SURPRISED FIND DURING LOCK-DOWN 2020!! MEMORIES OF YESTERYEAR, ENAMEL RAILWAY PIN BADGES

Having a bit of a clear up, as so many of us must have done, during the lockdown I found a pleasant surprise in a small box tucked far away with my old N Gauge items. These enamel pin badges were collected over many years during my childhood, might have been lucky to get one or two a year. They would have been picked up as a child from the many model railway exhibitions attended with my late father.

The annual model railway exhibition held at Central Hall, Westminster back in the 70s would have been my highlight of the year for us as a child. Plus some of the heritage railways we also visited during the school holidays, the narrow gauge steam railways in Wales was always a big favourite of mine, along with trips to the museum in York, heritage railways at Swanage, Bluebell Railway and many others.

One of the early ones I remember annoying my father for was the GWR Railcar one, when you hear as a child that there is a railway locomotive called a 'Flying Banana' it quickly becomes something you want to see. As a model I know have four of them in different liveries so the memories must have stuck with me.

Even found Dads BBC Society badge in there too. Though I might have only found a small box, tucked away with other items, but like the Tardis there is a greater volume of memories stored within here. 

The full list;

• GWR Diesel Railcar
• GWR Auto Train
• Brighton Belle SR Electric
• 0-6-0 No.323 'Bluebell' [Bluebell Railway]
• Stepney [Bluebell Railway]
• Hawthorn Leslie 0-4-0 No.37 'Invincible'
• Linda [Ffestiniog Railway]
• Merddin Emrys [Ffestiniog Railway]
• Mountaineer [Ffestiniog Railway]
• SR King Arthur 4-6-0
• SR Battle of Britain class 21C151 'Winston Churchill'
• SR West Country class 21C123 'Blackmore Value'
• LMS Jubilee 'Leander'
• LNER B1 4-6-0 'Mayflower'
• LNER A4 Pacific 4-6-2 4468 'Mallard'
• LNER V2 2-6-2 4771 'Green Arrow'
• Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway 2-8-0
• Hercules (Romney Hythe and Dymchurch)
• Metropolitan Railway 4-6-0
• Metropolitan Railway Electric No.5 'John Hampden'
• London Transport Tram HR2
• Golden Arrow
• Stephenson's Rocket
• BR Hymek Diesel Type 3
• BR Western Diesel Type 4
• BR Deltic Diesel Type 5 'St Paddy'