'It was an afternoon of heat'

An enjoyable sunny afternoon of nostalgia travelling the length of the Strathspey Steam Railway and back on a train hauled by steam locomotive 5025. The locomotive has been faithfully restored and repainted in its original black LMS livery. It was built at the Vulcan works in Newton-le-Willows and originally entered service exactly 87 years and one day ago.

The steam train experience, brought back memories of annual pre Beeching childhood steam train journeys between Lancashire and Fraserburgh - travelling excitedly north by night and miserably back to the grime of industrial the North of England by day. The day time journey was inevitably on 'an afternoon of heat' with the small consolation of a carton of Kiora orange bought from the trolley on the platform at Carlisle.

Like all steam train journeys it brought 'Adlestrop' to mind.