I’m panicking towards a flight to Jakarta, so the ESNG show pictures will have to wait a couple of posts more.  But for now, some prototype inspiration…..

Allan & Derek recently spent a weekend on the Swanage Railway, where they were running a number of Bullied Pacific 4-6-2’s.  Some of the last steam locomotives to run on British Railways, they are handsome locomotives in both un-rebuilt and rebuilt forms.  And one of my favourites, as I saw them in their last days on services from Waterloo.

And is it really 50 years since I was behind a West Country or Battle of Britain class?

The Swanage railway is blessed by some wonderful scenic locations, none better than at Corfe Castle.

We’ll run through some of the locomotives on parade.  We start with 34052, Lord Dowding, a Battle of Britain class locomotive named after the head of RAF fighter command during the Battle of Britain in 1942.  We start at Corfe Castle, again…

So clean you can see your face in it….

Two complete today, two photographs of un-rebuilt locomotives.  Here’s 34081, the British Railways built ’92 Squadron’, without nameplates.

And just a nameplate and ‘Golden Arrow’ logo for 34092, City of Wells.  Naming half of this class of locomotives after Southern Railway West Country, mainly holiday, destinations was a publicity success.  And naming the other half to honour the Battle of Britain airfields and squadrons was equally astute.

More next post.