pending overhaul 34051 21C151 Winston Churchill – National Railway Museum – Static…

The Thomas the Tank Engine Connection; My Journey in becoming a Steam Enthusiast, Part 7 (chapter 1)

A set of posts reflecting on my journey in becoming a steam enthusiast would not be complete without Thomas the Tank engine!  As a child, I adored Thomas the Tank engine and it is without doubt one of the reasons that I love steam engines today.  My Hornby model (above) is the longest-serving member of locoyard, although it is currently…

Trago Mills – a brief visit

There are three Trago Mills stores in the Westcountry, two in Cornwall (Falmouth and Liskeard) and another in Devon located off the A38 in between Newton Abbott and Bovey Tracey.  This article looks briefly

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…

Hornby LNER A4 class review

Last week, Locoyard followers were given the opportunity to vote for the next model review.  The Bachmann N class and Hornby A4 won with the same number of votes.  Today see’s the Hornby A4 class go through the Locoyardometer! Class: Gresley A4 Pacfic Use: Express Passenger Region: London and North Eastern Railway Era: 1935-1966 Preserved examples: 4464 (60019) Bittern – mainline certified, based at Southall Depot 4468 (60022)…

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…