When I was young and used to spend a lot of time on model railways, Triang-Hornby had a little tank engine, or a family of them “Nellie”, “Polly” and “Connie” as well as some numbered brothers such as “No.27”. They had a certain charm, but were as much toy as model really. This year is Hornby Railways’ hundredth birthday, so as my own little tribute, here is No.7178 re-imagined as a real locomotive.
Great Western Railway Manor “Lydham Manor” and Hall class locos travelling through the English West Country. This is an oil painting I did in 1997, with a little digital restoration to correct the way the colours had aged. I made a bad mistake at the time, using cold-pressed (instead of boiled) linseed oil as a medium. Lovely if you want to impart a golden brown colour to your work over time, but otherwise not a thing to repeat!
