RETIRED railwayman Chris Smith from Bishops Cleeve found himself reliving his youth when he took the controls of a vintage locomotive at this year's Cotswold Festival of Steam

Because, by a sheer coincidence, the engine he was driving was one that he had driven before - 51 years ago to the day as a teenage British Railways fireman based at Honeybourne.

The event, held at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway, included eight working steam locos - one of which was 9F class number 92214, built at Swindon Works in 1959, on which he was rostered to to be fireman on Sunday, May 29.

Mr Smith, a volunteer on the 12-mile preserved railway, said: "Steam was coming to an end and young firemen could quickly find themselves working main-line trains. One of the ‘turns' was to take over from the crew of a coal train from South Wales, and take it on to Oxford.

“The 9F class was the most powerful steam locomotive design to be built for British Railways. This was a very heavy train and I had fired similar 9Fs before and hugely enjoyed this work.

"The engines steamed well and were more than capable of handling heavy coal trains and in fact, I got to fire the same engine a few more times before it all came to an end a few months later, when diesels took control.”

Mr Smith said that he only realised the significance of the date when he checked back on his old record books and found that he was going to find himself on the same engine on the same date, 51 years later.

“It was an uncanny coincidence,” he said, “and I have to say that I felt quite nervous and emotional as I climbed up on to the footplate once again.

“But after the first couple of shovelfuls of coal went into the firebox, I really felt at home and the memories came flooding back.

“I was like a dog with two tails - I didn’t stop smiling all day.”

Engine 92214 was withdrawn from service in 1965 and consigned to a South Wales scrap yard, from where it was eventually privately bought and restored to working order.

Mr Smith said: “92214 was only six years old when I first fired it and although the boiler was good and it was mechanically sound, it was pretty filthy and uncared-for - after all, it was a freight engine, soon to be sent for scrap. Today it is absolutely immaculate and just like new.

“It was an experience I shall never forget - it is as if those 51 years had just melted away and I was a teenager once again."

The Cotswold Festival of Steam attracted 4,500 fare-paying passengers, a record for the event. The railway is enjoying a bumper year with passenger numbers significantly up over last year, itself a record year.