Between the ages of six and my late teens I spent many of my summer Sunday afternoons playing with trains. You may be thinking at this point 'No wonder he's such a nerd, he should have been out in the fresh air,' but actually I was outside at the time. Because this was no attic train set. One of my first solo drives, not trusted yet with passengers. The engine is Lancashire Lad, one of the smaller models, but always among my favourites as it was easy to drive and very reliable. My dad was a model engineer - his hobby was building these stunning working model steam locomotives. No 0 or 00 gauge here - we are talking 3.5 and 5 inch wide track, plenty big enough to carry 10 passengers behind. As part of the Rochdale Society of Model and Experimental Engineers ( by its website, still going strong ), most Sundays we would toddle up to Springfield Park where the society's track was and indulge in a wondrous time. Of course my favourite activity was driving. The cont...