Brief Encounter

Steam engines create a much more photogenic atmosphere when the air is cold.  This was the 10:50 Santa Special from Loughborough pausing for a moment by the signal box at Quorn so that the fireman could shovel a bit of coal from his tender onto the trackside for the signalman's stove.  Inside the carriages there were a lot of very excited youngsters awaiting a visit from the great man himself.