NH8912 : Steam train at Aviemore
taken 3 years ago, near to Aviemore, Highland, Scotland

Aviemore lies within the Cairngorms National Park.
The Strathspey Steam Railway is a heritage line running steam-hauled trains between Aviemore and Broomhill on part of the line that linked Aviemore with Forres. It should not be confused with the original Strathspey Railway Link which linked Dufftown and Aviemore from 1863 until 1968. See Link
for details of the heritage line.
This class of steam locomotive was designed by H.G.Ivatt for the London Midland & Scottish Railway. Construction of the type began 1946. The railways were nationalised in 1948 and the modern Ivatt 2MT was deemed suitable for continued construction. This particular locomotive, 46512, was built in 1952 in the ex-Great Western Railway workshops at Swindon and was initially allocated to Oswestry Shed where she replaced older types. She worked the last passenger train over the Llanfyllin branch on the 17 January 1965. After this she was transferred to Willesden - finally returning to the tracks of the old LMS, the company for which she was designed. With dieselisation advancing rapidly, she was withdrawn from Crewe in November 1965 and sold for scrap, arriving at Barry Scrapyard in June 1966. She was rescued from Barry Scrapyard in 1982 and rebuilt at Aviemore - the work being completed in 1999. She carries the name E.V.Cooper Engineer in recognition of the engineer who oversaw the rebuild.
Information from the Strathspey Railway and the Cambrian Railway Forum.
The Cairngorms National Park, in the Highlands of Scotland, is the largest of the UK's National Parks. Covering an area of more than 4,500 square kilometres, it comprises a variety of landforms, from mountain peaks to low-lying valleys.
The Cairngorms National Park's website is here: Linkwith information about the park on this page: Link
