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Most people collect things that are small and easily stored - like stamps. Others collect more esoteric things – Victorian glass bottles, beermats or similar. Not many people in the UK collect railway locos and full size ones at that!
Thanks to my father's business, I was able to drive locos when aged 6, and by 12 I was quite competent enough to be left to drive while my father acted as shunter.
By age 13 I was campaigning for a loco of my own, and luckily my parents agreed, selecting a 30ton Yorkshire 0-4-0 diesel hydraulic on which my father's firm had been carrying out maintenance.
The chosen loco was owned by Ford but they refused to sell just one loco – there were two to go and Ford would not split them and so the two had to be purchased for me.
My collection was started and eventually reached 19 locos and a few other interesting railway bits. During 2009 I finished my university degree (earning myself a BEng) and am now a Fleet Engineer with a train leasing company. In December 2012 I earned my Incorporated Engineer (IEng) status, on the path to becoming a Chartered Engineer.
The pressures of full time employment and a collection that was spread over a number of different railways caused considerable stress and a feeling of being "thinly spread". Regretfully, the decision was made to release a number of items from the collection with a view to reducing it and the collection now stands at 17. Locos that have been sold now appear in the "Gone, not forgotten" section for the sake of historical record. This did not preclude the possibility of aquiring more locos in the future - indeed, barely had the decision been made than a second class 14, D9500, was bought - but only if the commitment can be managed by present resources.
I hope you enjoy reading about my locomotives and the work done on them.
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| News |
18th May 2013
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| Other |
24th April 2013
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