Following on from the post by our founder, a brief introduction to myself and my vision for the future of Leccy Steam.
In common with the founder, I too have had a lifelong passion for trains with a particular fondness for steam locomotives. Being decades too young to have seen them operational on the public network, I was at least able to enjoy them at heritage railways throughout the UK and I take great heart and joy in seeing that today, 50 years on from the demise of steam on the UK rail network, heritage railways are as popular as ever and steam locomotives continue to enchant crowds in their hundreds, be it on heritage lines or on rail tours on the main rail network.
It is a passion of mine that, while it has never left me, it has enjoyed something of a renaissance over the past four to five years, largely thanks to a maturing mindset and the good fortune to have reasonable spare income after buying my first home. Like many others I'd fallen into the trap of believing that it is a hobby that costs a huge amount to be part of and was potentially a risky move to get too involved. From what I'd seen, railway modelling was hugely expensive and getting at the controls of a locomotive was about as easy as getting into an F1 car. Then, after having completed a number of driving experiences in a variety of high end cars, the thought struck me, how hard would it actually be to drive a train? To my amazement, it is much easier and cheaper than I thought.
My primary focus in the coming weeks and months then, will be to share my experiences and offer some guidance to those of you who dream of driving a locomotive. I will of course be part of the modelling content as well but my knowledge and experience in that area is not at the level of LS001.
I would like to make it clear that the thoughts and guidance offered on footplate experiences, as with everything else on Leccy Steam are purely my own experiences and thoughts based on my own experiences. They are impartial and have no commercial interest or backing. Doubtless there will be others whose views differ from those expressed by me. This is fine, everybody is entitled their opinion. I would though encourage people to consider statements they post carefully as this site is designed to be a useful, friendly and open tool and source of information, it is not for people to hurl insults at one another or belittle the views and opinions of others. Such behaviour will not be tolerated.
I really hope that Leccy Steam can grow into a useful tool for like-minded people to gain info and discuss their passion for trains.
