Schools Class V – 925 Cheltenham at Ropley

In a change to the scheduled post, tonight I wanted to share with my followers my first proper look of recently restored Schools class 925 Cheltenham, that I was fortunate to catch today in a rather sunny Ropley loco yard.  Restored to working order in Eastleigh works (the locomotive’s birthplace) in just two years; it…

Bachmann BR Standard 5MT Class Review

After updating the review of Bachmann’s N class, I took a look at the model reviewing poll conducted in July.  The poll lead to both the N class review taking place and also the review of the Hornby A4 class and since then a review of Hornby’s unrebuilt West country pacific has also been completed. …

70000 Britannia at Didcot Railway Centre – 8th August 2012

It’s always the way; you wait for an article featuring a certain locomotive and then several come at once!  Featured last Saturday (click here) was an article on the Nene Valley Railway and several shots of BR standard 7MT class 70000.  They were taken in 1997, the last time I saw the locomotive in action until this Wednesday. …

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,…

Locoyard Medal Table

As we are almost one week into the Olympic Games and medals are being won, I felt it was high time that I looked at the Model locomotive reviews that have been carried out to find how the modals compare. The gold medal goes to both the Hornby BR Standard 7MT and SR N15.  The accolade of the best overall model is a dead…

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…