So when we were told that last night Bittern was making one his rare journeys through our part of the world, we could not resist to go and see it passing via our small local station on his return trip, from Plymouth to London.
The time was not precise, as the train had to slot into a regular time table, but we were not the only people waiting patiently on the platform, cameras ready. My little camera could not really cope with the speed (yes, speed) of the train passing through, but I got couple of pictures at least. Just look at the length of the train, 12 carriages; we were told by our brother in law, who was lucky enough to be travelling on it, that the train was completely full. Today's trains would have 7 carriages at most. The power of steam!