"Well, at least it's not drugs"

Today, I indulged my most recent (and sad) hobby - rail photography. It's the first time I've actually done it, rather than enjoying other people's efforts - and the first time I've been to a station purely to look at a train since I was 6. (It was the Blue Peter steam train in Edinburgh, and I was particularly excited because all the presenters were there too. Good memory, eh?)

As I went in to Leuchars station I had to assure a taxi driver that, yes, I knew that all the normal trains were cancelled - fortunately, mine wasn't a normal train. It was, in fact, a railtour hauled by Deltic 55022, "Royal Scots Grey" - a preserved locomotive rarely seen anywhere on the rail network nowadays, let alone north of Edinburgh - and it may well have had the line to itself today thanks to the snow.

He obviously hadn't told the worried woman on the platform - I had to explain to her that the train she wanted was cancelled. Luckily, she wanted to get to Edinburgh, so she looked quite relieved when I told her she could get a coach from just down the road in St. Andrews.

Someone much more savvy-looking came on to the platform a little later. I didn't think he intended to travel either, and my suspicions were confirmed when I went over to him and saw his big camera and massive telephoto lens. It made me feel a little bit silly standing next to him with my tiny digital one.

We could hear its amazing engine in the distance for ages, but eventually it popped out round the corner and we got our pictures. It even whistled for us!