Richard Foster, Editor

This may not be the most inspiring photograph in the world but given Chris Leigh’s comments about childhood memories last issue (MR251), I thought it was worth sharing. This long-forgotten photograph of the Nene Valley Railway’s Wansford headquarters, which I discovered in a box during an office tidy, is undated but must have been taken in the mid-1980s. This is how I remember the NVR at the time. It’s funny how something small can dredge up long-forgotten memories... I began to remember small details, such as waiting under the dual carriageway bridge at Orton Mere as the locomotive ran-round, and I remembered that two ‘Deltics’ 55022 and 55016) were based there. I had vague recollections of a small, low white fence that, a quick trawl on the internet revealed, once separated the shed area from the running lines and has since been replaced by a platform. But my strongest memory was of seeing pioneer BR ‘7MT’ No. 70000 Britannia, tucked away at the back of a siding looking, as my dad described, “a bit sad”. Pictures of Britannia’s 1980s spell at the NVR always seem to show it in sparkling condition, but that’s not what I remember – and this picture confirmed my memories! Happily, things have changed in the last 30 years. Both Britannia and Gordon Highlander are now owned by millionaire locomotive collector Jeremy Hosking, and Wansford yard now looks much smarter, with more covered accommodation and a large workshop.

Modelling hours this month: 5

Note to self: Sometimes glue isn’t the answer when it takes so long to dry!