I had ultimately been persuaded to come to Holland or more accurately the Netherlands by the late Ray Wright. He kept telling me how good it was and after producing his Platform 5 book of “Dutch Railways” with lists of new loco’s, units and coaches to scratch in for sight and haulage, not to mention new track to score, my mind was finally made up.

So It's the 12th November 1991 and I find myself in Vlissengen taking pictures of a Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) SIK Number 210. I brought a tea in the buffet and they gave me a cardboard cup of hot water, a separate tea bag and no milk. What had I let myself in for!