Photos taken from a very wet and windy Giants of Steam. A welcome return to the autumn gala.

Sadly No. 777 Sir Lamiel did not show, as this engine failed the previous weekend. No other engines were booked to visit and so only members of the existing Bluebell fleet were in steam.

Photos from the Watercress Line Autumn Gala. Visiting the line this year was LNWR 0-8- 'Super D' No. 49395 from the National Railway Museum.

Sadly the West Somerset Railway's West Country class No.34046 'Braunton' was not able to attend due to problems with the axles on the tender.

All engines ran fine until the afternoon when No.850 Lord Nelson failed at Alton with brake problems and the USA Tank No. 30075 failed in the loco yard at Ropley. A slightly chaotic end to the day!

Photos from the Ffestiniog Railway. The weather could have been better, but it didn't stop us from admiring the views as we went from Ffestiniog to Porthmadog and back.

Photos taken from a very grey and overcast Severn Valley Railway.

This was our first visit to the railway and I was very impressed with how much work had gone into getting the line back to full working order after the terrible floods in 2007. The other very impressive element of the line was the Engine House at Highley. The trains on view were good, there was lots for the kids to interract with and there was a great view of the railway.

Pictures taken at the Crewe Heritage Centre

Photos taken from a grey and overcast Llangollen Railway.

Despite it being August and holiday season, there was only one train in steam and three services running. Our train for the day was GWR Pannier Tank No. 6430.

Photos taken from a sunny and very windy Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Railway.

Photos taken at 'the' train event of the year - the Centenary celebrations of the Eastleigh works. On view was a vast array of steam, diesel and electric locomotives. A fantastic event which gave the paying public a chance to get up close to a lot of the engines, as well as having a look around the historic works.

Photos taken from the 2009 Spa Valley Railway Steam Gala. There were four engines in steam today - resident engines Jinty 3F No. 47493, GWR Pannier Tank No.7715 and Peckett Saddle Tank 'Fonmon'. Visiting the railway for the gala weekend was USA Tank No.65 from the Kent & East Sussex Railway.

Photos taken of the newly restored Battle of Britain class No.34059 'Sir Archibald Sinclair'.

This engine looked magnificent and credit must go to all those involved in restoring her to such a high standard.

Photos taken at a sunny Bluebell for the 2009 Southern at War event. The highlight of the day being a special flypast of a DC-3 Dakota from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

This day also marked our first ride behind the newly restored engine - Battle of Britain class No.34059 'Sir Archibald Sinclair'.

Photos taken at a gloriously sunny Kent & East Sussex Railway Gala Weekend. Along side their own engines was a visitor from the Bluebell Railway. SE&CR 01 class No.65 made a welcome return to the K&ESR metals.

We had a great day and the railway looked as immaculate as ever.

Photos taken at a very sunny Spa Valley Railway. The trains in use today were a class 37, a class 73, a class 12, a Drewry industrial loco and a very special Tamper unit.

We had a few rides up and down the line including a couple of brake van rides - one to High Rocks in front of the class 12 and the Drewry, the other was a special ride to Groombridge behind the Tamper. Something we are unlikely to experience again!

Photos taken at the 2009 Spring Gala at the Watercress Line.

And what an eventful day! Visiting the railway for this weekend was Metropolitan No.1, Beattie Well Tank No. 30585 and the star attraction Lord Nelson No.850.

Around 10.30am, resident standard five No. 73096 suffered a major failure of the left hand cylinder which blocked all traffic between Ropley and Medstead for approx 90 minutes. The published timetable was no longer of use, but the railway staff kept us informed as much as they could, and the rest of the day went without a hitch. Despite the problems, we had a great time in the spring sunshine!

Photos taken at the Swanage Railway during the February 2009 Fun Week.

It was the first time for a while that we had visited this railway. Newly restored Battle of Britain class No. 34070 'Manston' was our locomotive for the day.

03/03 - I have added some more pictures, which I managed to retrieve from a corrupted CF card in my Canon EOS350D

Photos taken of Battle of Britain class no. 34067 Tangmere on a very frosty morning. 34067 was on a Golden Arrow trip to Folkestone Harbour and Headcorn was it's first water stop.

Photos taken from a very cold Bluebell Railway. The engines running today were BR Standard 4 tank no. 80151 and GWR Dukedog no.9017 'Earl of Berkeley'.

We've not been to The Bluebell railway for a while. These are some of the photos taken on a grey November.

Despite the economic gloom the car park at Sheffield Park was full and there were lots of people at the railway, which was great to see.

Photos taken at a gloriously sunny Watercress Line. This weekend was the much anticipated Big Four gala with engines from each of the regions in steam.

There were 7 engines in steam - 34007 Wadebridge representing Southern, 41312 and 41241 representing LMS, 4936 and 5029 Nunney Castle representing GWR, 60019 Bittern representing LNER and 76096 representing BR.

Photos taken at the Babbacombe Cliff Railway.

The line was built in 1926 at a cost of £15,648. It is one of sixteen working finicular railways in the United Kingdom. It provides an beautiful way of going to the beach, and at it's peak, transported 250,000 passengers a year.

Photos taken at the Paignton & Dartmouth Railway when the Torbay Express arrived.

The engine pulling this train was GWR King Class no. 6024 King Edward I

Photos taken from our first visit to this railway.

Beautiful scenary as the railway winds it's way to Kingswear. The engines have to work hard on the gradient to the middle station of Churston in both directions, which makes the engines sound fantastic.

The only let down was that the railway appeared to very 'commercial'. This is the first railway that I've been to where there hasn't been a society running it, and therefore no society magazine to buy & read.

Photos taken from the South Devon Railway.

A beautiful railway which is based in Buckfastleigh and winds it's way down seven miles of beautiful scenary to Totnes.

There was lots to see at this railway, especially at Buckfastleigh. An interesting selection of GWR steam locomotives and a varied collection of diesel locomotives. Walking round the station you would also see the museum and loco works. There was also a nice cafe with a huge shop - a mecca for OO gauge modellers!

Our first visit to The Great Western Society at Didcot.

What a fantastic day out - it was a great location with mainline trains running past. There were many GWR engines to look at, and we got to ride behind two different engines. We also had a ride behind Firefly - the broad gauge engine. We also got the see the TPO demonstration, which was very good, and they got it to work 3 times without any problems.

All the staff there were very friendly and pleased to talk to us about what they were doing. Thank you to all the staff for making it a memorable day - we will definitely be visiting again.

Photos taken at Tonbridge station and sidings for the visit of Merchant Navy class no. 35028 Clan Line.

Clan Line was on a VSOE tour to Headcorn. Once the passengers disembarked at Headcorn the train was diesel hauled back into Tonbridge Jubilee sidings where it was coaled and watered. It then picked up the passengers from Headcorn before doing a circuit along the North Kent coast back to Victoria.

Photos taken of GWR Large Prairie no. 5199 which is on loan to the Bluebell Railway

Photos taken at York station of Sir Nigel Gresley arriving at York having travelled from Edinburgh on The Coronation tour.

Photos taken at York station when Union of South Africa headed for Edinburgh on the Coronation Tour

A selection of photos taken at York when all four UK based LNER A4 class engines were reunited. The Great Reunion was organised to celebrate the 70 year anniversary of Mallard braking the steam speed record.

On the Saturday conditions were wet and overcast, especially during the 2 hour period when all four engines were together. The sun did appear briefly late afternoon, but only after an enormous thuderstorm had passed overhead. By this time Union of South Africa had already headed off to Edinburgh.

Photos taken from the 2008 Steam Gala at the Kent & East Sussex Railway.

A beautiful sunny day - for a change, where five engines were in steam. Resident engines Terrier A1X no.3, Austerity 0-6-0ST no. 25 and GWR 1600 Pannier Tank no. 1638 were in steam along with two visitors.

GWR Small Prairie no. 5552 was visiting from the Bodmin & Wenford Railway and LNER N7 no. 69621 was visiting from the North Norfolk Railway.

It's been over two years since our last visit and we had a fantastic day.

Photos taken at the Spa Valley Spring Diesel Gala.

Four engines were being used today - the resident class 73 and both class 33's. In addition to these, a class 37 (no. 37254) was running, which is at the railway on a long term loan.

Photos taken in the glorious spring sunshine. It's been 18 months since our last visit and the railway looked as good as ever.

Engine no.8 'Hurricane' was back in use after a rebuild and looked magnificent - a tribute to those who helped get it back to full working order.

A selection of photos taken at The Bluebell Railway during the Branchline weekend

Our first outing of the year saw us to go the Mid-Hants (Watercress) Railway on a sunny but very cold February day. This special event celebrated 35 years since the line closed.

Three trains were running today - a Class 117 DMU, and Hampshire DEMU (not taking passengers) and Merchant Navy number 35005 Canadian Pacific.

A few pictures taken from The Bluebell Railway in between Christmas and the New Year.

Photos taken at the Bluebell Railway 2007 Giants of Steam.

As well as the regular Bluebell engines, there were two visiting engines. Both were Bulleid light pacific engines - West Country Class no.34007 'Wadebridge' and Battle of Britain Class no. 34081 '92 Squadron'.

The weather was warm and sunny - just perfect to see these Giants of Steam in the Sussex countryside.

Photos showing the arrival of the visiting engines for the Giants of Steam gala weekend at The Bluebell.

The visiting engines are both Bulleid Light Pacifics - West Country 34007 'Wadebridge' and Battle of Britain 34081 '92 Squadron'

Photos taken during our ride on the Autumn Tints Special. The train was Class E4 32473, formally known as Birch Grove and we were pulled in the observation carriage

Photos taken at the Bredgar & Wormshill railway on the last open day of 2007.

An immaculate 2ft gauge railway, with some varied and interesting engines.

Some photos taken at the Bluebell railway on Grandparents Day. A special train was laid on to serve a cream tea departing Sheffield Park at 3.30pm.

Photos taken at the Watercress Line's Autumn Steam Gala.

6 engines were in steam on the Saturday - resident engines 35005 'Canadian Pacific', 34016 'Bodmin', 73096 Standard 5 and 41312 Ivatt Class 2 Tank.

There were two visiting engines which were 34007 'Wadebridge' which is at the line on a years loan and 30926 'Repton' which made the trip down from the North York Moors Railway.

Photos taken at the Spa Valley Railway during the Mainline Gala.

Three visiting engines were present - a class 25 diesel no. D7612, GWR 0-6-0PT no. 9466 and GWR 2-6-2T no. 6695

Photos taken of the West Somerset Railway during our 2007 holiday.

A few pictures of the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway.

The track length is 287 yards and ascends 500ft. The railway uses water to run - the car at the top made heavier than the one at the bottom.

Photos of the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway taken during our 2007 holiday.

A very picturesque narrow gauge railway which originally ran between Lynton and Barnstaple across Exmoor. The line currently runs for a third of a mile, with plans to extend further in the future.

Photos taken of Merchant Navy class engine number 35028 'Clan Line' at Paddock Wood. This train had been to Whitstable on a VSOE Kent Luncheon Special. Paddock Wood was the venue for the water stop on it's return journey.

This is my son's favourite steam engine and is the first time he has seen it. Needless to say, he was very happy when we told him we were going to see Clan Line - and the grey and overcast weather didn't spoil it either.

Photos taken at The Bluebell on an sunny May day.

Photos taken at the Bluebell of West Country class engine no 34028 'Eddystone'.
This engine was built in May 1946 and was originally numbered 21C128. In December 1948 it was re-numbered to 34028.
In August 1958 the air-smoothed casing was removed and it was re-built to a more conventional design, as it is today.
It was withdrawn from service in May 1964.

Photos taken at the Spa Valley Railway 2007 Spring Gala. Visiting engines were E4 32473 from the Bluebell Railway and Beattie Well Tank 30587 from the National Railway Museum

A grey and blustery day at The Bluebell on May Day. The engines in steam were Standard 4 Tank, U class and Earl of Berkeley

Photos taken during our visit to the NYMR. The highlight of the day was being pulled by A4 60007 'Sir Nigel Gresley'. A magnificent engine and a credit to those who spent time and effort restoring the speed machine. Just a shame that 25mph is the limit on the line!

Photos from our visit to the National Railway Museum over the 2007 Easter weekend.

Photos taken from the Watercress Line at their 2007 Spring Gala

Pictures taken on a cold grey day at the Lavender Line

We visit the Bluebell every year at this time. The older rolling stock tends to make an appearance, as do the older engines. A very grey day but lovely and cosy inside the heated coaches.

Photos taken at The Bluebell Railway on the Monday of the 2006 Terrier Gala. The highlight of the gala was to be six of the class lined up at Horsted Keynes for a special photo opportunity.

Sadly Bodiam, from the K & ESR had a problem which could not be repaired in time. The remaining 5 engines looked very impressive in their line up.

Pictures taken at Robertsbridge of Battle of Britain class 34067 Tangmere. Tangmere was taking part in a mainline steam tour of Sussex and Kent. 34067 stopped at Robertsbridge to take on more water.

A collection of photos taken at the 2006 Giants of Steam gala at the Bluebell Railway.

Eddystone had new wheels fitted, but a problem was found during its test run which meant it was only in 'light steam' at Sheffield Park.

The Bluebell engines Standard 4MT 75027, Standard 4 Tank 80151 (running as 80154) and Maunsell U Class 1638 were the other engines to run.

These are a selection of photos taken at the 2006 Mid-Hants Autumn Steam Gala. Visiting engine GWR Prairie 4160 was due to run over the weekend, but encountered a problem on the Friday, which prevented it from taking any further part in the weekend. The other visiting engine - GWR Hall Class 4936 Kinlet Hall, was immaculate and produced a fantastic noise over 'the Alps'.

This was my first visit to The Mid Hants railway, and I was very impressed. The large engines were well turned out and sounded great over 'the Alps'. The station buildings were also very well kept and made the whole trip a good experience.

Pictures from a very wet Romney Hythe & Dymchurch Railway taken on 14th August 2006

Photos taken from the 2006 diesel gala, which was held over three days - 4/5/6 August. Some of these photos were taken at Groombridge after work on the Friday with the photos at Tunbridge Wells taken on the Saturday.

This is a bit anorakish - but this collection contains photos of cabside numbers!

LATEST UPDATE - I've added some more pictures after our visit to the National Railway Museum and the North York Moors

A collection of pictures taken when Battle of Britain class 34067 Tangmere stopped for water at Penshurst during it's tour of Kent and East Sussex as Golden Arrow on 8th July 2006.

Pictures of the miniature railway at Bentley, near Lewes.

A mixed bag of photos - these include mainline trains, both electric and diesel on lines around the South East and in London.

A collection of pictures taken over time at the Bluebell. These include photos of the engines in current operation, as well as those on static display.

LATEST UPDATE - additonal photos from our visit on 13th October. City of Truro being the working engine for our journey.

A collection of engines which you can find at the Spa Valley Railway in Tunbridge Wells. Most are resident engines with a few visiting engines along the way.

LATEST UPDATE - pictures from the Steam Gala taken on the 17th September

These photos were taken at the Bluebell Railway's annual Giants of Steam weekend. The event saw four of the Bluebell's trains running - 21C123, 75027, 9017 and 32473. There were two visiting engines - both from the Mid Hants line - 35005 and 41213.

A small collection of photos taken at the Kent & East Sussex Railway on their diesel gala day on 9th October 2005.

A collection of photos from the GWR museum in the old works buildings at Swindon. An excellent museum with some great engines on display.

These are a selection of photos taken from the East Somerset Railway. We visited the railway during our 2005 holiday on a glorious sunny day.