Mona

Not a Christmas present sadly, but the latest and last addition to the garden railway Isle of Man locomotive roster.

Mona is a G scale electrically powered model from Accucraft and as with the others in the collection, I think she looks lovely.

The prototype is an odd bird in that the namesplates and chimney numberal are different on each side.

Talking of plates, these aren't with the prototype any more. One was auctioned recently near to me so I popped along for a look.

The new owner of this plate parted with over £5000 for the priveledge, several times the price the loco was sold (with both plates) for by the Isle of Man steam railway.

Now back with the railway, Mona sits at the back of the shed cacooned in a slowly disintergrating plastic tent. Asbestos issues mean it's unlikely she will return to steam any time soon.