THE February meeting of the Redditch & Alcester Group of the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway saw Paul Stratford present a slide show called Steam in the Communist World.
This featured a 1989 visit to East Germany, just a few weeks before the fall of the Berlin Wall, to sample the delights of some of the narrow gauge steam railways.
Then came a visit to the sugar cane lines of Cuba to see old American-built locomotives hauling cane from the harvest fields to the mills.
But the highlight was a visit to the Mongolian region of China last Christmas. On a line through the Jingpeng Pass, built only a few years ago, massive pairs of steam locos battled with trains carrying 1,000 tons of coal in temperatures that can drop to minus 30 deg C.
These conditions in spectacular scenery led to many dramatic photographs - and also frostbite.
On the GWR at Toddington, the first passenger trains have run to Cheltenham carrying members and shareholders and Gold Cup spectators.
The Princess Royal will officially open the new line on April 7, with public trains running from April 12.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article