A trip along the wonderful North Yorkshire Moors Railway. The very same railway that featured in the recent Indiana Jones and Mission Impossible movies.

Built in 1944, this locomotive did a grand job pulling my large backside over the Moors. Trust me that’s some mighty effort required up those hills….

As a kid I had a treasured Hornby Train Set. It was one train that looked a bit like 44806, two carriages, one small platform and a few track pieces. Just enough track pieces to build one really small loop. That train went round and round and round and round and round, getting nowhere fast. Yet hour after hour, lost in my dreams, that little loop track became a train winging across countryside, through cities, over huge bridges, through cavernous tunnels under great mountains. Mile after mile, endless possibilities.

That was several decades ago. Where did that boundless childhood imagination go as I got older. I miss it…..

36 thoughts on “Letting off steam”

  5. Just looking at the photo I can smell the smoke and feel the wind in my hair when I stuck my head out of the window. I often found the scenery boring but the adventure of steam lives on. We had a heavy board that lived on the back bedroom floor and we’d take turns at switching the points. Excitement, huh? And hours were spent at miniature railway exhibitions…..

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  7. That looks like so much fun, Gary. Hope the train made it up the hills with your backside on board. 😆 I see your childlike imagination and humour still very much there. Hope the trip was a soothing one for you!

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  9. Trains will always fascinate, I think. Even though Biff and Bash try to act like trains are “for babies” for some reason, Bo and I remind them that there is nothing wrong with loving trains at any age–in fact, Bo’s best friend is a huge steam fiend and will visit Chicago every year just to hang out in the trainyard. If we had more steamies around, I’d do that, too! Diesels just aren’t the same, lol. xxxxxx

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  11. Each generation talks about the good old days, I suppose, but childhood was different before computers and cellphones. Kids used their imagination to create their entertainment. I am sure that was a good thing. I loved those old trains too.

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  12. I love a train ride but didn’t really appreciate them until I had my son. By two years old he was obsessed with trains and all things Thomas and Friends. My imaginary play mostly revolved around my dolls and their adventures.

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