Bure Valley Railway 2-6-2 Winson Engineering built 6 Blickling Hall passes Coltishall on 1 June 1997 with the final train of the day, the 16:35 Wroxham to Aylsham service. This 15" gauge line is laid on the trackbed of the Midland and Great Northern Railway line which closed in the 1950s. This explains the standard gauge overbridge seen in this view. A popular cycle track parallels the line for much of its length, which does tend to limit the number of photographic vantage points.

Plenty of signs of spring on the Bure Valley Railway on 12 May 2008, as 2-6-2 Winson Engineering built 6 Blickling Hall approaches Belaugh Green Crossing with the 16:35 Wroxham to Aylsham service. It is obviously a little early in the season for walkers or cyclists to be using the adjacent footpath, as not one person passed while I was waiting for this train.

1963 Guest Engineering built 2-4-2 Siân is pictured next to the dunes on the Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway on 27 July 1997. Siân spent the first twenty years of her life on the Fairbourne Railway, moving to pastures new when that line took the dramatic step of regauging from 15" to 12¼". The loco has also spent time on the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway.

Fairbourne Railway built 2-6-2 Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes No.24 waits next to the dunes on the Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway on 27 July 1997. The Spurn Head lighthouse can just be seen in the distance on the horizon above the loco's chimney, on the other side of the mouth of the River Humber.

The fifteen inch gauge Kirklees Light Railway runs along the course of the Clayton West Branch, which was closed by British Rail in 1983. On 21 September 1997, 0-6-4ST Badger departs from Skelmanthorpe station with the 15:00 Clayton West to Shelley service. Badger was built especially for the line in 1991.

1927 built Davey Paxman & Co 4-8-2 No.5 Hercules stands at the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway's Dungeness station on 25 July 1998, with the distinctive 1961 built lighthouse in the background. Designed by Henry Greenly, Hercules was one of two locomotives with this unusual (for Britain) wheel arrangement ordered for the line, the other being No.6 Samson. Hercules was heavily modified during the Second World War for use on the line's armoured train, but luckily did not get attacked by the Luftwaffe! Incidentally, despite appearances I don't think the man on the right is the former pop impresario Jonathan King!

On 28 June 2008, Hudswell Clarke built 4-6-2 1932 Triton is turned on the turntable at Scalby Mills, on Scarborough's North Bay Railway. It had just arrived with the 13:00 train from Peasholm Park (with me on it!), and would soon be leaving with the returning 13:15 departure. Apart from the lack of exhaust and escaping steam, this loco hides its diesel engine very well, the most obvious clue being the filler on the smokebox, just behind the chimney.

Hudswell Clarke built 4-6-2 1932 Triton leaves the disused Beach station on Scarborough's North Bay Railway with the 13:45 Scalby Mills to Peasholm Park service on 28 June 2008. It has just crossed sister loco 1933 Poseidon working the 13:45 Peasholm Park to Scalby Mills train. Beach station has a strange history, having been built in 1931 along with the rest of the line, it was not used by passengers until the 1980s, when during the construction of the Sea Life Centre (the white buildings in the background) it became a temporary terminus. However, it has now been closed again, and is used purely as a passing point when the fifteen minute interval service is in operation.

Steam outline, Hudswell Clarke built 4-6-2 diesel 1932 Triton runs through the trees alongside Northstead Manor Lake on the Scarborough North Bay Railway with the 15:00 Peasholm Park to Scalby Mills service on 28 June 2008.

Hudswell Clarke built 4-6-2 1932 Triton emerges from the trees and approaches the disused Beach station on Scarborough's North Bay Railway with the 15:30 Peasholm Park to Scalby Mills service on 28 June 2008. The loop here extends a considerable distance towards Peasholm Park, Beach station being a little way around the corner. Note the dog leg trackwork!

In a brief burst of sunshine before the dark clouds blotted out the sun once again, Hudswell Clarke built 4-6-2 1932 Triton leaves the disused Beach station on Scarborough's North Bay Railway with the 16:30 Peasholm Park to Scalby Mills service on 28 June 2008. It has just crossed sister loco 1933 Poseidon working the 16:30 Scalby Mills to Peasholm Park train, which can be seen departing under the footbridge. Beach station has only been used by passengers for a short period during the 1980s when it became the line's temporary northern terminus during construction of the Sea Life Centre. Note the chair lift striding over the hill.

Hudswell Clarke built 4-6-2 1933 Poseidon arrives at the disused Beach station on Scarborough's North Bay Railway with the 13:30 Scalby Mills to Peasholm Park service on 28 June 2008. Scalby Mills signal box can be seen behind the train in the background, while the modern white buildings in the background belongs to the popular Sea Life Centre. The train is just entering the passing loop, where trains cross if traffic levels dictate that the fifteen minute two train service is in operation.

Hudswell Clarke built 4-6-2 1933 Poseidon is reflected in Northstead Manor Lake at Scarborough on the North Bay Miniature Railway, whilst working the 15:15 Peasholm Park to Scalby Mills service on 28 June 2008. Northstead Manor Gardens are a shadow of their former self, with the derelict open air theatre not having been used since 1987. Even this section of the lake has been fenced off and the few remaining hire boats now only operate on the southern section.

Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway 0-4-2 Bonnie Dundee on the turntable at Dalegarth on 8 February 1997. Bonnie Dundee has an interesting history, being built as a 0-4-0WT by Kerr, Stuart & Co in 1901, rebuilt as a 0-4-2T and re-gauged in 1981, and then finally converted into a 0-4-2 tender loco in 1996. A fleeting patch of winter sunshine came just at the right moment for this picture.

Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway 2-8-2 River Mite stands on the turntable at Dalegarth on 8 February 1997, with the houses of Boot and the cloud shrouded Fells in the background. River Mite was built Clarkson's of York in 1966, and gained some notoriety when it was hauled from York to the railway by traction engine! The red livery is based on that of the Furness Railway.

A brief patch of winter sunshine shows off the red livery of the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway's diesel loco Lady Wakefield at Dalegarth on 8 February 1997. The loco was built by the railway in 1980 and named after the wife of the then chairman of the railway. It is powered by a Perkins diesel engine. The loco has subsequently be painted DRS blue to match the mainline diesel locos it almost meets at Ravenglass!