Sooty Sweeps Past

Our BR Standard Class 5 is seen storming through Coneyvale Halt after emerging from the short tunnel beside the coal depot.

Well, okay, perhaps she wasn't producing quite as much smoke as I have portrayed here even though the smoke unit was working!

It is fun, however, to try and imagine just how this lovely loco might look were she able to perform like the real thing - although I guess she might set off a few smoke alarms in the process!

She is at the head of a rake of Mid-day Scot coaches plus a matching maroon liveried Restaurant Car; seven coaches in all and she handled them magnificently. Mind you, the Hornby coaches that are sold in the Train Packs and Extra Coaching Packs are always extremely smooth runners so I am sure that, if required, our Five could quite easily have coped with one or two more.

And so, as the train thunders past on her way to Gunnmere, engulfing us all in lots of smut-filled smoke, it's time for me to emulate Harry Corbett and say bye-bye everybody, bye-bye!