Ethan Whitford

You even ended up with the unit named after a certain cat at Stourbridge Junction

Time for a weekend away in London. It's going to be a hot one by the looks of it, but I should get to tick off a new railway in the process

Is this photo a subtle hint at a move from EMR to Belmond? In all seriousness though, hope all goes well and good news is waiting down the line

Hope you have a fantastic time on Sunday (only there Friday and Saturday myself).

The final few exhibits are on their way to Derby today (along with the preview event charter train, which also gets the final two exhibits into the site)

Other than the fact there are food stands dotted about the site going off the map, nothing up on the website advising what it is. If it was a normal enthusiast open depot day, I would say to expect burger vans and similar, but you may get a bit more variety with it not just aimed at enthusiasts

Still one of the greatest speeches to camera ever done

Remember watching this for the first time after hearing extracts from it interpolated into the song 'Iron Sky' by Paolo Nutini (do recommended watching the Abbey Road Live version of the song if you've not heard it already)

I wouldn't even consider that to be a controversial opinion. As with a lot of pop acts, they use very safe chord progressions and don't have much variety in the sound of the music, but this approach makes it very appealing to the general public and sells lots of records

The lighting at Gloucester this evening was fantastic and made for some great photo opportunities during the water stop on the return leg to Birmingham

Having turned on the triangle, 45596 'Bahamas' (with some assistance from 37240) climbs through Llansamlet heading for Port Talbot where the train was serviced

45596 'Bahamas' sits on the blocks at Swansea after an excellent run from Birmingham

After some brisk running along the Severn Estuary, we've made it to Newport for our water stop.

Not only is it not raining yet, but the sun has come out!

Last pick up completed at Gloucester. Time to head along the Severn Estuary to Newport and our water stop

With 45596 'Bahamas' having brought the stock in, we're underway to Swansea.

37240 is on the rear as expected and we're already through Bromsgrove heading for Worcestershire Parkway

Time to get my day to Swansea underway, as 172344 and 172216 take me towards Birmingham.

All being well, I should be heading towards Swansea behind 45596 'Bahamas'

After a surprisingly stress free trip down the WCML (fortunately, the freight train which broke down was going the opposite direction to me), I've made it to Kidderminster for my mini weekend away.

Tomorrow, I head to Swansea from Birmingham New Street with Vintage Trains

Can't make it due to other commitments this year, but if you're in the area, this event is well worth attending

Set swap. 800008 going into North Pole Depot as 5P30 having arrived as 1P30 and 800009 coming out as 5B22 to work 1B22 to Carmarthen

Well, what a brilliant day that turned out to be, with 5029 'Nunney Castle' returning to the mainline after its current overhaul, with 57002 and 57311 ferrying between Basingstoke and Taunton each way.

5239 'Goliath' was also in fine form, with a storming run over the Dartmouth Steam Railway

Good morning from Basingstoke, where having battled a chaotic rush hour yesterday evening due to trespassers at Clapham Junction, here's hoping for a more relaxed day as Steam Dreams take me to Paignton and Kingswear

Having braved the temperatures (and traffic) on the walk between Tattenham Corner and Epsom Downs, made it to Balham for a drinks top-up.

Now it's time to head for Sutton via Carshalton and Sutton on my final pair of 377s. I can only hope the Thameslink and SWR air-con are just as good as the 377s

With the pride 700 having departed, it was off to Upper Warlingham, before a walk down the hill to Whyteleafe to head for Caterham and some lunch.

Sun's finally out now and it's starting to warm up now, which may result in a walk being abandoned, but I'll make that decision in about an hour or so

Going through London Overground stations on a Southern 377 definitely feels weird. Still, that's Wembley Central to Clapham Junction ticked off now

After a couple of excellent days at the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway with my Dad, time to head for Basingstoke in readiness for a charter train on Saturday, taking in various London commuter lines across the day

Is it too predictable to expect a point to point between Bangor, NI and Bangor, Gwynedd at the end of all this

No worries Will and thanks for the info

The Former Grand Hibernian 201 (and thus the only 201 in the distinctive St Patrick's Blue livery) and an empty Enterprise First Class - you really have lucked in there with that run. How much was the First Class Upgrade out of interest (if only for future reference)

It's even more nuts when you get a steam charter through here. This is a shot I took of 131 arriving from Rosslare prior to taking me back to Dublin back in May 2023

After a tremendous round trip on the @worthvalley.bsky.social with 78022 and 75078, time to start working my way back home

Having seen 60163 'Tornado' at Carlisle on a delayed Northern Belle service and a trip over the S&C with 158797, time for some fun with the KWVR BR Standards as 78022 and 75078 take me for a return run between Keighley and Oxenhope