The NRM Locomotion at Shildon is holding one of its ever-popular steam events this weekend, with the theme being ‘tank engines’.  Our own No.18 and Y7 985 are attending, alongside recent visitors to Beamish, NER H class No.1310 and Peckett ‘Whitehead’.  In addition to these the organising team has brought in Midland 3F ‘Jinty’ No.47406 and Furness Railway No.20 was also in action.  Attendance appear to have been good today, no doubt helped by some very nice early autumn weather.  Here is a selection of views taken today, also featuring the narrow gauge ex Sierra Leone Railway No.85 (2′ 6″ gauge and on loan from the Welshpool & Llanfair Railway) and North Staffordshire Railway No.2 making a welcome appearance in the sunshine.

We start the sequence with No.18, looking really quite smart in the afternoon sunshine.

In the next few weeks we are hoping to move this blog to a new platform, which will enable us to expand the content of both the blog and the associated transport collection information.  A key aspiration that I have for the site is to provide a developing online stocklist, and as a first stage in this I am currently compiling a file of photographs of all of the visiting locomotives, tramcars and rolling stock over the last forty years.  It is interesting to see how much has visitied us, particularly in the last five years.  As ever, watch this space for the latest developments on both the collection and the blog…